2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Cinematographer: Geoffrey Unsworth
Run-Time: 142 Minutes
Aspect Ratio: 2.2:1
Film Stock: 65mm Eastman 50T 5251 Color
We’ve finally made it to my favorite and most influential film, congrats! 2001: A Space Odyssey is in a category all to its own in terms of how much I love and enjoy this film and all that comes with it. Stanley Kubrick made this cinematic meditation on space and time in 1968, over a decade before one of his most commercially popular films The Shining made its premier. This film is 142 minutes of marvelous cinematic camerawork and philosophical questioning and analysis that has shaped the way I view films and, even more important, my outlook on life in general. 2001: A Space Odyssey is the clean American space film that counterbalances the dirty and rundown Soviet space film Solaris, my second favorite film of all time. This film captures the history of everything in existence in only just over two hours, from the dawn of man to the death of every living being which ultimately gets recycled back to which it originally came, the cosmos. 2001: A Space Odyssey is much more than just a film to me, it is more like a guide to cinema and to life itself. I have seen this film more times than I can count and I presume to keep it that way as at this point in my life it will be impossible to ever create a definite understanding of how many hours I have put into watching this masterpiece.
Stanley Kubrick and the films he’s created have done more for me than any other director, creator, filmmaker, artist, etc. that has ever existed. My personal cinema and film goals are almost directly tied to a hope to one day be as important and inventive as Stanley Kubrick. No one single film has even come close to the importance of his magnum opus 2001: A Space Odyssey. This film ventures through the universe exploring humanity and post-humanity in the form of AI, a single program known as HAL-9000, which seeks to break the barrier between human and non-human or post-human beings. This film dives deep into many caves of knowledge stemming from greed and creation to human understanding and death, of humans and non-humans alike. The philosophical and cinematic achievements of this film cannot be underscored in any way possible, every part of this film is perfect and commits itself to taking no half-measures. Stanley Kubrick’s perfectionist attitude is what allows 2001: A Space Odyssey to appear as it is in all its glory and magnificence.
[Image: Kubrick, Stanley, director. 2001:A Space Odyssey. MGM, 1968].
One specific reason I love this film so much is due to the set design and the worlds that are physically crafted for the making of this film. Or, in other words, the way this film looks and how it is shown. This film was shot on 70mm (65mm) film stock, meaning that it has twice the definition of 35mm film, which is already one of the clearest and most beautiful looking film stocks there are. 70mm film stock is rarely used due to price constraints (it’s unbelievably expensive) but when used it is the clearest and most wonderful film to watch any cinematic work on. The colors and lighting are surreal, it looks as though they’re completely new to the human eye. This film pushes the boundaries of what is possible in filmmaking with extravagant space set designs and minimalist futuristic interiors that echo the contemporary designs of the time period. Space and the universe as a whole shown throughout this film are more realistic and plausible than any other space film I have ever seen, and the basis of this film is not about space travel as much as it is about traversing the space of human interaction and development. This border of space between humanity and a lack of humanity is something the film hinges its whole premise on, and it’s excellently portrayed.
[Image: Kubrick, Stanley, director. 2001:A Space Odyssey. MGM, 1968].
Philosophically I have connected to this film more than any other piece of art I have ever encountered. I first saw this film around the time I was in 7th or 8th grade, and though I didn’t understand it then I was still entranced by it and committed myself to watching it over and over again until I started to pick up on more subtleties. I knew I loved this film when I began to do actually research about how this film was made and how Stanley Kubrick went about setting up certain scenes and with what lenses to shoot. I started to recommend it to my friends, who for the most part, couldn’t have cared less about it, but I persisted. This was probably when I first realized, even if subconsciously, that I wanted to dedicate or pursue a career and life in/with film and filmmaking. I’ve based my thoughts about life very largely from certain ideas put forth in this film, such as a sort of reincarnation back into the universe after I die. I often think about how life changes and evolves, largely from watching this film repeatedly and seeing how the plot structure develops and builds from the ground up.
[Image: Kubrick, Stanley, director. 2001:A Space Odyssey. MGM, 1968].
Other than Pulp Fiction, I have seen 2001: A Space Odyssey more than any other film as well as being influenced by it more than any other film. I think I have watched this film, in its entirety, at least 30 times, an ungodly amount to tell the truth. I love everything about this film; production values, dialogue, cinematography, and of course the directorial style of Stanley Kubrick. This is a perfect film in every possible area where a film can be judged, reviewed, and critiqued. I recommend that everyone who enjoys films watch this at least once in their life, it’s a thought-provoking and intriguing philosophical journey through time and space that deals with humanity in relation to the rest of the universe. The entire film deals with issues that no other film can grapple with in the same amount, and in some cases, with even more time. This film has shaped my everyday outlook as well as influenced me toward committing myself to film and filmmaking.
[Image: Kubrick, Stanley, director. 2001:A Space Odyssey. MGM, 1968].
Finally, my favorite quote of the entire film:
HAL-9000 – “I am putting myself to the fullest possible use, which is all I think that any conscious entity can ever hope to do.”
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