A visual feast

Rating: 10/10 (3 May 2007)

A lot of time has passed since 2001 hit the screens. How many times have we seen a "cut corners" version on TV? With the advent of DVDs and panoramic computer screens, it is possible to have a glimpse of what the original must have looked like in the theaters. My god, what a feast for the eyes and ears! Almost every shot is composed like a master's painting.
*SPOILERS FOLLOW*
Take, for instance, the scene with the discovery of "the tool", where we see the ape-man trashing through a skeleton in slow-motion. At one point we see the clouds parting behind him, letting the sun in, with the ironically triumphant "Zarathustra" music. And the final chord sustained while the hand holding bone hits again (Kill! Kill!) and again and... Well, you get the idea! Incredible images...
The megalomaniac shot of the size of the "Discovery" spaceship, slowly revealed as Katchaturian's music depicts the dullness of the long journey through space. This is years before the opening shot of Star Wars and how efficient on a wide screen! The shot where we see Bowman enter the pod room; the lines on the floor and ceiling (the "point de fuite" of the image, I don't know the English equivalent of the expression) points directly toward the forgotten helmet.
The colors...
And I won't even go into the plot points! Wonderfully ambiguous; does the monolith represent God, or extraterrestrials? Your choice.
*SPOILERS END* Extraordinary movie.