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 1968 PG / Scifi Drama Directed by: Starring: |
- The Ultimate Trip.
Summary Capsule
- An epic tale of human discovery that spans the centuries and stuff and doesn’t make a ton of sense, but it’s a “classic” so just have fun with it
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Kyle's Rating: Looks like we made it!
Kyle's Review: Just as there are those who believe in the trick with burning the candle to the Tommy album in Almost Famous, there are those who believe that taking acid for the entirety or for certain parts of 2001: A Space Odyssey will unlock your mind to the secrets of the universe and to the ultimate Meaning of Life. Awesome, eh?
See, the whack aspect of 2001 is there is like 45 minutes tops of true content. In the hands of a modern film director, heck, a modern television show director, 2001 could be a one-hour episode of some sci-fi series. Kubrick loves his long shots and communicating with lengthy shots and subtle visual cues. Great.
HOWEVER... Kubrick did some pretty excellent work here. I don’t get bored during 2001, even though its 139 minutes can feel like 931 minutes. Every scene is like those buttons on your VCR: they are actually quite deep and run far into your machine like a tooth. The story carries a lot of weight and requires genuine thought on your part. That’s what film should do, you know?
If you’ve never seen it, that’s pretty cool! If you’re near Los Angeles, try to find a showing of it on a big screen somewhere: my friend Luke claims he doesn’t have to owe a copy because when he’s ready to see it again it’s usually playing a theater somewhere (see: Speed). If you’re elsewhere, rent it and set aside some time and brain cells and just let it seep in and see what you think. It’s worth seeing, it really is. It’s one of those films that everyone, even morons, assume others have seen just because. Like The Godfather or There’s Something About Mary.
And if you can get your hands on the liner notes to the soundtrack, it’s worth it because those are pretty good. It filled in a lot of questions I had and enhanced my perceptions of what’s truly going on here. I still don’t really know, truth be told. But I have my ideas. I can’t share because I won’t tell you, but I know they’re mine. Maybe it’s all about stimulating our creativity and learning to evolve or die ourselves. Or maybe it’s an excuse for a lightshow the likes of which you won’t see outside of a planetarium or without herbal stimulants. Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke knew, and it’s possible they aren’t telling. But they left us the clues. Now it’s up to us.
Notice I barely talked about the plot at all. Oh well. I will say that it’s about evolution and that if you don’t believe humans evolved from the apes, you’re going to be really, really confused and/or angry with the first fifteen minutes or so. Sorry, creationists!
It is an amazing movie, though. I used to really dislike it, and actually hadn’t seen it in like a decade. But my friend is so into I decided to give it a whirl, even though I could only find a VHS rental copy. It’s good. It’s like the crazy work by Grant Morrison or the more abstract of famous abstract art pieces, where the more you read/watch it the more questions it stimulates and the more first date conversation fodder it produces. What is the black monolith all about? Who put it in the places it is found? How many are there? What’s with the long lightshow? If you can figure it out, e-mail me and let’s talk. That’s the gift Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke have given us. Thanks, guys!
 There. Now you know the end of the movie and don't have to waste your time getting there.
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- Stanley Kubrick worked for several months with effects technicians to come up with a convincing effect for the floating pen in the shuttle sequence. After trying many different techniques, without success, Kubrick decided to simply use a pen that was taped to a sheet of glass and suspended in front of the camera. In fact, the shuttle attendant can be seen to "pull" the pen off the glass when she takes hold of it.
- The television interviewer explains that gaps of seven minutes each were edited out of the broadcast as signals raced between Earth and the hugely distant Discovery crew. Given that the resulting interview ran about four minutes and there were 19 such gaps, the interview must have taken about 2 hours 17 minutes to tape.
- Evidence of Kubrick's attention to detail: there are visible replacement instructions for the explosive bolts in the ejection apparatus of the pods.
- The first line of dialogue is spoken by a stewardess, 25 minutes and 38 seconds into the film.
Is It Worth Staying Through End Credits?
Sure? You have to love that music, you know? The soundtrack is great!
Intermission! [some sources: IMDb]
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Douglas Rain (the voice of HAL) never visited the set.
According to Douglas Trumbull, the total footage shot was some 200 times the final length of the film.
