2001: A Space Odyssey

[sycasey 2.0 2301]

Anyway...I’m sure none of that makes any sense.

 

Nah, that's a great take! Human fear is definitely a thread that plays out throughout the movie. Some people take that ending as hopeful and some take it as yet another thing to be afraid of.

[Cakebug Tranch 6873]

 

I was thinking about Cam Bert's teacher referencing Ulysses, and how that relates to 2001, and while there's a lot of differences in creation -- Joyce purposely fills his novel with puzzling obscurities, Kubrick just ambiguous, unexplained, subconscious moments -- but the mundane would be the best correlation. That's what Joyce brought to literature, just writing about everyday moments. Kubrick brought it to sci-fi in a similar way.

 

(Further, the movie is called a 'Space Odyssey' and Ulysses is also based on The Odyssey.)

 

My brother is a bit of a Joyce scholar, and his advice for Ulysses was always to "don't worry about it, just read it." Don't fret over not understanding every moment or word, just enjoy reading through it. And I think that's similar to 2001: puzzling over it all is fun! but it's not necessary, and as many of you have noted, if you just EXPERIENCE it, you can be wowed.

That's how I felt when I finally read Ulysses - I had been daunted by its 'Mount Everest' status but once I made the decision to read and not to try to understand everything, but let it wash over me, I loved the experience in just about exactly the same way I loved 2001.

[tomspanks 9039]

Something 2001 failed to predict - you can drink out of cups (instead of through a straw) in space now.

https://nerdist.com/new-space-cups-let-astronauts-drink-without-straws

[AlmostAGhost 2718]

Well... were the non-straw cups available in the year 2001? I think Kubrick was accurate in his predictions there

[Cameron H. 23786]

Is it me or is this the happiest damn ship you’ve ever seen?

 

 

Of course, when it lands, it appears far more sinister...

 

[tomspanks 9039]

Is it me or is this the happiest damn ship you’ve ever seen?

 

Just you. I thought the shape of the ship was cute, but those red eyes = evil.

[Cameron H. 23786]

 

 

Just you. I thought the shape of the ship was cute, but those red eyes = evil.

 

Are you kidding? It looks like a dopey, cartoon dinosaur. Adorable.

 

 

[tomspanks 9039]

Are you kidding? It looks like a dopey, cartoon dinosaur. Adorable.

 

But he wants to eat my soul.

 

 

 

[Cameron H. 23786]

 

 

But he wants to eat my soul.

 

That doesn’t mean he’s not cute - just evil.

[Cameron H. 23786]

Does anyone else ever get a little disappointed when talking about movies that are (more or less) universally well-liked or reviled? Personally, for the sake of conversation, I prefer movies that occupy a kind of gray area...

[Cameron H. 23786]

Just FYI:

 

http://forum.earwolf.com/topic/55328-important-forum-to-be-updated-742018/page__pid__281532#entry281532

[bleary 333]

This is probably my favorite film of all time, so I would obviously have it on my list, at #1 in fact.

 

As my photo broadcasts, I agree completely. It's hard to say that I have just one favorite film, but it's one of a handful of films I consider perfect, and it's been fun reading everyone's thoughts about it.

[ChunkStyle 1160]

I don't remember when I first saw 2001 but I was pretty young. I didn't see it again for many years. In the intervening time it split apart into two movies in my mind. There was the movie about the killer computer in space. That was a thriller. There was also the trippy experience movie with the Space Baby. Then I would think is 2001 the movie with HAL? Or is that the movie with the Space Baby? My kid brain had decided the two parts were so different they couldn't have come from the same place.

[sycasey 2.0 2301]

Does anyone else ever get a little disappointed when talking about movies that are (more or less) universally well-liked or reviled? Personally, for the sake of conversation, I prefer movies that occupy a kind of gray area...

 

From reading the Facebook group, I know this movie is certainly not universally loved. But even the "haters" seem to generally acknowledge that it's deserving of a spot on the list, even if they don't personally enjoy it.

[taylor anne photo 11311]

So this was my first viewing of 2001 ever. Finally got to see it last night and unfortunately I should have napped before I started because I did fall asleep 40 minutes in. Not anything to do with the movie itself (maybe a little bit?) and more to do with my own physical state before settling in for a movie. I say maybe a little bit because at 40 minutes in the plot still hasn't taken off. We've just gotten out of the Dawn of Man sequence and into Dr. Floyd's part of the story, and with all of the musical transgressions and lack of dialogue, it's very easy to see how this really put my mind at ease to fall asleep.

 

Obviously I have become more aware of the use of the music in this film rather than the film itself over the years. The only thing I truly knew about plot wise was the line "I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that." Which, I believe I became wholly aware of after seeing Moon in 2009 and hearing how much the AI in that movie was viewed as a direct reference (some said ripoff even) of HAL. Other than that I'm surprised at how little I knew about this movie other than the musical sequences.

