It never ages - the pen floating around when the passenger is asleep, and the space hostess picking it up and putting it back in his pocket ... ALL practical effects, with no deleting of cotton cables as CGI would do today. How did he do that? How did he do any of this with only practical effects? Because these are real models/objects .. they are much more convincing than the CGI that we've been forced to accept as "more realistic" [when it's really just a high res cartoon most of the time] Here's the difference: DIRECTOR TO FX MAN: "I want my astronauts to go through a tunnel, and then effortlessly walk 360 degrees upside down and back again .. like it's nothing special." FX MAN (2018): "We'll need a green screen stage and multiple cameras arranged in a 180 degree semi-circle so that we can rotate the footage - then we'll create the effect on the computer" FX MAN (1968): "Just build a massive hamster wheel, with the camera rotating on the spindle ..." :) FX MAN (1968) wins every time - because the camera is capturing something real. There's trickery involved - but it's honest trickery where everything you're seeing is a real object.
This film is over 50 years old and the special effects, visual effects and cinemotagraphy are still way better than most films today!! Way ahead of his time! RIP Kubrick
Yes, but the main thing about special effects is that you don't see them as effects at all. So in that sense Kubrick understood to make realistic effects....
This was incredibly slow paced movie but it was so impeccably and masterfly made you couldn't keep your eyes off the screen. A true masterpiece of filmmaking.
I tried several times when I was young to watch 2001, knowing it was a masterpiece, and fell asleep each time... I was frustrated because I tried desperately to appreciate it. But then a few years later I just watched it (almost as an after-thought) and literally fell in love w/ the film just for its Kubrick-esque beauty, and then the entire film washed over me..... And I was able to appreciate its greatness. It was hard for me to see what the difference was; a diff. attitude, more patience, or I know not what....but it was like a switch being turned on. In the end I stopped getting in the way of the film experience & fell in love w/ it moment-by-moment. Truly a transcendental movie but you can't go in expecting anything other than to experience it on its own terms.
It's a shame that Arthur C. Clarke isn't mentioned at all, because he created the original ideas and worked very closely with Kubrick through the entire process.
A lot of the science in the movie probably came directly from A. C. Clarke. Clarke had written at least one book on the exploration of space when the film was shot and he really understood the science (the appendix to this book includes all the equations - really nice). Acknowledging the contribution of A.C. Clarke does not take anything away from Kubrick on the contrary it shows one of his qualities which is to know his limitation and get the right people to complement. I think he found the best complement there.
This documentary was made around the time of the DVD release of the film. On that DVD & the Blu Ray release they have additional documentaries one of which focuses much more on the collaboration between Clarke and Kubrick.
Probably a tough subject. There some version where Kubrick mislead and misdirected Clarke about the screenplay story. Not showing Clarke the actual shooting script.
There is an interesting book by Clarke on the topic of the creation of 2001 called "The Lost Worlds Of 2001". In that book Clarke details the endless re-writes and provides some of his early draft material. These earlier drafts feature a walking talking C-3PO type HAL, obviously at that early stage in the process Clarke didn't yet quite understand what Kubrick was going for with this picture. The book gives off the impression that Clarke, while being co-author on the story, is in no doubt that Kubrick had final say. In fact on the DVD/Blu Ray release there is a separate documentary specifically on the topic of Kubrick's collaboration with Clarke filmed before Clarkes death featuring extensive interviews with him. I wouldn't buy into the stories of Clarke being annoyed or put out by Kubrick, it seems if anything he is extremely proud of the film and happy to have been involved, and rightly so!
I've been saying it for over two decades and I'll say it again now with no hesitation - 2001 is the best film I've seen in my entire life. Two artistic heroes of mine from the 20th century: John Coltrane and Stanley Kubrick.
It's funny to hear about how Kubrick wasn't content to make simply a "genre film" in each of the genres in which he worked, whether it be 2001 (sci-fi), Barry Lyndon (period piece), The Shining (horror), Full Metal Jacket (war), etc. He literally remade the standard of every genre he worked in.
I am 88 yo, social behavioral scientist...I saw "2001" and really intellectually impacted me. I loved the ape violence scene of casting the bone... and it morphs into a space ship. The music is so fitting.
I would so love for a Kubrick bio picture. Starting with his days as a Look magazine photographer, he move to Hollywood movie making, the nasty breakup, the move to England, finishing with the making of 2001: A Space Odyssey.
I agree with that statement. The film definitely looks like something that's from 1978, 1988, or even 1998! Its production is superior than its sequel 2010 and I think its a shame they had its director, Peter Hymns is this documentary!
You know that Kubrick wanted to make A.I artificial intelligence (he died before making it) boy in cgi, right? and he was always pushing technology forward(? Like, not just 2001 but also things like the steadicam for the shining...of course he would have made better films than the star wars prequels (obviously) but I'm pretty sure he would have used CGI a lot, in fact it's a shame he couldn't see what you can do with cgi nowadays
the subjective shot in the monolith scene in the moon really made me feel there. i could feel the imponent and mysterious presence of the monolith and that music during the scene just made me feel uneasy and terrified. Geniusly directed
Keep in mind Kubrick did this movie fucking 50 years ago, that's unbelievable the vision he had back then, even the most respected directors still struggle to desypher how the hell he could pull it off, which He did.
Will people were smarter back then, the world was more insane back then. So logic he made this movie. Now a day they are too much retarded to do this. I hate the downlook on previous generation like they were less then us today. Well sorry to say but that is the biggest bullshit, we actually suck. Thats why we have hipsters nowadays.
"It's a silent movie in the sound-era, and I think we'll get back there." Thank you, Mr Lucas, for helping to open a door to those who want to make movies which explore more deeply the PRIMARY raison d'être of movies: the PICTURE, and put everything else in the background. Why should movies have an easily digestible, linear story, played out by actors telling us how they feel, and what they're doing, and why they're doing them? That can, as pretty much every movie ever made in Hollywood be fun and functional, but there are also other ways of making movies! Some of the movie-greats have explored silence in their movies: Tarkovsky, Bergman, Greenaway (I'm sure I'm missing some even more glaring and obvious examples; I'm not a movie expert, just a movie-lover!). Just as there are books which are challenging in the way they progress (Cortazar's Hopscotch, Saramago's way with "dialogue" not to mention Ulysses by James Joyce) why shouldn't movies?! In abstract and non-representational art, painters and sculptors have long represented the world not as it "is" but as they see it; why shouldn't movie-makers?! I understand that for the most part, this sort of thing will remain independent fringe-productions, since more and more the big movie companies only invest if they're fairly certain of good returns, and the average consumer of movies, tv, books, art, etc, expects to be entertained and NOT challenged, at least not too profoundly. Silence is horror to many people these days: it makes us think; about ourselves, the world around us, and what we take in during silence (views, taste, touch, a.s.o.) can have profound effects on the thoughts during and after that silence. Meditation..
