Meat
I saw it and I still don't know what the hell to think of it. But that's probably to be expected from Kubrick. Being a Kubrick film, what you think of it likely has a lot to do with how much of a Kubrick fan you are. For me: Dr. Strangelove was great. The parts of A Clockwork Orange I've seen were great (the disc I had was messed up). Didn't much care for Eyes Wide Shut, but then, who did? I admit I haven't seen any of his others yet. So that's where I stand.
My summary of 2001 is "good parts, bad parts, and they forgot to write an ending". Since that doesn't say much, here's a walkthrough of my experience with it...Bear in mind, I'm writing this from memory, so pardon if I get some details or orders slightly mixed up. But it's Kubrick, and weird is weird, so if I mix it up, he'd probably approve anyway :)
Started it. Blank screen with one of the most annoying sounds I've ever heard. And it keeps going. And going...and thank god for fast forward...
Monkeys! Now we're getting somewhere! Ok, "chimps", "homo erectus", whatever they really are, furry primates are always great to watch! Not a bad section here. Except...Now, I like watching apes as much as the next guy, but this is the first time I've actually gotten bored by it, or gotten annoyed by their screeching. Do they ever shut up?
Then the big stone-square-ship thing comes. I gotta agree with the monkeys - that thing makes an obnoxious sound, even by obnoxious-monkey standards. They cautiously beat on it. I'm rooting for the monkeys. The big rectangle finally gets as bored by it as I get and flies away. Or not. I can't tell what the hell that effect is supposed to be depicting. Maybe I'm spoiled by Berman-era Star Trek. Or maybe that uncertainty of what's happening is the point. Or not. I can't tell that either.
In any case, now there's an establishing shot of some other spacecraft. Funny, establishing shots normally end. And then go to another scene, not another establishing shot. And another...I don't think I would mind so much if it weren't making me listen to one of my least favorite music genres: Instantly-recognizable public-domain classical.
I do like Kubrick's penchant for deliberately mismatched music and visuals. Worked to fantastic effect in A Clockwork Orange. But this is kind of annoying. Not noisy-space-rectangle annoying, but annoying. And boring. I miss the monkeys. Oh look, another spaceship. Is there a movie in here?
Yay, Movie! Finally! Characters! Interiors! Dialog! Stuff happenin'! Plot! Whee! Starts out a little slow, but interesting, then gradually builds up. Dialog's hard to hear, but that's typical for that era (and for the current era too, but for a different reason - overdone dynamic range and shitty mixing, but that's a whole other post). They really have built up a rather convincing future for the most part. Except it'd be the past now...sort of...
Anyway, cool and interesting stuff happens, including some neato/scientifically-realistic gravity effects on a level you don't even see in the Berman-era Star Trek thirty-plus years later (Maybe 2001's scientists would have had a better grasp of gravity-manipulation if only it had occurred to them to "reverse the polarity").
Then the big noise-maker giant-space-party-favor rock-thing gets dug up and...intermission? Maybe I'm too young, but was that common in 60's movies, or was that just a Kubrick-ism? In any case, it's too short to actually do anything during (unlike the space-station establishing-shot sequence earlier, oddly enough). And I don't think Kubrick was thinking "videocassette" at that point, so I'm guessing "Kubrick-ism". But I'm probably wrong.
Now we get what could easily have been one of the best episodes from a certain you-know-what TV show. The real meat of the movie. The iconic HAL. The less-iconic Dave. And, umm, the not-iconic-at-all who-the-hell-was-he red-shirt^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hother guy. Great stuff overall.
The short scene after Dave gets back inside the main ship and the camera follows him around: unbelievably ahead of it's time. I'm not exaggerating when I say I started to wonder whether I was wrong about what decade the movie was produced and grabbed the case to see whether the copyright was in the 80's instead of the 60's as I had thought. Of course, these days, that particular type of shot is used all the time, except now they usually screw it up by using cameramen that are on a caffeine overdose. Shake-shake-shake. Shake-shake-shake. Kubrick made it feel like you were there. Modern directors make it feel like you're there and having seizures.
Only problem with this whole HAL section of the movie is it seems rather short. Probably had to be to fit all the filler in at the beginning of the movie.
Then Dave saves the day and defeats HAL! Hooray! Funny, I always assumed that was the end of the movie, but...it isn't ending. Oh yea! There's still the loose-end of that singing-space-box. Cool! Can't wait to see what's up with that...
Some neat effects...Still...some neat effects...More...repetetive effects...Ummm...Ok...I get the point...Yea, this is cool and all in an nifty electronic-music-video sort of way...But...Shit, I get it! Enough already!
Whoa, crazy bizarro-space-room, and the guy keeps seeing older versions of himself, and becomes them. Classic Kubrick material, and fantastic transitions! And...a freaky uncanny-valley space-baby for no apparent reason? And credits...And the disappointing realization that neither the noisy-space-rectangle nor the entire last twenty minutes had any damn point. (On the other hand, now I know where Sealab 2021 got the space baby in the first episode.)
So...umm...ok. I guess I should have expected that from Kubrick, but I still can't help feeling cheated out of an ending. I'll have to read the book, maybe Clarke wrote an ending. If so, Kubrick must have just not gotten to it because he used up all his film shooting filler. Yea, that must have been it. Normally a conclusion paragraph would follow, but I think you can understand why I'm
2 comments for "An incredibly timely review of "2001: A Space Odyssey""
You should give the book a shot :)
Yea, I think I probably will at some point. And I'm really curious to read the "3001" sequel. Probably won't be for awhile though: I already have a ton of stuff I want to read (Like Atlanta Nights! A chapter and a half into it so far, and I love it!). But in the little recreation time I get, I've usually just been flipping on an anime and enjoying the rare opportunity to turn my brain off :) So my to-read list is growing faster than it's shrinking.