2001: A Space Odessy..and this film was about what??

[Brad123]

Just watched 2001: Space Odessy. Now can someone explain to me what the heck this film was on about and the ending. I thought this was the pioneering sci fi film but I've no idea what I just watched. And it was very boring in some parts too.
:)

[Dodgy]

Brad, you need to have watched this film 20 years ago and not understand it then in order to understand it now ;)

It's difficult to explain what 2001 is all about, I still think it's a tremendous movie but I don't profess to understand all of it :rolleyes:

Dave.

[pythons]

I've never see it all, I caught some of it on some movie channel a while ago, I cant remember if there was a proble with the sound or if the movie has silent parts because there wasnt a noise for about 10mins..:eek:

[cjbarker]

2001 is one of my top 5 films, but I don't know if anyone knows what it's all about! Except maybe Kubrik and Clarke ;)
Life the universe and everything should just about sum it up :D

Yeah pythos, there are lots of parts with no dialogue, especially at the start and end

This thread would probably be better in the Movie Discussion Forum (mods?). May even get some answers...

[Sputnik]

It's about whatever you want it to be about :p

Moving to DVD and Movie Forum :)

[Yonathan Gal]

No-one can deny this is an absolute masterpiece. It's visually incredible, the fact that there's no dialogue at all for 20 mins in and 20 mins before the end of the film is just... well, absolutely amazing. 10/10. I can hardly say I understand 40% of t, everytme I watch I get a little more, but I doubt even Arthur C. Clarke understands 100% of it! My grandad is a good fiend of his and they often talk about it... Clarke always comes out with wierd things about it apparently. Still, I love it, one of THE most symbolic films ever, for where weve come from, what we're doing, and more importantly, where we're going... incredible, flawless!

[tomos]

long quote
The Dawn of Man

The original theatrical screening of 2001 included a three-minute musical overture set against a blank screen. The music played during this prelude is Ligeti's Atmospheres, and its purpose is twofold. First, it is an eerie, unusual music that puts the audience into an expectant mood; the feeling is of something important about to happen. Atmospheres is repeated twice during the movie's running time, at certain key moments (the Intermission, and Dave Bowman's journey into the Unknown). The meaning of this music will become clear later in the film.

The tone of 2001 is set in the very first scene, before the opening credits themselves: Sunrise over the planet Earth. It's a breath-taking sight as the triumphant Also Sprach Zarathustra echoes through the heavens, the Moon moves away and the Sun rises in its dazzling brightness across the face of the Earth. This planetary alignment has always been significant to Man, and Kubrick makes the most of it here. "The mystical alignment of the Sun, the Moon, and Earth, or of Jupiter and its moons, was used throughout the film as a premonitory image of a leap forward to the unknown," he says. The image is repeated several times throughout the movie, to signify an important event in human history.

Filmguide to 2001 offers an additional explanation of this scene that makes sense: it may be the point-of-view of the Aliens themselves. Travelling through our Solar System, they come across a bright little planet teeming with life -- and this is what they have been looking for. There may be other possibilities, including one theory that says that the open credits are, in fact, the same scene that takes place at the very END of the movie. This view of the Earth could be the point-of-view of the Star Child himself, and we are seeing the world through his eyes. If this is so, then the entire movie becomes a flashback, finally ending with this exact same moment - and the same music, as the movie also ends with Also Sprach Zarathustra.

The Dawn Of Man

Daylight. The sun rises upon a vast desert, and with the credits we realize that this is the prehistoric era. It is the African landscape, and the land is in the midst of a drought - this becomes obvious when, in one scene, we see a pile of bleached bones on the ground. Some of those bones look like humanoid skulls - and that is exactly what they are.

The man-apes appear. They are our ancestors, and at first glance it's hard to believe that these creatures will one day evolve into the masters of the planet. In fact, the man-apes are not surviving. They're foraging for plants and bugs; they're scavengers, and they're not having much luck finding things to eat. Furthermore, they're obviously not very dangerous, for a group of tapirs is competing with them for the same food. They cannot even scare the animals away.