I begged my mother to take me to see this when it came out. I was nine years old. When it was over she asked "what was that about?" "The evolution of man.....and mankind" was my reply. I stand by that 50 years later.
I was fourteen years old when I first watched this movie as a SF movie fan. I watched the movie eight times in a year, most in a CINERAMA theater in Tokyo. I felt I was in real space while I saw a space station and the bright earth on huge CINERAMA screen. When the movie came to ending, I understand this movie is not a SF drama but an abstract art. Every seen is perfectly beautiful, or too perfect. Kubrick's message in this movie is still vague and mysterious and it is one of the reasons I like this movie. For my eyes no movie has got beyond yet. From Japan with love
I was 12 when I saw this movie with my dad I am now. In 2019 almost 63. My dad has since died . And I am 12 agin in the savoy cinema Limerick Ireland . I have come to accept what the message in this movie is all about . It’s not very subtle . Thanks Stanly
Kubrick should’ve got it for 2001. But Carol Reed (Oliver) should’ve gotten it 20 years earlier for The Third Man - an equally profound (in a totally different way) masterpiece. Like 2001 many still don’t get it, thinking it’s just a “film noir” with long shadows and tilt camera angles...
I saw this in the theater when I was 8 years old. Thank you so much mom! Despite being poor, you always exposing us to great people, great places, and great thinking. Made all the difference in our lives. Forever grateful.
I am blown away by the use of sound in this movie, as well as everything visual. Just what was supposed to be there, like breathing, and total silence outside in space except the Strauss music only when needed. Just perfect.
One of THE greatest cinema achievements EVER. A towering motion picture in so many respects. I watch it every couple of years, still engrossing, enthralling, compelling. /
I saw it in 1968. It was, in a word, an experience. Jaw-dropping visuals, the juxtaposition of classical music and outer space. The most confounding finale ever filmed.
Yes, I saw it in Cinerama in London in December 1968, sitting in the front row with my girlfriend . The photos of the rising Earth from Apollo 8 were in the London Times,in colour. We noticed 2001's Earth wasn't blue enough.
I saw this film as a child in the early 90s (around the time Jurassic Park came out) and I had no idea that it was an “old film”, I assumed it was relatively recent. That’s how amazing the effects in this film are.
Had the honour of watching it when it was re-released in 2014...twice. I didn't know the film was supposed to have voice over narration at the start. Thank god Kubrick scrapped that idea.
Today's so-called "special effects" are nothing more than cartoons. Totally fake and unrealistic . Kubrick gave the viewer the sensation of actually being in space. A work of genius....52 years ago!
...while Bowman asks 'do you read me Hal' as if he is asking us to literally read the letters reflecting on his face. Incidentally, it looks like the letters I, B and M are on Bowman's face when he asks that. A curious little detail I think.
2001 is still more realistic film about Man's interaction with space than any other sci fi film since. You notice there is no loud engine thrust, laser cannons etc. There is silence. And it is beautiful in its sublime majesty.
Bless you. I'm going to see it with an open mind for the first time in my life on Tuesday at my local Cinema. I've seen clips but not experienced the film in full. I'm really excited to be transported to a new world. I hope I fall in love with it as much as you have.
I saw 2001 when I was sixteen in Hollywood. I was in awe and almost in a hypnotic state afterwards. I had no clue what it all meant until years later I read an interview with Arthur C. Clarke in Playboy magazine and he explained it. I am still in awe when I see this movie. I never get tired of it.
This movie was at least 50 years ahead of it's time, visually striking and technology wise amazing, it still looks like it was made today, plus the classical music was beautifully matched in the movie , director Stanley Kubrick was one of a kind rest in peace.
Saw it in 1968 at the Cinema Stage on it's huge screen with surround stereo sound in Chicago the first week it was released. I was 20 at the time. I now realize how lucky I was to see it so early and in it's intended form.
I saw it when I was 12 years old. I had read a LOT of science fiction before this. I had also watched the Twilight Zone, One Step Beyond, The Outer Limits, Science Fiction Theater, etc, on TV. I had seen War of the Worlds, The Time Machine, Robinson Crusoe on Mars. So when I saw 2001, I was totally comfortable with it, and got the ideas. I thinks it the best movie ever made.
Same here. Some movies go into your collection because of nostalgia, acting, SFX, overall theme, writing, viewing pleasure, and realism. 2001 hits all the points. Forbidden Planet is next. Then the many B-grade and television (Twilight Zone, Outer Limits, One Step Beyond) productions. It's all about being able to suspend your level of disbelief.
The quality still stands today... I was 8 years old when I saw it on the big screen. It was easy for me to understand what the unknowable deliemma implied. I even got the idea of the evolution of man for the first time right then -- great presentation given very little verbal. It set into motion my interest in science and aerospace. It's so hard to imagine it was made before the Apollo 11 landing. So far ahead of it's time.
There are so many iconic scenes in this film. It's pretty mental. Falling through the spinning space station as the jet is docking might be my favorite, but then I remember the scene where saliva flies off the ape's tooth as he's using a weapon for the first time. How could I forget the slit screen stargate scene though?! Holy. It's impossible to decide what scene is the best.
Seeing this movie with my parents and younger brother was an event. We went out for dinner and caught the 8:30 PM showing. Loved that Pan Am Clipper and HAL. 2001: A Space Odyssey has only grown in my esteem over the decades. Superlatives fall short in expressing how fine a film it is.
This movie was a very intimate experience for me. My father dropped me off at our local small-town theatre, and there along with four people ( laughing ) I was transported. Over the years I've experienced wonderful cinematic moments... That evening it was only Stanley and I
Wow! What a great documentary of Kubrick the artist, and a wonderful homage and tribute to his genius and unwavering dedication to excellence! The high esteem in which he is held by all of his fellow filmmakers, past and present, is so richly deserved. Very well done! Thank you!
