Count on Mark Kermode to talk more about Douglas Trumbull than Stanley Kubrick.

'2001: A Space Odyssey' is not just a great film... It's one of the greatest art pieces of all time.

Not many films ask so much of an audience. You're never told a narrative arc explicitly. You're never told what the mission really is. You're shown it and it still makes no easy sense: temporal paradoxes, psychedelic journey, starchild, symbolism stacked into stunning imagery without any narrative intrusion... Not many film makers were (or are) so cavalier about breaking so many narrative and cinematic conventions, let alone capable of pulling it off. That's the singular genius of Kubrick, right there.

Hard to believe this was released in 1968, have actually seen the real bone in this film when I went to see a screening at the Cambridge arts picturehouse and watched a talk with stanley kubricks daughter afterwards.

An anecdote...Kubrick apparently brought his mother to the premiere of 2001 in New York. He was from the Bronx, from Arthur Avenue.... Anyway, the story goes that Kubrick and his mother were sitting and watching the end of the film. As the Star-Child appeared, with Richard Strauss' music, Kubrick's mother looked at him and said, "Oh Stanley, really!"

I've watched a lot of horror movies in my life. No single character has scared me to my bones as much as HAL9000.

That Quentin Tarantino reference came out of nowhere lol - Kermode makes Gordon Ramsayesque analogies

The kind of time Quintin Tarantino wouldn't get out of his bedroom. LMAO!

The best film ever made in my opinion. I don't see it as 'cold', but as the closest thing possible in any artform to the human soul. Then again, it acts on many levels. But when you go really deep it's pure alchemy in its references and mythology. When you don't it's either boring or the way it is reviewed here by Mark. That's okay. It can be enjoyed or dismissed in many ways.

I saw 2001 in CinemaScope and surround sound in a huge Art Deco cinema. I was 13 and was completely spellbound from start to finish. This unique, wholly unexpected experience inspired me to become a photographer for the rest of my life. Every time I watch 2001 it gets better and better. It reminds me of a world of wonderment we have lost forever.

I just saw 2001 during a limited run in 70mm format and the movie still looks gorgeous, even by today's standards. 2001 is possibly the greatest film ever made. There are only a few movies I consider "perfect", and 2001 is definitely on that short list.

I am so grateful to have got the chance to see this on a big screen at Manchester Cornerhouse I can only watch it ever 4-5 years as the distance makes me revisit it completely. It is my favourite film by an astronomical distance and I don’t see that ever changing. It’s also the time of year to remember the extraordinary Doug Trumbull and his remarkable work on the effects. A work of astonishing genius, across the board

There's something about the ending that's so strange and unsettling it haunts you for a long time after.

What a great reviewer you are, Sir. Keep up the good work!!

Seeing it on Sunday, bloody hell I'm pumped, my favorite film of all time.

I saw it on my own, when it first came out. It came to our local cinema (in the days when cinemas only had one massive screen) , I was 11 years old. Afternoon performance, so there were only about 10 other people in there. It started my love affair with film. What an experience, I still remember it 50 years latter.

I love cinema, and I'm saying this with the utmost respect for the film, but I didn't really enjoy 2001. I am a Sci-Fi fan, but I only watched this for the first time recently. It's a bit before my time. I invite people to reply to this and tell me I'm an idiot (politely) and tell me what I'm missing, and what you loved about it. I loved the cinematography, and the effects. I found myself exclaiming "how the hell did they shoot that?" several times while watching it. But I also found myself wondering why some scenes were taking so long to get through. I think the reason I was disappointed with it was because of how much attention the HAL segments got, I felt like the entire film was going to be about D. Bowman vs HAL 9000, but in actuality it was two scenes accounting for only 20 mins of the runtime. And then I had the common reaction of "what the hell just happened" for the last 40 minutes. Am I just too expectant of more structured narratives for my own good?

Wish it would be shown in Sweden. This movie is one of the more important ones in cinema history.

"2001 is great but I love silent running more" "The shining is great but I love the exorcist more"

In theory, I should hate this movie. It's incredibly slow-paced and the last 30 minutes of the film makes absolutely zero sense. However, this is one of the most compelling and intriguing movies I've ever seen. It's definitely an experience. I can't imagine what it's like experiencing this masterpiece on the big screen.

