It’s hard to believe: 50 years ago, last month, the world saw the release of Stanley Kubrick’s science fiction masterpiece, 2001: A Space Odyssey. This was also my first review on this website, and it seems like yesterday. I was going to do a post on the genre of science fiction, but seeing as how I nearly spaced(see what I did there?)the fact that this year was the 50th anniversary of A Space Odyssey. I was not going to let that pass. Why is that? Well, there are a number of reasons. First and foremost, 2001 is one of the most celebrated science fiction movies of the 20th century. While at the time it got mixed reviews because of its pacing and almost lack of dialogue, there were a lot of folks out there that praised the film for its unique visual style, incredible use of music and sound, and overall presentation. 2001: A Space Odyssey is, by far, one of my favorite movies of all time. It was one of those movies that I grew up with.
Everything about this film is nearly iconic. From the opening title sequence with the use of Richard Strauss’s Also Sprach Zarathustra to the final sequence with the Star Child, there are very few moments in this film that don’t stand out. The first act of the film appears to be about nothing except a group of primates struggling to survive. Then the black Monolith arrives and essentially kick-starts mankind’s evolution. There’s very little dialogue in the film, and that was done on purpose. It’s almost a silent movie. Instead of using dialogue to the tell the story, Stanley Kubrick opts to use visuals and music to progress the narrative. A number of people had complained about the film with its plodding narrative and weak characters. Again, you have to look at what Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke were trying to go for. This is a story about our evolution: Where we come from, where we are going, and what we might become in the future. Story-wise, the film is really brilliant in its approach and is one of the most uniquely structured narratives I’ve ever encountered in science fiction.
From a visual standpoint, 2001 puts almost any other science fiction film to shame with its use of visual effects. The models and background matte paintings are simply exquisite. Remember, this film came out in 1968, so we really had no idea what the Earth looked like from space. The film uses techniques that actually predicted some of the technology that would eventually be invented and used in current space travel. The models and ship designs are amazing, especially the Discovery One spacecraft. The Monolith itself is surprisingly simple in design and yet there is something….alien about it. No answer is given for it, it’s just…there. Again, this being 1968, nobody had landed on the moon yet, so the idea of a moon-based colony was amazing. It still is amazing, as there is still no colony, but we have been there. One of the final sequences of the film has the movie’s protagonist, Dave Bowman take a shuttle and is pulled into some kind of wormhole, which has some of the most psychedelic visuals ever put into a movie, and yet it is one of the most hypnotic sequences of the entire film.
While most movies used elaborate scores written specifically for them, 2001 opted for the use of classical music instead. The aforementioned Also Sprach Zarathustra opened up the film in one of the most spectacular opening sequences in cinema history. Then you have Johann Strauss’s Blue Danube Waltz used for the shuttle sequence at the beginning of the second act, providing one of the most visually interesting shuttle approaches ever. It’s not the dialogue that evokes emotion here, it’s the music, and it’s used brilliantly.
2001: A Space Odyssey is one of my favorite science fiction films because it is great science fiction. Great science fiction isn’t always easily accessible or understood in its time. It kind of requires the audience to sit back and take it all in while thinking about what it is you’re seeing. Great science fiction provokes discussion as well as stoking the human imagination. Movies like 2001 give us a glimpse into what could possibly be our future or the next step in our evolution. 2001 has inspired generations of film-makers like George Lucas, James Cameron, Peter Jackson and various other film-makers. It also inspired people to go into differing fields like engineering and space travel. The ending of 2001 has also inspired a great deal of controversy and mystery. It was deliberately left to the audience’s imagination and some people didn’t really like that. Some people wanted some kind of answer for what was going on, and they didn’t get it. Up until the day he died, Mr. Kubrick never really gave an answer for why he ended the film the way he did. I’m glad he didn’t. It’s sequences like the ending that provoke real discussion and imagination. I loved that ending. It was so bizarre and visually distinctive.
2001: A Space Odyssey is not only one of Stanley Kubrick’s greatest films, it is one of the medium’s greatest achievements in terms of visual storytelling. There have been many science fiction pictures that try to imitate 2001, like Star Trek: The Motion Picture, but nothing comes close to that epic film that was released 50 years ago. Great science fiction takes time to be understood, and 2001 has stood the test of time unlike any other film. It is as relevant today as it was back in 1968. I dare anybody to try and find a film that can rival 2001 in terms of its majesty and visual brilliance. No? Didn’t think so. So…do I still recommend 2001: A Space Odyssey? Yes. Yes, I do. For the discerning fan of science fiction, 2001 is a landmark film that will live on long after we’re gone. This is required viewing for any fan of science fiction.