2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Director:

Stanley Kubrick

Writers:

Stanley Kubrick (screenplay) &
Arthur C. Clarke (screenplay)

Release Date:

6 April 1968 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Let the Awe and Mystery of a Journey Unlike Any Other Begin

Plot:

Mankind finds a mysterious, obviously artificial, artifact buried on the moon and, with the intelligent computer HAL, sets off on a quest.

Plot Keywords:

Trans World Airline | Carl Jung | Vacuum | Transfiguration | Year In Title

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 10 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Keir Dullea	...	Dr. Dave Bowman
Gary Lockwood	...	Dr. Frank Poole
William Sylvester	...	Dr. Heywood R. Floyd
Daniel Richter	...	Moon-Watcher
Leonard Rossiter	...	Dr. Andrei Smyslov
Margaret Tyzack	...	Elena
Robert Beatty	...	Dr. Ralph Halvorsen
Sean Sullivan	...	Dr. Bill Michaels
Douglas Rain	...	HAL 9000 (voice)
Frank Miller	...	Mission controller (voice)
Bill Weston	...	Astronaut
Ed Bishop	...	Aries-1B Lunar shuttle captain (as Edward Bishop)
Glenn Beck	...	Astronaut
Alan Gifford	...	Poole's father
Ann Gillis	...	Poole's mother

Also Known As:

How the Solar System Was Won (USA) (working title)
Journey Beyond the Stars (USA) (working title)
Two Thousand and One: A Space Odyssey (USA) (alternative spelling)
År 2001 ett rymdäventyr (Sweden) [sv]
2001 - I odysseia tou diastimatos (Greece) [el]
2001 - Uzay yolu macerasi (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
2001 Odissea nello spazio (Italy) [it]
2001, l'odyssée de l'espace (France) [fr]
2001, una odisea del espacio (Argentina) [es]
2001: йНЯЛХВЕЯЙЮЪ нДХЯЯЕЪ (Soviet Union: Russian title) [ru]
2001: Ürodüsszeia (Hungary) [hu]
2001: Avaruusseikkailu (Finland) [fi]
2001: Een zwerftocht in de ruimte (Netherlands) [nl]
2001: En romodyssé (Norway) [no]
2001: Ett rymdäventyr (Finland: Swedish title) [sv]
2001: L'odyssée de l'espace (Canada: French title) [fr]
2001: Odisea del espacio (Argentina) [es]
2001: Odisséia no Espaço (Portugal) [pt]
2001: Odyseja kosmiczna (Poland) [pl]
2001: Odyssee im Weltraum (West Germany) [de]
2001: Uma Odisséia no Espaço (Brazil) [pt]
2001: Una odisea del espacio (Spain) [es]
2001: Una odissea en l'espai (Spain: Catalan title) [ca]
Avaruusseikkailu 2001 (Finland) (TV title) [fi]
Rumrejsen år 2001 (Denmark) [da]
Svemirska odiseja 2001 (Serbia) [sr]

Runtime:

141 min | 160 min (premiere cut)

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English | Russian

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (35 mm magnetic prints) | 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | DTS 70 mm (2001 re-release)

Certification:

New Zealand:PG | Malaysia:U | Canada:G (Quebec) | Spain:T | Italy:T | Australia:G (DVD rating) | Netherlands:AL (DVD rating) | Canada:G (Manitoba/Nova Scotia) (original rating) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Nova Scotia) (re-rating) (2007) | Australia:G (original rating) | Australia:PG (cable rating) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Finland:K-8 | France:U | Norway:11 | Norway:12 (1969) | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:12 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | UK:U | USA:G | West Germany:12 | Ireland:G | Brazil:Livre

Filming Locations:

Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

The animal used in the "Dawn of Man" sequence, the one that looks like a black pig with a trunk, is a tapir.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): HAL has apparently forgotten to wish Frank a happy birthday until Frank's parents' video reminds him. This is either a breach in his usual social graces or a lapse in memory. What are the chances that the ship's computer does not have each crewman's date of birth on file?

Quotes:

[first lines]
Aries-1B stewardess: Here you are, sir, main level please.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Visions of Stanley Kubrick (2007) (V)

Soundtrack:

Also Sprach Zarathustra

Cosmic Art

Mankind's Self awakening is the theme of "2001: A Space Odyssey", a process that unfolds along a space-time continuum. We "see" our primordial past, and we "infer" a cosmic future. The powers of intuition thus become the doors of perception, in our ongoing collective journey.

From this transcendental perspective, a conventional, egocentric plot seems superfluous. Our frenzied conflicts and self-important dialogue are consumed in evolutionary change, and are irrelevant in a cosmos that is vast beyond comprehension. It's a tough lesson for a vain and aggressive species. Not surprising then that some of us huff and puff about the film's slowness and minimal story. For perceptive viewers, the remuneration is an inspirational sense of wonder and awe.

In this film, which is mostly visual, geometric symbols guide our intuition. Circles and arcs represent nature. Right angles represent conscious intelligence. Some people think the sleek, black monolith is a Von Neumann probe. Maybe. Without doubt, the monolith is a visual metaphor for an extraterrestrial intelligence whose physical form is never shown. Mystery is more profound than explanation.

"2001 ... " is unique among films in content and scope. The cinematography is out-of-this-world, the special and visual effects are breathtaking, and the classical music is sublime. I rarely use the word "masterpiece" to describe a movie. But Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey" is art in the highest sense, like Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa", or Vincent Van Gogh's "The Starry Night".