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The genius of Stanley Kubrick’s film “2001: A Space Odyssey” lies not in how much he does, but in how little he does. An artist who is so supremely self-assured that he doesn’t include a single shot simply to keep our attention is responsible for this work. He distills each scene down to its bare essentials and leaves it on the screen for long enough for us to contemplate it and imagine ourselves immersed in it. “2001” stands out from the crowd of science-fiction films “is not concerned with thrilling us, but rather with inspiring our awe in his work.
The music contributes significantly to his overall effect. However, despite the fact that Kubrick originally commissioned an original score from Alex North, he used classical recordings as a temporary track while editing the film, and they worked so well that he decided to use them permanently. This was an extremely important decision. North’s score, which is available on CD, is an excellent piece of film composition, but it would have been inappropriate for the film “2001.” “because, like all scores, it makes an attempt to emphasize the action by providing emotional cues to the listener. The classical music that Kubrick chose is played in the background of the action. It has an uplifting effect. It aspires to be sublime; it infuses the visuals with a sense of seriousness and transcendence.
Consider the following two examples. While the Johann Strauss waltz “Blue Danube,” which is played in the background of the docking of the space shuttle and the International Space Station, is deliberately slow, so is the action on the space shuttle. Of course, such a docking procedure would have to be carried out with extreme caution (as we now know from past experience), but other directors might have found the space ballet to be too slow and sped it up with exciting music, which would have been incorrect.
In the scene, we are asked to contemplate the process, to stand in the middle of the room and watch. We are familiar with the music. It proceeds in the manner that is required. As a result, the space hardware moves slowly because it is keeping the tempo of the waltz, which is a strange logic. Meanwhile, there is an exaltation in the music that allows us to feel the grandeur of the process as it unfolds before us.
Take, for example, Kubrick’s famous use of Richard Strauss’ “Thus Spake Zarathustra” as a soundtrack. The ascension of man into spheres previously reserved for the gods is symbolized by the five bold opening notes of this piece, which were inspired by Nietzsche’s words. It is freezing, terrifying, and breathtaking.
According to the film’s narrative, music is associated with the first entry of man’s consciousness into the universe – -and with the eventual passage of that consciousness onto a new level, symbolized by the Star Child at the film’s conclusion. In most cases, when classical music is associated with popular entertainment, the result is a trivialization of the music (who can listen to the “William Tell Overture” without thinking of the Lone Ranger?) Kubrick’s film is almost unique in that it enhances the music by associating it with the images that he creates.
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In 1968, I was in attendance at the Pantages Theater in Los Angeles for the film’s world premiere. It is impossible to adequately describe the feeling of anticipation in the audience. It was known to the audience that Kubrick had been working on the film in secret for several years, in collaboration with author Arthur C. Clarke, special-effects expert Douglas Trumbull, and consultants who advised him on the specific details of his imaginary future — everything from space station design to corporate logos — and that he had collaborated with these individuals. Kubrick had sailed from England on the Queen Elizabeth, doing the editing while on board, and had continued to edit the film during a cross-country train journey because he was afraid of flying and because he had a deadline to meet. It was finally ready for the public to see.
It would be inaccurate to describe that first screening as a disaster, because many of those who stayed until the end were aware that they had witnessed one of the greatest films ever made. However, not everyone was able to stay. In his frustration, Rock Hudson stalked down the aisle, muttering, “Will someone please tell me what the hell this is about?” There were numerous other walkouts, as well as some dissatisfaction with the film’s plodding pace (Kubrick immediately cut about 17 minutes, including a pod sequence that essentially repeated another one).
In terms of narrative clarity and easy entertainment cues, the film fell short of what the audience had hoped for. Especially perplexing were the concluding sequences, which saw the astronaut find himself in a bedroom somewhere beyond Jupiter for no apparent reason. The general consensus in Hollywood was that Kubrick had lost his way, that he had become obsessed with special effects and set pieces, and that he had failed to produce a film.
The truth is that what he had actually done was to make a philosophical statement about man’s place in the universe, using images in the same way that those who came before him had used words, music, or prayer to express themselves. Furthermore, he had created it in such a way that it invited us to contemplate it — not to experience it vicariously through it as we might in a good conventional science-fiction film, but to stand outside of it, as a philosopher might, and think about it.
