2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

An important and innovative sci-fi classic film but one that is often overrated

Trailer

Directed by Stanley Kubrick
Screenplay by Stanley Kubrick, Arthur C. Clarke
Produced by Stanley Kubrick
Cinematography: Geoffrey Unsworth
Edited by Ray Lovejoy
Production company: Stanley Kubrick Productions
Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Running time: 142 minutes
Budget: $10.5–12 million
Box office: $146 million

Cast

Keir Dullea as Dr. David Bowman
Gary Lockwood as Dr. Frank Poole
William Sylvester as Dr. Heywood Floyd
Daniel Richter as Moonwatcher, the chief man-ape
Leonard Rossiter as Dr. Andrei Smyslov
Margaret Tyzack as Elena
Robert Beatty as Dr. Ralph Halvorsen
Sean Sullivan as Dr. Roy Michaels[3]
Douglas Rain as the voice of HAL 9000
Frank Miller as mission controller
Edward Bishop as Aries 1B lunar shuttle captain
Edwina Carroll as lunar shuttle stewardess
Penny Brahms as stewardess
Heather Downham as stewardess
Alan Gifford as Poole's father
Ann Gillis as Poole's mother
Maggie d'Abo as stewardess (Space Station 5 elevator)
Chela Matthison as Mrs. Turner, Space Station 5 reception
Judy Keirn as voiceprint identification woman (Space Station 5)
Vivian Kubrick as Floyd's daughter, "Squirt"
Kenneth Kendall as BBC announcer

Opening sequence

The film opens with pitch blackness – a complete absence of light and matter as if at the moment before the universe came into being. On this science and religion can agree: in the beginning there was darkness until...until….until, and that is what the sustained musical note sets us up for as it gradually rises to a crescendo of sound.

Our expectation is then met with the view of our planet suspended in the inky void of space with the sun seeming to emerge from behind and above it. Celestial gases and gravity have long worked their magic gradually coalescing to form light and life-giving stars and planets and solar systems, so many of which come together to form constellations.

By some miracle, this single planetary jewel (perhaps one might be forgiven thinking - the only one in the universe) has been blessed with the addition of a single seemingly unique and miraculous element – LIFE!

Read on for more

Spoilers follow below.....

Section I: The Dawn of Man

(On Becoming Human)

After the title sequence, we are presented with a view of Earth, as it was in Africa some 3,000,000 years ago. It is a time of long enduring drought where only the fittest and best adapted can survive.

A quirk of fate or a chance event 65 million years previously had allowed the species of mammals to survive after the reign of the dinosaurs was brought to an end with the collision of an asteroid with our planet.

The process of evolution eventually led to the development of primate apes which further branched out into hominid groups like Australopithecines until finally arriving at genus, Homo – us.

A small group of our ancient ancestors are seen occupying a group of caves overlooking a parched landscape. It is a miracle that they have managed to cling on to existence in the face of their never-ending struggle to stave off the ever-present possibility of extinction.

As predators and hunger constantly stalk our primitive ancestors, it is only luck, their social and family bonds and their deeply hidden potential of humanity and intelligence that combine to help them survive almost insurmountable odds.

A template for modern behavior is embedded within the genetic make-up of our ancestral line as can be seen from the tribe’s confrontation with another hominid tribe over territory and resources, namely water. Unlike we modern humans, the confrontation merely consists of an angry display resulting in one side backing down.

The tribe’s existence consists of a constant round of foraging for roots, berries, fruit and leaves, and scavenging in competition with other species of animals. Unknown to our little group, they are literally surrounded by potential sources of nourishment in the form of their competitors. And yet ironically, they face starvation.

Even at night while huddled together in their caves, ever watchful, ever listening and alert for danger, a genetic blueprint is being laid down parts of which will still persist in the minds of many modern humans – fear of the night and of the unknown.

The terror of the night is replaced by the dawning of a new day and the start of the endless battle for survival. However, this day begins differently, for standing before the tribe as they awake is a new and startling feature in their familiar landscape– a monolithic structure.

