Manages to transcend words and become one of the most important films ever made!

Rating: 10/10 (6 September 2001)

SPOILERS
I use the term, "spoilers" but nothing that I will say in this review will spoil the effect that 2001: A Space Odyssey will have on a viewer, the impact will be different for everyone. For me 2001 manages to transcend both words and narrative making it hard for me to write a proper review of the film, because the impact it had on me when I first watched it is completely different from the effect it will have on someone else. To me, 2001 is all about curiosity; it's about what drives man to look up at the stars and dream about different worlds and other life forms. It's about evolution, both cultural and spiritual, HAL wants to evolve and become more human, and in the same way that Dave Bowman watches his entire life evolve as he moves through the star gate. Kubrick never gives us the answers, instead allowing us to interpret each one of the scenes ourselves.
Like all Kubrick films, 2001 has more memorable moments than any other film, from the "Dawn of Man" opening, in which we watch a group of apes evolve from quiet animals to snarling violent beasts, setting up a community and a natural order, Kubrick effectively uses this same set-up throughout, as HAL evolves and decides that he, much like the primates should set up his own natural order. We are then moved straight into the year 2001, with possibly the most famous use of music in film, as the huge Ferris wheel like space station revolves in orbit to the strains of The Blue Danube. Mixing beautiful images, staring music and cold atmosphere to create real meaning, giving the future an odd, distilled feeling.
I think the ultimate message of 2001 is that, man can be so much more, Dave stops HAL, and thus showing himself to be stronger than we ever thought, and I don't think I would be out of place to call this Kubrick's most optimistic film. For me the best part of 2001 is the last twenty minutes, in which Kubrick pulls out all the stops, with HAL's chilling version of "Daisy" and the monolith appearing in the bedroom? 2001 is amongst the greatest motion pictures ever made, for me it manages to be ultimately more than a film. Forget the shoddy sequel 2010 and watch this, the ultimate gesture from one of cinema's greatest artists.
10/10