The journey begins...

Rating: 10/10 (12 September 2003)

Many regard 2001: A Space Odyssey as Kubrick's greatest work. I don't, but that doesn't mean I don't regard it as one of the greatest films of all time. Like a lot of groundbreaking cinema, it's not really the most enjoyable thing to sit down and watch. In so many ways it's far more an exercise of Kubrick's masterful film-making than it is a really enjoyable film. But like I say, it's very hard not to be impressed.
I remember when I first saw the film, I wondered why I had never heard of Keir Dullea, who plays the human lead. The reason is simple: because he is not the star, nor the main performer. What makes this film such a winner is the off-camera genius of Kubrick and his hunger to give the world a new kind of cinema.
Even by today's standards, I don't see how one can not look at this film and just think about what an incredibly achievement it is. For its time, it's momentous. It's light on dialogue and high on detail and was the forerunner of so many great films. It's difficult to fully analyse this film and all of its components, all you can do is sit back and watch. And think. And then once the film's finished, think some more. It's nothing more than imagery, but imagery that creates the longest journey down the evolutionary chain, takes us from what we can't see in our past to what we can't see in our future and in its way, answers questions we couldn't ourselves.

Praise must also go to Arthur C Clarke who wrote the original book and co-wrote the screenplay, but really Kubrick is the master of this film, and while it is not in my opinion being Kubrick's best, it is still undoubtably his most important. ***** / *****