Rating: 
Summary: Very memorable
Review: I saw this movie when it first came out. I was 6. I was confused. But I remember it very well. I remember how excited I was that the world was going to change that much- space flight! video phones! artificial gravity! a talking computer! whew. Of course, it hasn't all happened that way, but it's a very nice, credible view of the future based on the past as seen from the vantage point of 1968. The silence of space had a very deep impact on me. I'm a lover of silence so I thought I would be very comfortable with it. The monolith was appropriately mystifying. Oddly, I've seen this movie exactly once. I'm looking forward to actually seeing it in the year it attempted to portray. I hope I'm not disappointed when viewing it in light so many changes in cinematography over the last 33 years.
Rating: 
Summary: A classic, a masterpiece, a...you get the idea.
Review: Before you watch this movie, you should be aware that this is not a typical movie...at all. If you are used to romantic comedies or even Star Wars-esque space operas, you will be dazed and confused by the end of the movie. There is very little dialogue, not much of a concrete plot and no set antagonist and protagonist (except the HAL/David part). 2001 is one of those rare movies that actually ask you to think and form your own conclusions about what is happening. Because the whole movie revels in ambiguity, I can only give my impression of the message. To me, it is about the thin line between a tool and a weapon, and the destructive possibilties of each that we rely heavily on for our survival. To me, it's about the loss of humanity when we become to dependent on things other than ourselves (which seems to be the theme of Radiohead's "OK Computer"). There is a little bit of actual plot to it. A strange, black, rectangular object (the Monolith) appears at crucial points in human evolution. Other than that, it's very vague. I read that, when it was released in 1968, hippies would take LSD and lay on the floor of the theater, staring in awe at the movie. I can certainly see why. The last half an hour is, without a doubt in my mind, the "trippiest" visuals ever put to film. While this movie is not for everyone, nearly everyone who researches film history must be insane to say it is not a groundbreaking film. The special effects are still amazing 33 years after its release. The science is very well thought out and accurate (spaceships do NOT make sounds in the vacuum of outer space). I would highly recommend this visually stunning, groundbreaking, thought-provoking film to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: 2001 is in a league of it's own
Review: If you're comfortable with a high level of ambiguity, you will LOVE this film; if not, you'll probably hate it. Unlike modern science fiction space films, "2001" assumes that you accept there is a reality in the universe that is unknowable and outside the realm of human understanding. If offers no answers but asks plenty of questions. It's a film often imitated but never duplicated.
Rating:
Summary: A Must Have for Great Film Collectors
Review: Ranking as Kubrick's ultimate masterpice, 2001 A Space Odyssey changed the way we look at movies. If Kubrick had only produced this one film, that would be all he would need. His triumphant work is hailed as science fiction's top films and one of the greatest movies of all time. It is a journey through space and through the human experience; a journey within ourselves and within our expanding physical universe. It is a suspenseful story with a great atmospheric quality to it and with unforgettable scenes. Kubrick has made what started off as a sci-fi novel into a great film everyone could behold. Most people are confused by the meaning of the film as a whole. Particularily difficult to understand is the nebulous and bizzare ending. I don't want to give it away for those who have not seen the movie. Being as of now the year 2001 the present year we live in, this film captures the spirit of our time and what people of the earlier decades perceived as futuristic. Of course we have not been able to go to Jupiter as the alleged mission in the film is supposed to embark upon. This film is not entirely realistic; it is moreover a fantasy that is mixed with the fears and dreams of manking. The music set to the otherwise quiet ambiance of outer space is brilliant. The Strauss Waltz "Blue Danube " is appropriately almost comically put upon in the scene with the astronauts floating about aimlessly in the shuttle. The waltz is appropriate in that space in itself is a waltz of air and gravity time and space. The other classical selections create a good mood of the vastness and quietness of space. The final thing i have to say about this movie is go and see it. Even if u do not grasp the ending's meaning or the theme of the film u might catch it or u might learn something. It is a film that should be locked away in a time capsule for future generations to see. The meaning behind it all is that there is hope for manking, that there is no real fear to have of our future if we go about it right. And don't run into Hal if we have such a mission one of these days.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Movie, Lousy DVD
Review: This film is outstanding. It is my favorite film of all time. However, this DVD is terrible. There are two shades of black bars for the letterboxig, one just a very dark green, one true black. It looks like they've copied it from some intermediate source that did it's own letterboxing, and did it badly. One scene actually has a hair or some similar debris crossing the screen. All in all, this is a lousy DVD transfer, and a very disappointing treatment of an excellent film. If you have a VHS copy, including a copy taped off of television, don't bother with the DVD. It has no advantage over the copy you already have.
Rating:
Summary: Best movie ever, along with Oklahoma!
