I first saw bits of this movie on a 19 inch TV back when I was very young (perhaps 5 or 6 years old). All I really remember is the opening "Dawn of Man" sequence where the man-apes discover the alien monolith. I remember thinking that this scene was bizarre and I wondered away in my childish brain as to what the big black thing was that the apes were so interested in. I don't remember much more than that, along with feeling a bit unsettled by the whole scene.
In 1984, a sequel film was set for release - 2010: The Year We Make Contact, based on the novel of the same name by Arthur C. Clarke. This event brought back into my consciousness the vague memory I had of seeing 2001 on TV perhaps five or six years earlier. I was about 11 years old when 2010 came out and I felt that I had to know more about the original movie before I went to see the sequel. I went to my older, sci-fi obsessed brother for his advice. He told me to rent 2001 and then read the novel (he even bought me a copy of the novel that I still have). His advice was that the movie was very abstract and that it would help to read the novel to get a better understanding of what the movie was all about. It is interesting to note that Rob Ager of Collative Learning in his review of 2001: A Space Odyssey, indicates that this is not exactly the most accurate means of understanding the film given that the novel and film were developed at the same time.
I followed my brother's advice and immediately went and rented a Beta (yes, my family had a Betamax machine!) copy of the film. I watched it with my parents on the same 19 inch TV that I had seen the "Dawn of Man" sequence several years earlier. This time though, we had a video cassette player and I distinctly remember my Dad fast-forwarding through significant segments of the movie - especially when the astronauts were doing their space walks and in the final segment of the film "Jupiter and Beyond the Infinite". Throughout the whole thing, I was both bored, excited, and kind of scared. What in the world did the monolith mean? Director Stanley Kubrick, never one to shy away from using psychological undertones and hidden meanings in his films, had certainly caught the attention of my 11-year old subconscious. I couldn't sleep that night - I kept thinking about the monolith. Even the brown door to my room, in the shadows of the night looked like the monolith! Yeesh...
Two years later, CBC broadcast the film and I decided to give it another go. This time, I had prepared myself by reading the novel in advance of the broadcast and I had a much better understanding of the outline of the story and what was basically going on in the film. I watched the film during broadcast and also recorded it on the Betamax. I was hooked! I proceeded to watch the film over and over again, trying to figure out more and more what it was all about. I remember being assigned a book report in grade 7 and I decided to write it on 2001: A Space Odyssey (the novel). I was so into it that I received a perfect score on the report. I remember the comments from my teacher indicating that obviously, I had a true interest in and love for the book and the film.
2001 is a film that just keeps on giving. Despite its slow pacing, abstract nature, and lack of dialogue, I don't ever tire of watching this wondrous movie. Throughout the years I have shared it with friends and family alike, usually to mixed or negative reviews. The exception to this is a small group of deep-thinking friends that absolutely love the film (and also, like me, love the films of Stanley Kubrick). Last winter, an original cut of the film was shown in IMAX theatres throughout Canada. The Kramer IMAX Theatre in Regina was one of those to get a copy. My friends and I went as it was the first time that any of us had the opportunity to see the film on a big screen - in this case a huge IMAX screen. It was not disappointing! What a difference to see the film on the big screen instead of a television screen.
One of the reasons that I think 2001 is such a compelling film is that there is a lot of hidden meaning to be discovered. Every time one watches it, there is the opportunity to find something new or take a different perspective. As I have grown and matured, I have developed a different take on the film than I had when I was 11 and then 13 and then in my 20's, etc. There are even aspects of the film that had never occurred to me (and probably would never have occurred to me) that others have pointed out. Check out Rob Ager's insights into the "meaning of the monolith" in the following two videos:
In 1984, a sequel film was set for release - 2010: The Year We Make Contact, based on the novel of the same name by Arthur C. Clarke. This event brought back into my consciousness the vague memory I had of seeing 2001 on TV perhaps five or six years earlier. I was about 11 years old when 2010 came out and I felt that I had to know more about the original movie before I went to see the sequel. I went to my older, sci-fi obsessed brother for his advice. He told me to rent 2001 and then read the novel (he even bought me a copy of the novel that I still have). His advice was that the movie was very abstract and that it would help to read the novel to get a better understanding of what the movie was all about. It is interesting to note that Rob Ager of Collative Learning in his review of 2001: A Space Odyssey, indicates that this is not exactly the most accurate means of understanding the film given that the novel and film were developed at the same time.
I followed my brother's advice and immediately went and rented a Beta (yes, my family had a Betamax machine!) copy of the film. I watched it with my parents on the same 19 inch TV that I had seen the "Dawn of Man" sequence several years earlier. This time though, we had a video cassette player and I distinctly remember my Dad fast-forwarding through significant segments of the movie - especially when the astronauts were doing their space walks and in the final segment of the film "Jupiter and Beyond the Infinite". Throughout the whole thing, I was both bored, excited, and kind of scared. What in the world did the monolith mean? Director Stanley Kubrick, never one to shy away from using psychological undertones and hidden meanings in his films, had certainly caught the attention of my 11-year old subconscious. I couldn't sleep that night - I kept thinking about the monolith. Even the brown door to my room, in the shadows of the night looked like the monolith! Yeesh...
Two years later, CBC broadcast the film and I decided to give it another go. This time, I had prepared myself by reading the novel in advance of the broadcast and I had a much better understanding of the outline of the story and what was basically going on in the film. I watched the film during broadcast and also recorded it on the Betamax. I was hooked! I proceeded to watch the film over and over again, trying to figure out more and more what it was all about. I remember being assigned a book report in grade 7 and I decided to write it on 2001: A Space Odyssey (the novel). I was so into it that I received a perfect score on the report. I remember the comments from my teacher indicating that obviously, I had a true interest in and love for the book and the film.
2001 is a film that just keeps on giving. Despite its slow pacing, abstract nature, and lack of dialogue, I don't ever tire of watching this wondrous movie. Throughout the years I have shared it with friends and family alike, usually to mixed or negative reviews. The exception to this is a small group of deep-thinking friends that absolutely love the film (and also, like me, love the films of Stanley Kubrick). Last winter, an original cut of the film was shown in IMAX theatres throughout Canada. The Kramer IMAX Theatre in Regina was one of those to get a copy. My friends and I went as it was the first time that any of us had the opportunity to see the film on a big screen - in this case a huge IMAX screen. It was not disappointing! What a difference to see the film on the big screen instead of a television screen.
One of the reasons that I think 2001 is such a compelling film is that there is a lot of hidden meaning to be discovered. Every time one watches it, there is the opportunity to find something new or take a different perspective. As I have grown and matured, I have developed a different take on the film than I had when I was 11 and then 13 and then in my 20's, etc. There are even aspects of the film that had never occurred to me (and probably would never have occurred to me) that others have pointed out. Check out Rob Ager's insights into the "meaning of the monolith" in the following two videos:
This revelation about what the monolith actually means and the deeper psychological impact on the viewer just blew my mind. But it didn't surprise me to find this out given that Stanley Kubrick was always slipping clever abstract elements into his films and I had already read about this in the excellent book Space Odyssey: Stanley Kubrick, Arthur C. Clarke, and the Making of a Masterpiece by Michael Benson.
I know that many people will vehemently disagree with me about this movie. For many, this is one of the most boring and abstract "tone poem" films that they have ever watched (if they even made it through an entire viewing!). But for me, this is not only a masterpiece of cinema but a work of art that deals with incredibly deep sci-fi themes and ideas. Indeed, this film ended up setting the standard for almost all sci-fi films that followed (including the much maligned - yet great - Star Trek: The Motion Picture and a little known franchise called Star Wars).
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