Poster of the Week!--An interesting Polish poster advertising Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. I've loved this movie for more than 30 years, for different reasons at different points of my life. When I first viewed it from the backseat of a station wagon at a South Texas drive-in theater sometime in the very early 70s, I was struck by the pure spectacle and awesome wonder of the film. I had been awed by movies before in my short movie-watching history, but nothing like 2001. For better or worse, it planted a seed. Fast-forward a bit to the teens and twenties, I discovered that there was more to 2001 than spectacle or fantastic special effects. I discovered that it was ...profound. Monkish, dark, shaggy Kubrick became a prophet. I would pontificate to anyone who would listen about 2001's utter genius and the clean grandeur of its presentation. A couple of pet theories uttered over beer and cigarettes: 2001 is an epic poem to science; it's a religious film for the non-religious, spirituality for atheists. Or something like that.
Fast forward to the thirties and beyond the infinite. In recent re-viewings (once a year, pretty much), instead of pondering the big ideas, piecing the puzzle, I've gone back to enjoying the spectacle just for spectacle's sake or just enjoying the a newfound texture to the visuals. This could be because of two factors: the somewhat recently struck 70mm prints which I've seen projected at least three times in a vintage movie palace; also, ownership of the restored remastered DVD. One way, the movie becomes monstrously huge, grandly universal, telescopic even, as it attempts to bring the whole universe to our big wide window. And then there's the microscopic aspect of the DVD experience, where the viewer can freeze any frame, rewind, fast forward, play in slow motion, zoom into detail. After years of watching SLP pan & scan dupes, these new opportunities to watch and understand 2001 were revelations. Or at least a charge for re-evaluation.
So, is the movie, as they say, profound? Sure. But it's also fun to play in slow motion and capture the perfect freeze frame of Kubrick's reflection (Kubrick was shooting with a hand-held camera) on Heywood Floyd's helmet visor as he's coming down the ramp to view the TMA. It only happens for a split second. Or you might dig on the kitschiness of Space Station V, the impossibly white floors and walls and clashing red Djinn chairs, the HoJo's, the missing cashmere sweater, the Bell Picturephone. Or chuckle at Dr. Floyd's Hugh Beaumont-Fred McMurray goofy sitcom dad routine, especially when he talks about loyalty oaths (with a gladhanded chuckle: "Well, Bill, heh heh heh..."). Or realize that the only "art" created within the narrative space of the movie are Bowman's bloodless drawings of the hibernacla, which HAL kindly appreciates. In fact, HAL appears to be the only being to truly appreciate art. No one reads a book or listens to music. There's a film playing on the spaceliner and Floyd, the dunderhead, is asleep.
Of course, the irony is that many people fell asleep during 2001. But those who didn't fall asleep all started websites. Some of them even started sites about their favorite movie. And for some of them, 2001 is their favorite movie.
You can start with 2001: A Space Odyssey-Internet Resource Archive, a site that's been around since November 1994.... or with The Underview, a 2001 site that's only been with us since March 1996.
And there's a Kubrick fan site with some cool stuff not found elsewhere: scenes from Mad Magazine's 2001 satire (the line about fresh meat from the freezers is wickedly funny) and stills from cut scenes....
And speaking of cut scenes, outtakes and trims, here's an extensive article on what was trimmed and what wasn't, explicating the differences between the premiere version screened on April 2 and what screened after the furious re-edit and 19 minutes were trimmed in a three day marathon that started on April 5. Count me among those who would gladly donate a gonad to see this original cut...
Then there's The Kubrick Site, which, as the site says, is a "non-profit resource archive for documentary materials regarding, in whole or in part, the work of the late American film director and producer Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999)". Lots of good things here. One of my favorite pieces about the film is em>2001: Random Insights, by Barry Krusch.... for those a bit more mechanical, here's a rundown of all the space hardware seen in the movie... and also some 3D modeling images.... and if you like modeling, you may like theLego rendition.
Some recollections of their first time.... also the grandmaster chess game Kubrick used for the game between Poole and HAL. So, was HAL truly insane?
If you're looking for intelligent Kubrick talk, there's no better place than the alt.movies.kubrick usenet group. Some interesting threads I've found: a comparison between 2001 and Un Chien Andalou; the incestuous relationship between 2001 and Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's Thunderbirds TV program; and the fans' reaction to a Leslie Nielsen parody of 2001....
There was also a play based on 2001 produced in Lansing, Michigan. Here's a newspaper article on the play. Here's the production company's page, complete with pictures and posters.
And there's more. Here's a documentary (in three parts) on Kubrick. I've also put together a Flickr 2001 set for your viewing pleasure.
And, yes, click on the image on the upper left for a larger version. 113 K
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