Overrated

Rating: 3/10 (6 May 1999)

I just saw this movie for the first time for a class, and I have to say I was disappointed. I've been told that some of this stems from my having read Arthur C. Clarke's book, which has nothing to do with the film. But I enjoyed the book and had trouble sitting through this movie. I can certainly see why it was considered a 'drug movie' in the 70's. It has a lot of the same elements of the music of the period - long, drawn out, surreal sections of time full of discordant images (or sounds). It is most likely art and as such, appreciated or hated by its viewers. But as a movie, I thought it stunk. As a storyteller, it stunk. I'm sure people will try to explain the film's cosmic beauty or underlying amazingness on a level I will never understand, or tell me that it's precisely because it bored me to tears and was mostly incoherent and repetitive that makes it great. Maybe I shouldn't have read the book first. But I can not imagine ever wanting to see this movie again.