2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Pojasnilo: Verjetno ste opazili, da je tale recenzija v angleškem jeziku. Neveščim se kakopak ni potrebno ničesar bati, saj sem se za to pot odločil zavoljo preprostega eksperimenta. Film sem v tem jeziku pred časom ocenil že na drugem portalu, zato se mi je zdela, kljub famoznosti opisanega izdelka, ta poteza še najbolj smotrna. Tale zapis bo tako na blogu bržkone izjema in ne pravilo, čez čas pa se zna ob sledeči objavi pojaviti tudi slovenska različica opisa.

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Beauty is often overlooked component of modern film making. We are so overwhelmed by complex story lines and fast-paced action that we forget to simply sit back and admire the sheer beauty of celluloid. Engineered with precision by passionate, experienced hands, a film can transcend the boundaries of simply being a movie. It can become a work of art. 2001: A Space Odyssey is not a film to be watched in a hurry. To the unprepared viewer, the leisurely pace of the narrative may first come across as slow or boring. However, to those lucky enough to be able to appreciate its brilliance, the film is a relaxing, meditative journey that you can't expect to forget any time soon. The film relies, not on dialogue, but on stunning visual imagery and appropriate classical score, to explore its themes and advance the limited plot. In fact, the first spoken word appears almost thirty minutes into the film and in total, less than forty minutes of dialogue constitutes the total running time.

Just what do you think you're doing, Dave?

Following the enormous success of his classic apocalyptic black comedy Dr. Strangelove (1964), director Stanley Kubrick became thrilled by the possibility of extraterrestrial life and so collaborated with well-known English sci-fi author Arthur C. Clarke to create "the greatest science fiction movie of all time." The two decided to adapt and expand Clarke's early short story, "The Sentinel," written in 1948 and first published in 1951. In a nutshell and at its most literal level, 2001: A Space Odyssey tells the story of mankind's evolution, either prompted or exploited by famous black monolith, the tool of an unseen advanced extraterrestrial civilization, meaning of which could also quite easily explore the role of economical and political ambiguities. Through the coldly-sinister HAL9000 computer (chillingly voiced by Douglas Rain), Kubrick also explores the expanding role that technology will play in the future and whether or not our complete dependence upon it will inevitably result in our own destruction (this was also an important theme in Dr. Strangelove).

Many of the film critics often complain that the story poses complex questions about mankind's origin and our place in the universe, but doesn’t even try to offer any answers whatsoever. I can see how the film's unanswered questions might be infuriating to those who are eager for a neat and simple explanation, but so to speak, I wouldn't have it any other way. Kubrick has plenty to say about the way he views humanity. For example, the opening "Dawn of Man" sequence depicts the society of the mammals, as they attempt to explore their existence in the vast landscape. The inexplicable arrival of the monolith (accompanied by György Ligeti's  creepy "Requiem") presents a profound change in the mental capabilities of the apes – they are now able to exploit tools to stay alive. That famed match-cut from the soaring bone to the orbiting spacecraft four million years later is so simple, and yet it conveys so much about the human race. Kubrick however originally intended those spacecraft to be orbiting nuclear weapons (the Cold War being at its peak around the time of the film's production). The cut is a way of enforcing that, given his intelligence; man will always use it to develop ways to destroy himself (remembering that the bone was used to kill the leader of an enemy tribe).

I am putting myself to the fullest possible use, which is all I think that any conscious entity can ever hope to do.

Another sequence that remains hotly-debated almost four decades after the film's release is the controversial ending, a psychedelic wormhole; color produced by effects supervisor Douglas Trumbull using breath-taking photography. Following his journey through the stargate – an intense trip across the bizarre expanses of the universe – Dave Bowman is deposited in a sort of fourth-dimensional observational chamber, its classical decorations both familiar and alien (amazing art direction often being part of 'fake moon landing' conspiracy theories), where the greater beings who engineered the monolith can keep an eye on him. In this room, having finally defeated his tools, mankind must face one final challenge: their own death. Throughout history, human evolution depended so much upon its technology that it almost replaced us. In the end, it tried to destroy us. Now, just moments from the death of human race, separated from his tools, what do we have left? The final act of a dying Dave is to reach out his withered hand towards the monolith that stands before him. This image of 'reaching out' with an extended finger was directly borrowed by Kubrick from the famous painting of Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel artwork -- of man extending his finger to touch God's hand. Note how, following Dave's epic transformation into a starchild, Kubrick exposes the Earth's atmosphere, stressing the fragility and vulnerability of the planet on which we dwell.

There's really no appropriate way to explain why '2001' is such a magnificent and special film. It is, above all else, a motion picture that appeals to our emotions, and the feelings of unknown wonders, and terror that overcome the viewer. In judging films, I prefer to reserve the term masterpiece for the films capable of completely drawing me into their world, of making me forget that I'm watching a movie. Shortly put, '2001' achieves this more effectively than any other film I have ever experienced. All in all Kubrick's space adventure is one of the most thrilling and unusual motion events of cinema history. It dwells on top of Kubrick's filmography, with vivid explanations emerging, right there with A Clockwork Orange. It is also undoubtedly one of the most advanced achievements in Sci-Fi genre. With my humble opinion stretching the idea of the following movie being on top with Scott’s masterpiece Blade Runner, it’s quite hard to stress all of positive emotions, which emerged during the viewing of this state of art. 

10/10