2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

 

2001: A Space Odyssey: Summary and initial thoughts

One of the most influential films ever made, 2001: A Space Odyssey is more of an experience than a story. Using dialogue and traditional narrative techniques sparingly, this film truly absorbs the viewer, creating a feeling of being in the action of the movie.

The film follows three of what I suppose for the purposes of this post we shall call "episodes." The first takes place in prehistoric times after a monolith is dropped near a tribe of beings who, upon encountering the monolith, are able to evolve to using bones to hunt, as well as to smite and banish their enemies.

The movie then cuts to millions and millions of years after this encounter and takes up the story of Dr. Heywood Floyd, who has been tasked with examining a recently uncovered second monolith. Before much investigating can be done, however, the monolith puts forth a radio signal.

The film cuts again, to only a year or so later, and the ship Discovery One is on its merry way to Jupiter, carrying Drs. Dave Bowman and Frank Poole. The ship is controlled, for the most part, by the computer HAL 9000, a strikingly human-like AI.

Everything is going swimmingly until HAL reports to Dave and Frank that there is a problem with the ship. But when Dave goes to investigate, he finds no issue. Back on Earth, mission control argues that HAL has made a mistake. HAL, however, blames it on mission control.

HAL's abnormal behavior begins to worry Dave and Frank, and, speaking privately so HAL cannot hear them, they agree to verify the problem and disconnect HAL if he acted in error. Most unfortunately, HAL can read lips, and he learns their plan. HAL is not pleased.

Frank goes out to address the alleged problem with the ship, at which point HAL attacks him, sending his body out into the void of space. Dave manages to retrieve Frank's body, but when he returns to the ship, HAL will not let him board.

He reveals that he knows of their plan to disconnect him and argues that that risks the success of the mission. We can't have that.

Clever Dave, however, is able to get in through Discovery One's airlock, and he begins ruthlessly dismantling HAL. When he reaches HAL's core, he is met with a surprise: a video recorded by Heywood Floyd, revealing that the true purpose of the mission is to find out what's up with that radio signal the monolith apparently sent to Jupiter.

And this is where things become wonderfully weird.

Dave discovers that there is, in fact, a third monolith at Jupiter. When he leaves Discovery One to go say hello, he is treated to an all-encompassing vortex of sound, light, color, and imagery that he has no control over. To the viewer, this lasts several minutes. To Dave? We don't know.

When this orgy of visuals finally spits him out, he finds himself in a well-furnished bedroom. He also finds that he can see future versions of himself. Not only that, but he progressively becomes these future versions of himself, living out the end of his life in an ultra-compressed timeline.

As he lies dying on the bed as a withered old man, a monolith (seriously, how many are there?) appears. Dave (being the ballsy character that he is) reaches out for it and is suddenly no longer a withered old man dying in bed, but a fetus in a floating womb, which drifts off into space.

Why is 2001: A Space Odyssey on the National Film Registry?

2001: A Space Odyssey was added to the National Film Registry in 1991 and is considered one of the most important films ever produced. But what makes it so special?

One obvious answer is the technology used to create it. The tech in 2001 is bananas. This goes way beyond the intricate, multi-size models for the spacecraft or the custom-made monoliths. For instance, to create a centrifuge set for the interior of Discovery One, director Stanley Kubrick commissioned an immense ferris-wheel-like structure in which to place actors and set pieces. The wheel could rotate as needed, creating a powerful optical illusion.

Most impressively, none of the effects in 2001 were created using computer imagery. Everything was 100% practical effects, showcasing Kubrick's dedication to detail, not to mention his vision and artistry.

This leads to another reason 2001 is Registry-worthy: Stanley Kubrick is one of America's most important filmmakers, and this is arguably his most important and influential work. If you wanted to explain to someone why Kubrick is so important, wanted to demonstrate his ability, his visionary style, showing them 2001: A Space Odyssey would probably be the best place to start. It's a true showstopper.

But that wasn't the consensus when the film was released. 2001: A Space Odyssey deeply polarized critics, with reactions ranging from high praise to passionate hatred to desperate boredom. People walked out of screenings en masse, with Rock Hudson even reportedly calling the film "bullshit" as he left.

Personally, this isn't my favorite of Kubrick's films (that honor belongs to Dr. Strangelove), and I can understand why many critics panned it at the time. If you go into this film expecting a highly story-driven movie, you're going to be disappointed. Like I said, this is very much an experience, and if you don't have the patience or the attention span to let this film just wash over and absorb you, you're probably not going to like it.

That being said, this initial polarization and subsequent reevaluation of 2001 is another good reason why it might be included in the National Film Registry. The imagery and dialogue (little though dialogue was used in the film) have become a part of American film culture. 

Spoofs and parodies and references and homages related to this film have practically taken on a life of their own. Sources as diverse as the British cult classic Monty Python's Flying Circus, YouTube's Nostalgia Critic, and the early-2000s sitcom Reba have all made use of this material, and that's just off the top of my head!

Whether you like it or not, it is impossible to deny the impact and influence of this movie, or the importance of Stanley Kubrick as an American filmmaker.

Final thoughts on 2001: A Space Odyssey

I first saw this film around ten years ago, when I considered it to be prescient but did not consider the threat of AI to be imminent.

As I look back on this film in 2026, HAL 9000 feels closer to home. A little too close, tangible, urgent, and ominous. When I see the uses AI is being put to, it frightens me, it worries me. "I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that," is loud in my ears, HAL's soothing monotone sending chills up and down my spine.

Regardless of what Kubrick wanted us to take away from this film (and it was probably a lot of things), the one that feels most salient to me now is the danger of giving over the operations of our lives to an opaque, unknowable source, be it monolith or supercomputer.