After a Half-Century ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ Still Challenges
In a career that brought us such films as “A Clockwork Orange,” “Dr. Strangelove,” “The Shining” and “Full Metal Jacket,” it is important to note that no film is more synonymously identified with Stanley Kubrick than his film “2001: A Space Odyssey.”
What began as an attempt to create the ultimate science fiction movie transcended the genre that inspired it and is now regarded as one of the best motion pictures ever made. What is it about “2001: A Space Odyssey” that has allowed it to endure despite the fact that it was created before the first moon landing and subsequent decades of advances in special effects and audience tastes?
“2001: A Space Odyssey” was released in 1968 by MGM studios. All 139 minutes of the film play out with great attention to detail and slow-moving perfection.
Stanley Kubrick directed this film with such flair and conviction that it would now be referred to as self-indulgent filmmaking. The pace of the film is paramount to the theme and mood. One of the reasons “2001” has transcended the genre is due to its scope. This is a film about the infinite, a film about the vastness of space, and our place…
