2001: A Space Odyssey

***2001: A Space Odyssey*** is a 1968 epic science fiction film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick. The screenplay, written by Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke, was partially inspired by Clarke's short story "The Sentinel". Clarke concurrently wrote the novel *2001: A Space Odyssey*, published soon after the film was released. The film follows a voyage to Jupiter with the sentient computer Hal after the discovery of a mysterious black monolith affecting human evolution. The film deals with the themes of existentialism, human evolution, technology, artificial intelligence, and extraterrestrial life. It is noted for its scientifically accurate depiction of space flight, pioneering special effects, and ambiguous imagery. It uses sound and minimal dialogue in place of traditional narrative techniques; the soundtrack consists of classical music such as *The Blue Danube* and *Also sprach Zarathustra*.

Financed and distributed by American studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, *2001: A Space Odyssey* was filmed and edited almost entirely in England, using the studio facilities of MGM's subsidiary "MGM British" and those of Shepperton Studios, mostly because of the availability of much larger sound stages than in the United States. Production was subcontracted to Kubrick's production company and care was taken that the film would be sufficiently British to qualify for subsidy from the Eady Levy. Having already shot his previous two films in England, Kubrick decided to settle there permanently during filming.

Despite initially receiving mixed reactions from critics and audiences, *2001: A Space Odyssey* garnered a cult following and slowly became the highest-grossing North American film of 1968. It was nominated for four Academy Awards, and received one for its visual effects. A sequel directed by Peter Hyams was released in 1984.

Today, *2001: A Space Odyssey* is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential films ever made. In 1991, it was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. The critics' polls in the 2002 and 2012 editions of *Sight & Sound* magazine ranked *2001: A Space Odyssey* sixth in the top ten films of all time; it also tied for second place in the directors' poll of the same magazine. In 2010, it was named the greatest film of all time by *The Moving Arts Film Journal*.

## Plot

In an African desert millions of years ago, a tribe of man-apes is driven from their water hole by a rival tribe. They wake to find a featureless black monolith has appeared before them. One man-ape realizes how to use a bone as a tool and weapon; the tribe kills the leader of their rivals and reclaims the water hole.

Millions of years later, a Pan Am space plane carries Dr. Heywood R. Floyd to a space station orbiting Earth for a layover on his trip to Clavius Base, a United States outpost on the moon. After a videophone call with his daughter, Floyd's Soviet scientist friend and her colleague ask him about rumors of a mysterious epidemic at Clavius. Floyd declines to answer. At Clavius, Floyd heads a meeting of base personnel, apologizing for the epidemic cover story but stressing secrecy. His mission is to investigate a recently found artifact buried four million years ago. Floyd and others ride in a Moonbus to the artifact, which is a monolith identical to the one encountered by the man-apes. Sunlight strikes the monolith and a loud high-pitched radio signal is heard.

Eighteen months later, the U.S. spacecraft *Discovery One* is bound for Jupiter. On board are mission pilots and scientists Dr. David Bowman and Dr. Frank Poole with three other scientists in cryogenic hibernation. Most of *Discovery's* operations are controlled by the ship's computer, HAL 9000, referred to by the crew as "Hal". Bowman and Poole watch Hal and themselves being interviewed on a BBC show about the mission, in which the computer states that he is "foolproof and incapable of error." When asked by the host if Hal has genuine emotions, Bowman replies that he appears to, but that the truth is unknown. Later, Hal questions Dave on the mysterious purpose of the mission, then reports the imminent failure of an antenna control device. The astronauts retrieve the component making use of an EVA Pod but find nothing wrong with it. Hal suggests reinstalling the part and letting it fail so the problem can be found. Mission Control advises the astronauts that results from their twin HAL 9000 backups indicate that Hal is in error. Hal insists that the problem, like previous issues ascribed to HAL series units, is due to human error. Concerned about Hal's behavior, Bowman and Poole enter an EVA pod to talk without Hal overhearing, and agree to disconnect Hal if he is proven wrong. Hal secretly follows their conversation by lip reading.

While Poole attempts to replace the unit during a space walk, his EVA pod, controlled by Hal, rams him, severing his oxygen hose and setting him adrift. Bowman takes another pod to attempt rescue, leaving his helmet behind. Meanwhile Hal turns off the life support functions of the crewmen in suspended animation. When Bowman returns to the ship with Poole's body, Hal refuses to let him in, stating that the astronauts' plan to deactivate him jeopardizes the mission. Bowman opens the ship's emergency airlock manually, enters the ship, and proceeds to Hal's processor core. Hal tries to reassure Bowman, then pleads with him to stop, and finally expresses fear. As Bowman deactivates the circuits controlling HAL's higher intellectual functions, HAL regresses to his earliest programmed memory, the song "Daisy Bell", which he sings for Bowman.

When Hal is finally disconnected, a pre-recorded video message from Floyd reveals the existence of the monolith on the moon; its purpose and origin unknown. With the exception of one short, but extremely powerful radio emission aimed at Jupiter, the object has been inert. At Jupiter, Bowman leaves *Discovery One* in an EVA pod to investigate another monolith discovered in orbit around the planet. The pod is pulled into a vortex of colored light, and Bowman races across vast distances of space, viewing bizarre cosmological phenomena and strange landscapes of unusual colors.

He finds himself, still in the pod, in a bedroom appointed in the neoclassical style. He sees older versions of himself, his point of view switching each time, first standing in the bedroom, middle-aged, and still in his spacesuit, then formally dressed and eating dinner, and finally as an old man lying in the bed. A black monolith appears at the foot of the bed, and as Bowman reaches for it, he is transformed into a fetus enclosed in a transparent orb of light. The film ends as the new being floats in space beside the Earth, gazing at it.

## Cast

* Keir Dullea as Dr. David Bowman
* Gary Lockwood as Dr. Frank Poole
* William Sylvester as Dr. Heywood R. Floyd
* Douglas Rain as the voice of the HAL 9000
* Daniel Richter as the chief man-ape
* Leonard Rossiter as Dr. Andrei Smyslov
* Margaret Tyzack as Elena
* Robert Beatty as Dr. Ralph Halvorsen
* Sean Sullivan as Dr. Roy Michaels
* Frank Miller as mission controller
* Ed Bishop as Lunar shuttle captain
* Edwina Carroll as Aries stewardess
* Penny Brahms as stewardess
* Heather Downham as stewardess
* Maggie d'Abo (*uncredited*) as stewardess (Space station elevator)
* Chela Matthison (*uncredited*) as stewardess (Mrs.Turner, Space station reception)
* Judy Keirn (*uncredited*) as Voiceprint identification girl (Space station)
* Alan Gifford as Poole's father
* Ann Gillis as Poole's mother
* Vivian Kubrick (*uncredited*) as Floyd's daughter
* Kenneth Kendall (*uncredited*) as the BBC announcer