2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

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.

Director:

Stanley Kubrick

Writers:

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

Stars:

Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester

Top 250 #92 | Won 1 Oscar. Another 12 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

"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.

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Plot Keywords:

monolith | computer | evolution | moon | astronaut | 

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Taglines:

Man's colony on the Moon... a whole new generation has been born and is living there... a quarter-million miles from Earth.

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Genres:

Adventure | Mystery | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English Russian

Release Date:

11 April 1968 (Japan)

Also Known As:

How the Solar System Was Won

Filming Locations:

Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$10,500,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$56,715,371 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Stanley Kubrick Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

141 min 160 min (premiere cut)

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Incrementing each letter of "HAL" gives you "IBM". Writer Arthur C. Clarke claimed this was unintentional, and if he had noticed ahead of time, he would have changed it. HAL stands for Heuristic Algorithmic Computer. IBM product placements appear in the movie as well, including the computer panels in the spaceplane that docks with the space station, the forearm control panel on Dave's spacesuit, and the portable viewscreens on which Dave and Frank watch "The World Tonight".

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Goofs

When the hatch is blown with the "explosive bolts", it appears to vanish when it should have been in between Dave and the Discovery, blocking his entrance, However, the door isn't actually detached in this sequence but is, rather, forcibly opened with the door sliding into the side of pod as it normally would, just much quicker due to the explosive bolts being fired.

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Quotes

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

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Crazy Credits

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.

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Connections

Referenced in Revenge of the Nerds IV: Nerds in Love (1994)

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Soundtracks

"The Blue Danube"
(1866)
("An der schönen, blauen Donau, op. 314 (The Blue Danube)")
Music by Johann Strauß (as Johann Strauss)
Performed by Berliner Philharmoniker (as the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra)
Conductor Herbert von Karajan
Courtesy Deutsche Grammophon

User Reviews

My brief review of the film

A whimsical, often spectacular view of a future in which advances in technology dominate the world. It is well shot and although slow-moving it is intense and enjoyable throughout. The featuring of classical music to establish atmosphere works brilliantly; it provides a feeling of awe, mystery and intrigue – the same aura that Walt Disney worked in creating 'Fantasia'. The special effects, both sound and visual, are still spellbinding by the standards of today's technology. Aside from the technical pluses of the film, it stands strong as it is one of not many films out there that has something important to say about humankind, and where the human race is heading in terms of our increasing reliance on machines and our unquenchable thirst to discover. Despite an ending that is hard to understand, it is even harder to overlook this film a true cinema classic.