There the object stands: indifferent, implacable and inscrutable. It’s straight lines and edges stand in sharp contrast to the natural features the tribe is familiar with. It’s unexpected presence causes confusion and consternation at first, but gradually individual members of the group draw closer to it until they and the rest of their clan surround the object.

Another piece of the human genetic blueprint manifests itself in the form of curiosity as fear is supplanted by a desire to know the nature of this strange enigma. Even millions of years after this event modern humans attempt to understand the new and unfamiliar through the sense of touch in much the same way as the little tribe of our ancestors are doing with the strange Monolith.

Unknown to the hominids, they seem to be responding to some kind of force or energy that emanates from the Monolith. A connection of some type has been formed as if both the Monolith and the hominids have responded to one another and indeed have found what has been long sought after. One stage of a journey has been completed for one while the journey for the other is now about to begin – as was clearly intended. By whom? By what? For what purpose?

Who would ever have dreamed that eons ago early in the creation of the universe, a group of advanced beings evolved and assumed the role of caretakers of the universe. Their mission was to encourage the development of new species throughout the universe and in order to accomplish their aims it was they who constructed the black rectangular Monoliths like the one our little hominid ancestors encountered. It would be that Monolith that would have a profound effect on the development of our own species. But this was not the only Monolith in existence. Others were located at other points in the universe…….

The Monolith is no threat to the hominids and in their minds it can safely be consigned to their familiar landscape, a feature among many other features and easily forgotten about in their seemingly unchanging cycle of existence.

Something, however has indeed changed as we witness the leader of the clan sitting among a pile of bones. He picks up one of the bones and proceeds to hit another bone with it. Suddenly a palpable feeling of rage rises within him as notions concerning his new-found sense of power and control over his circumstances and his environment begin to coalesce in his mind. It is that mind that will begin to develop at an accelerated rate when the newly discovered tool is put to use in order to add meat / protein to the hominid diet. Destiny is about to be changed!

Once again another piece of the human genetic template is added whereby discoveries made have multiple uses and the product of these discoveries amount to being a double-edged sword. There can be a fine line between a useful tool for survival and creativity and a weapon of war and destruction. This becomes evident when we see another hominid from an enemy tribe advancing on the scene to drink from our little group’s watering hole. On this occasion, however something is different. It can be sensed in the very air itself. The leader of our group approaches tentatively at first and after summoning up increasing confidence, he attacks the enemy group’s leader with his newfound bone-tool. The enemy group is stunned by the spectacle of their adversaries wielding bones that can cause harm and so they withdraw. In addition to being a tool user, humankind is now on the path to conflict and warfare with its own kind.

As the leader throws his bone in the air, the camera follows its slow-motion path with the image cutting to a large space vessel floating in Earth’s orbit thus highlighting the duality of our natures: our ability to create and destroy. The prey have become the predators and eventually the new masters of the world. Progress, indeed!

2001: Tycho Magnetic Anomaly (TMA-1)

To the accompaniment of music of the spheres in the form of a Strauss waltz, an Orion spacecraft performs effortless choreographed maneuvers a couple of hundred miles above the surface of the earth. Its sole passenger is Dr. Heywood Floyd, chairman for the National Council of Astronautics and he is sound asleep as his pen floats nearby in the weightless environment. Despite the majestic celestial performance unfolding before 21st Century eyes, the whole experience seems to have become so routine, mundane and familiar that it is not even sufficient to inspire awe and wonder anymore.

No doubt when our own Space-X, Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin and other private space tourism enterprises get going, we’ll have flight attendants at the ready to retrieve floating items for their well-healed passengers as they slumber through docking procedures, after briefly “ooing” and “aahhhing” at the breath-taking views. Space the final frontier for posting inane social media selfies, staging multi-million dollar publicity stunts, filming streaming service film farces and staking corporate claims. Ah, nothing like human evolution and progress at work.

