"2001" was probably the most original film ever made. It is so different from conventional films that, in fact, it may be a different art form altogether. Even the very best films, such as "Casablanca", "Rebecca" and "Chinatown" have formulaic elements. In contrast, "2001" is in its own world, as if all the movies made before had never existed. While director Stanley Kubrick has made even better films ("Dr. Strangelove" and "Barry Lyndon"), "2001" will always be the most impressive, just for its originality and audacity.
The film has four parts. The first section is the
dawn of man. Man-apes are taught to use tools and
kill by an imposing black monolith. In the second
part, a second black monolith is found buried in
the moon by astronauts in the year 2001. This
leads to a mission to Jupiter by another team of
astronauts and a talkative, emotional computer
named Hal. The final and most surreal part has
astronaut Dave traveling to the infinite and
beyond.
"2001" opened to mixed reviews. Many critics were
(and perhaps still are) put off by the lack of
dialogue and character development, the slow
pace, and surreal imagery. "2001" is a story told
by cinematography, with much of the meaning left
to the imagination of the viewer.
The film's significance was not lost on the Oscar
committee, however, which awarded "2001" Best
Special Effects and Best Art Direction. Kubrick
was nominated for Best Director, and the film was
nominated for Best Writing. It is odd that the
sparse script was nominated instead of
cinematography. The most developed character in
the film is Hal, a computer that is more
emotional than the robotlike humans that
accompany him on the mission. The confrontation
between Hal (voiced by Douglas Rain) and Dave
(Keir Dullea) is the most interesting part of the
film, more so than the increasingly bizarre and
unfathomable finale.
Trivia: "2001" took three years to film.
Supposedly there was 200 times more film shot
than was used in the final version. The little
girl in the telephone video is Kubrick's daughter
Vivienne. (90/100)
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