2001: A Space Odyssey

Rating: 9/10 (24 March 2005)

For its time, the visual and audio magnificence of this film has never differed, even if there is not much story, it is still an inspirational film from Oscar nominated director Stanley Kubrick (A Clockwork Orange, Full Metal Jacket). The film opens with the fantastic iconic theme score, Richard Strauss's "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" as the planets move. This then moves to "The Dawn of Man" where a tribe of prehistoric apes/primates engaging in regular activities, before finding the black rectangular monolith and learning to use bones as weapons. The tossed bone image matches the next hour and a half in outer space, starting with all space crafts (including the cart wheel one) orbiting to the score of Johann Strauss's "Blue Danube Waltz". The story seems to be the members of Discovery 1, with the treacherous brain of the ship, HAL 9000 (voiced by Douglas Rain) have found the mysterious monolith, and the mission is ruined by the evil betrayal and disobeying of HAL. After the lone survivor Dave (Keir Dullea) has got into HAL's central core, and killed him, he is taken through Jupiter and Beyond the Infinite, i.e. a colourful vortex before finding his own self ageing before the monolith, and becoming the "Star Child". Also starring Gary Lockwood as Dr. Frank Poole and William Sylvester as Dr. Heywood R. Floyd. It won the Oscar for Best Special Visual Effects, and it was nominated for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration and Best Writing, Story and Screenplay - Written Directly for the Screen, and it won the BAFTAs for Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography and Best Sound Track, and it was nominated for Best Film and the UN Award for Kubrick. HAL 9000 was number 13 on 100 Years, 100 Heroes & Villains, the film was number 40 on 100 Years, 100 Thrills, it was number 78 on 100 Years, 100 Quotes ("Open the pod bay doors, HAL."), it was number 6 on Film 4's 50 Films To See Before You Die, it was number 47 on 100 Years, 100 Cheers, it was number 22 on 100 Years, 100 Movies, and it was number 27 on The 100 Greatest Films. Very good!