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2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
A characteristically pessimistic account of human aspiration from Kubrick, this tripartite sci-fi look at civilisation's progress from prehistoric times (the apes learning to kill) to a visionary future (astronauts on a mission to Jupiter encountering superior life and rebirth in some sort of embryonic divine form) is beautiful, infuriatingly slow, and pretty half-baked. Quite how the general theme fits in with the central drama of the astronauts' battle with the arrogant computer HAL, who tries to take over their mission, is unclear; while the final farrago of light-show psychedelia is simply so much pap. Nevertheless, for all the essential coldness of Kubrick's vision, it demands attention as superior sci-fi, simply because it's more concerned with ideas than with Boy's Own-style pyrotechnics.Author: GA
User reviews of this film
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- Charles666 said...
- Posted on Oct 07 2009 13:43 Truly the emperor's new film, glowing reviews for something no one really wants to watch. It is pretentious, stupid and dull beyond belief. I would sooner watch paint dry than watch this rubbish ever again.
- Report as inappropriate
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- Gusald said...
- Posted on May 30 2009 18:28 One of the #10 best movies I've ever seen.
- Report as inappropriate
Cast & crew
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Producer: Stanley Kubrick
Cast: Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester, Daniel Richter, Leonard Rossiter, Margaret Tyzack, Robert Beatty full cast
Genre(s): Science Fiction
Rated: U
Duration: 141 mins
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