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Summary: To all the Morons who put down one star...
Review: The novel "2001: A Space Odyssey" was based on the film, not the other way around, and came out after? The film, "2001: A Space Odyssey," is an ORIGINAL production, and was the result of a collaborative effort between Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke. The idea for 2001 came from Clarke's short story, "The Sentinel," which does contain some of the story elements and themes used for 2001, but is much less broad. The greatest incarnation of this story is the film version. This is one of the greatest films ever made, and it's certainly Stanley Kubrick's magnum opus. A masterpiece! Like many other works of fine art, this film is imbued with great depth, and therefore requires some intelligence on the viewer's part to fully appreciate it. This is not your typical, garden variety, action packed sci-fi movie, with lots of meaningless dialog and a spoon-fed plot. 2001 requires a little effort on your part. It requires imagination. You have to pay attention when watching - this story is told through images, not words! I've heard the old complaint about the "slowness" of this film from many folks over the years, and I would argue that it is the shallow intellect of these people that make the film seem slow to them. If the pace bothers you, consider the pace of human evolution, which is a major theme of this story.
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Summary: Can't wait to own this DVD
Review: Seeing this in the original 70mm roadshow engagement is one of my fondest memories of childhood. In LA they called it Cinerama, even though it wasn't in 3 camera projection. Didn't matter. This is one of the great films, a film that changed the way we see films, what we expect of film narrative, the use of music in film to propel narrative. Kubrick was a master and this is a must for anyone who is interested in film history. Classic, iconic and unforgettable!Looking forward to the special edition DVD made from original 70mm elements.
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Summary: It depresses me seeing it now
Review: When I watch this movie in 2001, it depresses me. I constantly ask "Why?" throughout it. Why do we only have one small space station? Why are the only people who can go to it a trained few? Why has noone ever left earth's orbit? Why have we not touched the moon for over 25 years? Why are there only small video cameras on less than 1% of PCs, and everyone else stuck with voice telephones? Why is our "state-or-the-art Artificial Intelligence" a few phrases repeated over and over again, with true thinking and learning out of the question? Why has so little happened since 1968? I do not completely understand the answers to any of these, but I cannot put the questions out of my mind. Still, it's the greatest film ever made, and no film will ever be made that is greater. I just pray that one day we will achieve Kubrick and Clarke's vision.
Rating: 
Summary: Blah
Review: This movie is so ridiculously deep and so damn complicated that it's just not even worth watching. When I watch a movie, I want to be entertained, I don't want to have to sit and watch the thing over and over to try and figure out the meaning.
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Summary: Astronomically beautiful....
Review: This is by far the greatest science fiction film ever made, if not the Best film of any kind ever conceived. One could watch this countless times and always discovery something new. Everyone should see this on a theatre screen at least once. A question - Is or will 2001 be released this year (2001) in theatres? If so, where and when? You may email me at ... or ... I would love to discuss this film with other 2001 enthusiasts... Hail Kubrick!!!
Rating: 
Summary: A Phenomenon!
Review: This is one of the greatest science fiction movies of all time. The movie (directed by Stanley Kubrik) actually manages to capture the tone and the subtle nuances of the novel (2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke) The surface plot of the movie is a simple story about space exploration and the possibility of extra-terrestrial life; but in reality this story is about the nature of mankind itself. The beginning of the movie deals with the birth of mankind. What is it, exactly, that separated the first man from the apes? What separates man from the beasts now? Clarke uses two rival tribes of apes and exposes one tribe to the Monolith (the alien force of the story) and that tribe becomes subtly something more than beast; eventually using tools to oversome the other tribe. The rest of the story deals with the evolution of the HAL9000 computer into a sentient being (yes, take one letter from each character in HAL and you get IBM; but Clarke claims that is a coincidence). What is it that separates advanced computers from man? HAL has a more defined personality than the crew of the ship he controls. He becomes more and more human, and seems to experience pride and fear, and he makes mistakes because he is told to lie to the crew. I can't say more without giving too much away, but I recommend this movie to all science fiction fans. If you have the time, be sure to read the book too; it is truly a masterpiece.
