2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) or, Humanity and Space

7/01/2013

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) or, Humanity and Space

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A deliciously old-fashioned, hand-drawn and painted poster for Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey

New York-born master filmmaker Stanley Kubrick (The Shining (1980)) was granted total freedom to make this unequaled space tale. 2001 is a sci-fi milestone, because it took the genre to a place where it had never been before (on the screen at least): To the seriously philosophical and the abstract.

Super computer HAL 9000 begins to act with uncommon and disturbing individuality on a spaceship in the future. The ultimate question that 2001 seems to raise and probe from different angles is: What is humanity?

It doesn't get much bigger than that.
The film remains unbelievably beautiful, with striking cinematography by great English cinematographer Geoffrey Unsworth (Cabaret (1972)), but at times it is also strenuously solemn and frustrating. It is co-written by Kubrick and great SF writer Arthur C. Clarke (Rendezvous with Rama (1972)), based on a short story of his, The Sentinel (1948).
The concrete plot on the space ship is fascinatingly potent, and it continues to inspire great science fiction films like Eagle Eye (2008) and Moon (2009).
Personally, however, in the amazing oeuvre of Kubrick, my heart beats with more passion for several other of his incredible films.

Related posts:

Stanley Kubrick: A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) - A robot fairytale with both heart and mind (concept)
Top 10: The best adaptations reviewed by Film Excess to date
The Shining (1980) - Kubrick's descent into madness is a timeless masterpiece
Barry Lyndon (1975) - Kubrick's elegant 19th century costume whopper
A Clockwork Orange (1971) or, Outrage! The intellectual sci-fi-prison-crime-drama Shocker!

Watch the official 1968 trailer for the film here

Cost: 10.5-12 mil. $
Box office: In excess of 190 mil. $ (with re-releases)
= Mega-hit (returned more than 15.8 times the cost)
[2001: A Space Odyssey premiered 2 April (Washington, D. C.) and runs 142 minutes, (Kubrick's original cut was 161 minutes, but he cut 19 minutes off for its general release.) It was filmed in England and went way over budget and schedule. It opened to mixed reviews, - confused praise not least, - and originally grossed 15 mil. $ in North America, becoming the highest grossing North American film domestically of 1968. The domestic gross has since grown to 56.9 mil. $ (29.9 % of the total gross) with several re-releases; the latest one in North America was in 2001. 2001 was nominated for 4 Oscars: It won for Best Visual Effects but lost Art/Set Direction to Oliver!, Director to Carol Reed for the same film, and Best Original Screenplay to Mel Brooks for The Producers. The film also won 3/5 BAFTA nominations, a David di Donatello award and a National Board of Review award, among other honors. Roger Ebert gave the film a 4/4 star review, translating to two notches higher than this one. IMDb's user-generated Top 250 currently has the film at #90, sitting between 3 Idiots (2009) and Toy Story (1995). Kubrick returned with A Clockwork Orange (1971). Lead Keir Dullea (Law & Order (1976, TV movie) returned in De Sade (1969). 2001: A Space Odyssey is certified fresh at 93 % with a 9.2/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of 2001: A Space Odyssey?
Is it among the greatest films of all time, - or, as I think, maybe a bit overrated?

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William Friedkin has died

Born in Chicago, Friedkin accrued TV credits prior to his advance to the big screen as the director of Good TImes (1967), The Birthday Party (1968), The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968) and The Boys in the Band (1970) before his major breakthrough, The French Connection (1971), for which he won his only Oscar. He followed it up with the even bigger smash, The Exorcist (1973), arguably the best horror film of all time, for which he was Oscar-nominated. Later credits include Sorcerer (1977), Cruising (1980), To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), Rampage (1987), Rules of Engagement (2000), Killer Joe (2011) and The Devil and Father Amorth (2017, documentary). Friedkin passed away at age 87. R.I.P.

Louise Fletcher has passed away

Born in Alabama to deaf parents, Fletcher got her first credits in late-1950s TV-series.She took a 10 year-long sabbatical to devote her time to motherhood after the release of A Gathering of Eagles, but then came back and soon saw her career's most important part, as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), for which she won her sole Oscar. Later credits include Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), The Lucky Star (1980), Brainstorm (1983), Two Moon Junction (1988), Cruel Intentions (1999), A Perfect Man (2013) and many more. Fletcher passed away at age 88. R.I.P.

