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Summary: Terribly poor dvd version
Review: I saw this in a friends dorm room. The ghosts and flickering images were really annoying. Also they took out some lines in the movie. MGM really hit a sour note with this dvd!
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Summary: The Dawn of Man
Review: It is important to recall the book. In the beginning of the movie the "Ape Man" is a vegetarian: starving. The "monolith" instructs the Ape to: 1. kill meat for survival 2. use tools for killing and dominating his environment. The means of survival and the use of tools leads inevitably to Man's experience in Space. Man's voyage to the Moon, Jupter and beyond fullfils the Alien experiment to impregnate the "Dawn of Man" with knowledge, power, and desire. Enjoy
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Summary: A five star plus! A must-see!
Review: Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece will take you more than a lifetime to discover the depth of his journey through time and space.Forget about CGI's; it's the intelligence and sheer wonder and joy, the way Kubrick invites you to think, think!, about man's past and future. First of all: see it on a big, big screen. And only after that, think about laserdiscs and dvd's.
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Summary: Essential viewing for the human race
Review: I love this movie, and I love the fact that I can't really explain why I love it. Without a doubt the most visceral, thought-provoking, consciousness-expanding narrative ever committed to film. I teach eleventh-grade English, and I show this movie ostensibly to teach the students about theme and ambiguity, but really I just want to make sure they don't enter adulthood without sitting through it at least once...and it is so satisfying to see them won over by a movie with practically no dialogue, no big action scenes, and no satisfying closure. This movie frustrates your expectations at every turn, and by doing so gives you the viewing experience of a lifetime.
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Summary: Kubrick's Grand "Mythological Documentary"
Review: Oh, the sheer genius of The Man! Leave it to Kubrick to redefine not only the medium of film, but the genre of science fiction as well. This is, without doubt, the greatest science fiction film, as well as one of the greatest films (regardless of genre), ever made. The grandeur and scope of this film are incredible! I'm at a loss for words, actually. Perhaps this is appropriate, for how does one describe what is essentially a non-verbal, visceral experience? 2001 is a mythopoeic exploration of human evolution, from the birth of man's sentience to his redefinition of time and space. It is a religious film for aethists in the technological age. The film glories in the wonders of the Newtonian/Cartesian universe man has fashioned for himself (eg the spaceship ballet to the elegant waltz of Strauss; the pristine, deathly beauty of the Discovery), while at the same time agitating for expansion beyond those boundries of linear logic (eg Bowman's journey and his subsequent evolution into the "Star Child"). This is also a warning that humans are stagnating, that we are failing to continue to grow and evolve (why do think Heywood Floyd is such a boring bureaucrat when confronted with the most momentous find in history?), becoming complacent with our tools (this is why the bone thrown by the protohuman jump cuts into a space ship; the ship is no more than a high tech "bone/tool"). It is an examination as to human identity as well, what makes us human (ie sentient?) For surely HAL has intelligence, self awareness, even emotions. And the Monolith, that towering symbol of aliens, the unknown, the abstract, universal forces, the tao, the unknowable, God even?? And if Kubrick seems to tell us little, it's because that fits in with the thematics of the story: we, as viewers, are becoming too complacent (like Floyd) with the well defined cinematic narrative (and by extension, any knowledge that is spoon fed to us, which is, essentially, our universe now), our own "bone/tool" perhaps, and failing to grow and expand. This film is supposed to make you THINK FOR YOURSELF. There need not be concrete, scientific explanations for all that occurs, we must break free of our own linear, confined logic and become Star Children like Bowman. 2001, the film, is the audience's Monolith. I would recommend not reading the accompanying novel (I know, I know, I can hear the boo's and hisses already), but Clarke and Kubrick have very different worldviews, and the film and the book reflect this. I believe that much of the film's mythological elements are lost to the book in its straight forward, far too explanatory nature (and if any of you doubt that the film has such elements, well Stan the Man has said it himself: he called 2001 a "mythological documentary" and said that MGM bankrolled a $50 million "religious film". Further, he has refused to discuss its thematics. Why? He wants us to THINK FOR OURSELVES). So now you know. Watch this film and think about it.
Rating:
Summary: Don't buy this DVD - Poor Quality!!
Review: After having seen some excellent quality DVDs I have to say that 2001 has been done a great injustice. This DVD is a VERY POOR transfer with visible artifacts in many of the deep space scenes. I agree with the other reviewers in that MGM should remaster and re-release this DVD.
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Summary: I'm extraordinarily mediocre on this film
Review: Don't expect an action movie. There are no explosions, or take-offs for that matter. It's a fun look at what the future was like way in the past. "Space Opera" is the best description I've heard. The dynamics are what struck me the most. Half the time, the sound of the disk spinning (which I'd never heard before) seemed loud, then when the music comes up, you'd be hard-pressed to hear a train go by outside the window. I won't say the sound was terrific, but at least there is some surround and real bass. HAL is in your head.
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Summary: The Original Science-Fiction Epic
Review: A superb, shining, intelligent work, 2001 was a first in many, many areas; for example the absense of sound in space scenes is the first time a director acknowledged that sound cannot exist in a vaccuum. Pioneering FX work that is still effective 30 years later. A fine cast, a gripping conflict. Critics will complain that the prologue and elilogue are abstract and unintelligible; reading Clarke's original short story "The Sentinel" gives these beautiful scenes their context. Even among such modern greats as Star Wars and Alien, 2001 remains, for me, the greatest Science Fiction film, and among the great epic films, of all time.
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Summary: The masterpiece of masterpieces
Review: Stanley Kubrick is a master of his trade. His films are void of cliches, strong to the point of the story, intelligent in every detail, correct in technical facts. Every time Spielberg puts out a have-it-all bleeding-heart soap thing - I go to Kubrick for another view of 2001, Clockwork Orange, Full metal jacket, Barry Lyndon ... and 2001 is the masterpiece of masterpieces.
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Summary: Absolutely Wonderful
Review: 2001 is an unbelievable film and is an example of science fiction's true potential, combining smart dialogue and an interesting plot with reserved action. This film is well worth the money invested. I wholeheartedly recommend it.
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