2001: A Space Odyssey is the movie equivalent of the American Gothic painting. Grant Wood and Kubrick both gave the world a work that was mysterious for its simplicity. Both have profound indelible imagery yet matter-of-fact moods. Both will permanently spark debate as to whether their meaning is esoteric or straightforward.
'2001- A Space Odyssey is a monumental cinematic achievement and arguably the most important film ever made. I find comments by other contributors suggesting that the film's storyline was weak or even 'nonsensical' deeply puzzling. After all, this audacious film charted the entirety of human history and 33 years beyond. How much more narrative do you want? In this context, it is also worth remembering that '2001' was primarily intended as a visual and largely non-verbal experience. Compare this to the relentless and meaningless verbiage common to most modern cinema . Kubrick proved that less is more.
"Take the ultimate trip." I did. At least 2001 times and loved every micro light speed of it. I managed to come back each time safely. I made my own little tripy video as a tribute to Stanley Kubrick called "Communication: Meltdown." Not exactly Hollywood effects but I got an "A."
I was in 8th grade when the movie came out. It almost blew my mind! The movie still stands up compared to what they can do today with CGI etc. Recently I saw it on the big screen. What a thrill it was. I hadn't seen the movie for 30 years.
I went to see this film for the first time at the cinema last week at 19 years old, its so damn powerful and uses practical effects in such a way it makes modern CGI look amateur.
That is so cool that you appreciate 2001 at your age. I have a 17 year old that I'm going to have watch this documentary before watching the movie. Maybe, just maybe he'll enjoy it ,even though a lot of it is slow paced.
Truly a touching acknowledgement and tribute and every word very well deserved. In 1968 I had the distinct honour and momentous and mind-blowing privilege to work as an usher at the Glendale Theatre in Toronto, the first 70 mm Cinerama theatre in Canada, where 2001 had its two and a half year, reserved seat, premiere Canadian engagement. I was 17 y.o., still in high school and it was my first formal paid "job." It was a life-altering experience in so many ways. I went through so many changes there, not the least of which was the introspection that well over five hundred viewings of the film led me through.
Met Keir Dullea today at a chiller theatre event. Got a few prints signed and spoke with him for a few minutes. Super nice guy. Can't wait to see it in 70mm.
Hal will for ever be one of the most scariest villains in a sci-fi movie ever! seeing this movie you wouldn't think it was shot in the 60s you would think it was shot in the 90s or early 00s it's crazy how much ahead of it's time it was & how well it's aged!
I had the unique experience of sharing 2001 with my 12 year-old niece last year. I enjoyed hearing and watching her reactions to key moments in the film. I just kept looking over to see her expressions. I was immediately impressed that she was engaged the entire time, despite the slow pacing and lack of dialogue initially. When she started asking questions during the movie, I knew I'd succeeded. I know there can be a lot of generational back-and-forth ("they cant pay attention!" and "ok boomer" etc etc) but I'm hopeful that every generation will have something to help define its "being" -- even as a 56 year-old X-er, this film really helped define my being.
I'm seeing it this Sunday in Toronto (my birthday), I'm so excited! I watched it on DVD, HD and now 70mm, what! Can't wait for the special edition Blu-Ray out this fall! I love this movie, the silence between dialogue, the musical score in tandem with visuals of space stations. Perhaps one day humanity will take it place among the Stars.
I was 15 when I first saw it at the cinema. It was just an amazing experience. I could not stop talking about it in the days that followed. The idea of the story, the beauty of the look and the sound. Why is the room that Dave ends up in the way it is? I can remember answering another kid on that. I said on the one hand if you are trying to describe something that you have no idea of what it might be like, then you might as well make it something very mundane. On the other hand the aliens don't fully understand humans and so they have produced something "perfect" for their human guest as they understand it. In the book Arthur C Clark says how the water he drinks in strange at first. The reason is that it's pure water. Tasteless. It's what the alien/s thought to be correct. I still love this movie. Best movie ever.
I always took it to mean they did all their observing from afar, and the lack of 'detail' in the things in his hotel room, as well as the food, reflected that distant anonymity.
I think I saw an interview with Arthur C. Clarke where he said the room was something conjured up from the memories of Dave. A hotel room he had once stayed in or something like that.
A friend of mine and I drove 200 miles to Wayzata Minnesota on opening day to watch this movie in a Cimana theater back in the day. After it was over, we thought wow what a great movie and now it’s became a classic. Where did all those years go? People today grow up with these sort of things how did he get it that close to right incredible.
I have been very critical of George Lucas over the last 20 or so years, but I agree with his comments in this documentary. 2001 was an excellent example of showing a story rather than telling it.
To be honest, Lucas has been getting less critical these days since these new Star Wars movies. I don't mind them except Rise of the Skywalker, which sucked especially the ending. However, if you ask me, Lucas is a saint compared to Kathleen Kennedy.
This movie is the big leap forward in all aspects of filmmaking: narrative, construction, editing, soundtrack, effects, little dialogue etc...just as the jump cut in the movie where a bone tossed up in the age of primitive man cuts to the space station in orbit. This masterpiece defines "ahead of its time"
This is BY FAR the greatest science fiction movie of all time, & the special effects in this movie, are among the greatest innovations & achievements in the HISTORY of not only filmmaking, but of the entirety of human entertainment. Da Vinci level of genius & creative imagination.
A masterpiece...thank God there was a visionary to create this. Simply wonderful. Can't forget this movie. I was only 7 years old when it came out but it memorized when we were still working on Apollo program. Kid's imagination can go a long way for future engineers , technicians, and scientists.
After the "experience" of Kubrick's 2001, I remember feeling I'd had this surreal out-of-body experience and only after I'd had a few healthy discussions on it's meaning and purpose with everyone from my family priest to the loony old lady down the street would my bodily senses fully reconstitute. 2001 was a master stroke of the visual senses, a totally believable narrative about a turn of fate for humanity on the cusp of artificial intelligence and the certainty his professed "maker" is not what was advertised.
I was 19. I saw it three times -- during one week! I went home, made drawings ... dreamt about it ... Later, I saw the first Star Wars: "Oh, well ... popcorn, anybody?"
The intent of Star Wars was so very different. 2001 is hard science fiction. Star Wars is pure space opera. Both were excellent at realizing these related but very different visions. A space-based setting alone does not make a story science fiction.
