2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) Review Stanley Kubrick

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) Review Stanley Kubrick

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2001: A Space Odyssey is a Science-fiction film released in 1968 and directed by Stanley Kubrick. A Space Odyssey has become one of the most iconic science fiction films created today for many reasons and veers away from contemporary film making and creates what most people think as an unforgettable picture.

 A Space Odyssey is less about the storyline or the plot of the film, but more in creating beautiful scenes and landscapes that don't require any dialogue or action to entice the audience. Roger Ebert describes it as "This is the work of an artist so sublimely confident that he doesn't include a single shot simply to keep our attention. He reduces each scene to its essence, and leaves it on screen long enough for us to contemplate it, to inhabit it in our imaginations." (Ebert, 1997). When watching the film, you don't feel as though you are actually watching a film, you feel as though it is a work of art that should be playing on a loop in an art gallery.  

 Many scenes in the production leave the audience pondering and questioning what is happening and the meaning behind each scene. For example, the recurrence of the Monolith leaves us wondering upon the significance of what is happening in that scene. Fig. 2 

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Throughout the film, we constantly view one point perspective scenes that encourages us to focus on what Kubrick wants our eyes to be drawn to. Also considering that man hadn't even walked on the moon when this film was created, further heightens the magnificence of the the special effects used for this film, in which the BBC agrees with this quote, "stark visual power that lends this piece of cinema its famous visionary qualities" (Haflidason, 2001). A lot of the scenes in this picture leave us with the question "how did they do that?" constantly popping into our heads, such as the air hostess simply walking on the ceiling wearing her 'grip shoes'. This type of special effects can be seen in a more modern film; Inception. A fight scene in particular that contained characters tumbling around a gravity shifting corridor makes the audience appreciate the technical achievement behind the scene. 

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Kubrick also makes this film a masterpiece using audio. On various occasions we encounter scenes with deadly silences and ear piercing ringing. This all helps to create a massive sense of suspense and "in essence returning cinema to its roots of pure audio/visual augmentation." (Humanick, 2007). Suspense and eeriness is also created using simply the sinister voice of Hal. This single voice creates an uncomfortable feeling to the scene leading to a strange atmosphere.

 

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Bibliography

Ebert, R (1997)

http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-2001-a-space-odyssey-1968

(Accessed on 21/10/2013)

Haflidason, A (2001)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2000/09/18/2001_review.shtml

(Accessed on 21/10/2013)

Humanick, R (2007)

http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/2001-a-space-odyssey

(Accessed on 21/10/2013) 

Images

Figure 1, 1968, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Stanley Kubrick, Film Poster, England, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

http://andygeddon.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/2001.jpg

(Accessed on 21/10/2013) 

Figure 2, 1968, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Stanley Kubrick, Film Still, England, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

http://filmgrab.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/6-monolith1.png

(Accessed on 21/10/2013) 

Figure 3, 1968, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Stanley Kubrick, Film Still, England, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKJAAY-C5HpR5f4X-Jko4kA2eEKuBfq1i6OHbRwTamzxvATqtmkK_fbMgg12WfoAzGgp6Ktdbuq_FYJzAD9O-ztZK1NYTA1KgYVcnI58LH3yTgLAjW_yzCdup-iBbFtdyLc5RE3utcdT8/s320/2001+A+Space+Odyssey+Pic+040.jpg

(Accessed on 21/10/2013) 

Figure 4, 2010, Inception, Christopher Nolan, Film Still, USA, Warner Bros. 

http://www.empireonline.com/images/uploaded/inception-corridor-fight-scene.jpg

(Accessed on 21/10/2013)

Figure 5,  1968, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Stanley Kubrick, Film Still, England, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120930175630/epicrapbattlesofhistory/images/9/9f/HAL_9000.jpg

(Accessed on 21/10/2013)