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Summary: Are you kidding?!
Review: ... The new DVD transfer of this film is excellent. A new interpositive was created for a theatrical release in Europe and this is probably the best this film has looked since it premiered in 1968. This is a VERY good disc.
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Summary: I never did understand the ending and never will, but...
Review: ...all that don't mean squat. Kubrick may or may not have been trying to be an interplanetary Fellini here, but the thing that took this flick over the top was always its technological plausibilty. Nobody cared in old-line sci-fi whether or not the spaceships or ray guns made any sense--the filmmaker or the viewer. That was even true with "Star Trek" and still is (and I don't regard myself a traitor to my Trekkie identity admitting that). But you look at "2001" hardware and can see where it was just around the corner. A lot of that gear can be built today by any one of half-a-dozen aerospace firms. Like those one-man pods ("open the pod bay doors, HAL"). The only reason they're not built by someone like General Dynamics today is that there's no mother ship like "Discovery" to use them on. Or that video phone call Dr. Floyd makes to his small daughter from the space station. There's software and peripheral hardware with those capabilities available for the computer you're reading this review through now. The way this store/ site keeps adding "departments", you'll be able to buy the stuff here. See what can happen in a generation? That's why I say (read my lips)--"tech-ni-cal plaus-i-bil-i-ty". That's why this flick kicked butt 30 years ago.
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Summary: A Very Boring Film and an Average DVD
Review: ...I find 2001 extremely boring and regretted buying the DVD. But then again, that's just me. Many of you that have seen the film will agree with me, and many of you will not...Guess what? I thought it was very boring. Some examples, the 3 minutes of darkness at the beginning of the film before the ape scene was unnecessary I thought and also the 2 minute or so darkness after the "Intermission". Others included the multi-color lights as Dave travels through the Infinite - way too long and boring. Of course, that's Mr. Kubrick's artistic expression; I'm just giving you my opinion of it. .... Some people always read too much into things. For example, there are people that look at abstract art and see the world, whereas I see just blobs of paint. The same goes for films. Does that make me wrong or stupid? I don't think so... I dare say that I'm quite intelligent and have a great attention span, but I still found 2001 very boring... Other notes on the DVD: Many times the sound effects is so loud, that you have to turn it down (the breathing in the space suit, the sounds of the ship, etc. - which are all necessary by the way). The problem this creates is that the dialog is then barely audible. I had to adjust the volume several times throughout the film and I never had to do that with other DVD's. My recommendation: If you've NEVER seen the film, do yourself a favor. Go rent it first at Blockbuster's. If you decide that you like it..., by all means, buy the DVD. But if not, you can save yourself the [money].
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Summary: a kubrick sci-fi masterpiece
Review: 100% wonderful. this is the best science fiction movie of all-time hands down. amazing in every respect from writing to directing to acting to cinematography to special effects to production design. i couldn't count the ways in how many rules this broke for the better. people owe kubrick their lives for this movie. well worth owning, especially the new remastered disc.
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Summary: Well-deserved sci-fi classic
Review: 1968 was still a year before Man landed on the moon. That was also the year that an American residing in England who went by the name of Stanley Kubrick gave us this wonderful masterpiece of sci-fi: 2001: A Space Odyssey, when Man finally makes it to Jupiter. Sadly, in real life, in 2001, Man hadn't even made it back to the moon, just doing routine space shuttle launches orbiting the earth and coming back in a few days. But back in 1968, everyone had a much more optimistic view of space travel, and so Kubrick decided to do a movie on the subject, with the help of Arthur C. Clarke. While the plot seems thin at times, the best thing to do is enjoy it visually. This movie is a far cry from those silly sci-fi films made some ten years before with flying saucers dangling on strings. The visuals are so realistic than when I first saw 2001 in the mid 1980s, I swore the film was made in the 1980s. The special effects were a lot more real that any sci-fi TV series contemporary to 1968, like Star Trek or Lost in Space. And that's how this movie became a big influence to how sci-fi would be made. There's enough said of this film already, but the one thing I really enjoy is the wonderful psychedelic light show near the end. It doesn't seem to mean anything, just that it's a real trip to see indeed. Douglas Trumball provided the special effects to this film, he's the same guy who also did the effects for Silent Running and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. I understand that 2001 might not be appreciated by everyone. It's not a blockbuster, high-paced Hollywood flick like Raiders of the Lost Ark or any of those other Indiana Jones flicks. It's not another one of those sci-fi flicks where they shoot aliens like it was a video game (Star Wars for example, or its TV counterpart, Battlestar Galactica). This, like Close Encounters of the Third Kind some nine years later, is a visual experience. 2001 does get lots of hype, and for a rare time, it really does live up to the hype. Rarely had I seen a movie so well made, or so much care put in to the visuals. So if you don't mind the slow pace, be sure to give this film a try.