He he, same here ;-) seen it in theaters 18 time. When it was showing, I would go multiple times. Finally saw it last month as movie-concert and oh my my !!!!
My parents allowed me to drive over 300 miles to see the film at a large theater in Dallas, Texas. I was 16 years old! Can you imagine letting your 16 year old drive a new Mustang 300 miles to see a film?
I gotta tell you that I have watched this movie at least 95 times, love it every time. first when I was in high school in 1968, a group of us kids, went to see it the first day it came out, we left the theater, we loved it but none of us understood a thing about it, so we decided that next time we would be totally high. It worked, the next time we all understood the movie so well that by the time we ended our discussion about it, Bugs Bunny and Speedy Gonzales and the Beatles had appeared in the movie. I love the movie and about the ending, you can imagine anything you want and love it.
Actually, in the book it is referred to as a monolith. The actual meaning of the word is single stone. Whilst the actual makeup of TMA 1 is unknown, it is undeniably a single piece.
since i saw that movie for the first time, in a cinema where i was lived at that time, i "persist" to be a fan of it and for ever. Many thanks and homages to Mr Kubrick's memory.
It was a mind blower. Also consider that we didn't have the enormous visual stimulation in those days as is the case now from all the e-devices. The film came out when I was in the 6th grade and at my house we had a black and white TV that we got maybe 4 channels on it. It's hard to describe the effect the movie had on my young pristine mind not have been pummeled with the over stimulation from media that generations since have experienced. Unfortunately, a film can't have that affect on people now that it did then for that reason.
Yeah, I saw it Cinerama at age 13 when it came out in 1969. Blew my mind. Years later I saw it with mary jane. It was intense. Blew my mind then, and Still blows my mind !
Doing effects in front of the camera and capturing it is what I've always appreciated about Kubrick and his forward thinking paved the way for technology we enjoy today.
For me "2001 Space Odyssey" is yet the most influencial movie of all times. Interstellar" from C. Nolan is full of visual quotes that do tribute to Kubrik's masterpiece. To me the most important scene of the movie is when the neanderthal discovers the power of the very first tool: the clava (baton). Kubrik was scientificaly exact, this was the turning point that separated humans from apes. This scene always make me cry. Is the most important movie scene of all times, because shows the birth of the human species! I do have FIVE original Dvd copies of 2001 to avoid the risk of damage and loosing the chance of seeing it every 6 months. 2001 is the only sci fi movie about alien influence on human civilization, that treats the subject (years before Daniken) with seriousness.... WITHOUT SHOWING ANY ALIEN..... AND WITH NO CGI !!!
2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY - 50th Anniversary
It never ages - the pen floating around when the passenger is asleep, and the space hostess picking it up and putting it back in his pocket ... ALL practical effects, with no deleting of cotton cables as CGI would do today.
How did he do that?
How did he do any of this with only practical effects?
Because these are real models/objects .. they are much more convincing than the CGI that we've been forced to accept as "more realistic" [when it's really just a high res cartoon most of the time]
Here's the difference:
DIRECTOR TO FX MAN: "I want my astronauts to go through a tunnel, and then effortlessly walk 360 degrees upside down and back again .. like it's nothing special."
FX MAN (2018): "We'll need a green screen stage and multiple cameras arranged in a 180 degree semi-circle so that we can rotate the footage - then we'll create the effect on the computer"
FX MAN (1968): "Just build a massive hamster wheel, with the camera rotating on the spindle ..." :)
FX MAN (1968) wins every time - because the camera is capturing something real. There's trickery involved - but it's honest trickery where everything you're seeing is a real object.
He meant action but didn't want sound pretentious ;D
@Cliff Hanley
Statement of person who doesn't know much about story telling and something called open ending 0_0
Cliff Hanley Agreed it's boring but visually it's in a class of its own.
The ending is coherent - read the book
This film is over 50 years old and the special effects, visual effects and cinemotagraphy are still way better than most films today!! Way ahead of his time! RIP Kubrick
ALL-- not most.imo.
The visuals and special effects in this movie, have aged better than effects in movies that came out 10 years ago.
Good old Douglas Trumbull.
@@aeromundos 10 yrs before CE3K
Just like B/W have been perfected..
Special effects take time to gell to a standard if thats ever achieved..
It's already aged better than Rise of the Skywalker.
Yes, but the main thing about special effects is that you don't see them as effects at all. So in that sense Kubrick understood to make realistic effects....
This was incredibly slow paced movie but it was so impeccably and masterfly made you couldn't keep your eyes off the screen. A true masterpiece of filmmaking.
steve jorfi
really excellent comment 👍
The most immersive film of all time
Summed up perfectly 👌
I tried several times when I was young to watch 2001, knowing it was a masterpiece, and fell asleep each time... I was frustrated because I tried desperately to appreciate it. But then a few years later I just watched it (almost as an after-thought) and literally fell in love w/ the film just for its Kubrick-esque beauty, and then the entire film washed over me..... And I was able to appreciate its greatness. It was hard for me to see what the difference was; a diff. attitude, more patience, or I know not what....but it was like a switch being turned on. In the end I stopped getting in the way of the film experience & fell in love w/ it moment-by-moment. Truly a transcendental movie but you can't go in expecting anything other than to experience it on its own terms.
And now thanks to the legalization you'll be able to try it stoned, which is how 80% of the audience saw it back in the 1960s
lol, that's me exactly!!!
@@tim71pos -- 80%???
Same
Me too , I think it takes a mature perspective to understand Kubricks true sense of art.
It's a shame that Arthur C. Clarke isn't mentioned at all, because he created the original ideas and worked very closely with Kubrick through the entire process.
A lot of the science in the movie probably came directly from A. C. Clarke. Clarke had written at least one book on the exploration of space when the film was shot and he really understood the science (the appendix to this book includes all the equations - really nice). Acknowledging the contribution of A.C. Clarke does not take anything away from Kubrick on the contrary it shows one of his qualities which is to know his limitation and get the right people to complement. I think he found the best complement there.
This documentary was made around the time of the DVD release of the film. On that DVD & the Blu Ray release they have additional documentaries one of which focuses much more on the collaboration between Clarke and Kubrick.
Probably a tough subject. There some version where Kubrick mislead and misdirected Clarke about the screenplay story. Not showing Clarke the actual shooting script.