Jean-Luc Godard has passed away

Born in Paris, France, Godard lived much of his life in Switzerland. He wrote for French film criticism magazine Cahiers du Cinema and became foundational for the New French Wave that inspired new waves in scores of other countries across the world with his Breathless (1960). Later credits include A Woman Is A Woman (1961), Vivre Sa Vie (1962), Le Petit Soldat (1962), Contempt (1963), Alphaville (1965), Pierrot le Fou (1965), 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (1967), Weekend (1967), Every Man for Himself (1980), King Lear (1987), Century of Cinema (1995, documentary), Goodbye to Language (2014) and many more. Godard died of assisted suicide at age 91. R.I.P.

Wolfgang Petersen has died

James Caan has died

Caan was born the son of Jewish immigrants from Germany in New York. He got his start on TV in the early 1960s. His credits include El Dorado (1966), The Rain People (1969), Brian's Song (1971, TV movie), The Godfather (1972), - for which he earned his only Oscar nomination, - Slither (1973), The Gambler (1974), Funny Lady (1975), Rollerball (1975), Silent Movie (1976), Hide in Plain Sight (1980), - the only film he also directed, - Thief (1981), Misery (1990), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), Bottle Rocket (1996), Eraser (1996), Dogville (2003), Elf (2003), Las Vegas (2003-07), Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) and many more. Caan passed away at age 82. R.I.P.

Jean-Louis Trintignant has died

Born in Vaucluse, France, Trintignant's theatrical debut as an actor was in If All the Guys in the World... (1955). Later credits include ...And God Created Woman (1956), The Seven Deadly Sins (1961), Inferno (1964), A Man and A Woman (1966), My Love, My Love (1967), A Man to Kill (1967), The Great Silence (1968), Z (1969), The Assassination (1972), Three Colors: Red (1994), Amour (2012), Happy End (2017) and many more. He also wrote and directed two films in the 1970s. Trintignant passed away at age 91. R.I.P.

Ray Liotta has died

Adopted from an orphenage at a young age, Liotta got hooked on acting in high school. He had various TV credits in the late 1970s and early 80s, with his film debut in The Lonely Lady (1983). Later credits include Something Wild (1986), Field of Dreams (1989), Goodfellas (1990), Cop Land (1997), Hannibal (2001), Blow (2001), Narc (2002), John Q (2002), Identity (2003), Observe and Report (2009), Youth in Revolt (2009), The Details (2011), Killing THem Softly (2012), The Place Beyond the Pines (2012), Shades of Blue (2016-18), The Simpsons (2018, TV-series), Marriage Story (2019), The Many Saints of Newark (2021), Black Bird (2022, TV-series) and many more. Liotta passed away at age 67 in his sleep while on production in the Dominican Republic. R.I.P.

Philip Baker Hall has died

Born in Ohio, Hall didn't start acting until he was 30. His long list of credits include Zabriskie Point (1970), Miami Vice (1987, TV-series), Midnight Run (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Cheers (1993, TV-series), Hard Eight (1996), The Rock (1996), Air Force One (1997), Boogie Nights (1997), Seinfeld (1991-98), Rush Hour (1998), The Insider (1999), Magnolia (1999), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Bruce Almighty (2003), Dogville (2003), The Zodiac (2005), Zodiac (2007), Curb Your Enthusiasm (2004-09), Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011), Modern Family (2011-12) and many more. Hall passed away at age 90. R.I.P.

William Hurt has passed away

Born in Washington D.C., Hurt's first film role was the lead in Altered States (1980). Later credits include Body Heat (1981), The Big Chill (1983), Gorky Park (1983), Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985), for which he earned his only Oscar as Best Actor; Chilrdren of a Lesser God (1986), for which he was also Oscar-nominated; Broadcast News (1987), for which he was again Oscar-nominated; Smoke (1995), A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), A History of Violence (2005), for which he was again Oscar-nominated; The Good Shepherd (2006), Into the Wild (2007), Robin Hood (2010) and many more. Hurt passed away at age 71. R.I.P.

Ivan Reitman has passed away

Born in Chechoslovakia, now Slovakia, Reitman's family fled the Soviet regime to Austria, then Toronto, when he was 4 years old. Reitman broke into movies as a director with Foxy Lady (1971). Later credits include Cannibal Girls (1973), Meatballs (1979), Stripes (1981), Ghostbusters (1984), Twins (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Kindergarten Cop (1990), Junior (1994), Father's Day (1997), Evolution (1998), No Strings Attached (2011), Draft Day (2014) and more. Reitman's son Jason Reitman is also a great filmmaker. Reitman passed away at age 75. R.I.P.

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7/01/2013

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) or, Humanity and Space

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