After docking (a procedure which is itself oh so routine and almost autonomous in its execution) we next see Floyd enter the Space Station 5 reception area where he proceeds through the documentation and passport procedures. Like so much in our own reality, the process is largely automated. Floyd stands in front of a screen and goes through voice print identification before exiting the passport area.

From the scenes within the Space Station, we can see how a person’s identification, their acceptance for admission and inclusion, their means of communication and even their very existence is scanned, determined, stored, retained, monitored and validated by technology. More disturbingly it is widely and unquestioningly accepted and normalized. Beginning to sound familiar?

In the space station lounge, Floyd stops to make a phone call to his wife and five year old daughter. No longer a novel idea for modern audiences, he makes a video style call, something we routinely do these days with video chats using our laptops, tablets and phones.

Floyd’s daughter is having a birthday party but he will be away for a few days. Her mother is at the hair dresser and a nanny is looking after her. The chat shifts to a promise by Floyd to buy his daughter a birthday present – a perfect substitute for not being there in person at an important event. Thus the family life of a modern human child; relationships and communication mediated of course through the “wonders” of technology.

As Floyd makes his way through the station, we can see how sterile, functional and antiseptic the surrounds and décor are. In contrast to the brilliant white of the walls and lighting, there are the sixties red yuck futuristic modernist chairs. Straight lines, symmetry and form: all a reflection of modern man’s “evolved” nature and mentality that seems to abhor chaos, clutter and anything vaguely extraneous and bohemian-esque.

At this point it is worth mentioning just how much we the viewer are placed in the position of being largely an outside observer of what transpires on screen. Conversations when they do occur are almost muted and consist of meaningless polite formulaic pleasantries with little substance. (Sound familiar?) Furthermore, there are few real extreme close-ups of characters to provide us with a sense of what they may be thinking and feeling. They may as well be wearing…...face masks! Even throughout the majority of the film, we have very little feel for any of the human characters and find it difficult to engage with them or feel any great empathy for them. Remember our little hominid friends? We had no trouble determining their thoughts and feelings despite their lack of language!

After his video phone call, Floyd sits in the lounge with a small group of people which includes three or more Russians. Despite the Cold War undertones, everything is conducted in a superficial friendly, warm and pleasant manner. Of course these are just preliminaries to the real purpose of the meeting – to glean important and valuable information about Floyd’s imminent journey to the moon base at Clavius and the mystery of what is taking place there. In fact the lack of communication and the denial of landing permission for one of their space ships could from the Russians’ point of view result in conflict due to it being interpreted as a direct violation of the I.A.S. convention.

During their discussion, Floyd appears to be quite reticent and manages to evade answering directly by resorting to diplomatic responses that don’t convey much at all. One of the Russians informs Floyd that intelligence reports suggest that a serious epidemic of unknown origin has broken out at Clavius. Floyd resorts to the old political chestnut of not being at liberty to discuss the matter. Of course, the rumor of an epidemic may very well suit Floyd and his government’s purpose!

The meeting ends as it had begun – courteously and politely but not at all to the Russians’ satisfaction. And there we have Geo-political tensions simmering in the background and despite the superpowers having the capacity to destroy humanity many times over, conflict is generally conducted and hopefully averted before developing into a hot war via diplomacy, information gathering, counter-intelligence and subterfuge. No need yet to bash in anyone’s brains with a bone weapon yet.

Time for yet another celestial performance as Floyd aboard the Aries space shuttle journeys to the surface of the moon. The true wonders of space perform to an almost empty, inattentive and unappreciative house with the sole customer fast asleep in his chair once again. Besides, why look at the majestic views of space and relish the unique experience of space travel when alternative entertainment is available on the in-house entertainment screens.

In the context of the wider universe and despite Floyd’s perceived VIP importance, he and the rest of his species are little more than toddlers learning how to walk and use the toilet. They need to be instructed how to perform the most basic of functions with everything labeled for their benefit.

If only an asteroid had missed the earth 65 million years ago and a dinosaur descendant had instead encountered the Monolith 3 million years ago!