I always like the connect between movies. Like the connection between Bladerunner and Super Mario Brothers.
There is an interesting book by Clarke on the topic of the creation of 2001 called "The Lost Worlds Of 2001".
In that book Clarke details the endless re-writes and provides some of his early draft material. These earlier drafts feature a walking talking C-3PO type HAL, obviously at that early stage in the process Clarke didn't yet quite understand what Kubrick was going for with this picture.
The book gives off the impression that Clarke, while being co-author on the story, is in no doubt that Kubrick had final say.
In fact on the DVD/Blu Ray release there is a separate documentary specifically on the topic of Kubrick's collaboration with Clarke filmed before Clarkes death featuring extensive interviews with him. I wouldn't buy into the stories of Clarke being annoyed or put out by Kubrick, it seems if anything he is extremely proud of the film and happy to have been involved, and rightly so!
I've been saying it for over two decades and I'll say it again now with no hesitation - 2001 is the best film I've seen in my entire life. Two artistic heroes of mine from the 20th century: John Coltrane and Stanley Kubrick.
Agreed 🤝
It's funny to hear about how Kubrick wasn't content to make simply a "genre film" in each of the genres in which he worked, whether it be 2001 (sci-fi), Barry Lyndon (period piece), The Shining (horror), Full Metal Jacket (war), etc. He literally remade the standard of every genre he worked in.
Each genre he did he set a standard in
Not true for war in my opinion. Apocalypse Now is the pinnacle of war films.
Natan's Notes don’t forget Dr. Strangelove one of the best comedy films out there
What genre is Clockwork Orange? It’s one of my favorite of his.
@@randysmith4331 Dystopian.
I am 88 yo, social behavioral scientist...I saw "2001" and really intellectually impacted me. I loved the ape violence scene of casting the bone... and it morphs into a space ship. The music is so fitting.
Point of correction: It's not so much a spaceship as it is an orbiting nuclear weapons platform. No one to know that without reading the book though.
It's not merely a movie. It is an achievement like no other.
I still cannot believe this film lost the oscar for best directing to Oliver....
I would so love for a Kubrick bio picture. Starting with his days as a Look magazine photographer, he move to Hollywood movie making, the nasty breakup, the move to England, finishing with the making of 2001: A Space Odyssey.
That is a marvelous idea. I can't believe it hasn't been done; maybe his family won't let it happen.
Yeah, what were these Erudites thinking?
Perhaps Luddites would be a more appropriate moniker.
Oggatha Christie One L too many.
9:03 "Even if he had the digital technology we had today, I don't think he would change it." Geez George, seems like you could learn something here
I agree with that statement. The film definitely looks like something that's from 1978, 1988, or even 1998! Its production is superior than its sequel 2010 and I think its a shame they had its director, Peter Hymns is this documentary!
@@matthewb774 1998? Heck, some 2005 film has more blurry quality
I know
You know that Kubrick wanted to make A.I artificial intelligence (he died before making it) boy in cgi, right? and he was always pushing technology forward(? Like, not just 2001 but also things like the steadicam for the shining...of course he would have made better films than the star wars prequels (obviously) but I'm pretty sure he would have used CGI a lot, in fact it's a shame he couldn't see what you can do with cgi nowadays
the subjective shot in the monolith scene in the moon really made me feel there. i could feel the imponent and mysterious presence of the monolith and that music during the scene just made me feel uneasy and terrified. Geniusly directed
2001 Space Odyssey is the greatest sci-fi film ever made. No matter how many times I've seen it, it's still thrills me every time
Keep in mind Kubrick did this movie fucking 50 years ago, that's unbelievable the vision he had back then, even the most respected directors still struggle to desypher how the hell he could pull it off, which He did.
I saw "2001" when I was 12 years old when it was first released in theaters. IT started my lifelong love of Sci-Fi.
"desifer"
Why did you include the obscenity? It diminishes your comments. /
Will people were smarter back then, the world was more insane back then. So logic he made this movie. Now a day they are too much retarded to do this. I hate the downlook on previous generation like they were less then us today. Well sorry to say but that is the biggest bullshit, we actually suck. Thats why we have hipsters nowadays.
Agreed. BTW, *decipher :-)
"It's a silent movie in the sound-era, and I think we'll get back there." Thank you, Mr Lucas, for helping to open a door to those who want to make movies which explore more deeply the PRIMARY raison d'être of movies: the PICTURE, and put everything else in the background. Why should movies have an easily digestible, linear story, played out by actors telling us how they feel, and what they're doing, and why they're doing them? That can, as pretty much every movie ever made in Hollywood be fun and functional, but there are also other ways of making movies! Some of the movie-greats have explored silence in their movies: Tarkovsky, Bergman, Greenaway (I'm sure I'm missing some even more glaring and obvious examples; I'm not a movie expert, just a movie-lover!). Just as there are books which are challenging in the way they progress (Cortazar's Hopscotch, Saramago's way with "dialogue" not to mention Ulysses by James Joyce) why shouldn't movies?! In abstract and non-representational art, painters and sculptors have long represented the world not as it "is" but as they see it; why shouldn't movie-makers?! I understand that for the most part, this sort of thing will remain independent fringe-productions, since more and more the big movie companies only invest if they're fairly certain of good returns, and the average consumer of movies, tv, books, art, etc, expects to be entertained and NOT challenged, at least not too profoundly. Silence is horror to many people these days: it makes us think; about ourselves, the world around us, and what we take in during silence (views, taste, touch, a.s.o.) can have profound effects on the thoughts during and after that silence. Meditation..
Lucas gets it spot on, a silent film in the era of sound. he states so simply the genius of Kubrick.
This movie, was way way ahead of its time! And still holds well today.
I begged my mother to take me to see this when it came out. I was nine years old. When it was over she asked "what was that about?" "The evolution of man.....and mankind" was my reply. I stand by that 50 years later.
joseph humphrey yeah right
What'd she say?
@@princekyle4132 she clapped.
