#09: 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY

Starring Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood. Written by Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke. Directed by Stanley Kubrick. 142 minutes long.

Simply one of the greatest films ever made, it's scope, skill and creativity are off the chart. With this single film, Stanley Kubrick changed an entire genre and influenced film makers for the next 46 years, including 2014's Interstellar which owes a huge debt to Odyssey and indeed pays homage to it with it's own spiralling spaceship docking sequence.

Telling the story of mankind from his very dawn on the Earth to his next evolutionary step to the stars as our destiny is gently nudged by an alien intelligence we never glimpse, hear nor understand. With no attempt made to explain the reasons behind their extraordinary gift of technology, nor any efforts made to explain the final act of this extraordinary film, 2001 is a truly stunning and genuine work of cinematic genius.

Despite having seen this countless times both at the cinema and at home, 2001 never fails to thrill me, and I continue to marvel at its scope and achievements.

Whether it's marrying long, non-speaking special effects shots of spaceships in orbit, docking, landing or just flying, perfectly, with classical music, or throwing us a stunning 45 million year forward in the story thanks to its legendary jump cut, or it's exquisite attention to detail or even just the sequence where HAL 9000 pleads for its artificial life, 2001 is an utterly brilliant film that allows you to supply your own answers to the final act without leaving you feeling cheated or frustrated.

I don't know if I've noticed it before but on this viewing I was struck by two things, the first just how powerful the sound mix and use of music and human voices is, during the opening 'Dawn of Man' sequence, indeed, throughout the movie the use of music and sound is used to profound effect.

The second thing I noticed is just how much food and eating plays a part in this film. From the ape-men eating roots to hunting and eating tapirs, then to the Pan-Am shuttle where Dr. Floyd is served his inflight meal, before a shuttle to the moon with more food and an urgent trip to the Zero-G toilet, then a trip onboard the moon bus for some sandwiches and a discussion about them, before the meals onboard Discovery, and then Bowman's final meal as an old man before he transforms into the Starchild. Incidentally, have you noticed that the meal he eats then is the same consistency and colour as the meal he ate onboard the Discovery.

That's why I love this film, there's so much to take away and enjoy. This version came with an intro and outro of classic music to play in and out the movie, including the full-length Blue Danbue and also a much unneeded and deeply jarring intermission that really broke the tension and ingagement.

That said, this still remains as one of my all-time favourite films, and it easily stands the test of time, the effects, mostly practical, haven't dated, as it's still a deeply profound movie. If you get a chance to see it on the big screen, do it. I've now seen this at least four times on the big screen in recent years, the last time being 2018, and it still remains an absolute masterpiece.

10/10