2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY

Stanley Kubrick, dir.
1968, Color, 141 min.
MGM

Author's Commentary. All right. Nearly a year since my last post. That's gotta be annoying. I know I'm disappointed in myself. Hopefully, I can turn things around. I've determined that the only way to make this work is to loosen my writing style to the max. It just has to flow, and that first review, while it was eloquent and well thought out (if I do say so myself), it took forever, and it started to feel like homework by the time I was done. I need to develop my writing style organically, so here goes. A fresh approach.

There are few films that capture something primal and universal, something that can touch nearly anyone on at least one level. I think this is one of those films. The scope and grandeur of this film is timeless, and best of all, it's open for interpretation.

You can always learn something about a film by studying its director, but more than most film auteurs, the work of Stanley Kubrick opens a window into his personality. By the mid-60's, Kubrick had gained a larger-than-life presence in Hollywood, having won 4 Oscars with 1960's Spartacus, starring Kirk Douglas, and having stirred significant public controversy with the films that followed, Lolita and Dr. Strangelove. 2001 marks the point at which Kubrick's soon-to-be-notorious perfectionism had finally gained license to roam. Kubrick's is one of the more storied careers in cinema, and if you enjoy a good 'egomaniacal genius' story, his is not to be missed.

So it would seem that if you like movies, you'll find something to love about 2001, but to be sure, much of the film is less than accessible. Case in point: the absence of a plot synopsis in this review. I feel that I have an understanding of the filmmakers' intended meanings, only because I've assumed a lot and have taken courses discussing space exploration and the search for life in the universe. 2001 boasts one of the more controversial endings a film has ever had, and it's something you're bound to have mixed feelings about. If you can quell the desire for cohesion and resolution, and focus on an audiovisual experience, the film is a blast.

Fun Fact: Kubrick and Clarke's prediction that a yo-yo craze would profoundly
influence space station design in the late 20th century proved to be prophetic.

The central portion of the film boasts dialogue with the same charming '60s sensibility present in other Kubrick films like Dr. Strangelove and Lolita. Also from this era are the formal conventions of overture, intermission/entr'acte, and exit music, albeit as a highly unique, jarring style of musical score that for me only heightens the sense of otherworldliness that makes the experience so rich. Relatively little of the film's fake technology seems outlandish or outdated and some even aligns exactly with 21st century tech (widescreen monitors and video chat, for example). Similarly, the film's discussion of AI remains fresh and relevant by current standards. (by the way, if you're into AI, you should Google Ray Kurzweil. Just sayin'.)

Should I describe what a match shot is? Like with the bone and the space station? If you already know this scene in the film, you'll enjoy it again. If it's new to you, maybe it'll blow your mind. I hope so.

In short, what don't I like about this film? I like the music, but it can be pretty amorphous, and the ending is pretty inaccessible. You really have to make it up as you go. While the visuals in the final act are stunning, and unlike anything put to film before or since, they do throw the film off pace in a sense.

All in all, whether you end up loving this film or hating it, I have to say it is truly a film to see before you die. and I'm inclined to suggest you don't procrastinate on this one.