2001: A Space Odyssey

Was on TV one day so I recorded it on the PVR. Had heard about it randomly about half a year ago and was quite intrigued, but had no idea it was Kubrick until I actually went and watched it. Also found out that this was the film that made Also Sprach Zarathustra’s score famous with its much-parodied/referenced opening sequence.

Anyways, this is perhaps a good movie, but I am not so sure about that myself. Was incredibly amazed by how it didn’t seem to age much at all. Really beautiful visuals and designs, geez, I really can’t get enough of those spacecraft designs (both interior and exterior!! See picture above). Couldn’t help but think that a lot of what we have today was in turn inspired by this film…or not (the video communication stuff in the movie reminded me of Skype, but better). The music was also well used, even if the Zarathustra theme was overly dramatic and used “too many” times (it probably wasn’t actually played that many times, but it felt like it). There was also a suitable but eerie track which unnerved me.

The story, on the other hand, is well, another story. I read one review or comment saying that it was impenetrable, and it was mostly correct. There was barely any dialogue at all, and when there was dialogue, I didn’t understand what they were really talking about. The end especially was baffling (and creepy) - I only understood it after reading about it on wiki. I wonder how the original novel would fare in comprehensibility? I feel tempted to read it.

All in all, this was good for the incredibly advanced visuals and design, which is really a feat in itself. The rest left much to be desired though, even if it’s supposed to be a classic. 75/100