A Stunning Masterpiece by One of the Greatest Directors off All-Time

Rating: 10/10 (16 January 2004)

SPOILERS AHEAD!:
"2001: A Space Odyssey" is,like Kubrick said himself,more of an experience than an actual movie and therefore a true Kubrick Movie.Movies like "A Clockwork Orange"(which has the 2001 soundtrack LP in the movie!) and "Full Metal Jacket" are also more experiences than movies. "2001: A Space Odyssey",made after the legendary model work by Arthur C. Clarke,is a breathtaking masterpiece of special effects and symbolism.It is probably the single greatest visual movie ever made.
It starts with a surprising as well as disturbing musical overture by Ligeti of about 3 minutes. The screen is black and stays that way until the lion of MGM shows up,the brilliant opening credits appear together with a great shot of the moon,earth and sun together in one view. The music of Strauss is perfect for this beginning. The movie contains of 4 parts from which the first part is the Dawn of Man(10 million years ago) in which we see monkeys who rival each other for water.This is also the first time in which the Monolith appears,that scares and upsets the monkeys very much.
In the next shot one of the monkeys then starts to punch with a bone(probably the beginning of the urge by men for destruction and aggression). He takes the bone to the water where he destroys one of the opposing monkeys. He throws the bone in the air which sets up one of the greatest and dramatic scene changes ever made,the bone changes into a space ship. The second part begins.
Together with "The Blue Danube" a series of beautiful images appear on screen. In this part we also get to see the great wit of Stanley Kubrick,although this is a serious film.The Grip Shoes as well as the Zero Gravity Toilet(Watch Dr. Floyd,played by William Sylvester,examine the manual with great care) is very funny.Another great laugh for me was the Dutch translation of the welcome comity.Of course Dr. Floyd chooses English but still... Brilliantly funny is also the fact that Kubrick's own daughter appears in the movie,as Dr. Floyd's daughter! In this part the Monolith appears again as a complete mystery,but now on the moon.A high humming sound comes and the third part begins.
The Jupiter Mission is the third part in which the two astronauts Poole(played by Gary Lockwood) and Dave Bowman(played by Keir Dullea) fly to Jupiter to reveal the mystery of the Monolith,although they don't know that themselves.We does know it is the advanced computer HAL-9000(legendary voice by Douglas Rain) and when he makes a mistake all hell on the ship breaks loose.Poole is killed by HAL while he's in space fixing HAL's mistake and then Dave terminates HAL by erasing his memory and functions,HAL sings the song "Daisy" as his final words.Then a TV shows up in which Dave hears the true meaning of his mission.The screen turns black and the last and best part of the movie begins.
Jupiter and beyond the Infinite is a mindblowing 25 minutes of beautiful shots of Jupiter,a dazzling star-gate sequence and a very curious ending sequence in a deserted chamber. The star-gate sequence is for me the ultimate highlight of the movie.The colors and images are simply breathtaking as is the haunting score by Ligeti.Never before and never again has someone tried to make such a scene as this one. The climax is very hard to understand and since I haven't read the book yet(which I will very soon),I still don't really get it.Dave is,after flying into Jupiter through the Star-gate,in a quiet and deserted house. He ages before his own eyes and when he is at his oldest lying in a bed,the mighty Monolith appears at his bed side.He reaches out for it and the next shot is the birth of the star-child as the camera closes onto the Monolith.The Moon appears as well as Strauss' masterpiece "Zarahustra"(for the third time in the movie). The Star-child reaches earth and the movie ends.
The symbolism is very important in this film.There are two main symbols which appear in the movie several times:the Monolith and the Bone. The Bone appears as the murder weapon of the monkey,as the spaceship that shows up right after the bone is thrown in the air and at the beginning of the Jupiter Mission we see a long spaceship shaped into the form of a bone. The Monolith is even more important as it is the mysterious centerpiece of the story.The monkeys,as well as the scientists on the moon,as well as Dave Bowman on his deathbed react exactly the same:Confused,scared but also humble as they all want to touch it with great respect.In 10 million years nothing has changed,so it appears.
Also very important and very well done are the special effects.They are way ahead of their time,considering it was made 10 years before "Star Wars".We can see how important the effects are on future science fiction films as "Star Wars".For that alone it is a cinematic landmark.
The sound is also great,just listen to all those strange sound effects on the Jupiter Mission(breathing!) and the absence(!) of sound while the astronauts are in space. The music is unmistakably necessary in the movie since there are a lot of scenes in which not much happens.For instance the first shots of space underscored by "The Blue Danube" and of course the opening and ending shots underscored by "Zarahustra",which will always be identified as a "classical space piece".Last but not least the frantic and psychedelic music of Ligeti,eminent in the star-gate sequence.It gives the scene an extra boost of mystery.
A great add on,intentional or unintentional(who knows?),is the music of Pink Floyd(my favorite band).The Masterpiece "Echoes"(my favorite song ever) from the album "Meddle" can be heard while watching the last 25 minutes of the movie,Jupiter and beyond the Infinite.To me it was an absolute joy to watch since it gives the scene a totally different look.The sound effects and various moods of "Echoes" match brilliantly with the movie,as if it was written while watching it.Start the song at the same point as the scene starts and enjoy. A funny and curious thing is that one of the main characters of the movie is called Dr. FLOYD(!!!). There is also a way to watch the entire movie with Pink Floyd music,but that requires several of their albums and is not very convincing.Still,pretty funny to watch.
"2001: A Space Odyssey" is a true cinema-movie,you have got to see it in the Theater.I saw it in my hometown Amsterdam as it was re-run as a classic comeback.That was the second time I saw the movie cause my first was on TV.Yesterday I saw it on DVD,which is pretty cool but it ain't no Theater.In my own private collection I've got the movie on VHS,a German version(aaaahhh) taped when it was on ARTE:a cultural channel(yeah right,not even the original version).
You've got to see the movie at least two times to really enjoy it,cause the first time probably is not the best to fully understand it.That was my personal experience as well as Woody Allen's and that's a good advice now ain't it? "2001" is probably the most unique movie ever created,because of it's lack of a real story and because of it's beautiful images.Although there are some very long scenes in the movie it never gets boring,especially when you see it in the theater.There is so much to see and hear!
Overall,it is one of my personal Masterpieces and then to consider that it isn't even my favorite Kubrick movie(which is Dr. Strangelove)!
Brilliant picture. 10/10