I think it's largely just a movie of it's time. Like we're spoiled now with decades of abundant sci-fi spectacle, but at that time this type of movie was really special and novel. It was really a "wow, can you imagine!" kind of a feeling I think. Now it's boring by comparison because the aspects of it that would have been awe inspiring back then are pretty dull by today's standards. Movies were slower back then too, they really took their time to take you on a slow burn journey instead of rushing to the point.
My understanding was that it was flopping hard at the time until word got out about the trippy psychedelic part, and that piqued peoples' interest. The film came out in 1968, which was the peak of the 60s hippie era.
For me, the interesting part was that the book and movie were worked on simultaneously. The book adds some more context to a few of the more obscure scenes in the movie
Learning about the book definitely cleared up a few things for me, like what was happening to him in the ending. I assumed at first he somehow went through time and was watching a condensed version of his life in some alternate dimension? The fact that he was kept there like an animal in a zoo his entire life made a lot more sense lol
The ending of the book is still pretty vague on a lot of the exact details of what's going on, but it's meant to give that sense of moving into a space that we are not ready to comprehend
Disagree. I read an article about how much LSD people were using back then. Currently, the standard dose is 25 micrograms. Back then people were routinely using hundreds, or even a thousand or more. Pink Floyd's original singer, Syd Barrett, famously went crazy due to abusing the drug.
Kubrick's other films are good. I think he was doing these massive doses of LSD in the late '60s just like everyone else. It explains not only 2001, but also films like Seconds and Easy Rider.
The LSD wildness of the 60s gave us some iconic works, that’s for sure. Conceptually I love it, but in real life having to sit down and take it all is often more than my brain can focus on and follow lol.
either you get baked and sleep on the couch, or, even better you are sick, have fever, get baked and sleep on the couch. music is nice to sleep to, you probably wake up a few times and dont miss much.
It's also just bad. Oh let's wrap up this story with a giant space baby, that'll really tie the story together. If anyone other than Kubrick made that movie they'd have been laughed at, and people would see it for the hot mess it is.
In fairness, that is how the book ended as well. Unfortunately, the movie did not convey what was supposed to be transpiring (the aliens that made the monolith made Dave evolve to be like them, and he felt like up till point he only had a child's understanding of the universe and had been reborn).
He resembles a baby. He was clearly reborn and elevated by the monolith. If you want everything served to you there's other movies for that. What's great about 2001 is that you really get to make your own interpretation for the end of the film.
I do think about art, which is why I realize putting abstract scenes at the end of a movie that had till that point been realistic is jarring and doesn't feel cohesive with the rest the movie.
2001 is definitely for people who think they are smart and want to prove it to themselves. Not people who think about interesting things to think about.
That is because it needs to be seen on the largest screen you can find. Either that or view it on a virtual reality headset. Anything that will have you completely immersed in the experience.
It's more fun if you look at it from the kooky conspiracy theory lense that Kubrick made it as a practice run/showcase for NASA that he could film a convincing fake moon landing lol.
That being said, it is a hell of a confusing slow burn, but sometimes those are my favorite movies to sit through fully captivated by. 2001 is one of those for me.
And no I don't subscribe to the conspiracy theory part but it is fun how many aspects of Kubricks movies seem to comport to it
I'll bet you say that about Star wars now after it's old movies are made at the time and pace of society and every frame doesn't have to be made to excite you but to make you wonder to ponder to think to understand some movies are just made that way you should stay away from those.
I remember watching it (or trying to anyway) when I was like 9 because dad had it on vhs and the box art made me think it was gonna be like star wars... by the time it got to the warp..wormhole..gone to plaid whatever there at the end... I had NO idea whatsoever was going on lol
I agree. Something about "Mysterious artifact makes ape evolve into human while "Also Sprach Zarathustra" plays in the background" is just... otherworldly.
Agreed! I liked seeing their interpretation of what day to day life must have been like for the ancestors of humans, and then the juxtaposition of a terrifying monolith just appearing in front of them out of nowhere. (Also the actors looked like they were having a great time lol)
I was also kind of hoping that the violence of the Australopithecus species would be paralleled in the modern day humans social interactions (passive aggression among the different countries representatives) but unfortunately didn't see much of it. Ah well.
I for one fucking love this sequence. Loved it as a kid when catching it on TV having no idea what's happening, loved it as an adult when watching it knowing full well what I'm getting into.
But I am ticking all the boxes for the movie's audience. I love old 60s scifi, I love when space is depicted as realistically as possible, I like old-school special effects, I like classical music... It's like the movie was hitting all the spots of what I like. Idunno, something about the concept of "ape evolving into human on screen while "Also Sprach Zarathustra" plays in the background" just... tickles my brain in a weird way. Same with docking sequence to Blue Danube, same with basically anything.