Their number is diminishing. As a leopard pounces upon one of the man-apes, the others flee in terror; they cannot defend their comrade, and they have no desire to anyways. In the harsh world of this prehistoric era, every creature must fend for himself, and he cannot grieve for anyone else. Besides, the man-apes are too weak from hunger to properly defend themselves.

These man-apes are not the only ones in the vicinity, however. As they are drinking from a pool of muddy water, another group of humanoids comes upon the scene. But the man-apes lack the strength and the natural weapons to defend their territory, and they are driven away by the intruders. They are not surviving, and it is obvious that they will die soon.

The novel 2001 states that one of the apes is called Moon- Watcher. This name is not important to the story, but it helps to identify the chief man-ape as the central figure here. It is he who will be the subject of the great experiment. The first signs of intelligence are appearing in him, but they may not be there for long - for Moon-Watcher, like the rest of his tribe, is starving to death.

That night, the man-apes huddle together under a big outcropping of rock. This is the best protection they have against the terrors of the night. But this night is different from many others. There is something else out there, something that even makes the great predators and hunters nervous. A leopard glances up from its kill, its eyes glowing in the dusk sky. (The glow of the cat's eyes was a lucky accident during the filming of the movie.) Other animals, normally silent, growl and roar as fear overcomes them. The man-apes sense this, and Moon-Watcher growls as well - though in his case, it is merely a gesture to show the world that he is not afraid, when inside he is just as scared as his fellow man-apes. In a close-up of his face, we see eyes that are definitely human - the same curious eyes that Moon-Watcher's descendants will have, four million years later.

The night falls.

As dawn brightens the sky, the great event takes place. The eerie strains of Gygory Legeti's unearthly Requiem resound, and the man-apes awaken. A look of outright terror appears on their faces. Something is wrong; they see something that strikes them dumb with fright.

Then the camera pulls back, and the Monolith appears.

The appearance of something so artificial, so PERFECT, in the prehistoric era of the man-apes is one of the greatest shocks of the entire film. This Thing has appeared, as if from nowhere. The man- apes flee in terror from it at first, but their curiosity overcomes them and they slowly approach it. It is Moon-Watcher who first performs the act that will be repeated twice later in the film: He reaches out to touch the Monolith.

There is something mystical and emotional about this scene: the man-apes, almost childlike in their innocence, running their hands over the smooth surface of the Monolith. They do not know where it has come from, nor can they comprehend the beings responsible for intruding upon their world in this manner. They only know that this is something new, and their curiosity is compelling them to find out what this new thing is. It's as if they have received a gift from the gods.

In fact, this is precisely what has happened.

if you want someone's opinion on the scenes in the movie then read this guys site (http://www.modemac.com/2001/2001-b.html) . it gave me a clue.

[John Nelson]

It's an example of an oh-so-rare thing - a film that isn't just mindless entertainment. It's a piece of work that doesn't give all the answers to you on a plate, but makes you think about what you've seen and the world you live in.

Films like this do get made nowadays, but almost never by a major studio and a respected director with a big budget at his/her disposal.

-- J.

[Bamse]

If you read all four of the books, you will have a much better understanding of the two films.

[theSandman]

Sorry could not resist ....honest ;)

<b>2001: A Space Odessy..and this film was about what??</b>

well according to my Region 1 disc .... about 148 minutes

:D

the old ones are best eh?

/suffles off grining

[DeadKenny]

To quote Clarke...

If you understand 2001 completely, we failed. We wanted to raise far more questions than we answered

Unfortunately he went on to try and explain it all with 2010, and although worthy it was full of 'cold war' sentiments that backfired when the whole thing collapsed (wall and all :D). The film of 2010 is reasonable as a sequel and sci-fi though as long as you can put aside the fact it's not a Kubrick film and very different in style.

