Voice of HAL a performance unto itself...

Rating: 6/10 (27 August 2005)

Director Stanley Kubrick gave little indication of his film-making prowess in his prior, early films, which makes "2001" a stunning achievement on a filmmaker's level. One cannot comprehend how he managed to get his complex work on the screen without interference. However, this voyage about two astronauts battling a computer of their own making is an abstract, psychedelic head trip that is fairly somnolent until the final-act light show. You cannot doubt Kubrick's mastery of the cinema, but just how "deep" this film is depends on your patience and point of reference. Certainly it is stunning visually, with terrific cinematography from Geoffrey Unsworth and John Alcott. Douglas Rain's voice-work as the computer HAL is a triumph; roles for the human actors are filled adequately (they're cast for their dullness--intentionally I presume--yet one does eventually tire of them). Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke adapted Clarke's book "The Sentinel", punching up the proceedings with classical music that really put a pop-art stamp on these legendary pieces. **1/2 from ****