2001: A Space Odyssey (film)
"2001: A Space Odyssey" is a 1968 science fiction film directed by Stanley Kubrick, celebrated as one of the greatest films in cinematic history. The film explores profound themes regarding humanity's evolution and its place in the universe, departing from traditional narrative storytelling with minimal dialogue and groundbreaking special effects. It begins in prehistoric Africa, where hominids encounter a mysterious black monolith that catalyzes their development into tool users. The narrative then transitions to a future space voyage involving a crew and a sentient computer named HAL 9000, whose malfunction raises questions about trust and reliance on technology.
The film's use of classical music, such as György Ligeti's compositions and Strauss's "Thus Spake Zarathustra," enhances the emotional and philosophical weight of the visuals, contributing to its iconic status. Despite mixed initial reviews, it garnered a significant following and became a cultural phenomenon, recognized for its artistic achievements and nominated for multiple Academy Awards, winning one for Best Visual Effects. "2001: A Space Odyssey" remains a critical touchstone in film history, influencing countless filmmakers and being included in various "greatest films" lists over the years. Its legacy continues to be celebrated for its ambition and visual storytelling.
2001: A Space Odyssey (film)
- Release Date: 1968
- Director(s): Stanley Kubrick
- Writer(s): Arthur C. Clarke ; Stanley Kubrick
- Principal Actors and Roles: Keir Dullea (Dr. David Bowman); Gary Lockwood (Dr. Frank Poole); William Sylvester (Dr. Heywood R. Floyd)
- Book / Story Film Based On: The Sentinel by Arthur C. Clarke
2001: A Space Odyssey is a 1968 science fiction film that is widely regarded as one of the greatest movies ever made. The epic film uses the science fiction genre to do nothing less than present a philosophical interpretation of the place of humanity in the universe. Whereas most movies tell a story about characters interacting or pursuing some objective, 2001: A Space Odyssey is about the journey of humanity from the dawn of consciousness into a transcendental future in which we are as one with all of existence. In the process, director Stanley Kubrick ignores standard narrative techniques, barely using dialogue to tell the story, and pioneering special effects techniques that remain almost unmatched, despite the fact that his images were produced without the help of computer animation.
Although a score was written for the movie, Kubrick decided that he preferred the classical pieces he had been using as sonic placeholders as the film was edited. It was a tremendous decision. The use of "Requiem for Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Two Mixed Choirs and Orchestra" by György Ligeti, followed by Richard Strauss’ "Thus Spake Zarasthustra" to accompany the ascent of humanity from the rest of the animals is unforgettable. Using "The Blue Danube Waltz" by Johann Strauss as the aural backdrop for the approach of a commuter space shuttle to the docking port on a space station is likewise brilliant, lending the scene a stately elegance that movie music would be unlikely to achieve.
The movie took more than four years of concentrated effort to produce and cost about $11 million, which was a large investment in 1968. Its release was met with poor reviews, but it was a big hit with younger audiences. It became almost a cult experience and ended the year as the second-highest-grossing film, even though it did not come out until April.
Plot
The film begins on the plains of Africa, following the daily lives of a group of hominids. One morning they awaken to find a mysterious black monolith in their midst. To piercing vocal accompaniment they examine the monolith as the sun crests above the object.
One of the hominids recalls the monolith as he handles a femur from a pile of bleached bones. He discovers its utility as a weapon, metaphorically the "Dawn of Man."
When his group reclaims a water hole after killing another hominid, he throws the bone into the air. It rolls over and moves off-screen, turning into a commercial space shuttle millions of years later. On board, a scientist is traveling to an orbiting space station en route to the moon. With very little dialogue and realistic touches like a call home from the scientist to his small daughter on earth, a mystery on the moon is alluded to but never defined.
The scientist conducts a meeting on the moon, then joins a team investigating a manufactured object that was buried beneath the moon’s surface four million years earlier. It is a monolith identical to the one that inspired the apes. As the scientists study it, the sun crests above the object and seems to set off a screeching radio signal.
The next scene is aboard a ship bound for Jupiter, eighteen months later. Two conscious scientists are aboard with three others frozen in cryogenic animation. HAL 900, the ship’s sentient computer, controls all ship functions. HAL has a human voice and interacts with the scientists. The men have complete faith in HAL—until the computer misdiagnoses a problem.
HAL detects a component that is about to fail, and the men use an EVA pod to retrieve it from the outside of the ship. But there is nothing wrong with the component. They climb into a pod within the ship so HAL cannot hear them discussing what to do, but in a chilling sequence the audience realizes that HAL is reading their lips. When one of the scientists is outside the ship, HAL kills him.
When the other human retrieves the body, HAL will not let him back inside. HAL says their plan to shut him down will jeopardize the mission. The scientist eventually gets aboard and turns off the higher levels of HAL’s consciousness. HAL pleads for life, but the scientist persists.
Once the computer is no longer sentient, the scientist learns about the monolith on the moon. It sent a powerful radio signal toward Jupiter, and it is the scientist’s mission to investigate.
He discovers another monolith in orbit around Jupiter and follows it in an EVA pod. This takes the man through some kind of vortex, perhaps a wormhole in space-time, eventually landing the pod in an oddly sterile bedroom. He observes himself in different places within the room and different ages, finally very old and lying in a bed, apparently dying. The old man reaches for the black monolith at the foot of his bed and becomes a fetus inside an amniotic sac, a Starchild in space who studies the Earth as "Thus Spake Zarathustra" again blasts from the soundtrack.
Significance
Although critics generally did not understand the movie, 2001: A Space Odyssey became such a cult hit in the late 1960s that during one screening a young man supposedly leaped up, shouted "It’s God!" and crashed through the theater’s screen. It was nominated for four Oscars but won only for best special effects.
The Library of Congress added it to the National Film Registry in 1991. In two polls of critics conducted by Sight & Sound magazine in 2002 and 2012 it was listed as the sixth-best film of all time. The same magazine also polled 358 directors in 2012, who placed it second behind the 1953 Japanese film Tokyo Story. In 2010 The Moving Arts Film Journal ranked it first.
Today, the film is considered one of the greatest and most influential movies ever made. Along with Dr. Strangelove, it is considered one of the crowning achievements in Stanley Kubrick’s legendary career as a director, one of his two great masterpieces.
Awards and nominations
Won
- Academy Award (1968) Best Visual Effects
Nominated
- Academy Award (1968) Best Director: Stanley Kubrick
- Academy Award (1968) Best Screenplay (Original): Arthur C. Clarke, Stanley Kubrick
- Academy Award (1968) Best Art Direction-Set Direction
Bibliography
Bizony, Piers. The Making of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. Cologne: Taschen, 2015. Print.
Duncan, Paul. Stanley Kubrick: The Complete Films. Cologne: Taschen, 2011. Print.
Falsetto, Mario. Stanley Kubrick: A Narrative and Stylistic Analysis. Greenwood: Praeger, 2001. Print.
Kolker, Robert, ed. Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey: New Essays. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2006. Print.
Kuberski, Philip. Kubrick’s Total Cinema: Philosophical Themes and Formal Qualities. London: Bloomsbury, 2012. Print.
Ruchti, Ulrich, Sybil Taylor and Alexander Walker. Stanley Kubrick, Director: A Visual Analysis. New York: Norton, 2000. Print.
Schwam, Stephanie. The Making of 2001: A Space Odyssey. New York: Modern Library, 2000. Print.