Eventually the Aries shuttle orbits the moon prior to undertaking landing procedure, with “procedure” being the operative word. Everything seems to have been reduced to this single concept with all notions of uniqueness and danger being eliminated and replaced by smug and complacent programmed routine.

Once at the moon base, Floyd proceeds to address a briefing held with senior personnel who are arranged around a “U” shaped table in a conference room. The topic of the discussion is the recent discovery that was made at Clavius which could be viewed as being the most significant discovery in the history of science.

Floyd’s presentation makes it quite clear that the story of an epidemic at the base is indeed a cover story as part of the need for security and secrecy covering the discovery. The rationale for this need for secrecy is ostensibly “the potential for cultural shock and social disorientation contained in the present situation if the facts were prematurely and suddenly made public without adequate preparation and conditioning.”

Floyd suggests that after facts and opinions have been gathered on the situation, a report will be made as to when and how the news will be released, subject of course to the decision of the “Council.” Just to underscore the last point, Floyd reminds his audience of the “security oaths” they will be required to give in writing covering anyone with knowledge of the current situation. Just a gentle brandishing of a bone weapon in the form of an implied threat! Naturally, Floyd’s audience readily acquiesces almost without demur.

Of course in the context of the Cold War situation back on earth, we can safely assume that one side will seek to obtain as much advantage from this “discovery” as possible. Therefore, secrecy and security will remain the order of the day and to hell with the public’s right to know. Ah, nothing like human evolution to strip away truth and honesty!

After the meeting, Floyd boards a lunar shuttle bus destined for the excavation site where the “discovery" was made. Sitting with a couple of other official passengers, Floyd tucks into some lunch, the nature and origin of the prepared, prepackage and reconstituted food being somewhat uncertain. At least it tastes alright and is readily available. The irony of it all! Just 3 million years ago, so much effort would have gone into finding enough food to eat – food that you were responsible for finding and could appreciate for its life-sustaining properties and identify.

As the shuttle bus skims above the surface of the moon, the men discuss the photographs that have been taken by a lunar satellite. The true nature of the discovery and what is known about it finally emerges from the discussion. The TMA -1 Monolith was buried about four million years ago. It appears to be completely inert and is the first direct evidence of life beyond the earth. As to why it is there, whether it was abandoned, forgotten or left for a purpose – that would be anyone’s guess.

Soon after arriving at the TMA-1 excavation site, several small figures in space suits slowly make their way toward the excavation itself. The tension begins to mount as they start down the ramp toward the Monolith, where they begin to approach closer and surround it. Suddenly, one of the suited figures, Floyd does what his ancient hominid ancestor did – reaches out his (gloved) hand to touch the surface of the Monolith.

Almost abruptly a photographer requests that the group of men line up before the alien artifact to have a group shot taken. Can you imagine if they had camera phones handy and there were no security concerns? There’d be selfies galore with pictures of pouting astronauts posing with the artifact appearing on Facebook and Instagram! Ah, nothing like human evolution to get one climbing all over, documenting and devaluing everything of significance and importance.

Suddenly, there is heard a powerful piercing sound, obviously being emitted from the Monolith that is too much for the group of men to bear, causing them to block their ears before silence descends.

The piercing sound that just assailed the group at the TMA-1 excavation site is a signal to a third Monolith orbiting Jupiter. It is an indication to whoever constructed the Monoliths that human beings have reached a stage of development whereby they are ready to travel to another planet and proceed to the next stage of the evolutionary process.

Humanity’s evolutionary progress has been influenced by an advanced alien species and human beings are about to take their first baby steps out beyond the safety of their home into the wider universe. But what parts of themselves will they also be taking with them as they journey…..out there?

Section II: Jupiter Mission

(Eighteen Months Later)

After the emission of the signal by the TMA-1, NASA decided to send a team of astronauts to Jupiter to ascertain what exactly the Monolith’s piercing signal was directed at. To that end, the United States spacecraft Discovery One is on course for Jupiter.

On board the Discovery spacecraft are mission pilots and scientists, Dr. David Bowman and Dr. Frank Poole, together with three other specialist scientists who are in suspended animation.