My Mam and Dad hated it when i showed it to them.... I've lost faith in humanity

I always thought 2010 was underrated as a sequel. Sure its not even close visually and thematically as 2001 but its still a great movie with great performances. 2001 is indeed demanding attention from its viewer with a broad message and vision that will live on and inspire generations to come, 2010 is more of a distant cousin that essentially captured or wanted to capture the zeitgeist of the 80s of nuclear war and issues of communism. I still think if lived up to 2001 since it moved the story forward, HAL and Bowman's journey in an interesting way. Also, great performances as expected by the cast.

Certificate U for a film more disturbing than a lot of horror films. Love it.

Went and saw it at GFT a couple nights ago......Every time I've seen I've noticed something I hadn't before This time: Leonard Rossiter - never realized he was in it before ha This BFI season's been great, I unfortunately won't be able to see Blade Runner [one of my favourite films ever....and I've seen it on the big screen before] but I'll be seeing Alien this weekend, can't wait :)

I love how this is the movie Mark Kermode compares every bad movie with.

That cut, from the bone club to the satellite (possibly a space nuke platform) is indeed amazing. However, in the opening of Powell and Pressburger’s A Canterbury Tale is a very similar looking cut forward over many centuries. A knight on pilgrimage to Canterbury releases a falcon, which soars, and becomes a Spitfire fighter in the middle of the Second World War. And I forget the name, but at least one member of the cinematography crew on A Canterbury Tale also worked on 2001.

One of my favorite movies and one of the greatest movies ever made.

On BBC2 tonight. I implore people to watch it but so many people need a narrative and a concise setting in the first 5 mins which you obviously don't get but this film set the standard for all Sci-fi films that followed.

I rewatched Silent Running recently and I think it's not even remotely on the same level as 2001. It's so clumsy and naive, it's lovely, but it's not very good overall.

Come on Mark. Kubrick is king when it comes to cinema. SAY HIS NAME!

Saw it in 4K in 2019 and one of my favourite movies by Stanley Kubrick

My favourite film, probably because it was the first major film I saw that made a huge impact. A few years ago I went to see it again at the Royal Festival Hall with a live orchestra and choir providing the soundtrack. Some of the younger members of the audience who have been brought up on modern formula written, fast cut films, were starting to show signs of fatigue during some of the longer drawn out scenes, where Dave or Frank went out in the pod. At the end of the film I got really annoyed because when the titles came up, most of those same people started talking loudly or getting up to leave, even though a live orchestra were playing the end of the Blue Danube. Amazing experiencing it in that form and on a big screen again.

You didn't show Keir Dullea's performance in that scene. I don't think people appreciate what a good performance it was. He was playing an engineer. Bowman begins to get angry and then clamps down on it because it's pointless... then he thinks his way out of it.

Critical attempts to dismiss '2001', and there are many including those listed below, don't quite ring true. Accusations of it being 'boring' are entirely subjective (I'm sure there's a new 'Expendables' film that'll tickle some of those people) whilst the critique of plot/lack of plot is daft - it is thematic (the development of intelligence and it's intrinsic relation to survival, anyone?) and, I know some of you hate to hear this, it is 'art' in the sense that is visually and aurally gorgeous. The worst put-downs I have come across seemingly always come from those who adore sci-fi films, perhaps because it is so oblique and unknowable... maybe it's because I don't care for sci-fi that I love this film. Either way: always gets a good argument started and that can only be a good thing. Guilt and Death.

IMHO the most important movie of all times... Too cinema beyond its time and still so

It literally changed my life after I watched it. Possibly the greatest film of all time along with Citizen Kane.

Pretty sure this is the one I went to. It was my first time seeing it and it blew me away.

I saw the BBC transmission with the added strips of stars, which was a terrible idea and I always wondered what was going on with the print.

I agree! _Silent Running_ is far more satisfying of a cinematic story than _2001: A Space Odyssey._ What it lacked was the depth & impact of _2001_ which it never intended to rival anyway.

This is not a film. It's an experience. Brilliant.

