During the Pleistocene era, apes are scratching for survival in a wasteland. An alien monolith appears on Earth. The aliens teach early primates how to use tools. The apes use the tools to kill. Mankind advances.
Several million years later Dr. Heywood R. Floyd (William Sylvester), the Chairman of the United States National Council of Astronauts, is sent to Clavius base, a lunar outpost on the Moon. His mission is of the utmost secrecy. Recently, something unusual was found. A large black monolith buried in the lunar surface. The scientists don’t know what it is or what it is for, but they do detect a powerful radio emission aimed toward Jupiter.
Eighteen months later, an American spacecraft called Discovery One is on its way to Jupiter. On board, in cryogenic stasis, are Dr. Floyd, and two other scientists. Piloting the ship are Dr. Dave Bowman (Keir Dullea) and Dr. Frank Poole (Gary Lockwood). Most of the ship’s functions are controlled by the on-board computer, an advanced system called HAL 9000. HAL was created to mimic human personality.
As they approach Jupiter, Dave and Frank begin to see some disturbing activity concerning HAL. Troubled that the computer could be making errors, Dave and Frank decide that if they find that HAL is actually making mistakes that they will have to inactivate it. HAL figures out what Dave and Frank are talking about and decides, on its own, that the mission is more important than human life and decides to stop them at any cost.
“2001: A Space Odyssey” was released in 1968 and was directed by Stanley Kubrick. It is an American science fiction epic. The story was written by Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke. The film was loosely based on Clarke’s story “The Sentinel”.
2001 is more of a visual experience than a movie. The special effects are absolutely amazing. Dave’s deadpan delivery of his lines makes him seem more like a computer than HAL does. The concept of God is in the heart of the film but not in the traditional sense. This brings about the question of whom or what God is. Most scientists believe in God, in some way or other, but whether God is a being or an alien from another place is in the eye of the beholder.
Spoiler* The ending of the film sometimes gets lost in all the visual spender of the film. There are several theories about what it all means. Most of them sort of revolved around the following: Dave regains control of the ship and makes it to Jupiter and finds another monolith. He encounters advanced beings. He then finds himself in a human zoo where he lives out his life in luxury but confined. As he is dying the black monolith appears in front of him. He reaches for it, dies, and is reborn as a star child that is sent back to Earth as the next transformation of human existence. End Spoiler*
There are other theories, but this one seems to cover most of what Kubrick envisioned. Still, Kubrick himself stated that people were free to speculate all they wanted when it came to his film. I found it to be colorful and long. A pretty display that went on forever, slowly. The first time I saw the film I fell asleep in the theater. This time was better. Yes, it is a great film and worthy of all its praise, but the lack of dialogue adds to the mysteriousness and makes it somewhat confusing.