[brattle]

Originally posted by Bamse
If you read all four of the books, you will have a much better understanding of the two films.

Although Clarke admits that the sequel books should not be taken in the same context as the films. IMO the books are merely a cash in on Clarke's part and dilute the orinal vision of the film.

Clarke also said that the story behind 2001 was very much more Kubrick than Clarke. If anyone has read the Sentinel, Clarke's short story that inspired Kubrick to make 2001, you'll see that Kubrick's vision extended far beyond Clarke's.

I have to confess, the film made a lot of sense to me when I first saw it. Well, by sense I mean everything I saw on screen fitted the vision I thought Kubrick wanted me to see.

These are my thoughts on the film. Note that they are entirely my own and not cribbed from any other source, although I have seen other similar essays written since I saw the film. I'm aware though that I may have bungled it completely and Kubrick may be turning in his grave right now.


IMO the film is about the development of mankind, which is guided by some kind of external force, be it God, Aliens or the Universe itself. In the film there are four monoliths and each starts mankind on their next stage to evolving to the ultimate life form, a being of pure thought and conciousness. The first appears to the apes and teaches them to use tools (and to kill each other). Jump forward 2 million years and the next monolith shows mankind that the way is to Jupiter. It is placed on the moon because whoever placed it there knows that it can only be found when mankind is at a certain stage in its devlopment.

The third is placed way out by Jupiter so that only a very few people can reach it at first. It is a voyage into our own subconcious.

The last sequence in the rooms seems to confuse most people. To me this represents our prejudged notions of aging. Although Bowman has entered his own subconcious, he still has the accepted wisdom of being mortal. Note that whenever Bowman looks forward he has aged, but whenever he looks back, the younger version of him is no longer there.

This ends with a dying Bowman reaching out to the final monolith and transforming into the "space embryo" which starts on the pillow and then looks over the world and lastly at the audience. He is reborn as an entity of pure thought.

I've heard many people say that HAL's malfunction is caused by the third monolith, but I disagree with this. It very nearly kills everyone including Bowman. I believe that the HAL part of the film is a sub plot to the main message of the film and is Kubrick's thoughts on our over reliance on machines and computers. It's brilliant because it juxtaposes the earlier sequences in the film where machines and computers are held in awe as they pirouette around the skies to Strauss. It also provides a handy mechanism for whittling down the crew so that the final episode happens to just one person.


Sorry if that sounds a little contrived, but it's difficult to talk about a film such as 2001 without sounding like you live up your own arse ;).

[Summerisle]

Originally posted by Brad123
Just watched 2001: Space Odessy. Now can someone explain to me what the heck this film was on about and the ending. I thought this was the pioneering sci fi film but I've no idea what I just watched. And it was very boring in some parts too.
:)

The short and boring answer is Uplifting. Not a new concept. Whereby by a backward civilization is given an intellectual/technological lift by one more, but not always benificent, advanced.

David Brin has made this his personal domain in recent years with his "Uplift" (Geddit?) sequence. Basically 2001 is Clarke's Childhood's End, they just don't show the aliens. By applying a coat of obfuscation they can make it seem more difficult to understand than it really is.

[Ron Hill]

Funny thing is I never really "got" 2001 until I had it spelled out to me in the "By the numbers" 2010 movie. I then went back and watched 2001 and enjoyed it a lot more although I do confess I prefer my scifi more literal than metaphysical. 2001 is just too "arty" for me I guess. I can understand why it's rightly recognised as a classic but I honestly prefer 2010 for entertainment (Sorry to be a Philistine oh arty cinema critic types. :) ) even though the cold war sub-plot does date it terribly.

FTR the only Kubrick film i've ever REALLY liked is The Shining (unless you count his contribution to A.I.)

It will be interesting to see how the movie version of Rendezvous with Rama turns out. That's a story on a similar subject but from a different perspective. The story certainly has cinematic potential if handled carefully.