Review: Not a lot of banter. Still, it's good.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant, but slow
Review: When I first saw this movie, I was probably 5 or 6 years old. I didn't understand it, all I knew was that it was supposed to be really famous. The only parts I liked were the scene where Haywood Floyd talks to his daughter, and the (somewhat) humorous scene in which HAL won't open the door. Otherwise I was totally bored, and the ending made NO sense. Having watched it again, several years later, I realized that it's a really incredible movie. The ending still didn't make sense, but the book kind of explains it a little. The famous jump cut from the bone to the spaceship is cool, but I think it would have done better as a quick dissolve. The choice of music was great, and after watching this movie, nobody is going to be able to listen to "The Beautiful Blue Danube" without picturing this movie. Great special effects, especially at the end. It has been parodied many, many times. Watch it, but only if you have a long attention span, or if you watch it in segments. It has three parts, with different plots, so that's pretty easy. The sequel ("2010: The Year We Make Contact") was reasonable as a movie in itself, but it's by a different director, and the styles don't mix very well.
Rating:
Summary: 2001: a short visual/sound odyssey of the book.
Review: Those of you who have read the book watch the movie. Those of you who don't understand your stuck with KUBRICK'S interpretation. Frankly, I think 2010 is a marvelous peice of work and tries to answer the mysteries of 2001, but in a more realistic sense. David Bowman might have ended up as a baby, in the kubrick interpretation, but in the book he becomes a star child, the beginning stages of a star. It's clear to me that kubrick made this film for those who've read the book and those who haven't. It's called Dynamic plot and those kind of movies are the true cinematic masterpeices of any age. I enjoyed this film as a child more in the visual sense as well as music too. The Blue Danube will aways, to me, be linked to space.
Rating:
Summary: Who we really are?
Review: I was quite young when I saw this movie, but though I did not get the total concept of the film, I thought it was amazing in all of it's glory ... Stanley Kubrick is renowned for his masterpieces but this one takes the cake 2001 : A Space Odyssey is one of those films you would remember for the rest of your life ... The movie begins with Richard Strauss' "Sunrise" so appropriately chosen for the title screen and the under lying theme of the movie ... then it goes onto one of those brilliantly shot sequences called "The Dawn of Man" . Though on the core with reference to the "2001 : A Space Odyssey" by Arthur C. Clarke, a monolith comes from a distant civilization a galaxy far far away which teaches mankind how to really survive... Then from this new teaching a herbivorous creature turns into a hunter using bones as tools ... The transition from the Dawn of Man to the year 2001 is fascinating, when a prehistoric man, throws the bone into the air out of it's joy of gaining victory over nature, which transforms into a space station. The rest of the movie deals with the finding of the machine which is referred to as the monolith on the moon, and the consecutive space mission which sends a AI computer called HAL9000 and a crew of 5 to a mission to Jupiter ... The end transits quite a lot from what Arthur C. Clarke wrote in his book, and shows a different dimension of thought .. where Stanley Kubrick in his screenplay has transformed this monolith into a symbol of knowledge ... and through this shows a very deep philosophy. The set designing of this movie, and the special effects for me is still the greatest ... that shows what people can do with artisitic sense, that is still not challenged by the computer animation of today. The movie has very little dialogue. There is only 27 mins of dialogue out of the total 2 hrs 25 mins, rest is music; Johann Strauss' "The Blue Danube Waltz", Richard Strauss' "Sunrise", and excellent sound effects. In all a treat for the eye, and amazing film, and an eye opener for sure . A must watch for all those philosophers and science fiction lovers out there.
Rating: 
Summary: Typical Kubrick
Review: Aside from the computer HAL, the characers in this film are not compelling or fleshed-out dramatically (a major fault in most of Kubrick's work), the pacing is glacial and the script is intentionally obscure in a way that does not serve the material. This film does offer some of the most scientifically convincing special effects in the history of science-fiction film as well as a plausible portrait of future space travel. In these limited aspects the film is successful. Also, the soundtrack featuring Strauss and some ominous choral music is nice enough. Unfortunately unlike true classics like Touch of Evil or Vertigo this film fails by all the standard measures of cinematic "quality" which may help to explain why the film was a critical and commercial failure upon its initial release. The quasi-mystical, portentous ape scenes come nowhere near the sublime humor and poetry of Jean Jacques Annuad's Quest For Fire and the endless "stargate" sequence is like watching an animated Rorschach test for ten minutes straight. To enjoy this film for its limited strenghts (cinematography, special effects) is one thing, but to call it "the greatest film of all time" is fallacious. Like The Night of The Hunter or L'Avventura this is essentially a cult film that was never quite as great as its fans claimed it to be. As speculative fiction writer Harlan Ellison wrote back in 1969, "Any motion picture-such as 2001:A Space Odyssey, Demon Seed, Silent Running or Forbidden Planet-or Star Wars-in which the most identifiable, likeable characters are robots, is a film without people. And that is a film that's shallow, that cannot uplift or enrich in any genuine sense, because it is a film without soul, without a core. It is merely a diversion, a cheap entertainment, a quick fix with sugar-water, intended to distract, divert and keep an audience from coming to terms with itself. 2001 fails in the first order of storytelling: to tell a story."
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