2001-A Space Odyssey

Maybe I’m in the minority, but I’m not really a fan of science fiction, be it books or movies.

Could be the huge bulbous heads of the aliens who speak with a British accent (what’s up with THAT?) Could be the technology that allows matter to be transformed into something that can be transported elsewhere (“Beam me up, Scotty!”)---or it could simply be that the “plots” of these dramas are hard for me to identify with. Go ahead and take over that alien planet-makes no difference to me.

I did watch “Star Trek” for a time, but it was the human interaction in that series that provided the most appeal. Yeah, they were hurtling through space, but the petty human frailties that are such a part of the present also seemed to survive into the future. Captain Kirk alternated between classic hero and mere mortal, susceptible to all the temptations of ancient man and woman (us)

I liked “Star Wars”, but didn’t watch it until years after its release. Never swallowed the Kool-Aid that required matching bed sheets, toys and other merchandise. Guess that puts me on the “dark side”.

Alrighty then.

One of the landmark movies in the genre was released on this date in 1968. Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey” made its debut a year before we actually walked on the moon with Apollo 11. Back then, the year 2001 seemed so far into the future that things could really be that spectacularly different.

Here’s the trailer to the movie:





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vahx4rAd0N0&NR=1

The music was the most compelling part of the film—and that remains the case today. The movie clocked in at over 3 hours—but had less than 40 minutes of dialogue. As such, the film received a lot of negative reviews, including the “New Yorker’s” quote that it was “monumentally unimaginative”.

How about now?

Well, some people consider it Kubrick’s masterwork and one of the most significant films of the 20th century. It received no nomination for “Best Picture” at the 1969 Academy Awards, but Kubrick was nominated as “Best Director” (he lost to Sir Carol Reed of “Oliver!”). It did win an Oscar for Best Visual Effects.
Some 42 years after its release, I have yet to see the film.

I’ll get around to it.

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