My life was never the same again. . . . and very please I was too!

Rating: Null/10 (16 November 2004)

I saw this film a week after it first showed in London. In Cinerama . I think I sat motionless through the whole running time . This was the film I had been waiting for all my life (I was 16 at the time) . Clarke had always been my favourite author and his poetic writing is perfectly captured in the film. Arthur describes exploding stars, ancient oceans and awakening life with clarity , vision and artistry. Now with this film I was seeing these things with my own eyes. . . . and they were familiar to me as the six guns and wagon trains would be to a "Western" buff. I had read about all these things for year reading Arthur C Clarkes many novels never really believing that a movie would ever be like one of these books. After all movies have to have monster , hero's and beautiful women turning up in the most unlikely places. . . .Until this movie. I was quite dazed when I walked out of that cinema but not so dazed that I did not hear the best comment I have ever heard made about the movie. It went something like this. . .
Parent to 13 year old boy."Did you enjoy it Tommy?"
Tommy "Mmmmmmmmmmmmm"
Parent "But did you understand it?"
Tommy " Don't be silly! You are not supposed to understand it. You are supposed to just WATCH it!"
Priceless!
Les C