Is it true that when the screen is in complete blackness, it's the audience staring at the rectangular monolith?

"The computer is arguably the most sympathetic character" - yes, that was exactly the point - Kubrick stripped away the human characters' dialogue to make them seem less human than Hal.

Oh Mark, you gave the most cliche-laden critique of 2001's supposed flaws -- that HAL is more human than the humans; I think MAYBE, JUST MAYBE, that was Kubrick's point -- and I'm aware that my "apologia" is ALSO a cliche. But, the observation/supposition that HAL is the most human character neglects that Dave starts reacting with much more human emotive responses starting with his trapped-in-the-pod verbal confrontation with HAL, and really awakening in his face during the Stargate sequence. In defeating HAL with emotive HUMAN wiles, Dave qualified to meet his maker and ascend in the form of the Starchild, to a level not only beyond human 1.0 but way beyond HAL. But I like Mark -- he's always very animated in his critiques, not dry or cold -- and it strikes me that most critiques of 2001 of similar sentiment to Mark's, have been by similarly emotive "animated" personalities. Reminds me of a KZfaq video by a real 30ish astronomer/astrophysicist (can't remember his name) who said he "respects" 2001 but that "it's SOOOOO boring" through most of it's running time: what, did he expect that realistic space travel would be depicted as in Star Trek? I personally think that the fact that 2001's viewing time feels LONGER than it is -- usually a fatal cinematic flaw -- is one of Kubrick's greatest achievements: HOW ELSE to depict "deep time" on a cosmic scale but with unflinching SLOWNESS of event-progression...makes you truly feel you've been on an odyssey!

Look up: Hidden Meaning of the Monolith Revealed by Collative Learning's Rob Ager

Interstellar is one of my favorite movies and so I decided to watch 2001 since people tend to compare and contrast both of the films with each other. Besides 2001 being one of the most highly regarded films, I just figured I would love it as much as Interstellar, maybe even more... But boy was I wrong. Thought provoking and mindfucking movies are what I am in love with and I feel like 2001 didn't give me that mind-blowing conclusion. So many hardcore 2001 fans HATE Interstellar but I feel like it hit everything It should have. Maybe its just Kubrick's style? I don't know. It felt like it was lacking closure or something. Was Dave supposed to be (or the same race as) the alien that planted the first monolith on Earth? Definitely a clever movie with all of its symbols but hmm... maybe just not my cup of tea. :( I really wanted to love it.

Coming of age when you finally understand enjoy this movie to its fullest.

We need more Kubrick's in the world at the moment.

Incredible film.

the division of weather this is a masterpiece is similar to under the skin

Guess I'll never get to see this in 70mm :(, so I guess if this DCP comes around, I'll have to do. Alas, all of celluloid screenings, lost to me. It sounds like this is doing the rounds in the UK though, wonder if it'll come to the US? The new DCP, I mean

I remember the BBC broadcast Mark mentioned there. Was thinking WTF is this? Apparently Kubrick had it on too and was not a happy bunny. Could be bullshit. Don't know.

Of course, with a digital recording, slowing down Daisy would not have lowered the pitch. Swing and a miss on that plot point.

My favourite film 2001 a space odyssey and also the original blade runner too

I wonder if John Carpenters Dark Star was a comedic homage to this film? Just a thought

I loved Silent Running but to compare that to 2001 is totally unrealistic. 2001 is one of the GREAT movies.

That the most compelling and sympathetic character is a machine rather scuppers the film's central thesis.

At first couldn't get in to it. But the second time I realized how amazing it was with their themes of evolution, aliens, robots, ai, space, god, humanity. Sometimes it loses me. But those quiet moments with the ships and traveling through Jupiter at the end are an amazing experience.

all my hard drive icons are HAL

It would be nice if Mark Kermode would have talked about my Great Uncle as well - www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b9f03f5c8 - George Pollock was Special Effect Coordinator on 2001 (but uncredited). It wasn't all down to Douglas Trumbull.

I can't open the doors until you pay the Ransom

Kermode + 2001 = :-)

"Work of art." Judging from the comments, that's the most apt and best description. The interpretations are legion...

