Commentary with Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood, -“2001: The Making of a Myth” , -“Standing on the Shoulders of Kubrick”, -“1966 Kubrick Interview Conducted by Jeremy Bernstein”, -“What is Out There?”, Vision of a Future Passed”, -“A Look Behind the Future”, -FX and Early Conceptual Artwork, -“Look: Stanley Kubrick”

2001 – A Space Odyssey, originally released in 1968, is directed by Stanley Kubrick (Dr. Strangelove.) The film stars Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, and the voice of Douglas Rain. The movie is based on Arthur C. Clarke’s short story The Sentinel. ***

2001 – A Space Odyssey is set in the not-so-distant future. And in this future, space travel has become commonplace and technology safely and predictably moderates lives. In the year 2001, an expedition is launched to explore a mysterious object of unknown origin near the planet Jupiter. A group of astronauts embark of the mission, but the mission is endangered when HAL-9000, the super-intelligent computer governing the spacecraft and mission, makes a critical error, and its loyalty to the mission causes it to become a threat to the astronauts on board. ***

Summarizing a film like 2001 is no easy task. It’s not even entire accurate to classify it as a science-fiction film. 2001 is not merely a film, it is a visual experience like nothing that came before, or for that matter, has come since. It’s also one of Stanley Kubrick’s defining moments as a film director. ***

While 2001 certainly has no shortage of human actors, they all play second fiddle to the visuals. Kubrick and his team spared no expense in creating one of the most visually-stimulating films of all time. When one thinks of “the future”, what comes to their mind is not at all unlike what audiences first saw in this film in 1968. I try not to use the term “tour de force” too often, but there’s simply no better way to describe what you see on screen in this film. The first scene of the film in space, set aboard a passenger-carrying space shuttle accompanied by the Blue Danube Waltz (Kubrick ultimately scored the film with existing classical tunes he temp-tracked the film to, and rejected a score composed by Kubrick regular Alex North), is one of the most powerful scenes in cinematic history. Once you’ve watched 2001, you’ll never look at movies the same way again. Even though it approaches 2 ½ hours, there isn’t a scene here that isn’t epic. Kubrick lets the ima ges do the talking more often than the actors, and was right in doing so (the first and last half hours or so of the film don’t even contain any dialogue!) ***

While it truly is a classic, 2001 isn’t for everyone. The pacing is sure to set off modern viewers who have been weaned on shallow action-laden science fiction. This is the thinking man’s sci-fi movie, not the movie of someone who wants big explosions and CGI around every corner (and if you ask me, the effects/props/sets/etc. here look better and more realistic than CGI anyhow.)20While the movie does look dated at times (some of the women’s hairstyles, the shuttle is run by the now-defunct Pan American, etc.) and received mixed reviews when first released, this is now and still the definitive look into a potential future of our world. ***

The film was ultimately a success and spawned a sequel, the less successful 2010 – The Year We Make Contact, starring Roy Scheider of Jaws fame. While it too was based on the writings of Arthur C. Clarke, it was more of a straightforward experience and nowhere near as successful or compelling as Kubrick’s movie. ---

Image and Sound: I have officially found my new “demo disc” of a classic film to show off to those who visit my home. Whoever says older films can’t look good on a high definition format hasn’t seen 2 001 on Blu-Ray. The remastering job here is astonishingly good, with no major print damage or dirt to speak of. Throughout, the picture is crystal-clear, and the fine object detail well above average for a film of this age. In the opening Dawn of Man sequence, you can see every grain of sand in the region occupied by humanity’s ancestors. The movie was classic enough as is, and this transfer is now the definitive way to experience the genius of 2001. ***

And fear not, the audio is nearly as good as the video. The classical tunes Kubrick scored the film with will take full advantage of your speaker set and give it a workout like few classic films do. Dialogue, where it is used, is louder and clearer than on any version of the film before, as well. With the audio and video alike top-notch, this Blu-Ray release is easily a must-own title. ***

I do have some minor complaints with Warner’s Blu-Ray releases, and 2001 proves to be no exception to these. Putting the disc in starts the film right up, and there are no conventional menus aside from those for special features. Pop-up menus were meant to be a convenience, NOT to take the place of standard menus (for setup, chapter selects, etc.) But these are MINOR complaints and in no way should derail you from purchasing what is one of the best Blu-Ray releases to date from ANY studio. ---

I gladly would have paid full-price for a bare-bones Blu-Ray of the audio and visual quality of this disc. But Warner pulls out all the stops and gives us all the bonus features from the SD-DVD version. Tons of interviews and behind-the-scenes footage can be found in these features, including some footage with Arthur C. Clarke, the author of the short story that inspired 2001 (tragically, he passed away last year at age 90.) There is even a commentary with 2 of the film’s stars! These are some great features that delve even deeper into a Kubrick classic and its history and impact on the world of cinema.

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