 

Also it really wasn't until I heard Amy and Paul mention how much this predicted in terms of technology that I even recognized that they were using things that had been previously unheard of. The iPads and TV screens on the back of chairs completely went unnoticed because that's what we're so used to now in 2018, but my goodness 50 years ago this was absolutely mind-boggling. Part of me is sad I'll never be able to experience this movie the way it was truly intended to be seen (and I just mean in the sense that I'll never be able to see it 50 years ago) but it's amazing to see how much it holds up and doesn't feel dated at all.

 

I can't say this was a perfect film but this is definitely one of the best Sci-Fi movies I've ever seen in my life and I'm kinda glad that I waited to see this until I knew I could fully appreciate every aspect of it, whether I fully got what Kubrick was trying to say or not.

[taylor anne photo 11311]

Oh I forgot that I was gonna mention that I felt no empathy for HAL at all. Not that I don't necessarily believe that he could feel things, but I attribute his feelings more to someone we might classify as a sociopath. In the end when he keeps repeating that he was afraid I didn't believe that he was really afraid, but that he knew if he could play to Dave's empathy then that would save him. It was all about manipulation to get what he wanted, which was to live and continue his mission. It was fascinating to watch and I was waiting for Dave to give it at some point but was glad he didn't.

[tomspanks 9039]

 

Its playing all over: http://www.movingima...new-70mm-print/

 

Or, come up to Toronto and see it with us!

 

Won't have to. It's coming here

[Cakebug Tranch 6873]

 

Won't have to. It's coming here

[Cameron H. 23786]

iTunes is having a sale on "Classic American Stories." All the movies below are currently $10 or less. I also included movies from the 1998 list if anyone is interested.

 

 

Forest Gump

Saving Private Ryan

Rocky

American Graffiti

Yankee Doodle Dandy

All the President's Men

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Do the Right Thing

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

Easy Rider

Nashville

The Last Picture Show

ET

The Philadelphia Story

The French Connection

Apocalypse Now

Jaws

 

1998 List

Dances With Wolves

Giant

Patton

Mutiny on the Bounty

Doctor Zhivago

The Third Man

[Susan* 135]

 

From reading the Facebook group, I know this movie is certainly not universally loved. But even the "haters" seem to generally acknowledge that it's deserving of a spot on the list, even if they don't personally enjoy it.

I don't know about a Facebook group, and I'm not a hater, but I'm sort of in this camp. I'm going to struggle with where this movie winds up on my list. Similar to Citizen Kane, I've read a lot about it over the years, I have always understood its importance, but it's not a favorite movie of mine. The first time I saw it, I was a teenager, and I was totally hooked. The next couple of times I saw it in a theater as an adult and I was analyzing it rather than enjoying it. I watched it again last week on my TV because of the podcast and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. It's more important than most of the movies on the AFI list, but it's not one of the ones I enjoy the most. I can only imagine what a trip it would have been if I had seen it when it was released.

 

All things being equal, I'm more about dialogue than visuals. And I never like Kubrick movies as much as other film fans.

[Susan* 135]

Any idea why the waltzes were so prevalent on the soundtrack? It's the most accessible classical music -- classical music for people who don't like classical music. (I say that as someone who loves waltzes. )

[sycasey 2.0 2301]

Any idea why the waltzes were so prevalent on the soundtrack? It's the most accessible classical music -- classical music for people who don't like classical music. (I say that as someone who loves waltzes. )

 

My understanding is that Kubrick originally planned to have the classical tracks (Blue Danube, Also Sprach Zarathustra) replaced with original score and just used them for timing to edit the scenes, but found that it worked so well he left them in. Good call.

[Cakebug Tranch 6873]

I went out to the Toronto International Film Festival Bell Lightbox last night to catch the 70mm version of '2001', and I can't say enough great things about it. I fully agree with Paul's take on the sound - the signal sound from the moon was truly jarring, for example - and the placement of the intermission (15 minutes) right after the lip-reading revelation was mind-blowing even to the group of film geeks in the cinema last night who knew it was coming. I can't imagine how incredible it would have been to viewers in 1968.

 

I have a longer review on my letterboxd account, but in short, please go see this if you can. It's incredible.

[ChunkStyle 1160]

Hot of the presses. Potentially Kubrick's view on the ending of the film.

 

https://io9.gizmodo.com/this-may-be-stanley-kubrick-himself-explaining-the-end-1827363975

[sycasey 2.0 2301]

Hot of the presses. Potentially Kubrick's view on the ending of the film.

 

https://io9.gizmodo....-end-1827363975

 

Just saw this!

 

Though it's worth noting that this basically lines up with Arthur C. Clarke's story, so not a big surprise.