Just saw 2001: A Space Odyssey.

[gdsdiscgolfer]

I read the book a few years ago, but didn't remember a lot of the details and had no idea how it would translate into film.

Still a little too "what-the-[censored]"ed to really comment on it, but thought it's worth discussing. I'll post some thoughts later on.

[ElliotR]

It makes me a little sad that eventually people will think that "Pan Am" is just something Kubrick made up.

[Wynton]

Since you saw it recently - and I haven't seen it for decades - perhaps you can offer a coherent explanation of the ending. I remember being confused as a kid, and I remember my father telling me that it's impossible to know what really happened without reading the book.

[rothko]

[ QUOTE ]

It makes me a little sad that eventually people won't think that "Pan Am" is just something Kubrick made up.

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[blackize]

I love 2001. In my mind it is a lesson on pacing in a movie. The transition from the apes to modern day is widely regarded as the best transition of all time. I happen to agree with that.

[diebitter]

[ QUOTE ]
Since you saw it recently - and I haven't seen it for decades - perhaps you can offer a coherent explanation of the ending. I remember being confused as a kid, and I remember my father telling me that it's impossible to know what really happened without reading the book.

[/ QUOTE ]

** AN EXPLANATION OF 2001 AS I UNDERSTAND IT **
Aliens were guiding man's evolution from the start. The black monolith help the apes take the next step in intelligence, birthing the human race. The next milestone the aliens set was to wait till their 'children' reached the moon - at that point they may have developed sufficiently for the next step.

Uncovering the monolith on the moon signalled to the aliens (or the remnants of their technology/civilisation) that intelligent life had evolved on Earth, and once it had sufficient ability to travel some distance in space (Jupiter) it would be ready. It just so happens there was a manned probe in the vicinity - lucky, huh?

On getting to the black monolith out there, the aliens then allowed the first human to reach them, Dave, to become the source for the next stage in intelligent evolution - the star child.

The End.

[*TT*]

love the movie, but it is hard to watch uninterrupted - I have to watch in with small breaks. It inspired me so much that I have since become a huge fan of Eero Saarinen's work, my dining room table is the one found in the space station (he was the inspiration for the set design). The image below is of the legeondary TWA terminal at JFK designed by him, I think it helps convey the vision behind the set design rather well.

In short this classic cinema work has transcended beyond the screen, it has affected how I view design.

[diebitter]

2001 is a magnificent film. I've heard it said that Kubrick tried to make a masterful film in each genre as part of his career (I sort of see that in some, but not all his films), and I guess this could be considered his Sci-Fi entry, but if nothing else it could be considered one of the most beautiful silent films of all time. The human talk is petty and unimportant - in fact the most significant speaker here is HAL 9000 - and this was deliberate, as is the slow pace. It's intended to be mesmeric. it's not too much of a stretch to really do away with all the dialogue as the film still work very well.

Still has enormous cultural impact - I heard someone talking about something futuristic the other day and actually saying 'it was like 2001'... and here we are in 2007.

[Enrique]

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...I guess this could be considered his Sci-Fi entry

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Well, Clockwork Orange is also sci fi, and it is also a masterpiece. I personally like Clockwork Orange more.

[Wynton]

Diebitter,

That actually is helpful. Now just explain one thing to me: what was that room about in the end?

(Bear in mind, I haven't seen this for at least 15 years. But wasn't there some strange room in the end?)