Unmatched accomplishment. Not only Kubrick's best but the best ever

Rating: 10/10 (15 January 2008)

Notoriously reclusive and director Stanley Kubrick was a genius, whose films are the ultimate showcase of the cinematic art. I would list "The Shining," "A Clockwork Orange," "Dr. Strangelove," and "Lolita" as some of the greatest films of all time. But for number one, "2001" takes the cake. When I finally got around to seeing the revered classic, I felt as if it was a film I had always hoped existed, and did. The most common complaint of this film is that it is "boring," but in reality the slow pace lets you truly fall under the film's spell, where every worldly triviality is exchanged for otherworldly existentialism. The other main complaint is that the ending "makes no sense." It doesn't have to. A picture is worth a thousand words, so one must let the images speak for themselves. The ambiguity of the end is part of its strength; it heightens the beauty and allows it to be personalized. The film is also notable for its unforgettable soundtrack. Rather than a traditional film score, Kubrick used pre-existing classical music to an incredible effect. Not only did he immortalize two different pieces by two different Strausses, "Also Sprach Zarathustra," "The Blue Danube," but also blended haunting, atmospheric Ligeti compositions into some of the film's most chilling scenes. (Also, rumor has it that my favorite Pink Floyd tune "Echoes" syncs perfectly with the film's final act, "Jupiter and Beyond"). The mind-blowing excellence of the movie also left the world with some of the most unforgettable images in the lexicon of cinema: the screeching ape crushing a pile of bones, the black monolith, tight close-ups of HAL 9000's red eye, and the Star Child as he floats through space. Despite its ferocious acclaim, "2001" still seems underrated.