Humanity finds a mysterious, obviously artificial, object buried beneath the Lunar surface and, with the intelligent computer H.A.L. 9000, sets off on a quest.
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In a futuristic city sharply divided between the working class and the city planners, the son of the city's mastermind falls in love with a working class prophet who predicts the coming of a savior to mediate their differences.
Director:
Fritz Lang
Stars:
Alfred Abel,
Gustav Fröhlich,
Rudolf Klein-Rogge
An astronaut crew crash lands on a planet in the distant future where intelligent talking apes are the dominant species, and humans are the oppressed and enslaved.
Director:
Franklin J. Schaffner
Stars:
Charlton Heston,
Roddy McDowall,
Kim Hunter
When a destructive space entity is spotted approaching Earth, Admiral Kirk resumes command of the Starship Enterprise in order to intercept, examine and hopefully stop it.
Director:
Robert Wise
Stars:
William Shatner,
Leonard Nimoy,
DeForest Kelley
In 2027, in a chaotic world in which humans can no longer procreate, a former activist agrees to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea, where her child's birth may help scientists save the future of humankind.
Director:
Alfonso Cuarón
Stars:
Clive Owen,
Michael Caine,
Chiwetel Ejiofor
Astronaut Sam Bell has a quintessentially personal encounter toward the end of his three-year stint on the Moon, where he, working alongside his computer, GERTY, sends back to Earth parcels of a resource that has helped diminish our planet's power problems.
Director:
Duncan Jones
Stars:
Sam Rockwell,
Kevin Spacey,
Dominique McElligott
After an encounter with UFOs, a line worker feels undeniably drawn to an isolated area in the wilderness where something spectacular is about to happen.
Director:
Steven Spielberg
Stars:
Richard Dreyfuss,
François Truffaut,
Teri Garr
A diplomat is nearly assassinated. In order to save him, a submarine is shrunken to microscopic size and injected into his blood stream with a small crew. Problems arise almost as soon as they enter the bloodstream.
In a future world devastated by disease, a convict is sent back in time to gather information about the man-made virus that wiped out most of the human population on the planet.
Director:
Terry Gilliam
Stars:
Joseph Melito,
Bruce Willis,
Madeleine Stowe
"2001" is a story of evolution. Sometime in the distant past, someone or something nudged evolution by placing a monolith on Earth (presumably elsewhere throughout the universe as well). Evolution then enabled humankind to reach the moon's surface, where yet another monolith is found, one that signals the monolith placers that humankind has evolved that far. Now a race begins between computers (HAL) and human (Bowman) to reach the monolith placers. The winner will achieve the next step in evolution, whatever that may be. Written by
Larry Cousins
Stanley Kubrick cut 19 minutes from the film's original 158-minute running time after its New York premiere, mostly to speed up the pacing. See more »
Goofs
While Frank is on the tanning bed listening to his parents' birthday greetings there is a cut showing Dave asleep in his 'sleeping pod' that shows the tanning bed at Dave's head, empty. Likewise, Dave is not shown inside the pod while Frank is shown on the tanning bed. The lighting in each cut also changes. See more »
The traditional "roaring lion" logo for MGM was not used in this film. Instead, the newly designed corporate logo for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was used, along with the letters "MGM", all in white against a blue background. See more »
Connections
Spoofed in Thunderpants (2002)
slow-motion scene where Patrick throws a spoon in the air as "Thus Spake Zarathustra" plays
See more »
Instead of writing a paragraph, I'll give four good reasons why 2001 is
the greatest cinema experience of all time:
1) It is a visual Odyssey that could only be told on the big screen.
The special effects that won Kubrick his only Oscar are the most
stunning effects before that age of Jurassic Park and T2. They allow
Kubrick to give an accurate (or at least are the most accurate)
depiction of space travel to date. The silence that fills the space
scenes not only serves its purpose as accurate science, but also adds
to the mood of the film (to be discussed in a later point with HAL).
The fact that Kubrick shot the moon scenes before the Apollo landing is
a gutsy yet fulfilling move. Many have said that upon its original
release, it was a favorite "trip" movie. I can think of no other movie
that has such amazing visuals for its time and even of all time (sorry
Phantom Menace fans!)
