The ultimate Open-Ended film...

Rating: 10/10 (16 November 2012)

I watched this film for the first time on Blu-Ray. I saw in superb High definition the endless bounds of Kubrick's visionary Genius. I could hear the silence, feel the breathing of the characters. But above all, I had room to think.
'2001: A Space Odyssey' is so brilliant that I will find a good review hard to write. Firstly, I will talk about acting; if there is much to talk about. All actors were superb, despite there being almost no real dialogue. Not a single piece of story-line seemed to stem from dialogue, and this is what I love; the fact that dialogue is there for the simple purpose of happening, to keep the scenes real. The first scene where human speech does occur is one of the best I've seen. When William Sylvester went from happily discussing the mission, to just saying 'I am afraid I am not at liberty to discuss that.' in a plain and unmoved tone was simply superb.Then you have the frustration between Dave and HAL- 9000. HAL is easily my favourite film-villain of all time; his coldness is so beautifully presented by his voice-actor,Douglas Rain, and yet it is easy to feel sorry for him when he dies singing.
Then there are the visuals, and oh my are they great. The so-called 'Stargate' sequence is simply incredible, and literally had me holding on to my seat. Then there is the open and very obviously vacuous nature of space which is emphasised by the presence of silence. The clean feel to the space-station is satisfying, and the red, slightly off centre glare of HAL-9000's 'eye' is a truly scary sight. The planets look great and so does pretty much everything. Being on Blu-ray obviously makes all the difference.
My favourite part is, however, the Monolith. What strikes me about them is how, unlike most 'aliens' in sci-fi films, they don't scream to be explored. In 'Prometheus' the engineers call humans back, supposedly to just decide to destroy us, their creation. In 'Contact', they beg to be discovered by us and share all their benevolent secrets. The Monoliths just, well, exist. They send a signal, yes, but why? Who knows. They cause Dave to evolve to an even higher level of existence, but that is it. Other than this, they just exist, floating around, evolving and watching living things. The fact that they seem to reflect no light really places emphasis on the fact that they are clearly present, but hard to really see. I guess they may be Kubrick's vision of God; watchful being(s) that we cannot really define. And that is why I love this film so much; the ending is SO open to interpretation. I believe the Monolith's were the focus, and that their story is the focus of Kubrik's vision. Other's may say that the evolution to becoming a 'Star Child' is the focus, but who knows? Only Arthur C. Clarke it would seem.
Overall then, '2001: A Space Odyssey' is a superb film, with expectantly beautiful Kubrick visuals combined with true-to-life acting an the best villain of all time: a very concerned computer. Another true classic from Kubrick; 9/10