By Ken Parker
I want to thank everyone who has
followed my top 25 Sci-Fi Movie list. It was fun putting together
the list and then trying to come up with things to write about.
Hopefully you were half way entertained or informed. Feel free to
comment on your own top lists and provide feedback on mine.
The choice for the top position on my
list was not an easy one to decide. It could have easily been one of
3 or 4 different movies. I chose the one that has safely been on my
list for many years and is the first one I think of when someone says
Sci-Fi movie. It is, in my opinion, the definitive Sci-Fi movie that
all other movies are compared to. For a work of art, it has so many
incredible things going for it. Not only is the story so vast and
thought provoking, but the direction and cinematography is stunning.
The effects are the best in any Sci-fi movie before and since.
1 - 2001 A Space Odyssey – 1969
"2001" is a story of evolution. Sometime in the distant past, someone or something nudged evolution by placing a monolith on Earth (presumably elsewhere throughout the universe as well). Evolution then enabled humankind to reach the moon's surface, where yet another monolith is found, one that signals the monolith placers that humankind has evolved that far. Now a race begins between computers (HAL) and human (Bowman) to reach the monolith placers. The winner will achieve the next step in evolution, whatever that may be.Written by Larry Cousins 
No big surprise there. I look at 2001
A Space Odyssey in so many different ways. The story is epic and
mind blowing. It spans millions of years and delivers a classic
origin of the human race plot that builds up to another major reveal
that there is other life out there and that we are but children in
the universe.
We have an amazing story telling
process that harkens back to the movie Metropolis and its
ability to tell a story with very little dialog. The story is simple
but not something that is cut and dry. One wouldn’t be able to
understand it if they were just half paying attention to it.
One of the biggest criticisms of the
film is ‘it is boring’. Sure. The lack of dialog and
explanations can certainly turn some people off. The pacing is
certainly particular and slow but the development within the movie
accounts for this. It is not a film for everyone. Looking for
action and a more typical Hollywood clone then look elsewhere. One
could argue that many art films have something about them that is
hard for the general public to handle.
One cannot argue though that the
special effects are groundbreaking. What they did to recreate zero
gravity and the near future of 2001 was incredible. The fact that
the effects hold up 40 years later is testament to the effects people
including Douglas Trumbull as well as the visionaries Stanley Kubrick
and Arthur C. Clarke.
The music is also epic in its classical selections but is not over used. Still, the movies unnerving sound during the appearance of the Monolith during prehistoric time and later with Dave Bowman's trip through the larger Monolith fits well with the tone of the movie.
Kubrick was no stranger to making
excellent films and pairing up with Clarke was a match made in
heaven.
As mentioned in a previous review, the
realism of the film stands out. The science is mostly accurate and
one can almost see why people may have been bored, thinking the film
resembled more a documentary than a regular fictional tale. The
effects boost this realism with thoughts that Kubrick also directed
and shot a ‘fake’ moon landing in 1969.
I don’t want to harp on the effects
too much except that recently I viewed the movie on a 47” HD TV in
Bluray and I was just blown away by the special effects. The detail
is so amazing.
When there is dialog, the acting,
especially by Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood is stilted and dry.
There is very little emotion. This contrasts the emotion of the
primitive humans in prehistoric times. Mankind has become almost
computer like and it is ironic that only prehistoric man and a super
computer, Hal, show any kind of emotion. The film’s deliberate
style of showing us the progression of man is interesting. We see
technology at it best and yet the astronauts are virtually
emotionless when using it. Frank Poole gets a birthday message and
yet just stares at it as if he is a robot.
So what does the film mean? Well, this
is what I like about the film. There is no clean cut answer. The
cyclical evolution of mankind from birth to death and beyond, the
interference of the Monolith, pushing mankind into their next
journey, the loss of emotion – all can be seen in the movie and at
no time can you fully understand it.
Now sure the novels and the sequel 2010
clear much up and so if you take those into consideration, you have
your answers but for a movie by itself, 2001: A Space Odyssey
is an enigma.
It seems every time I see the film, I
discover something new. Not just the special effects mind you but
ideas and interpretation seem to always refresh and change with every
viewing.
The movie does not fall into the usual
Hollywood standard. A remake today would probably have a larger cast
arguing and discussing the meanings of the monolith and Hal’s
malfunctions. In a way, 2010 did do this to a degree but was
an excellent film in of its self.
2001: A Space Odyssey is the
definitive Sci-fi movie for many other reasons. The effects are
reason enough to see it. The idea that mankind was manipulated by a
higher force and that the human journey folds back upon itself is all
great stuff for Sci-fi fans. We have a malfunction of a computer
that truly believes it is doing the right thing or is at least being
manipulated by someone. We have a glimpse at a potential future with
space stations and commercial flights going into space. The wonder
of space travel is on display in the most realistic way possible for
a film not shot in outer space. Its all there for a Sci-Fi movie.
I first saw this movie on TV when I was
first getting into Sci-Fi movies in the late 70's early 80's.
I have seen the movie 7-8 times but
never in a movie theater (at least a large movie theater.)
This was the first blu-ray I bought.
Great series Ken. I agree with your #1. I first saw the movie in October of 1996 at the Academy of Music in Northampton. They showed it after a talk was given by Douglas Trumbull, who explained how he did many of the special effects on the movie. (I actually found a reference to the event: http://articles.courant.com/keyword/tom-sizemore/featured/4 )
ReplyDeleteMission to Mars, great interplanetary travel movie
ReplyDeleteAwesome blog for sci fi movies List.
ReplyDeleteUpcoming sci fi movies