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:

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 | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

G

Did You Know?

Trivia

In this film, the song "Happy Birthday" is sung (to Frank Poole by his parents). The song would be sung again in another Kubrick Film: Full Metal Jacket (1987).

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Goofs

In the BBC interview, Dave says that in hibernation the heart only beats once a minute. However when the life signs graphs of the astronauts in hibernation are shown, its a regular heartbeat that's occurring, not a heart beating at once a minute.

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Quotes

Interviewer: HAL, despite your enormous intellect, are you ever frustrated by your dependence on people to carry out your actions?
HAL: Not in the slightest bit. I enjoy working with people. I have a stimulating relationship with Dr. Poole and Dr. Bowman. My mission responsibilities range over the entire operation of the ship so I am constantly occupied. I am putting myself to the fullest possible use which is all, I think, that any conscious entity can ever hope to do.
Interviewer: Dr. Poole, what's it like living for the ...
[...]

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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

Spoofed in The Creature Wasn't Nice (1981)

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Soundtracks

Daisy Bell (A Bicycle Built for Two)
(1893) (uncredited)
Composed by Harry Dacre
Sung by Douglas Rain

User Reviews

Cosmic Art

Mankind's Self awakening is the theme of "2001: A Space Odyssey", a process that unfolds along a space-time continuum. We "see" our primordial past, and we "infer" a cosmic future. The powers of intuition thus become the doors of perception, in our ongoing collective journey.

From this transcendental perspective, a conventional, egocentric plot seems superfluous. Our frenzied conflicts and self-important dialogue are consumed in evolutionary change, and are irrelevant in a cosmos that is vast beyond comprehension. It's a tough lesson for a vain and aggressive species. Not surprising then that some of us huff and puff about the film's slowness and minimal story. For perceptive viewers, the remuneration is an inspirational sense of wonder and awe.

In this film, which is mostly visual, geometric symbols guide our intuition. Circles and arcs represent nature. Right angles represent conscious intelligence. Some people think the sleek, black monolith is a Von Neumann probe. Maybe. Without doubt, the monolith is a visual metaphor for an extraterrestrial intelligence whose physical form is never shown. Mystery is more profound than explanation.

"2001 ... " is unique among films in content and scope. The cinematography is out-of-this-world, the special and visual effects are breathtaking, and the classical music is sublime. I rarely use the word "masterpiece" to describe a movie. But Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey" is art in the highest sense, like Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa", or Vincent Van Gogh's "The Starry Night".

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