2001: A Space Odyssey (1968): It’s full of stars
1968 • Stanley Kubrick • 2.20:1 • Jump to Gallery ↓
Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) is the quintessential mind-blowing science-fiction film. First and foremost, it is a visual experience. The film contains only around 40 minutes of dialogue throughout its 149-minute runtime, with the first spoken line appearing approximately 25 minutes in, after the ‘Dawn of Man’ sequence. Exposition is minimal, leaving explanations open to interpretation.
The story that Kubrick developed with Arthur C. Clarke is quite simple. It’s about an alien artefact’s influence on humanity’s evolution. After one is found on the moon, a mission is launched to investigate the origin of a signal it relayed. This leads to an unexpected discovery.
Wanting to make a science-fiction movie that he felt should be grounded in reality, Stanley Kubrick reached for accuracy in his representation of space exploration (including the sound design). With the help of revolutionary visuals developed by Douglas Trumbull, he created a unique cinematic experience with truly astonishing shots.
The result is slow but fascinating, and may be the most psychedelic experience to come from a film so intent on realistic representation. And, of course, there is HAL 9000 with his voice and fisheye view of the ship, the AI that still influences our view of technology today. The film itself does the same after having changed the idea of what the genre could be.
Technical Specs:
- The Story: From humanity’s earliest tools to deep-space exploration, a series of encounters with a mysterious monolith traces the evolution of intelligence and the unknowable forces shaping it. Read my thoughts on 2001: A Space Odyssey.
- Actors: Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester, Douglas Rain.
- Director: Stanley Kubrick
- Year: 1968
- Cinematographer: Geoffrey Unsworth
- Origin: American Cinema
- Aspect Ratio: 2.20:1
- Genre: Sci-Fi & Fantasy