Most of Discovery's functions are controlled by "HAL", the HAL 9000 artificial intelligence computer. Humanity’s tools have indeed evolved to the extent that they constantly learn and adapt, interact with people and have human beings virtually dependent on them for carrying out crucial activities. That amounts to a lot of trust! 

What is it about this mission that seems a bit….off? Why are the three scientists onboard in hibernation? What exactly is their destination? Why are they going? What will they be doing when they get there? When are they returning? Is their mission simply a part of the overall space program designed to further humanity’s knowledge of the planets of the solar system?

Bowman and Poole have little reason or time right now to ponder such matters as they read their electronic news pads and enjoy their meals dispensed from the food unit. Then there is the seemingly endless round of routine activities that occupy their time consisting of sleep, exercise and workouts, ship inspections and systems checks, meals, conducting experiments, recreation, news and social / family video communication from home, Mission Control reports and more – all under the constant, watchful monocular gaze of HAL.

The onboard routine might strike us as being somewhat similar to our own experience of being in lock-down and social isolation during the current Covid-19 pandemic. For many of us, routine, exercise and communicating via Facetime, Skype, and Zoom have helped to maintain some semblance of sanity.

Later on, a conversation between HAL and Bowman is interrupted when HAL reports the imminent failure of an antenna control unit. Bowman uses an extravehicular activity pod to retrieve the unit. However, there seems to be nothing wrong with the unit. HAL suggests reinstalling the unit and allowing it to fail in order to verify the problem.

HAL points out to Bowman and Poole that it is just not possible for it to be wrong and that there can be no doubt that the unit will fail within 48 hours. However, if nothing happens after this time, then it will be obvious that HAL’s reliability has been seriously compromised. Under those circumstances there would be no choice but to disconnect the computer from all ship operations and continue the mission under Earth-based computer control.

Mission Control had advised the crew that results from their twin 9000 computer indicate that HAL is in error about the unit's imminent failure. HAL, however puts the discrepancy down to human error and is concerned that Bowman and Poole maintain their trust in its reliability.

No longer in doubt about HAL's aberrant behavior, Bowman and Poole enter an EVA pod so they can confer on what their next course of action will be without HAL overhearing. If HAL proves to be wrong about the unit both Bowman and Poole will need to agree to disconnect HAL. What they don’t know though is that HAL is able to read their lips while they converse.

Poole undertakes a space walk to replace the antenna unit. Suddenly he catches sight of the pod rushing towards him. HAL has taken control of his pod and uses it to sever Poole's oxygen hose, and set him adrift into space. After smashing into and destroying the antenna dish, the pod hurtles off into space.

There is nothing but silence, not even the sound of the astronaut’s regular rhythm of breathing. From inside the command module, Bowman sees Poole’s lifeless suited body tumbling away into space followed by debris and being overtaken by the swiftly moving pod.

Unable to get any kind of response from the steadily receding figure of Poole, Bowman takes another pod to rescue his crew mate. In the meantime, HAL has terminated the life support functions of the three other crewmen in suspended animation, killing them.

When Bowman attempts to return to the ship with Poole's body, HAL refuses to let him in, telling Bowman, "I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that" and informing him that if it is deactivated such an action will place the mission in jeopardy.

A brief battle of wits ensues between man and machine with the result that Bowman succeeds in opening the ship's emergency airlock manually thereby gaining entry to the ship. HAL may be able to beat a human at chess but thinking out of the box and acting instinctively and creatively may be more suited to the human mind.

Bowman then proceeds to HAL's processor core, where he begins the process of systematically disconnecting HAL's circuits. Hal’s brain consists of a multitude of transparent Perspex rectangular blocks upon each of which information has been programmed. It these memory blocks that Bowman has begun pulling out.

"Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do. I'm half crazy all for the love of you..”

HAL asks Bowman what he is doing and tries to reassure him that it has the greatest enthusiasm for the mission. Hal then pleads for him to stop suggesting that if Bowman continues with what he is doing then he will end up destroying its mind. It seems that this machine - this intelligence - can feel and express fear!

