| Product: |
2001: A Space Odyssey (DVD) |
| Date: |
26/10/01 (76 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Intriguing and complex movie
Disadvantages: Slow at times
Stanley Kubrick is one of the most controversial directors of all time; in his pursuit for a perfect movie he has produced films like 'ClockWork Orange' - which I believe is still banned in the UK but is freely available in the US, and Dr Strangelove.
His style is unique in that he often delves deeper into a story, both philosophically and psychologically often leaving the viewer confused and yet at the same time mesmerized.
With 2001 Kubrik takes a fairly mundane storyline, adds much grandeur to the movie, and then blows us away with the metaphoric journey through man's insignificance.
<The Movie>
From the very first scene where a group of primitive apes are equal to every other life form, and essentially have the same instincts and thirst for survival we immediately realize that Kubrick is concentrating on the reality of what man is, and his place in world order.
The very next day when a strange black monolith appears in the ape's water hole, we see initial fear of this strange structure, then an inquisitiveness as one ape touches the monolith. Seemingly this has a profound effect on the apes as they suddenly realize the potential of tools, and begin to destroy a rival clan of apes by using bones as weapons.
What follows is probably one of the most famous scenes in the history of sci-fi movies, and perhaps many other genres. An ape throws a bone into the air and as we follow its flight we leap forward in time, as it becomes a space station. This signifies that the simple beginnings of using tools have had a profound effect on mankind and essentially have led to all the technological advances. The previous scenes also make the comment that this tool use was not natural and was due to an unknown artifact.
As we are transformed to the future we see Dr Floyd traveling to a US space station to investigate a strange occurrence at a moon excavation. The afore mentioned monolith has resurf
aced on the moon, and somehow seems to be sending a message back to Jupiter.
Later, in order to investigate further, Dr Bowman and Dr Poole lead a five-man mission to Jupiter. During the journey the other astronauts enter hibernation leaving the running of the ship to HAL 9000, an incredibly advanced computer that seems incapable of making mistakes. However, seemingly against all odds HAL appears to make a mistake leading to Dr Bowman and Dr Poole deciding to shut down the computer as it may eventually put the mission in jeopardy. (Some argue that the movie doesn't actually say that HAL makes a mistake - and others argue that HAL is affected by the monolith - Kubrick lets you make your own decisions on this).
The doctors have a conversation about this in an area that they believe to be safe from Hal's ever present presence - unfortunately for them, the super computer manages to lip read the conversation and thus a battle between man and computer ensues.
***** This part may spoil the movie for some so skip to the 'My Opinion' section if you want to watch the movie****
Although much of the film concentrates on the efforts of the crew to shut down HAL, the underlying story is more about Dr Bowman's journey. Dr Bowman manages to make it to Jupiter, entering something that only really can be described as a wormhole. What follows is a long sequence of flashbacks through his and mans history which are not particularly in any order and at times do not make sense - the culmination of this journey is to find himself in a very clean and clinical room which seemingly has no entrances or egresses.
Dr Bowman then ages and dies as he lives out his life in mundanity, only to be reborn as the 'star-child'. This is where everyone, including myself became very confused! This is also the end of the movie!
<My Opinion>
This movie is very long, almost two and a half hours. Kubrick seems t
o attempt to provide us with a history lesson as we progress through the movie. Much of the movie concentrates on the vastness of space and the grandeur of space travel, with many scenes being 'larger than life' and highly orchestrated with classical music.
The combination of visual grandeur and superb classical orchestrated music is excellent, although some will argue that it makes the movie very boring at times. I generally concur with this feeling but understand that Kubrick was trying to convey a feeling of magnificence only to tear it down later by putting 'mankind' in a sterile, simple room.
The plot with Hal is very suspenseful but isn't really the main focus of the movie. What Kubrick attempts to show is the insignificance of man and our place in the Universes scheme of things.
Kubrick has created a movie (or perhaps one of the longest Music Videos!) that does not spoon-feed you; it allows you to make your own conclusions about what Kubrick really is talking about.
Many were confused by the last half an hour or so as it was essentially nothing to do with the first part of the movie. What Kubrick was trying to convey is open to debate; in my opinion the movie was about man's evolution, and how the creation of 'star-child' is simply the next phase of man's evolution. The movie also makes the point that man's evolution is artificial, as almost every important evolutionary step is controlled by this strange monolith.
Although this movie is a sci-fi movie with spaceships, astronauts, planets, moons, monoliths etc, it really is more of a metaphysical journey for man.
This movie will not appeal to many, as it is too surreal and at times simply to slow and boring. Many will perhaps enjoy the book (Arthur C Clarke) more as it is more logical and does not have the sequences that essentially slow the movie down.
<Conclusion>
This movie will not app
eal to many, but its concept and production make it stand out as a classic peace of movie making. It is a movie for moviemakers and not particularly for an audience.
There are many classic scenes in it that are memorable and show the unique talents of Kubrik. These alone make the movie watchable for me.
Summary:
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Last comment:
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pje - 27/10/01 Excellent op. If I remember rightly the book makes it clear that HAL malfunctions because his programming has left him with conflicting priorities, or something like that. By the way, A Clockwork Orange isn't banned anymore. It was withdrawn at Kubrick's request and it has been reissued following his death. |
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