The Ultimate in Visionary Cinema

Rating: 10/10 (27 July 2005)

2001 is the supreme example of the lost art of pure cinema. Alongside other auteurs like David Lean, Kubrick represents a period of epic film-making that has sadly passed from our realm. The indelible experience of a theatrical motion picture event such as 2001 has been replaced in our time with forgettable multiplex fodder--even "event" films such as Spielberg's War of the Worlds are nothing more than forgettable popcorn time-fillers. But 2001 was crafted to leave a lasting impression of complex, majestic artistry, sewing seeds of mystery and dream-world surrealism that, for me at least, live on in my own consciousness.
Those who've never viewed 2001 in its proper setting have never really seen the whole film. I have the DVD, but rarely enjoy viewing it. The home video format simply eradicates the grandeur and majestic scope of this completely unique cinematic milestone. The last chance I had to view it on a big screen was at the Cineramadome in Hollywood about a decade ago, and that experience was memorable beyond words. Inherent in its makeup, 2001 was meant to be viewed in crystal-clear 70mm on a mammoth screen, with state-of-the-art sound. Through its sensory scope, the technology of the film itself suggests the evolutionary connections between the futuristic HAL and the very medium chosen to portray him/it. The movie screen becomes a character in the relationships posed by 2001, and no video system can ever duplicate that. The incredibly complex, layered sound (as well as the suffocating silence) is also a character. That's the nature of Kubrick's visionary cinema.
Such were the ideas and ideals of film-making as it blossomed in the sixties era, conceptual strains which are all but lost in our current corporation-saturated world. It was years after having seen 2001 as a young teenager that I was able to see Kubrick's complete body of work, and it's still striking that an artist who was so cynical could have made the great masterpiece of awe and wonder. The companion piece to 2001, A Clockwork Orange, is in many ways the antithesis of all that 2001 conveys, and to me that's a fascinating dichotomy. I think the latter film was closer to Kubrick's own world-view, but as an artist and a master of visions, 2001 stands as the supreme testament to thinking outside the box.