A mind-bending sci-fi symphony, Stanley Kubrick's landmark 1968 epic pushed the limits of narrative and special effects toward a meditation on technology and humanity. Based on Arthur C. Clarke's story "The Sentinel", Kubrick's and Clarke's screenplay is structured in four movements. At the Dawn of Man, a group of hominids encounters a mysterious black monolith alien to their surroundings. To the strains of Strauss' "Thus Spoke Zarathustra," a hominid discovers the first weapon, using a bone to kill prey. As the hominid tosses the bone in the air, Kubrick cuts to a 21st- century space craft hovering over the earth, skipping ahead millions of years in technological development only to imply that man hasn't advanced very far at all psychologically. U.S. scientist Dr. Heywood Floyd (William Sylvester) travels to the moon to check out the discovery of a strange object on the moon's surface: a black monolith. As Floyd touches the mass, however, a piercing sound emitted by the object stops his fellow investigators in their path. Cutting ahead 18 months, impassive astronauts David Bowman (Keir Dullea) and Frank Poole (Gary Lockwood) head towards Jupiter on the space ship Discovery, their only company three hibernating astronauts and the vocal, man-made HAL 9000 computer running the entire ship. When the all-too-human HAL malfunctions, however, he tries to murder the astronauts to cover his error, forcing Bowman to defend himself the only way he can. Free of HAL, and finally informed of the voyage's purpose by a recording from Floyd, Bowman journeys to "Jupiter and Beyond the Infinite," through the psychedelic slit-scan Star-Gate to an 18th century room, and the completion of the monolith's evolutionary mission. With assistance from special effects expert Douglas Trumbull, Kubrick spent over two years meticulously creating the most "realistic" depictions of outer space ever seen, greatly advancing cinematic technology for a story expressing grave doubts about technology itself. Despite some initial critical reservations that it was too long and too dull, 2001 became one of the most popular films of 1968, underlining the generation gap between young moviegoers who wanted to see something new and challenging and oldsters who "didn't get it." Provocatively billed as "the ultimate trip," 2001 quickly caught on with a counterculture youth audience open to a contemplative, i.e. chemically enhanced, viewing experience of a film suggesting that the way to enlightenment was to free one's mind of the U.S. military-industrial-technological complex. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide

STEVEN SNYDER'S REVIEW

2002's Best Film: 2001

May 31 through June 6, the Times Cinema (414-453-2436) on the outskirts of Milwaukee will be showing a remastered print of Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey." It is an event not to be missed. To paraphrase Roger Ebert, seeing "2001" on a television is the equivalent of the Grand Canyon on a postcard.

By Steven Snyder
With each passing year, "2001: A Space Odyssey" (1968) seems like a greater, and more daring work of art. It lost most of its audiences in the late '60's, and still perplexes viewers even now. Some were taken aback by its visual effects that, while stunning, seemed too slow and stilted. Its minimalist dialogue, that stranded many literal viewers, leaves "2001" with the feel of a silent film.
Yet, those who love it as passionately as I do realize this film is about more than dialogue, plot, or space ships. Its uniqueness permits it to transcend the ordinary, becoming a movie not about one human but the entire human species and an experience that strives to enlighten the mind more than the just the ears or eyes.
Why then are some still timid of engaging Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece? Those skeptical of modern science fiction may believe its title and its sci-fi subject matter imply a routine, star-based fantasy. The reality couldn't be further from the truth. This is not a western among the stars, as "Star Wars" is, nor a futuristic venue to debate the problems of today, as "Star Trek" is considered.
"2001: A Space Odyssey," rather, is an epic unto itself, examining both the progression of human evolution and the first manned expedition to Jupiter. Its inspiration, however, transcends anything that might be found in a script. This is a film that asks us to think; asks us to meditate about the human species and human existence. It is this unapologetic scope that sets "2001" apart.
Within its first thirty minutes, Kubrick details a flash-forward spanning four million years, comparing early apes to modern man, now surrounded by science and technology but still without answers to the same basic questions. This is cerebral filmmaking at its best and perhaps it is appropriate that even in "2001's" final destination, its characters do not find a conventional conclusion but a new beginning.
Its purpose is clear from the first flicker of light on the screen. The MGM logo fades to stars, the now-classic Richard Strauss composition builds in majestic waves, and Kubrick focuses on the moon, the sun, and a galactic sunrise so simple yet so surreal. This opening title sequence, which most films use merely as filler, invites the viewer to behold both the mystery and the beauty of the unknown before the narrative has even begun.
"2001's" remaining segments are equally enlightening to some and elusive to others. The opening twenty minutes progress without dialogue at the primitive dawn of human evolution. The later space sequences, dissecting a discovery on the moon and the Jupiter mission, are often told in silence or accompanied by a removed, distant classical score. The final third is as ambiguously inviting and frustrating as any moment in the hotly debated "Mulholland Drive."
Yet, for true lovers of film, this is the grandest science fiction film ever made. In a time of unsophisticated special effects, it remains one of most ambitious projects ever, boldly questioning something as basic yet monumental as the origins and the future of the human race.
In addressing such issues, Kubrick wisely does not presume to offer all the answers. Note the lack of explanations or answers to the film's many questions. Note the lack of a conventional climax. Pieces of the puzzle instead are presented with trust that the intelligent filmgoer will see the bigger picture. "2001" is told in moments, some about man's simultaneous dependency on and vulnerability to technology, others about man's conflict with his environment and his passionate resolve to understand. These moments though exist only as needed tools to construct a much quieter and grander hypothesis.
This is "2001's" gift to the film world. It requires, no, demands active participation and an unbridled imagination to fully appreciate its depths. It is no surprise that modern critics speak of it as one of their favorite childhood films, when they were still open to dreams and fantastic possibilities. Its pictures speak louder than words ever could.
And still, after decades, its controversial and hotly debated climax is one of cinema's few moments that elevate a viewer's mind to an entirely new plateau of possibilities-a fitting end to an odyssey not through space but of the mind.

(out of 4)

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DAVID JOHNSON'S REVIEW

I will write more on this after seeing the digitally remastered version in the theatre. It only has an extremely limited release and there seems to be only one or two prints circulating around the country. See it if you can.
(out of 4)

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