Kubrick's Magnum Opus

Rating: Null/10 (21 November 2004)

I used to love Stanley Kubrick - thought he was the greatest director in the world. Every film he had done was gold, in my eyes, and impervious to any criticisms leveled against them. Those were notions through the filter of adolescence. Fairly often, as we grow older, we grow away from those things that appeal to us as teenagers and rightly so, for aren't teenagers incompletely formed adults? Yes, they are and so their tastes will not yet be fully matured as well.
Watching most of Stanley Kubricks work with an older mind and aged eyes, I find myself disappointed more often than not. This man that once thought A Clockwork Orange to be pushing the limits of cinema now finds it an exploitative mess that completely loses sight of what its satire attempts to bring down. Its violence and violent sex titillate the audience (that would be why I adored it as a teenager) - they don't ask us to question the images on scree and that's, actually, dangerous film-making. That and Clockwork is, visually, very unimpressive. Those of you taken aback by the photographic brilliance of his other films are bound to be let down.
Age does not favor Kubrick's other films as well - Full Metal Jacket (has been and always will be half a great movie), Spartacus (beautiful but ultimately lifeless), and the Shining (bo-ring) have not stood my test of time. Strangelove is still funny and Barry Lyndon a solid bit of film, but best of all continues to be 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Certainly, it's an abtruse and esoteric film, but it's also beautiful, puzzling, and brilliant on a thematic level. It is, perhaps, the greatest exploration of science fictive ideals in the history of film; it's certainly the most intelligent. And did I mention that it's visually stunning? The stylization of the prehistoric era, as well as the attention to minutiae in the future scenes, are impeccable. Kubrick had an amazing vision and, using the limited resources afforded directors in 1968, he achieved it. This is one of the most visually arresting films ever made.
The story itself is negligible (it's interesting, involving mankind's repeated encounters with strange, black monolithic rocks that those rocks relation to our evolution), but it's there. As someone said, though, a movie is not about the plot, it's how it is about the plot. The how, in 2001, as I have said, is amazingly beautiful. The images are beautiful and the tone claustrophobic. It's like watching a painting move.
And yet it is not just a visual experience for the audience. It's a sonic and emotive experience as well. The grating classical score that accompanies encounters with the monolith, for example, is the greatest use of music in a film and the use of Strauss' ballet for the docking sequence is a stroke of genius. Furthermore, this film, and the tension Kubrick builds with the sparest plot imaginable, drain the audience. Watching 2001physically drains you. See it on a big screen (one of the 5 greatest movie moments in my life) and you'll see what I'm talking about.
2001: A Space Odyssey is one of the greatest motion pictures of all time and should be required viewing of everyone. It's intelligent, beautiful, and visceral. I can't think of any other film that has those qualities in such abundance. Watch it tomorrow, please.