Originally written on March 28, 2008
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I recently saw 2001: A Space Odyssey for the third time on Netflix.com, and it left me more awed, more inspired and more perplexed by the cinematic genius of Stanley Kubrick. It is surprising how Kubrick can make excellent movies in diverse genres such as comedy (Dr Strangelove), relationships (Eyes Wide Shut), war (A Full Metal Jacket), infatuation (Lolita), horror (The Shining) and the all encompassing masterpiece `A Clockwork Orange'. 2001 can be dubbed as a science fiction/suspense movie. This motion picture creates a breathtaking imagery of space by using special effects and classical music. There are few dialogues and they do complete justice to the grand topics of human evolution, artificial intelligence and space exploration which this movie tries to address within its span of 148 minutes. After you finish it, you may find yourself guessing what happened and possibly engaging with your friends in `one of those' conversations about its meaning. Whatever you reason, your hypotheses will be debatable at best. The answers lie inside Arthur C Clarke's novel by the same name. Arthur Clarke assisted Kubrick with the screenplay.
This film was made in 1968 and was extremely ahead of its time, and holds its ground even today. The graphics used to create the colossal inter planetary spacecraft are very good and the sets do not appear lame. The music compliments the scenes at all times. The distinct opening theme composed by Richard Strauss has become a favorite of our times and can be commonly heard elsewhere. Kubrick uses music very smartly and does not swamp the viewer in long sequences which would have added little to the whole experience. For instance, the scenes where astronauts are engaging in EVA are devoid of any background score and you can only hear the breathing, taking you right inside the space suit.
I do not want to spoil the movie for people who have not watched it yet, but 2001 raises very pertinent philosophical questions about AI and the possibility of computer consciousness. We have seen a lot of movies of late in which some damned robot decides to overthrow humans ensuing some lame ass drama. HAL 9000 computer from 2001 however presents itself to be a less fancy but a very credible system which goes awry. The treatment of this serious issue is non glamorous and very straightforward.
If you have not seen it yet, please watch it. Although it will appeal more computer sc/ engineering majors, I think everyone who has a penchant for movies should be able to enjoy it.
Here is the trailer on Youtube:
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