Review- 2001: A Space Odyssey

This year marks 50 years since 2001: A Space Odyssey was first released and as such, it's been re-released in cinemas. I'd actually never seen it before as I was waiting for the "right" time but seeing it on the big screen while I'm studying film at Uni seemed like exactly the right time. Would you know it, it really was. Usually I start with the plot but that's kinda difficult when you're dealing with a film as... Let's say unique as 2001. It's split into four parts, spanning maybe all of time. First there's "The Dawn of Man", then a moon excavation, followed by an expedition to Jupiter before finally reaching the ominously titled "Jupiter, or Beyond the Infinite". Many of the parts aren't clearly linked and they don't transition seamlessly but one thing that links each and every part is the Monolith. It looms over the story the same way it literally looms over the characters and gives a coherence to the plot that is otherwise irrelevant. This is the thing too, part of the fun of the film is that the plot doesn't make sense. Kubrik and Clarke deliberately didn't want the film to make sense so metaphors help make the film whole. Maybe that thing on screen you don't get is part of a wider message or concept, about the formation of the universe or the end of man? Who knows? Not me for sure but it really is joyous working it out.

So, this is gonna be a short paragraph because acting, performances, even characters really are unimportant to this film. Keir Dulla does a good job as Dave and Douglas Rain is wonderful as HAL-9000 but the actors are only mediums for the film to express its meaning. Hell, the first 25 and last 23 minutes are entirely devoid of dialogue. Many more sequences in the film are without dialogue and they're some of the most captivating we witness. Don't get me wrong, the scenes with dialogue are great and it's not at all poorly written. It's just that the silence or orchestral score add a creeping tension to the film that the dialogue can lessen. When the dialogue is there and lessens the tension, it's for a reason though, don't you think otherwise.

Conversely, compared to that last paragraph, I have entirely too much to talk about with this paragraph and no idea how to fit it all in. I suppose I need to start with a discussion of the visuals of the film, seeing as they're the one reason Stanley Kubrick has an Oscar to his name. They are astonishing. I don't know if I can say anything to truly capture how wonderful the film looks that would sell it enough, it's that good. Now, I'm pretty sure the version I was watching is a remastered version because everything on screen looked super crisp but even with that considered, it's amazing how well the visual effects have aged. Really, it just speaks to the power of using practical effects, especially with the final wormhole sequence. The score is also fantastic, as Kubrick has done the same thing he did for Clockwork Orange (I know this came before but still) and redone famous classical orchestrations. What that does lead me onto though is the impact the film has had on cinema and why it detracted a little from the viewing experience. If you love cinema like I do, you see the influence of 2001 everywhere and are already familiar with many moments from the film so watching it for the first time is a bit of a checklist experience, catching all the scenes you recognise from elsewhere. That should fade with time though and it doesn't really mean the film is any weaker. It simply ranks it among Citizen Kane and Birth of a Nation in that some of the groundbreaking work done is so inherent to the identity of modern cinema that a smidge is lost.

I was terrified that I might not like 2001: A Space Odyssey and that I would only enjoy it for the technical leaps and bounds it made for cinema but thankfully, I'm at the right stage in my cinematic lifetime to appreciate what a genuine piece of art this is. It isn't for everyone because you have to be at the right point of appreciating cinema to "get" this film but with either a fanatic love of film or time, you can come to love this film. I can imagine my love for 2001 only growing over time but currently, I'm very happy to give 2001: A Space Odyssey a