The Greatest Film Ever Made.

Rating: 10/10 (14 May 2010)

In the year 2000, a black monolith of "unknown descent" is discovered on the Moon. Though the monolith has been submerged beneath the Moon's surface for millennia, unusual geological circumstances lead the scientists to believe the object was planted there by a foreign agency. Upon closer inspection, the object emits a piercing signal that is traced to Jupiter airspace. 18 months later, the American spacecraft Discovery One is sent to Jupiter in the hopes of discovering the origin of the signal.
Directed by Stanley Kubrick – one of celluloid's greatest visionaries – 2001 is probably the most unique, detached, obsessive, pretentious, contentious, and bewildering sci-fi film ever made (though Tarkovsky's Solaris is a strong competitor). It is therefore one of the few great films of that deplorable genre ever to appear as it radically departs from nearly every cliché and convention the genre holds claim to. Indeed, the film ultimately transcends science-fiction.
One can only marvel at how the film's fine mise-en-scene absorbs you into a universe that has been so intricately and elegantly crafted. Every thing about this film is perfection: the romantic and ominous music, the minimalist plot, the distant though finely nuanced performances (Douglas Rain's voice work is the best example of this), the ingenious special effects, the realistic production design, and the as-yet-unsurpassed cinematography of Geoffrey Unsworth - the geometrical framing of every shot is so refined that even the best works of Tonino Delli Colli, Freddy Young and Gianni di Venanzio pale in comparison to Unsworth's control of the lens.
The best thing about 2001, though, is that it takes itself seriously. While most popular science-fiction fare like Star Wars, E.T. - The Extra Terrestrial, Jurassic Park, and Independence Day aims only to entertain and indulge with mindless action and copious FX, 2001 tries earnestly to probe deep philosophical issues - such as man's over reliance on technology; the nature of existence; man's urge to conquer an overcome; and the possible future of man's evolutionary development - that other sci-fi works would barely even superficially analyse.
A towering achievement and an instrumental film in the launching of the New Hollywood Era.