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2001: A Space Odyssey In 2001 director Stanley Kubrick depicts several of mankind's encounters with never-seen aliens. The first act, entitled "The Dawn of Man" shows primitive man-apes discovering the first tool, a bone which also becomes the first weapon. When the bone is thrown up in the air, the movie abruptly fast forwards to the second act concerning space travel. A lunar landing craft heads for Moon base Clavius, then a moonbus takes scientists to an excavation where an alien object, the monolithic TMA-1, was buried four million years earlier. When the monolith is touched, it emits a high-pitched squeal through radio receivers. Act 3 starts with the title card, "Jupiter Mission: Eighteen Months Later". Astronauts Dave Bowman (Keir Dullea) and Frank Poole (Gary Lockwood) are aboard the spaceship Discovery 1 with three scientists suspended in cryogenic hibernation. Various scenes are shown of the crew's boring life in space. The HAL 9000 computer is introduced and interviewed by the BBC. HAL detects a faulty "AE-35 unit" which would disrupt the ship's communication system. Intermission time, after which Frank goes outside Discovery 1 for repairs, but is murdered by HAL, which also kills the three hibernating scientists. When Dave exits the ship, HAL refuses to allow him back in, although he eventually manages to gain entry and disconnect the homicical computer. The final act, entitled "Jupiter, and Beyond the Infinite" begins with a third monolith orbiting Jupiter and Discovery 1 entering the Jupiter system and soon rendezvousing with the artifact. Dave exits Discovery 1 in an EVA pod and experiences a psychedelic tunnel of light and sound, the famous "Star Gate" sequence. After passing over alien landscape, Dave arrives alone in a white room with Louis XIV furniture. He ages rapidly, then is transformed into a fetus "Star Child" floating in space. Based on Arthur C. Clarke's short story, "The Sentinel", 2001 is a unique masterpiece, a classic sci-fi epic that elevated the genre to a very respectable level. The set design, costumes, cinematography, and special effects create a visually stunning film. 2001 won an Academy Award for Best Special Effects. Critically acclaimed, it is confusing to many because of its cryptic, obscure symbolism. It is ponderous, ambiguous, artsy, and a one-of-a-kind curiosity. The orchestral music by Khachaturyan, Ligeti, and Richard and Johann Strauss is perfect for the movie. But 2001 is not perfect. It is pretentious and the characters are as emotionally flat as HAL. The film is too slow and over-long at 141 minutes, even though Kubrick cut 17 minutes after the premiere. Also, it's puzzling ambiguity is a major problem as well as the film's biggest asset. 2010 (1984) is the much inferior sequel to 2001. A joint American-Soviet expedition is sent to Jupiter to investigate what happened to the Discovery 1. Unfortunately, they learn about the huge black monolith, the fate of HAL, and so forth. We don't really want to know! 2010 ruins 2001 with its casual disclosures of the mysteries that were never resolved in 2001. This film should be avoided. It reminds me of a documentary on the "History of Christmas", which forever ruined Christmas for me. 2010 is based on a novel written by Arthur C. Clarke, and the cast includes Roy Scheider, John Lithgow, Helen Mirren, Bob Balaban, Keir Dullea, and many others. Peter Hyams wrote the screenplay and directed. email this review to a friend
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