I saw 2001 this afternoon (12th or so time, 3rd on big screen). If I had to sum it up in one word I would pick “seeing”. In my opinion it is a meditation on (and also perhaps a love letter to) our sense of sight. It asks what it means to see an object or landscape and feel inspired or changed by it.

That closing scene - good God. Just remarkable.

isn't that clip a spoiler for those that haven't seen it? I know loads of people clearly have, but there will be those that haven't,

I love the film

They showed 2001 in the Arts Centre a few months before this recent re-issue. It was my 3rd viewing and, while I still can't really stand it for its bloated sense of self-importance, it was an incredible experience to see those visuals on a big screen. As much as I hate the sequence in principle, Jupiter and Beyond the Infinite is breathtaking to watch.

HAL playing a calmer more duplitious Paul Lynde...

I'm doing 2001 for my uni essay right now :D Not sure whether to focus on semiology/myths or audience reception.

Thanks to Interstellar we're now getting these re-releases. Thank you to Chris Nolan then.

Kermode is not much older than me and I can sympathize with his memories of the hippy sentimentality of Silent Running but it is dated in effects and story, glib in story not at all profound in the same way that 2001 will always will be. Also far more damning the effects are not as good as 2001. 2001 isn't dated in effect Trumbull learnt from Kubrick, the patience of the process to use stills and ensure that space is black is something that Kubrick insisted upon and you don't see in Silent running AFAIR

Experience

Silent running is good but it ain’t that that good

HAL = IBM + 1

Good tempo, best cinematic experience ever.

Humanity spreads into space like a toxic spill

And there goes another pointless jab at Quentin Tarantino. Real smooth Mark.

Director Stanley Kubrick delivers one of the most iconic sci-fi films in history as the film’s masterfully acted, stylish, effective, terrifically scored & is one of the best films I’ve seen. (100%) (5/5 stars) (positive)

I want to become a film director when I'm older and I don't understand all of the love for this film. I really like watching movies, but when I saw this I thought it sucked. There is hardly a story and that is what I look for in a movie.

I urge everyone to re visit this masterpiece with this underlying meaning in their mind that I am about to share. Go watch this film knowing the true meaning hidden underneath the surface so well, it has gone over our heads for over 40 years. The monolith is the cinema screen itself. At the end of the film Dave is met with the terrifying realization that he is a character in a film.

every dayz petal a vizzität wörLD v??v

What a spoiler that was.They showed half the dialog from the film.The cinematography and the effects are superb and can stand up to the modern films but the lack of any story and dialog makes the film incredibly boring.If you like watching random things for 2 and a half hours without a word, then you will like that film.

Silent Running? He's joking,right?

Greatest film ever

I never got this movie and felt so bored watching it.

Silent Running is one of the most annoying films of all time

Idiots hate this movie. Geniuses love it. Average People are indifferent. So what are you?

Unless you're a special effects buff or just watch the plot with HAL 9000, 2001 A Space Odyssey is a BORING film with no plot whatsoever. I don't know why people like this film, it's a terrible film. People desperately want this film to be good by coming up with all kinds of interpretation but there's very little to get from this film. Calling it a masterpiece is over praising the film again the only the only thing genius about it was the special effects and nothing else.

Overrated film. Great work form Douglas Trumbull though. It makes absolutely no sense. I actually like slow paced movies if they make any sense at all, but 2001 is probably the most boring movie ever made. I fall asleep every single time.

Anyone favouring the Hippy-dippy 'Silent Running' over the masterpiece '2001- A Space Odyssey' doesn't know what he is talking about. Which film looks and feels dated now?

2001: seminal, inspiring, a masterpiece. Also one of the most boring films I’ve ever tried to watch. I say ‘tried’ because I’ve now made three attempts to watch it and failed to do it without skipping forward. Not that these things are mutually exclusive - great films can be boring i suppose.

I couldn’t get through Silent Running. Waaaay to corny and preachy!!

You talk too damn fast.

Cocaine??

its terribly boring

2001... the most bring thing I have ever seen... and believe me, I once had to watch Jean-Luc Godard's films so I know boring

My friend and I both fell asleep watching this at the movies. What a snore fest if a film.