janicebowman
What can I say about a film which is often considered the greatest ever made? 2001 was a breakthrough in technology, theme and content and is quite possible the finest science fiction movie ever made. To think that this movie inspired everything from Star Wars to Alien and Close Encounters.... science fiction owes a huge debt to Stanley Kubrick and 2001. If you haven't already then please go and watch this film. You won't notice the almost 3-hour runtime I can assure you that much.
Wes_Dean
2001: A Space Odyssey is a peculiar movie, no, peculiar is too negatively connoted and does not measure to this masterpiece; 2001: A Space Odyssey is a unique, transcendental, mind-blowing experience.For it to be one of the most memorable cinematic moments of your life, you have to watch it in certain conditions. I personally first watched this movie on DVD, in my couch, on a TV, with a normal sound system. The memory I recall from my first viewing was good, although it didn't meet my expectations. Because when you see everyone saying that this movie is a masterpiece, unique in its genre (what I actually said in the beginning) you then have high expectations and you do not only expect for the movie to be good, you are also hoping for emotions, sensations you can only feel while viewing this movie. Unfortunately the emotion, the little je ne sais quoi, didn't come to me nor to my living-room. But the enigma of the whole movie started to germinate in me, I wanted to understand what I had witnessed. However, the little seed only germinated and never blossomed.The day Kubrick's masterpiece blossomed was the day where I finally went to see it where it should be watched and where all movies exist, live and die, in that dark room where the simple act of pushing a door and sitting down gives you the power of becoming invisible to others and yet embark on a journey with anyone who decided to sit in the dark with you. Yes, the movie theater. I can still remember the state I was in when the credits started rolling: shaking like a leaf, my blood whirring through my entire body, hands shaking, leg muscles tensing up; I had just experienced a whole new feeling. The silences (sometimes boring) didn't of course miraculously disappear, but I can tell you, just changing sound system, I rediscovered this film. I recall hearing about a nun that would've watched the movie and never experienced such a religious trance, she felt close to God. I can understand her, although I am not religious at all, this movie has this inexplicable power, puts you under a spell.Kubrick also confirms by that movie, once again, that he is a master to his art, he excels and imposes his visionary style and ideas that are still relevant today. But to fully have a thorough 2001 experience, you should watch it at least two times but you must watch it at least once in a movie theater. So enjoy the fact that there are rereleases of the movie the 50th anniversary to discover something that is yet unknown to your emotional spectrum.
shubhamsrivastavalu
Now, this comes with a change. The casting, screening and acting is of a different yet interesting tone. This is not an action packed space movie with superflous wars and ships rather an insight into the actual working of the space crew and the issues they face. The movie centres around finding the source of the monolith that is said to be the harbinger of evolution of humankind. Various missions are send to Moon, Jupiter for understanding the genesis but all turns out futile.
In the detailing part the movie shows the way the voyages work and the practical ways of working and problems faced by the crew members yet subordinated for the media sake. The movie turns upside down when the conflict arises with the 6th member (the supercomputer) which is at the brain of the ship. The conflict leads to victimization of the crew members with one of the them (Bowman) struggling against the AI. He finds a way into the ship somehow to deactivate the computer.
The movie has many philosophical dimensions probably aimed at explaining the limited resources and intelligence of the human in understanding the deep secrets of the universe. It is likely that the movie outlines the depth of formation of universe and that man is still small whatever small accomplishments it may have made. At the same time unreliability of the AI is also signaled.
Thanks for such a wonderful movie. Blessed to watch it. Miss it and you miss a lot!!
praymondmurray
There is not much new I can say that hasn't alredy been said in regards to the plot points and themes of Kubrick's magnum opus, so I won't even try.What I will say is that I saw this film at a cinema in Belfast where it is being screened to celebrate the 50th anniversary of its original theatrical release.I have seen 2001 many times on a TV screen and always enjoyed it. How can you not love a film with HAL? But seeing it at a cinema was a completely different experience and I was simply astonished by what I saw. Here is a film 50 years old and it looked mint. The set pieces are incredible and all I could do was marvel at what I was looking at. It really gave me a new appreciation for what Stanley Kubrick and everyone involved in the production crew achieved. As I said already, I have nothing new to say regarding the overall themes of 2001: A Space Odyssey but one thing I will do is recommend that if it is being screened in a cinema near you, seize the opportunity to watch this masterpiece on the biggest stage of all, where it belongs.
