black screen, with only the music indicating the movie has already begun, it is an example of the major role music and sound have in this extraordinary film. Told in four chapters, director Stanley Kubrick starts off with 'The Dawn Of Man', showing a group of primeval apes living on planet earth as it once was, years and years ago. With a dynamic cut, we then find ourself in space, floating around in the big black unknown. With still no dialogue, it is the music and the visuals that speak and tell the story. Looking at these images you can't help but be fascinated of how real everything looks, especially when you consider 2001 was made in 1968, a time in which the 21th century still looked as something far away in the future. If 2001 would have been made today, I'm sure it wouldn't have looked much different. The effects from then are as good, if not better, to how they are now. 2001 has really stood the test of time. Some movies get remade, even some classics, but 2001 definitely is a film that doesn't ask to be remade, just because it already is perfect. If it was ahead of it's time back then, it still is right now. We are still fascinated with life, evolution and our universe. And the way it is depicted in 2001 still holds questions that to this day are left unanswered. Artifical intelligence with machines and computers fully operating on their own like the HAL 9000 computer taking control of our lives, is still something that belongs to our future and is something we have yet to bring into use. The idea of machines and robots taking over still scares us and therefore 2001 still presents to us an unknown world. The way the camera moves slowly through the settings gives you a feeling of the impact of its large scale and makes it feel all the more real. Some of the visuals even match the music in movement, making for beautiful synchronous shots. Altogether 2001 is cinema-art, with beautiful shots and music, action and a great story of mankind, raising questions that challenge our ideas of life and explore the strengths and weaknesses of men.What is it about?
2001 is a story about the evolution of man, told in four chapters: 'The Dawn Of Man', which shows a group of primeval 'ape men' livng on planet earth who one day stumble upon a big monolith standing in their landscape; a second untitled chapter which shows Dr. Heywood R. Floyd who together with a team goes on an expedition to take a look at the monolith, now 4
million years old, and which is discovered recently; a third chapter, called 'Jupiter Mission, 18 Months Later' shows Dr. Dave Bowman and Dr. Frank Poole with three other men who are still in a sleeplike state called 'hibernation' and are aboard a spaceship controlled by the HAL 9000 computer, a very powerful system which functions on its own; the final chapter, 'Jupiter And Beyond The Infinite' shows Dr. Dave Bowman travelling through space, which eventually takes him to a place which seems to take place in another time and dimension. By showing all these different chapters Kubrick tells of the evolution of man, how man came to use and develop tools and what man's purpose is in a time when artificial intelligence has taken over the most important functions.Final Verdict: *****
2001: A Space Odyssey so far is the most fascinating piece of cinema I've ever seen. It really is a spectacle and goes beyond your imagination. From beginning to end it's truly amazing. Like nothing I've ever seen before, even though it reminded me a bit of The Fountain, which also takes place in different periods of time and raises questions about man and life and death and which is also quite overwhelming and more of an experience tickling all senses, than just a film. But 2001 just exceeds every film. Everything about it is just great. The way it looks, the music, the sound. It all fits. The shots, filmed from all these different angles which really gives you a feeling of what it is like out there in space, are spectacular and very fascinating. They make you feel as if everything in this movie is there with a purpose, a true meaning. It just shows how much thought there has been put in making this film and choosing how to translate the feeling and the whole atmosphere of space to film. When you watch the spacecrafts floating through space it just looks so real. Beside showing man's strengths and weaknesses it also deals with
other dimensions and raises questions of what will happen after we've let computers take so much control of us. The used sound and the music are perfectly chosen and used. I don't think I've ever seen a movie which used music and sound the way 2001 does. Without it 2001 would have been a totally different experience. The impact of the images and the whole created atmosphere of the unknown is intensified by the use of sound. I especially loved the heavy breathing of both Frank and Dave when they float through space. It makes you realise that even though HAL feels alive, he still is a computer, he still doesn't breath, which is a crucial difference between men and computer. 2001 really is an extraordinary film, it truly is a masterpiece which shows why Stanley Kubrick is seen as such an important figure in cinema, shows how talented he is. I'm still kind of overwhelmed by all of it. If you love cinema and still haven't seen it, you really should. There are so many things I loved about it and which I haven't seen before and could not have imagined myself. If only I could have watched it on the big screen, I'm sure the whole impact, if possible, would have been even bigger.
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