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2001 A Space Odyssey (1968)
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Storyline
The highly respected and often cited milestone in Science Fiction cinema. Director Stanley Kubrick takes us into the future, into outer space and aboard a spacecraft that's controlled by a seemingly trustworthy computer named HAL. |
Backdrops
The Director
 Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick (July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career. Kubrick was noted for the scrupulous care with which he chose his subjects, his slow method of working, the variety of genres he worked in, his technical perfectionism, and his reclusiveness about his films and personal life. He maintained almost complete artistic control, making movies according to his own whims and time constraints, but with the rare advantage of big-studio financial support for all his endeavors.
Kubrick's films are characterized by a formal visual style and meticulous attention to detail—his later films often have elements of surrealism and expressionism that eschews structured linear narrative. His films are repeatedly described as slow and methodical, and are often perceived as a reflection of his obsessive and perfectionist nature. A recurring theme in his films is man's inhumanity to man. While often viewed as expressing an ironic pessimism, a few critics feel his films contain a cautious optimism when viewed more carefully.
The film that first brought him attention to many critics was Paths of Glory, the first of three films of his about the dehumanizing effects of war. Many of his films at first got a lukewarm reception, only to be years later acclaimed as masterpieces that had a seminal influence on many later generations of film-makers. Considered especially groundbreaking was 2001: A Space Odyssey noted for being both one of the most scientifically realistic and visually innovative science-fiction films ever made while maintaining an enigmatic non-linear storyline. He voluntarily withdrew his film A Clockwork Orange from England, after it was accused of inspiring copycat crimes which in turn resulted in threats against Kubrick's family. His films were largely successful at the box-office, although Barry Lyndon performed poorly in the United States. Living authors Anthony Burgess and Stephen King were both unhappy with Kubrick's adaptations of their novels A Clockwork Orange and The Shining respectively, and both authors were engaged with subsequent adaptations. All of Kubrick's films from the mid-1950s to his death except for The Shining were nominated for Oscars, Golden Globes, or BAFTAs. Although he was nominated for an Academy Award as a screenwriter and director on several occasions, his only personal win was for the special effects in 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Even though all of his films, apart from the first two, were adapted from novels or short stories, his works have been described by Jason Ankeny and others as "original and visionary". Although some critics, notably Andrew Sarris and Pauline Kael, frequently disparaged Kubrick's work, Ankeny describes Kubrick as one of the most "universally acclaimed and influential directors of the postwar era" with a "standing unique among the filmmakers of his day."
Description above from the Wikipedia article Stanley Kubrick, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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User Reviews
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2001: A Space Odysey (1968) - Stanley Kubrick
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Plot - We follow mankind at various points in it's evolution as it encounters a series of mysterious monoliths and its effect on them...
Thoughts - An astonishing piece of film making. There are moments in the film that you just stare at and wonder how Kubrick worked the mechanics of filming such a scene, the meticulous attention to detail, the audacity to frame some of these images, at times more like a work of art than anything else. The classical score used is perfectly in synch with the on-screen drama; spaceships 'waltz' around to the tones of Blue Danube as they dock, the iconic Also Sprach Zarathustra is wonderfully used in the uncovering of a truth or discovery. Kubrick's use of symbolism, such as the 'emerging from the womb' metaphor that occurs throughout is one that, as the message of rebirth or progression of knowledge of man as he encounters the monoliths in the various ages, is fascinating. It is intriguing that Kubrick has man's first 'intelligent' action be to learn how to kill more effectively; a rather pessimistic view of humanity. There are numerous ideas in this film that will make you think long after the film has finished.
If there is one reservation I would have with the film is that it is emotionally cold. Ironically it is HAL, an advanced computer, that really moves the audience's sympathies. The rest are either too distant (the apes) or surprisingly robotic, talking in crisp emotionless tones (the humans). Is it Mankind's destiny to evolve to be more 'machine-like', more logical? Certainly that is the idea Kubrick puts out and ironically has the 'machine' act as a counterpoint by acting more emotional and irrational, like an early stage hu...
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reviewed by Queequeg (Filmaster.com) on the 20th of January 2012
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I enjoyed this film when I first saw it (on DVD), but I didn't love it like I did Kubrick's other masterpiece, A Clockwork Orange. Then I saw A Space Odyssey on the big screen and was blown away. No other sf movie comes close to its beautiful and arresting visuals and its epic yet intimate scope.