First Take Classics: 2001, A Space Odyssey- a cinematic anniversary, for a blog’s anniversary

SYNOPSIS:

Humanity finds a mysterious, obviously artificial object buried beneath the Lunar surface and, with the intelligent computer HAL 9000, sets off on a quest.

It’s a common conversation amongst us critics that Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 science fiction effort is a masterpiece- but for many of us, we’ve not had the honour of seeing it the way it was intended on the big screen, where it truly belongs. Last night I got that honour, as for the 50th anniversary Warner have reissued the film in a variety of formats (70mm for the real die-hards, and a new digital 4K version which the majority of cinemas will run)- and my god, the film’s slogan of ‘the ultimate trip’ still stands to this day.

Kubrick directs the film in a way that quite simply wouldn’t work if it was made in a modern film industry- at a running time of 2 hours, 29 minutes, this is a long film, and for good reason: it is able to create science fiction which is really stands the test of time. Script wise, Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke were able to turn around a really neat plot, and yes, while the dialogue isn’t great, considering the fact that a novel was written concurrently, it does the job.

It’s shot magnificently by Geoffrey Unsworth, the soundtrack is iconic for good reason, and the visual effects work of Douglas Trumbull and his team just look incredible on a crisp 4K screen.

Performance wise, there are three particular roles to mention- Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood and Douglas Rain as Dave, Frank and the voice of HAL respectively. These three core talents, even with minimal dialogue, are able to convey a simple story just through facial expressions, most notably in the film’s final act, building to quite the narrative climax. When this film was unleashed upon the world back then, it was new, bold and different. It still is, and with Christopher Nolan supporting an ‘unrestored’ cut of the film, it’s going to be around for many more years to come.

THE VERDICT

This is a true one of a kind film, and it’s unlikely that we’ll ever see anything like this today- and while modern audiences simply won’t understand it, the themes of 2001 are very relevant today, proving how Kubrick quite simply was ahead of his time. Big screen viewings are VERY much encouraged.

RATING: 5/5