( A top 10 film) It can change your life.

Rating: 10/10 (22 April 1999)

What made "2001..." such a memorable moviegoing experience for this young person back in the late 60's was the realization that the filmmaker required you to THINK for YOURSELF, a rarity then, before or after. So many films lead you by the nose to an obvious conclusion, then congratulate you for doing it. Kubrick challenged his audience and showed confidence in them. Many people complain that the meaning is too obscure for them to understand, and I admit I wasn't all clear on it until I read Arthur C. Clarke's novel. Watching the movie it is easy to miss some crucial information. But the experience was still overwhelming to me anyway, even when I wasn't fully sure of what I'd seen. A viewer shouldn't feel thick-headed because everything is not revealed to him or her at once. The movie has plenty of rewards anyway.
To those who have grown up in the post-"Star Wars" era, the movie might seem especially slow and even dull. Indeed, when I saw it again around 1980 it seemed that way to me. But further perspective has once again placed it on its lofty pedestal. A young viewer today should try to keep in mind that in its time, it was showing off state-of-the art techniques.
It's beyond my meager ability to give any comprehensive or definitive look at a phenomenon the magnitude of "2001". All I can say is it showed me that a work of art, in this case a movie, could truly be mind-expanding, and as such actually change one's life.