[Cornelius]

It's not a film that follows the normal conventions of storytelling, it provides a sort of narrative but lets the viewer fill in some of the gaps. It hints at influences on mankinds evolution, provides a reasonably accurate prediction of what interplanetary travel would involve and cautions on the dangers of relying too much on technology/handing over control to machines and artificial intelligence.

That's what I think the main themes are but as to 'what 2001 is about?' you can ultimately decide. I don't think there's one truth with this film and that's why it's timeless.

[A²]

This mnemonic can help;

Apes, Bones, Cosmis Device.... Evolution! Floating Giant Hub. Investigate Jupiter. Komputer Loopy. Man Nears Outsized Plinth. Queer Readings. Starry Turbulence. Unexpected Very Weird Xyschedelia Yielding Zen.

;)

[craigb]

Try watching it with a few friends and discussing it as you go along, it will make it better and you will see how everyone can have a different perception of what is going on.

[wide_inside]

another brainy ******* demonstrates engaging follies. Go home.

wide;)

[A²]

Snip/
You agree, through your use of this service, that you will not post any unacceptable material. This includes:

Swearing and offensive words, which includes the gratuitous use of censored swearing using asterisks (for example)
/Snip.

T&Cs my good man. Mine's longer than yours ;)

A²

[wide_inside]

what's rude about the word "chap"? I have no idea how those asterixes got there, I must have slipped. You have a dirty mind, my monkey man.

wide

[A²]

Honestly,

You only had to copy the correct spelling from my post. Perhaps you've slipped again? I'd get that looked at.

Any chance of going back on topic (yes, yes, my fault).

[wide_inside]

no, I meant those little Gaulish cartoon characters that appeared all over my post. They seems to have gone now.

back to the topic.

wide

[A²]

:clap: :type:

[fatherted]

What are the best region versions and editions of 2001 and 2010 to get at present and are there any better improved editions of either on the horizon.
Sorry but I have meant to buy 2001 for some time but don't want to buy it a week before the definitive version appears as I usually do with these Sci-Fi classics :brickwall

[HighlanderTM]

Does anyone know if an anamorphic version of 2010 exists? The original R1 has a making-of, but is WS 4.3, teh R1 rerelease has no making-of and states it is enhanced but isn't...

Or so they tell me...

[DeadKenny]

All region versions of 2001 are the same (so long as you get the remastered version in R1 because they had a poorer quality one though that should be deleted by now).

All regions also have re-packaged boxed sets (by Creative Design Arts in R1, Metrodome in R2/R4) with the Warner DVD plus the newer soundtrack CD, film cell and booklet (though leaflet is a better word). Not a patch on their older sets like Enter the Dragon, but an improvement on Warners effort on the DVD itself (i.e. film & nowt else).

Only other differences with PAL/NTSC and Snapper/Amaray cases.

2010 is non-anamorphic I believe in all regions.

No sign of Warner doing an SE on 2001 having missed out on the opportunity to celebrate the year of the name:(, and I don't think MGM are in a hurry with 2010. Certainly nothing known to be on the books (http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=89464) for next year so far.

The argument goes with Warner that Kubrick disliked extras, but I think it's just an excuse. They're going with this "what the director intended" excuse far too much when really no one knows what stan would have really intended for DVD these days and most of his intentions are from snips of comments and even rumours going back to laserdisc and VHS days (including his opinion on widescreen given the take-up of such TVs now - there's a bit on this issue here (http://www.visual-memory.co.uk/faq/index.shtml#slot11)). Of course people argue that his estate approves this stuff, but they themselves have admitted that what Warner does is out of their control and anyway they are in the same position of not knowing exactly what Stan would have wanted these days.

Anyway, with Warner in control of 2001 rather than the company that made it (MGM), we're unlikely to see an SE any time soon, so just savour the nice 5.1 track and remastered print.

Top tip... boxed set is v.cheap in R4 :D