2001 A Space Odyssey Quiz
Multiple movements are depicted throughout the film. In the first, prehistoric apes, when confronted with a mysterious black monolith, teach themselves that bones can be used as weapons, and as a result, they discover how to make their own tools. A part of me has always believed that the smooth artificial surfaces and right angles of the monolith, which was clearly constructed by intelligent beings, triggered the realization in an ape’s brain that intelligence could be used to shape the physical objects of the world.
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The bone is thrown into the air, where it disintegrates and transforms into a space shuttle (this has been called the longest flash-forward in the history of the cinema). Dr. Heywood Floyd (William Sylvester) is on his way to a space station and the moon when we meet him in this film. Unlike the rest of the novel, this section is deliberately anti-narrative; there are no breathless dialogue passages to inform us of his mission. The film instead focuses on the small details of the flight, such as the design of the cabin, the specifics of in-flight service, and the effects of zero gravity on the passengers.
Then there’s the docking sequence, complete with waltz, and for a brief moment, I imagine, even the most restless members of the audience are silenced by the sheer wonder of the visuals. On board, we see familiar brand names, we take part in an enigmatic conference among scientists from various countries, and we see gimmicks like a videophone and a zero-gravity toilet, to name a few things.
In the film, the sequence on the moon (which appears to be as authentic as footage from the actual moon landing a year later) is a variation on the film’s opening sequence. Man is confronted with a monolith in the same way that the apes were, and he comes to the same conclusion: It had to have been made somehow. The second monolith, in the same way that the first one led to the discovery of tools, is responsible for the employment of man’s most complex tool: the spaceship Discovery, which is operated by man in collaboration with the artificial intelligence of the onboard computer, codenamed HAL 9000.
It is presented as a long, eventless routine of exercise, maintenance checks, and chess games with HAL on the Discovery. An element of suspense is introduced only when the astronauts believe that HAL’s programming has failed; their challenge is to find a way around HAL, who has been programmed to believe that “This mission is too important for me to allow you and your crew members to put it at risk. ” As a result of their efforts, one of the most memorable scenes in cinema history occurs when the men attempt to have a private conversation in a space pod while HAL reads their lips. The way Kubrick edits this scene so that we can figure out what HAL is up to is masterful in its restraint: he makes it clear, but he doesn’t force us to believe what he’s saying. He has faith in our ability to reason.
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A short time later, there’s the infamous “star gate” sequence, a sound and light journey in which astronaut Dave Bowman (Keir Dullea) travels through what we might now refer to as a wormhole into an unknown place or dimension. His final destination is a comfortable bedroom suite in which he will grow old, eating his meals quietly and napping while living the life of a zoo animal who has been relocated to a familiar environment (in my imagination). After that, there’s the Star Child.
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No one ever gives a satisfactory explanation for the other race that presumably left the monoliths and provided the star gate and the bedroom.
According to “2001” lore, Kubrick and Clarke attempted, but failed, to create plausible extraterrestrials. It’s a good thing, too. The alien race exists more effectively in negative space because we are more sensitive to its invisible presence than we could ever be to any actual representation of the alien species.
“2001: A Space Odyssey” is a film that is, in many ways, a silent film. It is difficult to imagine a conversation that could not be handled with the use of title cards. Much of the dialogue is there solely to show people conversing with one another, with little regard for the content of what they are saying (this is true of the conference on the space station). Ironically, the most emotional dialogue is delivered by HAL, who begs for its “life” and sings “Daisy” in the course of the film.
The effects in the film are primarily created through the use of visuals and music. It has a meditative quality to it. It is not interested in catering to us, but rather in inspiring and enlarging us. After nearly three decades in production, it has not become out of date in any significant way, and despite the fact that special effects have become more versatile in the computer age, Trumbull’s work remains completely convincing — perhaps more convincing than more sophisticated effects in later films, because it appears more plausible, and less like elements in a story.
Only a few films are transcendent, and they work on our minds and imaginations in the same way that music, prayer, or a vast, demeaning landscape does on us. The majority of movies are about characters who have a specific goal in mind and who achieve it after overcoming obstacles that are either comical or dramatic. “2001: A Space Odyssey” is not about achieving a goal, but rather about satisfying a need. In neither case does it tie its effects to specific plot points, nor does it ask us to identify with Dave Bowman or any other character in particular. It tells us that we became men when we learned to think for ourselves. Our minds have provided us with the tools we need to comprehend our surroundings and ourselves. It is now time to take the next step, which is to recognize that we do not reside on a planet but among the stars, and that we are not made of flesh but of intelligence.
For more personality quizzes check this: Juliet Naked Quiz.
