Poll Position: 2001 A Space Odyssey (1968)

Our first poll has come and gone and the winner was 2001: A Space Odyssey directed by Stanley Kubrick. I've never actually sat and watched 2001, but being that it's such a classic, I've certainly seen a lot of it in clips and references over the years. I was really excited going in to this movie; finally I was going to sit myself down and get to witness one of the most classic space sci-fi films of our time. I mean, it's 2 hours and 28 minutes long! There's GOT to be so much cool content and great dialog in this movie! Right? Right?! Find out why this movie reminds me so much of James Cameron's Avatar, along with my thoughts, after the jump.


There's not too much I can say about this movie, at least as far as story goes. There's almost nothing to it. NOTHING happens in this movie! The first 2 hours could be condensed down into a few sentences, and I'm not even joking. Probably every piece of dialog could be written down and it wouldn't be more than a few pages. I'm literally stunned at how much doesn't happen in this movie.

Finally I can understand what people mean when they talk about James Cameron's Avatar being all visuals and no story, and how that's not an acceptable trade off. Don't get me wrong, I love Avatar. But this movie can fall into that same criticism others lay at the feet of Avatar. It's a beautiful movie, but has very little to do in the way of story. Far, far less in fact than anyone could complain about in Avatar. Sure there's all kinds of ways you can read into the movie, but as far as story that's delivered straight to the viewer, there's very, very little.

Those Monoliths, always up to no good

 But I think I get why this movie is a classic. It's the feeling it gives you. Every part of this movie is designed to convey to you the bleak emptiness of space. For massive sections, there is no music, simply the sound of moving air, and breathing. This is what it would sound like if you were ever to take a space walk in real life; dead quiet with nothing but the sound of your own breathing.

As I said earlier, another thing I can give to it is its visuals. So many shots in this movie are truly beautiful and special effects that still look good. The scene of the dig site on the moon looks totally believable in my eyes, and the shots of the ship, and of Jupiter and its moons are art on film. I also really liked the set designs of the interiors of the space station and the ship and the way lights reflect off his space helmet while he's in the little space pod vehicle. Everything has a unique look to it and can leave a lasting image in your mind.

Not much story, but great memorable visuals... Kinda like Avatar

I think this movie is more a victim of the time it was made though, than any actual bad film making. In 1968, simply the idea, the concept of space and space flight was probably astonishing and truly captivating all on it's own. There are literally 20 minute scenes of a man going out in the space pod to get a module from a satellite dish, and then coming back. So much time is spent just watching things float through empty black space, that it must have been an awe inspiring site at that time. Unfortunately, after so many sci-fi movies like Star Wars, and Alien; TV shows like Star Trek and Firefly; even video games like Mass Effect, we are simply accustomed to the idea of outer-space. Of course, many or all of which owe their existence at least in part to 2001 as I'm sure it inspired many sci-fi creators after it.

2001: A Space Odyssey holds up as a piece of film history, but as a piece of entertainment, I'm afraid it fell horribly short for me. With no story, no characters deeper than a puddle, long silent space sequences of nothing, and a final act that simply reminds us this was made in the 60's, it would be a hard movie to recommend to anyone other than a film student. And that would be primarily as a lesson in poor pacing.