Movies You Must See – 2001, a Space Odyessy

This was a ground breaking, “must see” movie which was released in 1968.   It is not just the story of a space trip, there is far more to it,   from the music, to the symbolism, to the cinematography.

2001: A Space Odyssey was Stanley Kubrick’s project.  He produced and directed it as well as wrote the screenplay along with Arthur C. Clarke.    Arthur C. Clarke is a famous science fiction writer, who had created a short story which touched on aspects that the movie would cover.

The film opens with a ‘monolith’ falling to Earth millions of years ago.   A tribe of Australopithecines  find it. Hesitantly, they approach, one touches it.  There is some effect on these pre-humans,  and suddenly they learn to make weapons out of animal bones.

Millions of years later, a Space Plane is carrying a Doctor to a Space Station orbiting Earth to make a connection to a moon flight.   This flight to the moon is to  investigate an artifact that was recently found.

It is the same monolith  as the one encountered by the Australopithecines.  The modern humans, in their space suits, reach out to touch it, exactly as did their ancestors.

The scene changes to a voyage to Jupiter.  Along with the crew is a computer called HAL,  an artificial intelligence.   The trip is provoked because there has been the discovery of another monolith.

Great effort is made to keep the  science as accurate as possible.  If it is said that it will take ‘ten minutes’ to fix something, ten minutes tick by.    Everything has checked and double checked to be as accurate as it can be.   Pioneering special effects were used to move the story forward.

This movie; 2001: A Space Odyssey is  held to be one of the greatest films ever made.   It has been  deemed “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” by the United States Library of Congress.

It has been ranked in the top ten films of all time.   If you have not seen it, view it online.  Remember the year it was made, before men landed on the moon, before computers were in every home, before A.I. was invented.

The influence of 2001 on subsequent filmmakers is considerable.   People such as Steven Spielberg and George Lucas have stated the impact the film has had on them.

It proved that serious science fiction was and is commercially viable, and has led to many motion pictures which have followed in its path.