2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Written by Stanley Kubrick & Arthur C. Clarke

Directed by Stanley Kubrick

1998 List Ranking: 22

2007 List Ranking: 15

I’m sorry, WHAT?!

I…I am having trouble communicating my thoughts about this film. I knew going into it that it was a highly artistic film, and it most DEFINITELY is. However, it also lacks important things like…a plot (I mean, it kinda has one. But barely). But, the film is so artistic that I don’t know if it NEEDS a plot. So, the two halves of my being, the side that supports and demands artistic freedom and the side that fights for some iota of conventionality, are battling for supremacy.

The early humans discover the monolith

2001: A Space Odyssey artistically presents a sweeping story beginning with the dawn of man as the dominant species on the planet. Ancient hominids are visited by a large, black monolith which, after some contact, somehow enables them to gain understanding of using tools (and ostensibly, commit the first murder, because of course that’s what we would do). Millions of years later, in 2001 (I guess?) another (or the same) monolith is discovered buried under the lunar surface. A year and a half after THAT, a spaceship carrying a small crew of astronauts, and controlled by the computer HAL 9000, are voyaging towards Jupiter. HAL, unable to make mistakes, makes one and has a small nervous breakdown in which he kills four people. As one does. The lone survivor then encounters another monolith orbiting Jupiter and is sent across space (and time?) to a classical bedroom where, long and confusing story short, he becomes a fetus and hovers over Earth.

No, really. I’m serious.

Keir Dullea as Dave

Normally I talk about acting here, but this film features only a handful of speaking roles and very little dialogue between them. I can’t even say that there’s a lead actor, although Keir Dullea and William Sylvester are the likely candidates. Both do a fine job, but both are also not given a whole lot to do, particularly Dullea, who gets the most screen time but also has almost zero emotions (which, in one interpretation, is intentional as to make HAL more human than the humans).

I realize that, for a film as unconventional as this one, my review then also cannot be conventional, either. Instead, let’s just talk a bit about the film.

A typical shot from 2001: objects floating gracefully in space

The first thing I realized, and my primary takeaway from the film, was recognizing just how influential the film has been on modern cinema, particularly on a certain space opera saga that began nine years later. There are many elements of Star Wars that, now in hindsight, seem derivative (which, considering that Star Wars is, at its core, completely derivative, isn’t really a surprise). The way the camera films the various spaceships, the use of sweeping, grand opera compositions (besides the well-known “Also sprach Zarathustra”), and even the line “I’ve got a bad feeling”, there seems to be many elements that one can draw a direct line from 2001 to Star Wars. The effects are truly groundbreaking for their time, another feat that Star Wars would pull off a decade later. For all the things that turn me off about the film, I can imagine that audiences of the time were astounded by what they were seeing.

The monolith is discovered on the moon

Throughout his life, director Stanley Kubrick refused to provide an explanation or interpretation of the film, and as frustrating as that is, I actually rather applaud him for it. I appreciate the fact that he made something so incredibly artistic and open-ended that many different interpretations can be gleaned from it. I’m still processing my interpretations, but there is at least one that I feel is important: the monolith. I find it interesting that the monolith is accompanied by bizarre, unsettling vocals that seem to grow louder and louder as time spent around the monolith continues. To me, the voices also reminded me of the idea of voices from hell, giving the monolith a seductive, ominous, and perhaps downright evil quality.

What does it MEAN?!

However, I struggle in that interpretation due to what the monolith does. To me, the monolith “nudges” creatures to the next step in evolution: primitive hominids touch the monolith and suddenly discover tools. Later, men touch the monolith on the moon, which triggers a radio frequency to be sent to Jupiter, opening the door for the next story with HAL 9000. Taking that interpretation further, I suppose that could explain the ending: Dullea’s Bowman comes into contact with the monolith floating in space and transforms, eventually, into a fetus-like creature looking down on earth. Has he jumped into the next stage of evolution? And why a fetus? Is it the beginning of a new cycle of advanced creatures? As I said, I’m still processing, but I’d love to hear everyone’s interpretations.

As I reflect further, I realize that despite all the things that should make me dislike this film, I have to give high marks for the sheer artistry of the film. Kubrick made a film that is deeply personal and artistic to him, and therefore how are any us adequately equipped to judge it? As a narrative film, 2001 stumbles, but as a work of art, it soars.

FINAL GRADE: B+