Man and Superman.Arthur C,.Clarke's theory of evolution.......

Rating: 9/10 (6 January 2008)

Whenever a movie based on a work from another medium is considered it is imperative to take into account the original source.However many times Mr S.Kubrick is referred to as a "genius" and "2001" as a "Masterpiece" his role in the production was to re - interpret another man's vision.Even if one took the Auteur theory "Reductio ad Absurdam" no movie is ever the sole work of the director. Mr Arthur C.Clarke's "The Sentinel" was written 60 years ago.At that time the only rockets were adaptations of Herr von Braun's V2 which,3 or 4 years earlier had the sole modest - if deadly - ambition of clawing its way high enough into the sky to drop on London. By the time Mr Kubrick was considering making "2001",the Apollo space programme was well under way.Of the two Mr Clarke's vision was the more imaginative and percipient. Certainly "2001" is a remarkable movie by any standards,perhaps,along with the vastly different "Alien",at the very peak of the Sci - Fi pantheon.Mr Scott's masterwork,made 11 years later,shows space travel as routine,boring and a little grubby,in complete contrast to Mr Kubrick's concept of it as a new and exciting step in freeing Mankind from the confines of Earth. Furthermore,the Clarke/Kubrick collaboration reaches far wider,no less than the elevation of Man to the next step in the evolutionary scale. Having performed some Herculean tasks the surviving astronaut is finally reborn as a"Starchild" thus marking the beginning of a new journey for the species. Generations of moviegoers have grown up whose only knowledge of the movie is via the video or more lately,DVD.However grand their Home Cinema equipment may be it can only give them a very limited idea of the magnificence of the original visuals and the almost overpowering soundtrack.Occasionally you can catch a theatrical production and I most strongly urge you to do so if possible.Only then can you appreciate the impact the movie had on my generation forty years ago. And then there's THAT cut........................