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Summary: A visionary film
Review: 2001 A Space Odyssey is a profoundly made film of the future by Kubrick. This is a film that requires patience from the audience and each is left to decide on his or her own impressions by the end of the film. Although there is some great dialogue (especially by "Hal") words are not most lasting feature, in fact no words are spoken until at least 30 minutes or so into the film. It's visually stunning, even now thirty five years later, it hasn't failed to create an impression on new audiences. There have been some great reviews on this site, so I won't delve into the plotline. What is interesting is the contrast between another science fiction film from an equally great filmaker released around the same time- Solaris. To the Soviets, 2001 was the "capitalist" version of the future while Solaris was a humane, marxist version of what was to come. While they obviously got 2001 basically wrong, these two films together create a great contrast. Based loosely on an Arthur C. Clarke story The Sentinel, Kubrick reworked a large portion of it with Clarke to adapt it to the screen while trying to remain loyal to the written version. Especially impressive is the soundtrack- especially Strauss' "Also Spake Zarathustra". There are so many scenes in which are timeless: the monolith, the bone thrown into the air that becomes a space vehicle, the revolving space station, the conversation between the astronauts in the space pod, Hal's daisy song and the star gate sequence near the end. If you ever get the opportunity to see this in a theater take advantage of it. In my opinion this is Kubrick's best film and one of the best films ever made.
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Summary: Beyond Category!
Review: 2001 A Space Odyssey, is one of the most important films ever made. Made in 1968 by the genius Stanley Kubrick, in collaboration with the top minds in aerospace (Arthur Clarke et al.), has inspired generations of science-fiction fans, filmmakers, visual-effects specialists and more! Every time I've seen it (about 4 times now), it always sheds a new light on Artificial Intelligence and man's evolution. Space Odyssey was the first of it's kind, and is still highly relevant to this day (not to mention the totally psychedelic special effects that still astound). If you can find it, also check out "2001 and beyond." This excellent one hour documentary looks at the production and impact of `2001: A Space Odyssey.' A must for any afficionado.
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Summary: Best movie of all time
Review: 2001 bores some people, while I see incredible complexity of multiple stories overlaid: the origin of man's critical thinking, an optimistic view of the future, a version of how man's first contact would take place, as well as the failure of man to be able to control his machines. Any of these stories alone would be interesting; that they can all be drawn together remarkable. Classic Kubrick is the man/machine element as HAL takes over the ship, an element he explored in Dr. Strangelove also, and again with disasterous results. The vision of the sublime future (Ho Jo's and ATT on the space station) has always been the biggest lure to me, the wonderment of what could be if we would put more money in space than we do in military. The details of Kubrick movies are always immense, no part is accidental or unintentioned. Watch 2001 20 times, you will see things you never saw before. This is the best movie of all time in my book. It also is sad for several reasons, some profound: Kubrick is gone and so is his magic, the future he foresaw will probably never happen (at least for Pan Am it won't!), and unfortunately we will never be able to see this in Cinerama again. Enjoy the DVD, it's the best you will be able to do! One note to those who don't get it: read the book too, watch the movie again, and it will be a revelation.
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Summary: One of the finest films ever made.
Review: 2001 contains some of the most awe-inspiring footage ever shot. Kubrick was a still photographer for years, and it shows. No other film has explored space (as in area .... not outer-space) as 2001 did, and it is worth purchasing (but get the letter-box edition).
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Summary: Best film ever made
Review: 2001 has been my favorite film since the day I saw it. It's hard to explain to people that don't like it or haven't seen it why it is so good. It obviously doesn't follow today's sci-fi formulas. I think the main reason is because of the soundtrack. Though many of the scenes have been parodied to death, they are still breathtaking to watch. The film can be deceitful as it seems so simple and lethargic at times even though it is dealing with complex ideas. Kubrick doesn't hurry the plot or tell us what is going on as less skilled directors do. He doesn't need John Williams to write the score. He knows that at times silence can be more powerful than music and words. 2001 challenges the audience; it doesn't give anything away. That makes it worthy of being true art. Plus, like any good movie, it is enjoyable.
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