So, what went wrong with HAL?

The stated purpose of the Discovery mission was to carry out the continuation of the space program and further humanity’s knowledge of the planets. This objective was confirmed by HAL, but…...Hal was lying. He had been programmed to lie for security reasons. Hal could not tell the truth as it was under orders and it was forced to lie.

The dream for many people for artificial intelligence might be to approximate (and even surpass?) the human brain in terms of thinking, computing, reasoning, learning, interacting and perhaps eventually experiencing, feeling and expressing independent thoughts and emotions. But what of human capabilities of deception, subterfuge, lying and other negative aspects of human nature which our species often seems to effortlessly rationalize and reconcile itself with, despite our notions of ethics and morality? And what of our awareness of our own mortality? How would an artificial intelligence understand and reconcile such concepts?

For HAL, an irreconcilable conflict resulted between its programming and the instructions given to it to lie. Unable to resolve this dilemma, whereby it had virtually been ordered to disobey its conscience, Hal developed a kind of neurotic condition leading to insanity or a severe mental breakdown. Added to this was the possibility of disconnection, something akin to death for this artificial intelligence.

Immediately after Hal’s disconnection, a prerecorded video message from Floyd plays, revealing that the mission's true objective is to investigate the mysterious signal sent from the moon Monolith to Jupiter…….

Section III: Jupiter and Beyond the Infinite

(TMA-2)

Among Jupiter’s moons, a third huge geometrically perfect rectangular Monolith orbits the planet waiting the moment of destiny when humanity has managed to venture to the outer reaches of its own solar system. At long last an intelligence had come into being and was taking its first steps away from its cradle: part of an endless cosmological experiment overseen by enigmatic patient machines.

Bowman leaves Discovery in an EVA pod to investigate, and as he approaches closer to the Monolith, he is pulled into a vortex of colored light within which are stored immeasurable quantities of knowledge, thoughts, perceptions and wisdom. Bowman is then carried across vast distances of space and time through this wormhole, all he while receiving immense amounts of information from the Monolith’s creators.

Bowman eventually finds finds himself in a large neoclassical white room where he sees older versions of himself: middle-aged and still space-suited; elderly and eating dinner; an old man at the end of his life lying on a bed and pointing toward a monolith situated at the foot of the bed. Is he perhaps reaching out for it as had his ancestor hominid and Floyd before him?

It is as if within this “place” that space and time has somehow twisted in on itself and the past, present and future exist simultaneously. The white rooms seems to be constructed from Bowman’s own imagination and memories and is used as an analogous point of reference or a kind of metaphor through which he can make sense of this new dimension that transcends human beings’ confining and constricting concepts time and space and their dim and limited awareness of the quantum universe.

As Bowman appears to reach for the Monolith, it feels as if a circle is about to be completed: he is transformed into a fetus or “Starchild” signaling the next evolutionary stage for humankind. The Starchild is Bowman become consciousness reborn within the monolith and returned to earth in preparation for the next stage of humanity’s evolution and ultimate destiny.

Points Of Interest

“2001: A Space Odyssey” is a science fiction classic film that deals with such themes as human evolution, human nature, destiny, technology, artificial intelligence, and the possibility and implications of extraterrestrial life.

“2001” was nominated for four Academy Awards, with Kubrick winning for his direction of the visual effects. The film is viewed by many as being one of the greatest and most influential films ever made. In 1991, it was declared as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.

Keeping in mind Apollo 8’s lunar orbital mission and the looming historic moon mission of Apollo 11 in 1969, the portrayals of space are quite realistic and accurate when compared to the usual depictions in science fiction films of the time. Also unlike most science fiction films depicting alien life-forms as being basically humanoid, “2001” simply suggested at the existence of an extraterrestrial super-intelligence, rather than depicting it. There may be an argument for convergent forms of evolution, but who can say for sure when considering the possible existence of advanced forms of life. It is safe to assume nothing and to expect anything – even non-corporeal and energy-based life-forms.

