A Triumph In Film-making

Rating: Null/10 (17 May 2010)

So much has been said about "2001: A Space Odyssey" and how revolutionary it is. To this day, it's still considered one of the greatest films of all time. It deserves this honor, as I was blown away by it. I was expecting something completely different, and that's what I got. "2001" is a film that challenges you, it's not a film that caters to the masses and it's not a film that talks down to its audience. It's a film that challenges you and asks you to accept scenes that most people would normally write off as "amateur" or "boring".
The opening twenty minutes, the "Dawn of Man" scenes, are marvelous. The cinematography is already great, and the film hasn't gone into space yet. Prior to these scenes are the opening credits and the overture. The overture alone got me excited as the film began. "Thus Spoke Zarathustra", despite the fact that it was cemented in many people's brains, was perfectly used in the film.
I see the film as a perception on evolution. The Dawn of Man shows us the early evolution with the apes. At the end of the film, I see it as "Even in the future, we are still evolving". The opening sequence with the apes was all great. Many might write it off as boring, but I was intrigued by it, if you get the meaning of these scenes.
Once we get into outer space and the future, lengthy sequences of spacecraft and groundbreaking special effects appear before our eyes set to classical music, in a beautiful and grand manner. "The Blue Danube" was perfect for this film.
Now for me, I think a good film needs a story and characters. "2001" definitely had one. While we have the entire story of the monolith, the film becomes more intriguing once we get into the HAL 9000 act. HAL 9000 might be one of the best antagonists in film history. Is he really a villain? It was a malfunction. What he did was a result of a computer malfunction. For me, a villain must be truly evil with evil intentions, but I personally see HAL 9000 as more of an obstacle for the five astronauts, especially David Bowman.
After the climatic scene where David disconnects HAL, the film then shifts to one of the most amazing scenes in film history, the "Star Gate" sequence. What comes before you is an extravaganza of color and visual effects. Finally, we see David getting older, which was probably one of my favorite scenes in the film. Then David becomes the "Star-Child". A spectacular ending. I see the monolith as an object that somewhat inspires evolution, as it ties the entire film together.
According to those who have read the novel version released simultaneously with the film, there was more of a story and a narrative. But the film is more of an experience than anything, a film that challenges audiences and to this day, it still confuses many. There are some out there who say they just didn't get it or they were bored by it. "2001: A Space Odyssey" is triumphant film that asks a lot out of you. You are asked to accept lengthy scenes of apes, long scenes of spacecraft and classical music, and many other drawn-out sequences. I loved every second of it.
A 10 out of 10.