'2001: A Space Odyssey' is the definitive work, from arguably the greatest American director of all time. Released in a gleaming new 70mm print, with a digitally enhanced soundtrack, the film is now as close to maverick auteur Stanley Kubrick's vision, as we are ever likely to see.
Adapted from fellow recluse Arthur C Clarke's short story 'The Sentinel', Kubrick's magnum opus marks the birth of the modern science fiction film. Without '2001', and its groundbreaking special effects, 'Star Wars', and its imitators, might never have been made. Kubrick's legendary obsessive attention to detail is given full reign in this opera in space. His grandiose vision for cinema is fully realised, as lovingly detailed spacecraft float through the cosmos, accompanied by Richard Strauss' 'Blue Danube' waltz.
The plot, such as it is, follows the mysterious role in human history of a giant black monolith, and a trip to the furthest reaches of outer space by astronauts in a search for an answer to the question, "are we alone?" It cannot be said to have a narrative in any conventional sense, instead it is a gloriously indulgent contemplation on evolution, humanity and man's relationship with technology. On paper the film should not work.
A cast of relative unknowns, including a cameo by a pre 'Rising Damp' Leonard Rossiter, a plot that is incomprehensible and a director who seemingly cares about the design of the spacecraft more than character development, should have condemned this film to history's dustbin. But it succeeds precisely because of these factors; this is no expensive folly like Michael Cimino's 'Heaven's Gate'. It is a magnificent triumph of style over substance.
The actors, who are on the margins of both plot and frame, maintain a bored detachment from proceedings, as if aware that they are the replaceable parts of Kubrick's vision. This only adds to the mystique of a film that runs for nearly two and a half hours and has very little dialogue.
Kubrick's most impenetrable film, '2001' marks the point at which this great director departed from traditional themes of cinema, and the traditional tools of storytelling. There is little in the way of meaningful relationships between humans. Indeed the most fully fleshed out character is HAL, the computer who ultimately goes mad and sends the astronauts to their doom.
HAL creates the only moment of sentiment within the film: as he is disconnected he pleads with his astronaut master Dave Bowman to spare him. HAL's initials were an in-joke on set, being a play on the initials of IBM. The passage of time has turned Kubrick's space fantasy into an even more pertinent work. He touches on the issue of artificial intelligence through HAL, something that is only now being addressed by the mainstream media; Steven Spielberg's 'AI', due out in Ireland in September, originally began as a Kubrick project.
Showing at the Irish Film Centre as part of the ongoing Stanley Kubrick season, '2001: A Space Odyssey' is accompanied by 'The Shining', complete with Jack Nicholson's snarling tour-de-force and 'Full Metal Jacket', the only Vietnam film ever likely to be shot in East London. The final entry in Kubrick's canon, 'Eyes Wide Shut', is also being shown, but those wishing to remember Kubrick as a great American auteur should probably avoid it.
'2001' may lack the edge-of-your-seat thrills of 'The Shining' or the visceral edge of 'Full Metal Jacket', but it remains his best work. As a piece of cinematic history, it is one of a handful of classics that changed filmmaking in the 1960s. His devotion to perfection drove Kubrick to put together an innovative special effects team, which included Douglas Trumbull, who would later work on Steven Spielberg's 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' and 'Ridley Scott's 'Blade Runner'. Panned on its initial release by critics - including the queen of critical vitriol Pauline Kael - Kubrick's visionary work was kept alive and driven into profit by young fans attracted by the stunning visual effects.
'2001' is more than a film; it is an experience. But it must be seen on the big screen if the viewer is to appreciate its epic qualities. Kubrick's masterpiece is about being in the darkened cinema, watching the screen, as the sun rises above the horizon and strikes the monolith, or seeing the star baby floating around the Earth. The restored 70mm print brings the film and Kubrick's genius into even sharper focus. You are left wondering how the musical 'Oliver' was, by Hollywood's bizarre standards, more deserving of the Best Picture Oscar in 1968. It retains a freshness and ability to startle that few futuristic films have managed to keep; this classic does not date.
John Raftery
'2001: A Space Odyssey' is showing at the Irish Film Centre, Dublin from 20 July – 2 August 2001.