So you’re as simple minded and dumb as you were when you were 9? Interesting
@@joseph-ow1hf you did not say that🤣🤣
I was fourteen years old when I first watched this movie as a SF movie fan. I watched the movie eight times in a year, most in a CINERAMA theater in Tokyo. I felt I was in real space while I saw a space station and the bright earth on huge CINERAMA screen. When the movie came to ending, I understand this movie is not a SF drama but an abstract art. Every seen is perfectly beautiful, or too perfect. Kubrick's message in this movie is still vague and mysterious and it is one of the reasons I like this movie. For my eyes no movie has got beyond yet. From Japan with love
I was 12 when I saw this movie with my dad I am now. In 2019 almost 63. My dad has since died . And I am 12 agin in the savoy cinema Limerick Ireland . I have come to accept what the message in this movie is all about . It’s not very subtle . Thanks Stanly
A bow to the unknowable. Perfect way to describe this film.
This master piece was so underappreciated it's unreal, still to this day not enough people have witnessed the greatness of this film...
best diretor to ever grace the planet. 50th Anniversary of the most important film ever.
I simply can't add to that, you've said it all.
yes, yes, yes...
The most important motion picture ever ― like totally!
Kubrick should’ve got it for 2001. But Carol Reed (Oliver) should’ve gotten it 20 years earlier for The Third Man - an equally profound (in a totally different way) masterpiece. Like 2001 many still don’t get it, thinking it’s just a “film noir” with long shadows and tilt camera angles...
Should've gotten what?
The silence of space grabs you by the throat. The immense cold vastness, I never saw in another scifi movie.
I saw this in the theater when I was 8 years old. Thank you so much mom! Despite being poor, you always exposing us to great people, great places, and great thinking. Made all the difference in our lives. Forever grateful.
I am blown away by the use of sound in this movie, as well as everything visual. Just what was supposed to be there, like breathing, and total silence outside in space except the Strauss music only when needed.
Just perfect.
One of THE greatest cinema achievements EVER. A towering motion picture in so many respects. I watch it every couple of years, still engrossing, enthralling, compelling. /
I saw it in 1968. It was, in a word, an experience. Jaw-dropping visuals, the juxtaposition of classical music and outer space. The most confounding finale ever filmed.
Saw it in 1973 and felt the same, still do.
Did you jizz yourself back then? 😂😂
Yes, I saw it in Cinerama in London in December 1968, sitting in the front row with my girlfriend . The photos of the rising Earth from Apollo 8 were in the London Times,in colour. We noticed 2001's Earth wasn't blue enough.
Best movie ever made 👏
Ha! Good Avatar.
I totally agree; my all-time favorite. The Shining and Barry Lyndon are phenomenal as well.
@@Powerhaus88 2001 is the greatest of the great, hands down. Nobody makes films like Kubrick did, and nobody ever will.
I don’t know, Jingle All the Way was way ahead of its time
Absolutely no doubt.
I saw this film as a child in the early 90s (around the time Jurassic Park came out) and I had no idea that it was an “old film”, I assumed it was relatively recent. That’s how amazing the effects in this film are.
Had the honour of watching it when it was re-released in 2014...twice.
I didn't know the film was supposed to have voice over narration at the start. Thank god Kubrick scrapped that idea.
It's not one of the three greatest films ever made. In my opinion it's *the* greatest film ever.
Today's so-called "special effects" are nothing more than cartoons. Totally fake and unrealistic .
Kubrick gave the viewer the sensation of actually being in space. A work of genius....52 years ago!
A true visual masterpiece. The shots of Bowman with the lights reflection on his helmet EPIC!
And the eyeball as big as the screen, changing colors!!!
...while Bowman asks 'do you read me Hal' as if he is asking us to literally read the letters reflecting on his face. Incidentally, it looks like the letters I, B and M are on Bowman's face when he asks that. A curious little detail I think.
Thank you, Mr Kubrick !
You created a fantastic world for us all.
2001 is still more realistic film about Man's interaction with space than any other sci fi film since. You notice there is no loud engine thrust, laser cannons etc. There is silence. And it is beautiful in its sublime majesty.
Greatest Sci-fi film ever made, and one of the greatest films ever.
I just fell in love with 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY two days ago. I am now reading the book.
Wonderful fmj crew member.
Bless you. I'm going to see it with an open mind for the first time in my life on Tuesday at my local Cinema. I've seen clips but not experienced the film in full. I'm really excited to be transported to a new world. I hope I fall in love with it as much as you have.
I saw 2001 when I was sixteen in Hollywood. I was in awe and almost in a hypnotic state afterwards. I had no clue what it all meant until years later I read an interview with Arthur C. Clarke in Playboy magazine and he explained it. I am still in awe when I see this movie. I never get tired of it.
This movie was at least 50 years ahead of it's time, visually striking and technology wise amazing, it still looks like it was made today, plus the classical music was beautifully matched in the movie , director Stanley Kubrick was one of a kind rest in peace.
Saw it in 1968 at the Cinema Stage on it's huge screen with surround stereo sound in Chicago the first week it was released. I was 20 at the time. I now realize how lucky I was to see it so early and in it's intended form.
Respect for a genius who created THE masterpiece of movies.
I saw it when I was 12 years old. I had read a LOT of science fiction before this. I had also watched the Twilight Zone, One Step Beyond, The Outer Limits, Science Fiction Theater, etc, on TV. I had seen War of the Worlds, The Time Machine, Robinson Crusoe on Mars. So when I saw 2001, I was totally comfortable with it, and got the ideas. I thinks it the best movie ever made.
Same here. Some movies go into your collection because of nostalgia, acting, SFX, overall theme, writing, viewing pleasure, and realism.
2001 hits all the points.
Forbidden Planet is next.
Then the many B-grade and television (Twilight Zone, Outer Limits, One Step Beyond) productions.
It's all about being able to suspend your level of disbelief.
Biggest joke of all time is that it lost out for best movie to that steaming pile of dogshit The Producers
Colin Field Excuse me, what the fuck?
The quality still stands today... I was 8 years old when I saw it on the big screen. It was easy for me to understand what the unknowable deliemma implied. I even got the idea of the evolution of man for the first time right then -- great presentation given very little verbal. It set into motion my interest in science and aerospace. It's so hard to imagine it was made before the Apollo 11 landing. So far ahead of it's time.
the quality is still unsurpassed in some scenes.
There are so many iconic scenes in this film. It's pretty mental. Falling through the spinning space station as the jet is docking might be my favorite, but then I remember the scene where saliva flies off the ape's tooth as he's using a weapon for the first time. How could I forget the slit screen stargate scene though?! Holy. It's impossible to decide what scene is the best.