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Summary: It's the ultimate trip!
Review: Not a conventional film by any means, this film depends on sheer imagery and sound for the first half of the film, and therefore is more beautiful eye candy than proper film. the second half of the film involves the malfunction of HAL, and is equally as captivating. the film captures the vacuum of space better than any other film as instead of explosions etc, we get a ghostly silence. this is an amazing, trippy film, that has been rightly heralded as a masterpiece.
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Summary: Masterwork
Review: The only bad thing I can say about this film is that it does drag in places. It is supposed to do that, but the stately pace of the film may discourage some viewers. The best thing I can say is that this film is one of the best all-time candidates for multiple viewings. It holds up beautifully, both technically and thematically. What's it about? You decide. If that sounds too much like work, you'll hate this film. If not, you may just love it. I cannot even ascribe a genre - science fiction generally relies on some sort of high-technology hook, which this film lacks. It is dramatic, but not in the convoluted-plot manner of film noir. It is certainly not a costume drama. It is not an "action" film, since the action scenes are so few and far between, and so dissimilar, it is almost impossible to connect them. I have heard it described as the most expensive art film ever made. I'd agree with that. There is a narrative, but it is the narrative of the real - as in life, the action in this film is linear but not totally coherent. If the events narrated by this film - the discovery of an incharacterizable (if that isn't a word, it should be) artifact by humans at two key points in human evolution - actually occurred, this film is a plausible narration of the events, complete with all the subplots, uncertainty and ambiguity that would likely accompany such a discovery. Beyond that - you read into it what you will. Photographers and filmmakers - see this film and learn why Kubrick is god to many. Of the people I know who HATE this film, and there are many, even they agree that this is a beautiful film. See it for the beatuy, but be aware that there is a LOT going on - you just have to be willing to put in the effort required to pull out the gems within. The DVD I veiwed had virtually no special features and no commentary track, but I have heard that new DVD editions of Kubricks films are coming out in late 2001 with some special features. Personally, I wouldn't bother waiting.
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Summary: The Greatest Science Fiction Film of the 1960's
Review: No science fiction film has been more successful in portraying mankind's potential space-borne future than "2001: A Space Odyssey". It is still among the most realistic portrayals of how human exploration of the Solar System may unfold. Sadly, that exploration has not kept the pace envisioned by Stanley Kubrick and his collaborator, noted science fiction writer and visionary Arthur C. Clarke. The film is based on Clarke's early short story "The Sentinel", a science fiction literary classic. Those who pay heed to negative comments by previous reviewers will miss a genuine cinematic masterpiece replete with vivid imagery and great special effects. Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood give credible performances as the American astronauts aboard the USS Discovery, though the finest performance is by the actor who is the voice of HAL (HAL 9000, the Discovery's computer.). Incidentally, "Star Trek" fans will remember Gary Lockwood for his portrayal of Lieutenant Commander Gary Mitchell, the ill fated first officer of the Starship Enterprise and friend of her captain, James T. Kirk, in the series' second pilot, "Where No Man Has Gone Before". "2001: A Space Odyssey" broke ground for the great space films that followed, including the "Star Wars" and "Star Trek" series, yet none of these have depicted space travel as realistically as this seminal work of science fiction cinema.
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Summary: A Masterpiece of Filmmaking
Review: I find it simply amazing to think that Stanley Kubrick was able to take our entire existance, past to future, and squeeze it into a two hour and twenty minute film. But he does it and it's wonderful. This film is a must for beginning filmmakers to show them how to effectively use visual storytelling. Kubrick uses a mixture of music, sounds, visuals, and extraordinary composition to portray one of the greatest science fiction films of our time. The film looks at our dependence on the tools we use and the power they have because of this dependence. Kubrick does this by taking us all the way back to the dawn of man and showing use the first time a tool was used. We flash ahead several thousands of years to find tools, computers, controlling everything we do. For anyone who hasn't seen this film, please do yourself a favor and watch it, you'll be blown away by it.
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