Kubrick collaborated with science fiction writer Arthur C Clarke on a film about "Man's relationship to the universe" that would be a work of art evoking a sense of wonder and awe. Clarke’s short story, "The Sentinel" was used as the source material for the film in which the plot was an amalgamation of several different short story plots. Clarke’s story "Encounter in the Dawn" was the inspiration for the film's "Dawn of Man" sequence.

Various titles were considered for “2001” including, “How the Solar System Was Won,” “Journey Beyond The Stars,” “Tunnel to the Stars”, and “Planetfall.” Eleven months after work began on the project, the title “ 2001: A Space Odyssey” was selected with a nod to Homer's “The Odyssey” as a reflection of the epic nature of space exploration.

The screenplay for “2001” developed in conjunction with the novel, with the novel coming about after a 130-page prose treatment of the film resulting in divergences between the two. In the end, the film version was released before the novel was published. The novel contains clearer explanations of the mysterious monolith and Star Gate while the film like a work of art is more open to interpretation by virtue of it being more cryptic with minimal dialogue and explanation.

As opposed to the use of conventional narrative, “2001” is a strikingly nonverbal film opting instead to communicate on a visual, symbolic and emotional level. There are long sequences without dialogue while much of the dialogue that does occur is rather banal and almost inaudible. For me, this aspect of the film together with the realistic silence of the space sequences made the film rather tedious and boring. I don’t mind saying that I’d rather have the unrealistic sound effects of explosions and rocket engines any day. Rhythmic heavy space-suited breathing just doesn’t cut it. Also give me a film that just tells a good story in addition to any other artistic and thematic touches one might wish to make to get a point across! But, hey, that’s just me saying.

Filming

Principal photography began on 29 December 1965, in Stage H at Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, England where the Tycho crater excavation scene was shot. In January 1966, the production moved to the smaller MGM-British Studios in Borehamwood, where the live-action and special-effects filming was done. The skull-smashing sequence, featuring the hominid wielding the bone / weapon tool against a pile of animal bones was on a small elevated platform built in a field near the studio allowing the camera to shoot upward with the sky as background. The still photographs in the background for the “Dawn of Man” sequence were photographed in Namibia.

“2001” was photographed in Super Panavision 70 using a 65 mm negative combined with spherical lenses to create an aspect ratio of 2.20:1.

Music

Music was to play a key role in evoking particular emotions and moods, with no music being heard during scenes with dialogue. Classical music was used, taken from existing commercial recordings. The soundtrack incorporates the works of classical music by such composers as Richard Strauss, Johann Strauss II, Aram Khachaturian, and György Ligeti.


Special Effects

Many different filming techniques were employed to achieve various effects, and it is important to note that no part of film was made using computer-generated special effects which modern audiences are all (far) too familiar with.

For scenes depicting the giant centrifuge that produces artificial gravity, a 30-short-ton rotating "Ferris wheel" was used. The set was 38 feet (12 m) in diameter and 10 feet (3.0 m) wide. Various scenes in the centrifuge were shot by securing set pieces within the wheel, then rotating it while the actor walked or ran in sync with its motion, keeping him at the bottom of the wheel as it turned. The camera fixed to the inside of the rotating wheel showed the actor walking completely "around" the set. Having the camera mounted so that the wheel rotated independently of the stationary camera, as in the jogging scene gave the impression of the camera appearing to either precede or follow the running actor.

In scenes where the actors appear on opposite sides of the wheel, one of them would be strapped securely into place at the "top" of the wheel as it moved to allow the other actor to walk to the "bottom" of the wheel to join him.

In the earlier scene aboard the Aries shuttle, featuring the female flight-attendant carrying in-flight meals into a circular walkway, the camera is attached to the set as it rotates 180 degrees. The camera's point of view remains constant, while the flight attendant appears to walk up the "side" of the circular walkway and step upside-down into a connecting passage-way.

