2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

After discovering a mysterious artifact buried beneath the Lunar surface, mankind sets off on a quest to find its origins with help from intelligent supercomputer H.A.L. 9000.

Director:

Stanley Kubrick

Writers:

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

Stars:

Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester

Top Rated Movies #90 | Won 1 Oscar. Another 15 wins & 11 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 | star child | human versus computer | number in title | computer | 

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Taglines:

50 Years Ago One Movie Changed All Movies Forever [2018 Re-release]

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Genres:

Adventure | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

G

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 brand 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". These were not paid endorsements but were used to make things appear to be routine tech.

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Goofs

The bone Moon-Watcher uses to beat the enemy ape is a femur (upper leg bone), as indicated by the sideways projecting "arm" with a ball at the end. However, the bone shown rotating in the air is a tibia (main bone of the lower leg), as indicated by its blunt ends.

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Quotes

HAL: Dave, stop. Stop, will you? Stop, Dave. Will you stop Dave? Stop, Dave.

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Crazy Credits

The original theatrical release had Ligeti's Atmospheres to a black screen for roughly 8 to 10 minutes before the movie began, and Strauss' The Blue Danube well after the end credits to a black screen.

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Alternate Versions

The DVD version from MGM omits a few seconds of dialogue from the scene in which Dave is attempting to re-enter the Discovery through the pod bay doors. Dave asks several times, "Do you read me, HAL?" In the original release, HAL answers, "Affirmative, Dave. I read you." In the DVD version, HAL only answers "Affirmative, Dave," although the English subtitles still contains "I read you." The DVD release from Warner Bros. corrects this and HAL's full line of dialogue is heard.

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Connections

Referenced in And the Oscar Goes To... (2014)

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Soundtracks

Gayane Ballet Suite -- Gayane's Adagio
(1941-2)
Music by Aram Khachaturyan
Performed by Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra (as the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra)
Conductor Gennadi Rozhdestvensky
Courtesy Deutsche Grammophon

User Reviews

It's a puzzlement...

There are two schools of thought about 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY. One, is that it is the greatest science-fiction epic ever made. This is supported by those who claim to understand the complexities involved and leading up the Star Child ending. The others, like myself, find it as absorbing as watching paint dry on woodwork.

The musical background is glorious, the colors are dazzling, and there's an interesting use of HAL as a villainous computer. Beyond that, there is nothing the least bit interesting about the human characters (trite dialogue and no personality or warmth to any of the individuals), the pace is unbelievably slow (so the intellectually gifted can philosophize on the mysteries of space), and the payoff at the end leaves you either breathless with enlightenment or convinced that you have watched three hours of nothingness.

I had the same letdown feeling when I watched THE CLOCKWORK ORANGE, so your like or dislike of this movie is purely dependent on personal taste. Intellectuals will take the position that you are a mentally challenged clod if you dare disagree with their elevated opinion of the movie--so be aware that this is not conventional story-telling in any sense whatsoever and only for those who admire Stanley Kubrick's way with unlikely cinematic material.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English Russian

Release Date:

12 May 1968 (UK)

Also Known As:

Journey Beyond the Stars

Filming Locations:

Spitzkoppe, Erongo, Namibia

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$202,759, 20 May 2018

Gross USA:

$60,405,931

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$65,790,509

Company Credits

Production Co:

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

Technical Specs

Runtime:

149 min 142 min (theatrical release) 161 min (initial release)

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (35 mm magnetic prints) 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) DTS (DTS HD Master Audio 5.1)

Color:

Color (Technicolor) Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1