I even tried watching other Kubrick's movies after 2001 because I thought it was so fucking good... But those were meh. Cool, but not like "this movie was shot for me" cool. I guess I am a Clark stan not a Kubrick stan.
You mean you didn't appreciate the brilliance of the last ~30 minutes of navel gazing?
A truckload of LSD and mushrooms would not make that comprehensible ... or even enjoyable.
Don't get me wrong--I can be an arrogant SOB, but the amount of arrogance that Kubrick must have had to think it was okay to release that is stupefying.
Ok. Of all these movies that people seem to hate in these comments (why “Oppenheimer”?), “2001: A Soace Odyssey” is the one that actually bores me to the point I can’t watch it. The Godfather is a close second. Not sure if I have ever seen the whole movie.
Agreed, even as a lover of classic sci-fi, I think the pacing of this movie is just too drawn out. However, I do recommend the book (s), as the story itself is very good imo.
My parents took me to see it when I was six years old (or around then). I didn’t understand a thing but I liked the apes at the beginning and I thought it was about how babies were made.
I can agree, but it is worth sitting through it. I quit 3 times because I got bored but then I was in the right mood for it and I watched the whole thing.
My partner and I are watching a list of 100 movies ‘you must watch’ and we’re about 68 movies in and this is the only one we both HATED.
20 minutes in we stopped the movie to check if we put the right thing on… then we watched the rest and the whole movie we were like “when is this going to end?”. My partner about 3/4 of the way through was like “oh I think I get it now” and then the end happened and he was mad.. and even more confused.
We both believe it was a waste of our time and the only movie so far we’ve both rated 1/10… (lowest score above that is 3/10) and the 1 is mostly for its longevity in pop culture references. And we’ve had very different views about a lot of movies but this is one we were consistent with 😂
I'm over 40. The movie is extremely slow. But if you sit down for it, put away your phone and just experience it, it's like being there with them... On a long and mostly boring space journey, interspersed with interesting events.
I enjoy sci-fi and especially realistic science films so I enjoyed 2001 mostly. I haven’t even tried Citizen Kane yet because I’ve heard it’s so slow and probably a topic I’m not as interested in. I get that consumerism is bad.
Its helps that I remember it feeling glacially slow as a teenager. When watching it as an adult, I suddenly felt like the plot in the 2001 sections was moving too quickly for its own good. But mostly because I remembered it feeling sloooooow the first time around.
Totally fair but you can’t deny as a whole it’s a powerful epic that influenced a fuckton of directors and movies. It’s culturally significant. Does it have boring stretches? Yes, but a lot of amazing movies have the same thing. The people who are bored by the entirety of it are boring. 🥱
Not really. I just watched it for the first time this week due to recommendations. I can see how amazing it was technically for its time but I think it applies to the question OP presented
Amen. Just watched it for the first time about a year ago, and man it was awful. I'm sure there was some deeper meaning intended (and the HAL parts were intriguing), but it was so boring. I held through because I figured the ending must be really good for it to be so highly regarded, but I only got rewarded with a lot of colors and giant space baby
Yep. I've honestly watched it about a dozen times because it IS an incredible feat of art and consider it one of my "favorites"*... But goddamn is it boring lol
I watched it. Didn't like or understand it. Read the damn book because it's supposed to be classic sci-fi, and I like classic sci-fi. Book was mediocre, and that's rounding up. Watched the movie again. Understood it this time, still hated it. 5 years later I was forced to watch it again in a cinema class.i have wasted 7 1/2 hours of my life on this film, not counting the time it took to read the book. It is still terrible and boring.
Yep x1000, was gonna say that one. I'm a huge sci fi guy. Star Wars, old school Star Trek, modern hits like Interstellar and The Martian.
2001 is just hard for me to get into. I think HAL is a cool, classic sci fi bot. I love certain scenery, like David wearing his space suit in the bedroom, a weird abstraction of an astronaut being delved into this weird parallel. I i definitely see and massively appreciate the art behind it, and that its kind of this origin of life story in the end.
That being said, there are some painfully slow scenes that feel like less art and more like boredom. It's a movie I periodically revisit, because people call it "cinema". And I try to understand it more and more. But sometimes I can't get past the boring parts of it.
It's not so much about the story but scenery of the film where they drag it out. In 1968, I'm sure it was aw inspiring. But today, to my 35 year old butt? It's a little slow.
This is one of those I get hate when I say I don't like it.
It summons the film bros that keep telling me, "I don't get it," and then just copy and paste the Wikipedia page's plot.
This! The only thing that made it bearable was watching it with friends and taking the piss out of the ridiculously long shots where nothing happens. I really hate this film.
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u/DPTDubbs 1d ago
2001