2001, A Space Odyssey

Writing about this movie, I hope not to cover some well-trodden ground with it. It is obviously a classic, and I do believe in the contributions it has made to film history. That being said, I'll offer some more personal notes, starting with a quote that pretty much sums up my relationship with this film:

"To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced, and having evoked it in oneself, then, by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds, or forms expressed in words, so to transmit that feeling that others may experience the same feeling - this is the activity of art."

Leo Tolstoy penned this in his essay "What is Art?" and this model of ideal art is exactly how this movie grabs me. (which is amazing because it also is a formalist achievement, which is contradictory to Tolstoy's theory on art)

This movie really chills me to the bone, much like a horror movie should, but usually doesn't. The world of this movie is so eerie and convincing that the loneliness of the movie transmits directly to me, a powerful example of the phenomenon Tolstoy writes of. I'm embarrassed by how much anxiety this movie causes me, in fact I long delayed my second viewing of this movie because I'm really just too affected by it to go at it alone. Watching it during the week that all other occupants of this house are away on vacation was really a mistake, I've really been more nervous at night. Somehow I get to sleep though, but not before watching a little Dr. Katz before bed!

Here are my notes:

-It's interesting how the interiors in the movie have seating for several people, yet the spaces are only occupied by a few people at a time. Discovery 1 (the ship used for the Jupiter mission) has much more seating than seemingly necessary, even taking into account the other three astronauts whom never leave their hibernation pods. The civilian space-liners also are oddly empty, with the exception of Dr. Floyd, who is outnumbered by the surrounding flight attendants.

-I didn't realize it until now, but this movie can really be characterized as having two distinct parts (eventhough it techinically has several chapters and an intermission), very similar to what Full Metal Jacket is notorious for. I'm referring mostly to the change in protagonist from Dr. Floyd to David Bowman.

-It never occurred to me until I read the synopsis of the novel, that Bowman actually turns into the energy that we see on screen. (though Kubrick encouraged any interpretation to the film, and doesn't weigh in on it himself). I always assumed we were seeing in Bowman's point of view. Which I suppose puts a great importance on the shots we see of his eyes blinking, maybe to re-enforce that we aren't seeing his point of view. The novel also describes Dave as morphing into an immortal energy form and master of the universe, who doesn't know what to do with his immortality.

-Oddly, I had no idea when viewing this movie on the 21st, that Arthur C. Clarke had died on the 19th. So, let this post be a tribute to Mr. Clarke, may he rest in peace.