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2001: A Space Odyssey (Widescreen)
 
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2001: A Space Odyssey (Widescreen)

Rated: G (General Audience) | Format: DVD
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (279 customer reviews)

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EDITOR'S NOTE: According to a Warner Home Video technician involved in the production of The Stanley Kubrick Collection, Kubrick authorized all aspects of the Collection, from the use of Digital Component Video (or "D-1") masters originally approved in 1989, to the use of minimalist screen menus, chapter stops, and (in the case of 2001: A Space Odyssey and The Shining on DVD) supplementary materials. Full-screen presentation of The Shining and Full Metal Jacket was also approved by Kubrick, who recomposed his original framing, reportedly believing that those films looked best on video in the full-screen format. (In fact, the original theatrical aspect ratio of The Shining was 1.66:1, meaning that a relatively small portion of the image is lost.) Kubrick also chose mono over stereo, believing that inconsistencies in theatrical sound systems resulted in loss of control over theatrical presentation. In every respect, the Warner spokesman said, the films in the Collection remain as Kubrick approved them. Any future attempt to remaster or alter them would have to be approved by an appointee of the Kubrick estate.

Amazon.com Essential Video

When Stanley Kubrick recruited Arthur C. Clarke to collaborate on "the proverbial intelligent science fiction film," it's a safe bet neither the maverick auteur nor the great science fiction writer knew they would virtually redefine the parameters of the cinema experience. A daring experiment in unconventional narrative inspired by Clarke's short story "The Sentinel," 2001 is a visual tone poem (barely 40 minutes of dialogue in a 139-minute film) that charts a phenomenal history of human evolution. From the dawn-of-man discovery of crude but deadly tools in the film's opening sequence to the journey of the spaceship Discovery and metaphysical birth of the "star child" at film's end, Kubrick's vision is meticulous and precise. In keeping with the director's underlying theme of dehumanization by technology, the notorious, seemingly omniscient computer HAL 9000 has more warmth and personality than the human astronauts it supposedly is serving. (The director also leaves the meaning of the black, rectangular alien monoliths open for discussion.) This theme, in part, is what makes 2001 a film like no other, though dated now that its postmillennial space exploration has proven optimistic compared to reality. Still, the film is timelessly provocative in its pioneering exploration of inner- and outer-space consciousness. With spectacular, painstakingly authentic special effects that have stood the test of time, Kubrick's film is nothing less than a cinematic milestone--puzzling, provocative, and perfect. --Jeff Shannon

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Customer Reviews

279 Reviews
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3 star:
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2 star:
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Average Customer Review
4.1 out of 5 stars (279 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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3.0 out of 5 stars Maybe I just don't get it..., Mar 14 2004
By 
Kyle Stewart (Georgia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: 2001: A Space Odyssey (Widescreen) (DVD)
How many scenes were cut out for this version? I haven't seen anyone else complain about it, so I'll assume this is the full cut (it was the first time I've seen it). It was entertaining at time, I particularly like watching the monkeys evolve at the beggining, and think that should have been drug out to it's full extent from the book, rather than shortened so much (I've only read part of the book, but I thought it was pretty good), and I thought the showdown with Hal was exilarating, but I didn't get the ending. I plan to rewatch it soon, and maybe then it'll make more sense.
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2.0 out of 5 stars Boring, but the special effects are terrific, Jan 11 2003
By 
Linda Linguvic (New York City) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: 2001: A Space Odyssey (Widescreen) (DVD)
I didn't see this film when it first opened in 1968. In those years I didn't get to movies much. And VCRs hadn't been invented yet. But the film was groundbreaking, and of course I heard about it. And through the years I've seen excerpts, but never the real thing. Now it's the year 2003, and the year 2001 has already passed. But as I soon discovered while viewing the film is that it's not about future scientific discovery; it's about a state of mind, a philosophical statement about man's place in the universe.

It starts with apes finding a monolith, then picking up some bones and using them as tools to kill. The scene then shifts far into the future and we see a space capsule with some supposed high-tech features. There's a special mission, which is never clear. And a computer named Hal, which starts to act like a human being. Eventually, the lone surviving astronaut reaches Jupiter, goes though an aging process and gets reborn as a baby. All of this takes 139 minutes to tell. There's very little dialogue, just a lot of classical music. The special effects are so good that they won the film's only academy award that year. And the director, Stanley Kubrick, will be remembered as a genius. The film is his personal view of the world...

Personally, I found the film just plain boring. There's a limit on how long I can sit and watch special effects. Most of the time I spent wondering exactly what it all meant. And when I discovered early on that it didn't mean anything, I just didn't care. I really wanted to like this film. After all it is classic. And I definitely hoped the DVD would have some special features explaining its making. Sadly, though, there is not one bit of commentary. The film has to be judged completely on its own.

I'm a film buff and so I'm glad I saw it just for the experience. But I didn't like it at all. And can't recommend it.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Defiantely One of the Top 10 Films, Jan 18 2002
By 
Matthew S. Schweitzer "zohoe" (Columbus, OH United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: 2001: A Space Odyssey (Widescreen) (DVD)
Kubrick's 2001 is not for everyone. But anyone with a little bit of insight and imagination will not be able to help being captivated by this wonderful and powerful film. 2001 is not only a realistic space epic, it is a commentary on the past, present, and future of mankind. It shows how small humanity is in the grand scheme of the universe and how we hold our destiny in our own hands. This film prompted a lifelong interest in science, space exploration, and technology. It's effect was similar to that of another great sci-fi epic, Star Wars, but it is by far a much deeper and overall, really, a technically better film. It remains the only movie to accurately depict human spaceflight, though Arthur C. Clarke got the timeframe for space colonization off the mark by a few years. But keep in mind that at the time, no one was predicting, as Clarke did, the tremendous potential and impact that computers and artificial intelligence would have on future society. Take a look around today and , though we don't have HAL yet, see how much of he did get right, and how our technology and computers have permeated our entire planet. This represents the hope, and the danger, facing all mankind.

So much of this film has been absorbed by pop culture it is amazing..."What are you doing Dave?"...The Star Child...HAL...The Blue Danube...it truly stands as a monument to cinema and it is a film that I cannot recommend highly enough.

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