"I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that". This has got to be the most infamous line in the film, "2001: A Space Odyssey" released in 1968 and this line is still known by most today. I went to a theater where this was playing for one night at one time and, yes you won't be able to catch this on the large screen, but if you haven't seen this classic, rent or Netflix it soon. For a film that was considered to be the most misunderstood film of the 1960's, this film has been able to hold its own with a faithful audience that continues for decades. This mind-bending sci-fi symphony pushed the limits of narrative and special effects toward a meditation on technology and humanity. Written in four movements: 1) The dawn of man, 2) The monolith discovered on the moon, 3) Space travel on spacecraft Discovery on a Jupiter mission, and 4) Bowman's journey to "Jupiter and beyond the infinite", this is a trek of major proportions about the beginning of man to the infinite end of what we know as real.
Sometime in the far distant past, someone or something placed a large monolith on Earth (presumably elsewhere throughout the universe as well). Then someone or thing enabled mankind to reach the moon's surface, where yet another monolith is found, one that signals the monolith placers that mankind has gotten to this point thus far. Now a race begins between computer, HAL 9000 (Douglas Rain) and human, Dr. Dave Bowman (Keir Dullea) to reach the monolith placers. The winner will achieve the next step of what are things to come, whatever that may be.
Others to round out the cast are Gary Lockwood as Dr. Frank Poole, William Sylvester as Dr. Heywood R. Floyd, Daniel Richter as Moon-Watcher, Leonard Rossiter as Dr. Andrei Smyslov, Margaret Tyzack as Elena, Robert Beatty as Dr. Ralph Halvorsen, Sean Sullivan as Dr. Bill Michaels, Frank Miller as Mission Controller, Bill Weston as Astronaut, Glenn Beck as Astronaut, Edwina Carroll as Aries-IB Stewardess, Mike Lovell as Astronaut and Martin Amor as Interviewer.
This was brilliantly directed by Stanley Kubrick ("Paths of Glory" '57, "Spartacus" '60, "Lolita" '63, "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb" '64, "A Clockwork Orange" '71, "Barry Lyndon" '75, "The Shining" '80, "Full Metal Jacket" '87, "Eyes Wide Shut" '99) plus others. His subtleness in how his actors are portrayed is not only realistic but also makes a statement that high emotion doesn't always need to be used in a sci-fi film to be effective. The director was a consummate professional and it's sorrowful that he will not be able to entertain us with his incredibly well crafted film since his demise. This was eerily and quirkily written by Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke based on the story "The Sentinel" by Clarke. Again, Kubrick was an incredibly gifted writer and this film was no exception. Of all the sci-fi films out there (and there is a plethora), this film virtually stands out way beyond the rest with originality and creativity.
I'm not a huge fan of the sci-fi genre, but this movie not only is my favorite sci-fi film, but also one of my favorite films of all time. So much so that when I was in college in the 1970's, I studied architecture and my architectural seminar and project was to redraw the sets of this film and in making slides and presented it orally, I gave my explanation of how the film was created architecturally. It was certainly a labor of love. The special photographic effects that were supervised by Douglas Trumball, Wally Veevers, Con Pederson and Tom Howard were actually given a special Academy Award for their incredible creativity. This was amazing considering the Academy hadn't even had that category back then. When the film was released in 1968 it was presented in both Cinerama and Super Panavision 70 which was unusual considering only a small handful of films were presented in this format at that time.
Surely, as I mentioned above, you won't be able to see this on the large screen, but if you have a large screen TV or know someone who does, rent or Netflix this film and enjoy this gem. Watching this film is not to see it but to experience it. Grab the popcorn and enjoy! I know I did.
Out of 4 Stars: 4 Rated: G 149mins.
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