"2001 - A Space Odessy"

[kythe]

I finally saw the film for "2001: A Space Odyssey". Now I can see why my brother refers to it as "2001: A Screen Saver". It's a bit drawn out, though I agree with others that it is brilliant when it comes to effective use of visuals and sounds.

I still like the book much better, especially the ending. The book explains things, where the movie really leaves you guessing at what could be going on. I know they were written concurrently, or if anything that the book was written for the movie. But I'm glad to have read the book first, because otherwise I would have been pretty clueless as to the significance of most of the movie.

I still rank the book among the most intriguing, thought-provoking stories I've ever read.

[Steve Jordan]

It was also Kubrick's way of showing the audience what space travel in the near-future will really be like, in a manner more realistic than any other movie to-date, with the possible exception of Mission to Mars. "Long and drawn-out" is, I think, an apt description of what going to the planets will be like for Man, and Kubrick illustrated that beautifully.

I agree, reading the book first does help the viewer to understand some of Kubrick's more "subjective" moments better.

[iansales]

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

It was also Kubrick's way of showing the audience what space travel in the near-future will really be like, in a manner more realistic than any other movie to-date, with the possible exception of Mission to Mars.

Oh, I don't know about that. Wasn't Destination Moon suposed to be as accurate and realistic as the science of the time could make it?

[j. d. worthington]

Originally Posted by iansales

Oh, I don't know about that. Wasn't Destination Moon suposed to be as accurate and realistic as the science of the time could make it?

That was my understanding, too, Ian.

I do think that 2001 did well with capturing the feeling of isolation in space, especially with such a long mission -- this tiny bit of life in a huge can floating in the void. And, of course, if you see it on a big screen, it really isn't particularly slow or boring... it's a heady experience -- absolutely breathtaking (and no, I don't mean one of these metroplexes... I mean a BIG screen, such as it was intended for). I'd also say that Kubrick captured the alien feel of going through the Stargate rather well... not to mention the alienage (and alienation) of a genuine first encounter, which really is likely to be more alien (should it ever happen) than we can quite comprehend....

[Steve Jordan]

Originally Posted by iansales

Oh, I don't know about that. Wasn't Destination Moon suposed to be as accurate and realistic as the science of the time could make it?

Good catch, Ian... Destination Moon was supposed to be as accurate as possible for the time, enlisting some of the top scientists of the day for technical guidance. Only time will tell which movie, 2001, Destination Moon or Mission to Mars, turn out to be more accurate (aside from date references, of course).

Personally, I have my serious doubts that we as a race will ever meet aliens that we can actually communicate with... we are probably more likely to discover an alien species that we can only study, possibly experiment with or manipulate for our own ends, but not relate with... alien microbes or simple life forms well below our level of intelligence or awareness.

And interestingly, 2001 shows us exactly this, but from the aliens' point of view... we are the species that is so far below the aliens as to be incapable of communicating with, or even understanding, them. As a result, they watch us, they experiment, and they manipulate us, while we have no comprehension of what is really going on. Any other movie would have the uber-geek scientist figuring out the alien technology (within 90 minutes) and giving us the upper hand over the aliens... in 2001, we are not likely to gain the upper hand over aliens as far beyond us as we are to bacteria.

That rare but elegantly-executed turnabout is what marks 2001 as so unique, even beyone Kubrick's visualizations or debated accuracy.