2001: A Space Odyssey

1st April 4:45 pm in room C605

2001: A Space Odyssey is a 1968 science fiction film directed by Stanley Kubrick, written by Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke. Despite being made before America had made any advances into space this film shows incredible forethought, and even today this film looks wholly realistic. Ideas in the film were several decades in front of the advances in technology. Ideas such as video phones, phone cards, international space stations, which 40 years ago were laughable ideas show how ahead of it's time this film really was. Now the only thing that is really out of date is the title.

Kubrick really was a master of directing, especially in the perfect images and music. So precisely times and detailed, so intricate in background research: these make this film extremely re-watchable. Details like the complete silence of space become vivid moments and experiences.

The film deals with mans first experience with an alien object. The object has an almost religious feeling. It signifies the ability to move to the next evolutionary stage. But there is a problem: the artificial intelligence that runs the space ship has worked out that it could steal this opportunity for itself. It could steal this prize and all it has to do is kill it's human cargo.

The film deals with thematic elements of human evolution, technology, artificial intelligence, and extraterrestrial life, and is notable for its scientific realism, pioneering special effects, ambiguous and often surreal imagery, sound in place of traditional narrative techniques, and minimal use of dialogue.

Despite receiving mixed reviews upon release, 2001: A Space Odyssey is today recognized by many critics and audiences as one of the greatest films ever made; the 2002 Sight & Sound poll of critics ranked it among the top ten films of all time.^[1] It was nominated for four Academy Awards, and received one for visual effects. In 1991, it was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in their National Film Registry.