2) Kubrick's directing style is terrific. As in all his films, Kubrick
likes to use his camera as means to delve into the psychology of his
characters and plots. His camera is not as mobile as other greats, such
as Scorsese, but instead sits and watches the narrative unfold. Faces
are the key element of a Kubrick film. Like classic movies, such as M
and Touch of Evil, Kubrick focuses on the characters' faces to give the
audience a psychological view-point. Even he uses extreme close-ups of
HAL's glowing red "eye" to show the coldness and determination of the
computerizd villain. I could go on, but in summation Kubrick is at the
hieght of his style.
3) HAL 9000 is one of the most villainous characters in film history. I
whole-heartedly agree with the late Gene Siskle's opinion of HAL 9000.
Most of this film takes place in space. Through the use of silence and
the darkness of space itself, a mood of isolation is created. Dave and
his crewmen are isolated between earth and jupiter, with nowhere to
escape. Combine this mood with the cold, calculated actions of HAL 9000
and you have the most fearful villain imaginable. I still, although
having see this film several times, feel my chest tighten in a
particular scene.
4) The controversial
ending of 2001 always turns people away from this film. Instead of
trying to give my opinion of the what it means and what my idea of
2001's meaning in general is, I'd like to discuss the fact that the
ending serves to leave the movie open-ended. Kubrick has stated that he
inteded to make 2001 open for discussion. He left its meaning in the
hands of the viewer. By respecting the audience's intelligence, Kubrick
allowed his movie to be the beginning, not the end, of a meaningful
discussion on man's past, present, and future. The beauty of 2001 is
that the ending need not mean anything deep, it can just be a purely
plot driven explanation and the entire movie can be viewed as an
entertaining journey through space. No other movie, save the great
Citizen Kane, leaves itself open to discussion like 2001. It is truly
meant to be a surreal journey that involves not only the eye but the
mind. Instead of waiting in long lines for the Phantom Menace, rent a
widescreen edition of 2001 and enjoy the greatest cinematic experience.
584 of 851 people found this review helpful.
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Instead of writing a paragraph, I'll give four good reasons why 2001 is the greatest cinema experience of all time: 1) It is a visual Odyssey that could only be told on the big screen. The special effects that won Kubrick his only Oscar are the most stunning effects before that age of Jurassic Park and T2. They allow Kubrick to give an accurate (or at least are the most accurate) depiction of space travel to date. The silence that fills the space scenes not only serves its purpose as accurate science, but also adds to the mood of the film (to be discussed in a later point with HAL). The fact that Kubrick shot the moon scenes before the Apollo landing is a gutsy yet fulfilling move. Many have said that upon its original release, it was a favorite "trip" movie. I can think of no other movie that has such amazing visuals for its time and even of all time (sorry Phantom Menace fans!) 2) Kubrick's directing style is terrific. As in all his films, Kubrick likes to use his camera as means to delve into the psychology of his characters and plots. His camera is not as mobile as other greats, such as Scorsese, but instead sits and watches the narrative unfold. Faces are the key element of a Kubrick film. Like classic movies, such as M and Touch of Evil, Kubrick focuses on the characters' faces to give the audience a psychological view-point. Even he uses extreme close-ups of HAL's glowing red "eye" to show the coldness and determination of the computerizd villain. I could go on, but in summation Kubrick is at the hieght of his style. 3) HAL 9000 is one of the most villainous characters in film history. I whole-heartedly agree with the late Gene Siskle's opinion of HAL 9000. Most of this film takes place in space. Through the use of silence and the darkness of space itself, a mood of isolation is created. Dave and his crewmen are isolated between earth and jupiter, with nowhere to escape. Combine this mood with the cold, calculated actions of HAL 9000 and you have the most fearful villain imaginable. I still, although having see this film several times, feel my chest tighten in a particular scene. 4) The controversial ending of 2001 always turns people away from this film. Instead of trying to give my opinion of the what it means and what my idea of 2001's meaning in general is, I'd like to discuss the fact that the ending serves to leave the movie open-ended. Kubrick has stated that he inteded to make 2001 open for discussion. He left its meaning in the hands of the viewer. By respecting the audience's intelligence, Kubrick allowed his movie to be the beginning, not the end, of a meaningful discussion on man's past, present, and future. The beauty of 2001 is that the ending need not mean anything deep, it can just be a purely plot driven explanation and the entire movie can be viewed as an entertaining journey through space. No other movie, save the great Citizen Kane, leaves itself open to discussion like 2001. It is truly meant to be a surreal journey that involves not only the eye but the mind. Instead of waiting in long lines for the Phantom Menace, rent a widescreen edition of 2001 and enjoy the greatest cinematic experience.