While clockwork orange is my favorite of his, god 2001 is just amazing. Literally a perfect film.
Seeing this movie with my parents and younger brother was an event. We went out for dinner and caught the 8:30 PM showing. Loved that Pan Am Clipper and HAL. 2001: A Space Odyssey has only grown in my esteem over the decades. Superlatives fall short in expressing how fine a film it is.
This movie was a very intimate experience for me. My father dropped me off at our local small-town theatre, and there along with four people ( laughing ) I was transported. Over the years I've experienced wonderful cinematic moments...
That evening it was only Stanley
and I
We were fortunate enough to see Stanley Kubrick's personal 70mm copy of 2001 back in the 80s. It was amazing!
WOW! How was that?
No word about LIGETI ?? the whole film lives from his music !
There are no words, but if I have to pick just one now, it must be STUNNING!
one of the most important films ever
Its awesome how all these other directors pay their respects to Stanley.
Wow! What a great documentary of Kubrick the artist, and a wonderful homage and tribute to his genius and unwavering dedication to excellence! The high esteem in which he is held by all of his fellow filmmakers, past and present, is so richly deserved. Very well done! Thank you!
Best Science Fiction movie ever. This material is more than 10 years old though.
2001: A Space Odyssey is the movie equivalent of the American Gothic painting. Grant Wood and Kubrick both gave the world a work that was mysterious for its simplicity. Both have profound indelible imagery yet matter-of-fact moods. Both will permanently spark debate as to whether their meaning is esoteric or straightforward.
Brilliant. I was 12 when 2001 hit the screens. I saw it more than a dozen times back then.
😎
'2001- A Space Odyssey is a monumental cinematic achievement and arguably the most important film ever made. I find comments by other contributors suggesting that the film's storyline was weak or even 'nonsensical' deeply puzzling. After all, this audacious film charted the entirety of human history and 33 years beyond. How much more narrative do you want? In this context, it is also worth remembering that '2001' was primarily intended as a visual and largely non-verbal experience. Compare this to the relentless and meaningless verbiage common to most modern cinema . Kubrick proved that less is more.
This film draws you in, locks you in and then transports you to another realm. All of which Kubrick intended.
"Take the ultimate trip." I did. At least 2001 times and loved every micro light speed of it. I managed to come back each time safely. I made my own little tripy video as a tribute to Stanley Kubrick called "Communication: Meltdown." Not exactly Hollywood effects but I got an "A."
I was in 8th grade when the movie came out. It almost blew my mind! The movie still stands up compared to what they can do today with CGI etc. Recently I saw it on the big screen. What a thrill it was. I hadn't seen the movie for 30 years.
It's still and always will be a Masterpiece.
The combination of the space station and the Blue Danube is perfection.
I went to see this film for the first time at the cinema last week at 19 years old, its so damn powerful and uses practical effects in such a way it makes modern CGI look amateur.
That is so cool that you appreciate 2001 at your age. I have a 17 year old that I'm going to have watch this documentary before watching the movie. Maybe, just maybe he'll enjoy it ,even though a lot of it is slow paced.
Truly a touching acknowledgement and tribute and every word very well deserved. In 1968 I had the distinct honour and momentous and mind-blowing privilege to work as an usher at the Glendale Theatre in Toronto, the first 70 mm Cinerama theatre in Canada, where 2001 had its two and a half year, reserved seat, premiere Canadian engagement. I was 17 y.o., still in high school and it was my first formal paid "job." It was a life-altering experience in so many ways. I went through so many changes there, not the least of which was the introspection that well over five hundred viewings of the film led me through.
I love Stanley Kubrick, and all of his films are so amazing.
A masterpiece of complex simplicity.
It will always be in our minds. Forever.
Met Keir Dullea today at a chiller theatre event. Got a few prints signed and spoke with him for a few minutes. Super nice guy. Can't wait to see it in 70mm.
Hal will for ever be one of the most scariest villains in a sci-fi movie ever!
seeing this movie you wouldn't think it was shot in the 60s you would think it was shot in the 90s or early 00s it's crazy how much ahead of it's time it was & how well it's aged!
I came away from the film with this thought: beware the machines. When they take over...its curtains for everyone else.
I had the unique experience of sharing 2001 with my 12 year-old niece last year. I enjoyed hearing and watching her reactions to key moments in the film. I just kept looking over to see her expressions. I was immediately impressed that she was engaged the entire time, despite the slow pacing and lack of dialogue initially. When she started asking questions during the movie, I knew I'd succeeded.
I know there can be a lot of generational back-and-forth ("they cant pay attention!" and "ok boomer" etc etc) but I'm hopeful that every generation will have something to help define its "being" -- even as a 56 year-old X-er, this film really helped define my being.
Last year I saw this on IMAX and I can’t believe how much the visuals still hold up
I’m still in awe at this films cinematography 😳 Like, what?! This film was made in the 60’s??? 🤯
2001 and Blade Runner are my two favorite SciFi movies of all time. They're so close it's tough to say which is #1 imo.
I'm seeing it this Sunday in Toronto (my birthday), I'm so excited! I watched it on DVD, HD and now 70mm, what! Can't wait for the special edition Blu-Ray out this fall! I love this movie, the silence between dialogue, the musical score in tandem with visuals of space stations. Perhaps one day humanity will take it place among the Stars.
This is THE film, THE guy. Life blowing.
The biggest screen tv you can get in your house will never equal seeing this movie on a good movie screen ; I was 9 years old. It was amazing.
I was 15 when I first saw it at the cinema. It was just an amazing experience. I could not stop talking about it in the days that followed. The idea of the story, the beauty of the look and the sound.
Why is the room that Dave ends up in the way it is? I can remember answering another kid on that. I said on the one hand if you are trying to describe something that you have no idea of what it might be like, then you might as well make it something very mundane. On the other hand the aliens don't fully understand humans and so they have produced something "perfect" for their human guest as they understand it. In the book Arthur C Clark says how the water he drinks in strange at first. The reason is that it's pure water. Tasteless. It's what the alien/s thought to be correct.
I still love this movie. Best movie ever.
I always took it to mean they did all their observing from afar, and the lack of 'detail' in the things in his hotel room, as well as the food, reflected that distant anonymity.
I think I saw an interview with Arthur C. Clarke where he said the room was something conjured up from the memories of Dave. A hotel room he had once stayed in or something like that.