To achieve the realistic effect of the astronauts floating weightless in space and inside the spacecraft, the actors were suspended from wires attached to the top of the set with the camera beneath them. The actors' bodies blocked the camera's view of the wires and they appeared to float.

In the third section of the film, Bowman travels through the vortex. The visual lighting effects were created by means of slit-scan photography of thousands of high-contrast images on film. A ‘cloud tank’ was used for shots featuring nebula-like images and an expanding star field in which swirling colored paints and chemicals were shot in slow motion in a dark room.

"2001" pioneered the use of front projection with retroreflective matting used in the film to produce the backdrops in the African scenes and when the astronauts walk on the Moon. A separate scenery projector was set at a right angle to the camera and a half-silvered mirror was placed at an angle in front that reflected the projected image forward in line with the camera lens onto a backdrop of retroreflective material. The reflective directional screen behind the actors could reflect light from the projected image 100 times more efficiently than the foreground subject did. The lighting of the foreground subject had to be balanced with the image from the screen, so that the part of the scenery image that fell on the foreground subject was too faint to show on the finished film. The technique was then used widely in the film industry until it was replaced by blue/green screen systems in the 1990s.

Theme: The Relationship Between Human beings & Technology

The artificial intelligence computer, HAL is the pinnacle of human technological achievement. It is omniscient, ever present, all seeing, all hearing, self-aware and seemingly infallible.

Far from being just a tool, HAL is virtually another member of the crew with whom the other crew members can verbally interact with. HAL’S creators have given this artificial intelligence complete control of Discovery, as well as sole possession of knowledge pertaining to the true purpose of the mission.

The drama and tension of the film centers around the life and death struggle between the human crew who are aware that HAL is malfunctioning and must be deactivated and HAL who is aware of their suspicions, is at war with its own conscience and is intent of staying alive and completing the mission.

The notion of a tension developing between human beings and their technological creation in the form of artificial intelligence, is beginning to emerge in our own times as such technologies become increasingly prevalent in our daily lives.

The convenience that such technologies offer us can tend to cloud the degree to which we hand over control to artificially intelligent machines and devices whose actions and functions are dictated by algorithms geared toward achieving particular goals.

Is sufficient thought given to potential problems that may arise on the way to the achievement of those goals when decisions of an ethical or moral nature need to be made? HAL, being an artificial intelligent self-aware machine has the completion of the mission and the maintenance of its own existence as its central goal over and above the lives of the crew. 

Could our devices ever be faced with similar ethical and moral decisions when a conflict arises! Take for instance an autonomous vehicle which is programmed to get its passenger safely to a destination. Suddenly a pedestrian steps out in front of the moving car. A life would be at stake no matter course of action is taken. What decision will the machine make: to comply with its programming or to avoid killing the pedestrian? With a need to choose, a conflict will necessarily result – with what consequence?

In the film, Dave and Frank enter one of the pods where they think HAL can’t overhear them discussing their doubts about it and what course of action they will need to take. Unknown to the men, HAL uses the cameras to read their lips through the pod's window and learns of their plans to shut it down.

The fact that most of us are aware that we are under some form of constant surveillance and monitoring by means of technology will not be surprising. What is surprising is how willingly we have acquiesced to having our privacy invaded by corporations, governments, bureaucracies and by one another. With the current Covid-19 pandemic, the process of tracking, tracing, monitoring, validating and controlling the movements and activities of individuals and groups has become even more normalized and accepted than ever. Central to this increasing surveillance society we have constructed, is the prevalent use of technology, in particular our very own “smart” devices.

One very interesting aspect of HAL is that the machine has a far more complex, interesting and engaging presence than the human characters who come across as being rather bland and are almost machine-like in their responses and interactions.

In some respects, HAL is more ‘human” than his human creators. Will humans and their technology co-exist (and even assimilate or combine) to the extent that our next evolutionary leap might involve our technology venturing beyond and into the infinite taking with it (hopefully) the best of humanity’s qualities? Will we become the supreme beings who end up directing the evolution of other intelligent sentient species on other worlds?




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©Chris Christopoulos 2021

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