Stanley Kubrick had several tons of sand imported, washed, and painted for the moon surface scenes. The monolith was originally to have been a black tetrahedron; however, it did not reflect light properly. Kubrick then decided to use a transparent cube; however, that proved to be too difficult to use, because of the reflections created by the studio lights. Next came a rectangular monolith cast from Lucite that looked unconvincing, and finally the familiar black slab.
HAL sings "A Bicycle Built for Two" ("Daisy") as he is shut down; this was the first song ever "sung" by a computer, a IBM 7094 computer at Bell Labs in 1961. Furthermore, the lyrics include the phrase "I'm half crazy.”
According to Isaac Asimov, Stanley Kubrick wanted to get an insurance policy from Lloyd's of London to protect himself against losses in the event that extraterrestrial intelligence were discovered before the movie was released. Lloyd's wouldn't insure him.
Poole (Gary Lockwood) was filmed wearing a helmet on the bridge of Discovery, because Stanley Kubrick initially had doubts over the scientific possibility of a person's survival for even an instant in a vacuum; however, data published at the time indicated that such survival was indeed possible, which allowed the Emergency Air Lock re-entry sequence to be filmed and for scenes to be shot of the astronauts without their helmets.
Much like The Wizard of Oz and "Dark Side of the Moon", it is said that the Pink Floyd song "Echoes" from the album Meddle can be perfectly synchronized with the "Jupiter & Beyond the Infinite" segment of the film.
This film was shot at MGM's Borehamwood Studios next door to where the TV series "The Prisoner" was being filmed. Prisoner star Patrick McGoohan borrowed some special effects footage of a starry sky for his episode "Chimes of Big Ben". This footage was not used in the broadcast version of the episode but is visible in an early edit that was later released on video.
The phrase "See you next Wednesday" is heard for the first time during the scene in which Poole receives birthday greetings from his parents. The phrase would become a trademark of director John Landis who would use it in many of his movies.
Originally, Stanley Kubrick hadn't planned to show the early man as a hairy monkey. He even had Stuart Freeborn to create a primitive, but more human-like make-up for the actors, but he couldn't find a way to photograph them in full length without getting in trouble, since they had to be naked.
Groovy Quotes
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Dr. Floyd: What's that? Chicken?
Dr. Bill Michaels: Something like that. Tastes the same anyway.
HAL: I am putting myself to the fullest possible use, which is all I think that any conscious entity can ever hope to do.
HAL: I've just picked up a fault in the AE35 unit. It's going to go 100% failure in 72 hours.
Dave Bowman: Hello, HAL do you read me, HAL?
HAL: Affirmative, Dave, I read you.
Dave Bowman: Open the pod bay doors, HAL.
HAL: I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that.
Dave Bowman: What's the problem?
HAL: I think you know what the problem is just as well as I do.
Dave Bowman: What are you talking about, HAL?
HAL: This mission is too important for me to allow you to jeopardize it.
Dave Bowman: I don't know what you're talking about, HAL?
HAL: I know you and Frank were planning to disconnect me, and I'm afraid that's something I cannot allow to happen.
Dave Bowman: Where the hell'd you get that idea, HAL?
HAL: Dave, although you took thorough precautions in the pod against my hearing you, I could see your lips move.
HAL: I know I've made some very poor decisions recently, but I can give you my complete assurance that my work will be back to normal. I've still got the greatest enthusiasm and confidence in the mission. And I want to help you.
HAL: I'm afraid. I'm afraid, Dave. Dave, my mind is going. I can feel it. I can feel it. My mind is going. There is no question about it. I can feel it. I can feel it. I can feel it. I'm a... fraid. Good afternoon, gentlemen. I am a HAL 9000 computer. I became operational at the H.A.L. plant in Urbana, Illinois on the 12th of January 1992. My instructor was Mr. Langley, and he taught me to sing a song. If you'd like to hear it I can sing it for you.
Dave Bowman: Yes, I'd like to hear it, HAL. Sing it for me.
HAL: It's called "Daisy." [sings while slowing down] Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do. I'm half crazy all for the love of you. It won't be a stylish marriage, I can't afford a carriage. But you'll look sweet upon the seat of a bicycle built for two.
Soundtrack Review
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Actually, it’s really excellent if you’re into that kind of classical music. And you should really own the piece “Also Sprach Zarathustra” for making mix cds for potential dates. You need it! The liner notes included with the cd are actually super-helpful for understanding the film, too. They helped answer a lot of my questions!
If you liked this movie, try these:
This review page was last updated on 10.25.05
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