A friend of mine and I drove 200 miles to Wayzata Minnesota on opening day to watch this movie in a Cimana theater back in the day. After it was over, we thought wow what a great movie and now it’s became a classic. Where did all those years go? People today grow up with these sort of things how did he get it that close to right incredible.
This film has aged better than whatever Disney/Lucasfilm will release *thirty years from now.*
I always hear the word "masterpiece" when folks mention this film. Great job-thank you.
I have been very critical of George Lucas over the last 20 or so years, but I agree with his comments in this documentary. 2001 was an excellent example of showing a story rather than telling it.
To be honest, Lucas has been getting less critical these days since these new Star Wars movies. I don't mind them except Rise of the Skywalker, which sucked especially the ending. However, if you ask me, Lucas is a saint compared to Kathleen Kennedy.
This movie is the big leap forward in all aspects of filmmaking: narrative, construction, editing, soundtrack, effects, little dialogue etc...just as the jump cut in the movie where a bone tossed up in the age of primitive man cuts to the space station in orbit. This masterpiece defines "ahead of its time"
Thank you first year film student
This film kept me watching because I wanted to make sense of it. The visuals were amazing.
George Lucas: 'He did it. I can do it". hahahahahahahah
This is BY FAR the greatest science fiction movie of all time, & the special effects in this movie, are among the greatest innovations & achievements in the HISTORY of not only filmmaking, but of the entirety of human entertainment. Da Vinci level of genius & creative imagination.
No mention of Arthur C. Clarke is a shame.
"The future isn't what it used to be" Arthur C. Clarke!!!!!!!!!!
... did Johann Strauß mentioned ?
A masterpiece...thank God there was a visionary to create this. Simply wonderful. Can't forget this movie. I was only 7 years old when it came out but it memorized when we were still working on Apollo program. Kid's imagination can go a long way for future engineers , technicians, and scientists.
After the "experience" of Kubrick's 2001, I remember feeling I'd had this surreal out-of-body experience and only after I'd had a few healthy discussions on it's meaning and purpose with everyone from my family priest to the loony old lady down the street would my bodily senses fully reconstitute. 2001 was a master stroke of the visual senses, a totally believable narrative about a turn of fate for humanity on the cusp of artificial intelligence and the certainty his professed "maker" is not what was advertised.
It was the movie that change everything about making movies. Visually stunning! Musical genius! Awe inspiring!
I was 19. I saw it three times -- during one week! I went home, made drawings ... dreamt about it ... Later, I saw the first Star Wars: "Oh, well ... popcorn, anybody?"
The intent of Star Wars was so very different. 2001 is hard science fiction. Star Wars is pure space opera. Both were excellent at realizing these related but very different visions.
A space-based setting alone does not make a story science fiction.
I did my first oil painting using the back of the album of the soundtrack. The one where they are on the moon and an Ares is landing in back of them.
He he, same here ;-) seen it in theaters 18 time. When it was showing, I would go multiple times. Finally saw it last month as movie-concert and oh my my !!!!
My parents allowed me to drive over 300 miles to see the film at a large theater in Dallas, Texas. I was 16 years old! Can you imagine letting your 16 year old drive a new Mustang 300 miles to see a film?
Hated Star Wars, 2001 was a masterpiece! I loved Ridley Scott’s Alien too. I see 2001’s influence on that film as well.
I gotta tell you that I have watched this movie at least 95 times, love it every time. first when I was in high school in 1968, a group of us kids, went to see it the first day it came out, we left the theater, we loved it but none of us understood a thing about it, so we decided that next time we would be totally high. It worked, the next time we all understood the movie so well that by the time we ended our discussion about it, Bugs Bunny and Speedy Gonzales and the Beatles had appeared in the movie. I love the movie and about the ending, you can imagine anything you want and love it.
It's not an obilisk...its a monolith.
Potato put Todd oh… Tomato tomahto (… Or you might be right - runs to dictionary :-)
Actually, in the book it is referred to as a monolith. The actual meaning of the word is single stone. Whilst the actual makeup of TMA 1 is unknown, it is undeniably a single piece.
He's a Warner Bros suit, they're a special kind of stupid. :)
It's a big black thing.
It's not an obelisk nor a monolith. It's a CubeBrick.
since i saw that movie for the first time, in a cinema where i was lived at that time, i "persist" to be a fan of it and for ever. Many thanks and homages to Mr Kubrick's memory.
Feel really sorry for young people who never saw this on the huge wide Cinerama screen. It was absolutely mind blowing.
It was a mind blower. Also consider that we didn't have the enormous visual stimulation in those days as is the case now from all the e-devices. The film came out when I was in the 6th grade and at my house we had a black and white TV that we got maybe 4 channels on it. It's hard to describe the effect the movie had on my young pristine mind not have been pummeled with the over stimulation from media that generations since have experienced. Unfortunately, a film can't have that affect on people now that it did then for that reason.
Should be showing there again
Zoe Kouf I've seen it already at the arclight. Really beautiful. Wanted to see it again but it was only for a week
Yeah, I saw it Cinerama at age 13 when it came out in 1969. Blew my mind.
Years later I saw it with mary jane. It was intense. Blew my mind then, and Still blows my mind !
Saw it in 70MM for the 50th anniversary screening ! So thankful I did not see it on a television or computer screen
I saw it when it came out, I was 10 years old and the movie got instantly glued to my existence like a stamp in a letter...
There has never been a movie that was that far ahead of its time like 2001.
Doing effects in front of the camera and capturing it is what I've always appreciated about Kubrick and his forward thinking paved the way for technology we enjoy today.
For me "2001 Space Odyssey" is yet the most influencial movie of all times.
Interstellar" from C. Nolan is full of visual quotes that do tribute to Kubrik's masterpiece.
To me the most important scene of the movie is when the neanderthal discovers the power of the very first tool: the clava (baton). Kubrik was scientificaly exact, this was the turning point that separated humans from apes. This scene always make me cry.
Is the most important movie scene of all times, because shows the birth of the human species!
I do have FIVE original Dvd copies of 2001 to avoid the risk of damage and loosing the chance of seeing it every 6 months.
2001 is the only sci fi movie about alien influence on human civilization, that treats the subject (years before Daniken) with seriousness....
WITHOUT SHOWING ANY ALIEN.....
AND WITH NO CGI !!!