2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

User Rating:

8.4/10   

Director:

Stanley Kubrick

Writers:

Stanley Kubrick (screenplay) &
Arthur C. Clarke (screenplay)

Release Date:

6 April 1968 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Mystery | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Let the Awe and Mystery of a Journey Unlike Any Other Begin

Plot:

Mankind finds a mysterious, obviously artificial, artifact buried on the moon and, with the intelligent computer HAL, sets off on a quest.

Plot Keywords:

Monolith | Moon | Computer | Evolution | Jupiter

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 10 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Keir Dullea	...	Dr. Dave Bowman
Gary Lockwood	...	Dr. Frank Poole
William Sylvester	...	Dr. Heywood R. Floyd
Daniel Richter	...	Moon-Watcher
Leonard Rossiter	...	Dr. Andrei Smyslov
Margaret Tyzack	...	Elena
Robert Beatty	...	Dr. Ralph Halvorsen
Sean Sullivan	...	Dr. Bill Michaels
Douglas Rain	...	HAL 9000 (voice)
Frank Miller	...	Mission controller (voice)
Bill Weston	...	Astronaut
Ed Bishop	...	Aries-1B Lunar shuttle captain (as Edward Bishop)
Glenn Beck	...	Astronaut
Alan Gifford	...	Poole's father
Ann Gillis	...	Poole's mother

Also Known As:

How the Solar System Was Won (USA) (working title)
Journey Beyond the Stars (USA) (working title)
Two Thousand and One: A Space Odyssey (USA) (alternative spelling)

Runtime:

141 min | 160 min (premiere cut)

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English | Russian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (35 mm magnetic prints) | 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | DTS 70 mm (2001 re-release)

Certification:

Spain:T | Italy:T | Netherlands:AL (DVD rating) | Canada:G (Manitoba/Nova Scotia) (original rating) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Nova Scotia) (re-rating) (2007) | New Zealand:PG | Malaysia:U | Argentina:13 | Israel:PG | Canada:PG (Alberta) (2009) | Australia:G | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Finland:K-8 | France:U | Norway:11 | Norway:12 (1969) | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:12 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | UK:U | USA:G | West Germany:12 | Ireland:G | Brazil:Livre

Filming Locations:

Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

The famous time-cut between the bone and the spaceship took its inspiration from the time-cut in the film A Canterbury Tale (1944), directed by Michael Powell. In that film a medieval Nobleman on a pilgrimage to Canterbury lets loose a falcon, which in the following shot it seen rising vertically, then cuts to a World War II fighter descending vertically over six hundred years later, then cuts back to the Nobleman, who is now a British soldier.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Whilst Doctor Floyd is talking to his daughter on the videophone, the size of the Earth behind the window is far too small for the altitude of the space station's orbit.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Aries-1B stewardess: Here you are, sir, main level please.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Space Truckers (1996)

Soundtrack:

Thus Spoke Zarathustra

The Order of the Universe

I spent many a sleepless night after watching 2001. Not only because of the psychological horror (of which 2001 is a masterpiece) but also because of the way it brought me (a restless soul) some clarity to the way I observe the universe. It changed my way of thinking in a very profound way. And after reading the novel (by Arthur C. Clarke) I found myself once again inspired (a writer as I am) by the level of imagination.

The Space Odyssey is not something one can just "go and see". One has to be ready for it, or it cannot be understood. In fact I don't think it can be understood at all, at least not all of it at once. It is a philosophical journey to the infinite and beyond, a masterpiece of it's genre and still after 32 years technically quite impressive all the way to the powerful musical soundtrack featuring 'Also spracht Zarathustra' by Richard Strauss and 'Blue Danube' by Johann Strauss.

Take all the time you want, but eventually you are going to have to see this film. If it can bring some order and understanding to the universe of a struggling artist like me, it can certainly do it for you as well.

Or maybe I'm just plain crazy...