2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Average Rating: 8.9/10
Reviews Counted: 58
Fresh: 56 | Rotten: 2
One of the most influential of all sci-fi films -- and one of the most controversial -- Stanley Kubrick's 2001 is a delicate, poetic meditation on the ingenuity -- and folly -- of mankind.
Average Rating: 7.2/10
Critic Reviews: 13
Fresh: 11 | Rotten: 2
One of the most influential of all sci-fi films -- and one of the most controversial -- Stanley Kubrick's 2001 is a delicate, poetic meditation on the ingenuity -- and folly -- of mankind.
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Average Rating: 3.8/5
User Ratings: 287,096
Movie Info
A mind-bending sci-fi symphony, Stanley Kubrick's landmark 1968 epic pushed the limits of narrative and special effects toward a meditation on technology and humanity. Based on Arthur C. Clarke's story The Sentinel, Kubrick and Clarke's screenplay is structured in four movements. At the "Dawn of Man," a group of hominids encounters a mysterious black monolith alien to their surroundings. To the strains of Strauss's 1896 Also sprach Zarathustra, a hominid invents the first weapon, using a bone to
Jan 1, 1968 Wide
Aug 25, 1998
Warner Bros. Pictures
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Cast
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Keir Dullea
Bowman -
Gary Lockwood
Poole -
William Sylvester
Dr. Heywood Floyd -
Daniel Richter
Moonwatcher the Man-... -
Douglas Rain
HAL 9000 -
Leonard Rossiter
Smyslov -
Margaret Tyzack
Elena -
Robert Beatty
Halvorsen -
Sean Sullivan
Michaels -
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Ed Bishop
Lunar shuttle captai... -
Penny Brahms
Stewardess -
Edwina Carroll
Stewardess -
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Alan Gifford
Poole's Father -
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Vivian Kubrick
Floyd's Daughter -
Frank A Miller
Mission Controller -
John Ashley
Astronaut -
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David Hines
Ape -
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All Critics (58) | Top Critics (13) | Fresh (56) | Rotten (2) | DVD (34)
Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey is some sort of great film, and an unforgettable endeavor. Technically and imaginatively, what he put into it is staggering.
The film's projections of the cold war and antiquated product placements may look quaint now, but the poetry is as hard-edged and full of wonder as ever.
It was a freshening attitude then, though its long-term effects haven't been all to the good.
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.
It is an extraordinary, obsessive, beautiful work of art.
Yup, you guessed it -- a religious experience.
...reaches for the stars and finds itself, against all odds, on the other side of them.
Matched Kubrick's photographic eye to a story about watching, transformed him into a director of the epic, and made one giant leap in sci-fi cinema that's never been matched.
Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey is one of the greatest films of all time and it is the director's most profound and confounding exploration of humanity's relationship to technology, violence, sexuality and social structures.
Perhaps the beauty of 2001 is appreciating that some of the best stories are the ones that are half-told.
With his virtuosic adaptation of Arthur C. Clarke's novel, Stanley Kubrick invented the modern science fiction film.
Kubrick's sci-fi masterpiece is still relevant.
Kubrick set out to make "the proverbial good science-fiction film," but he came out the other side with something far more ornery and profound.
Central to the profundity of the film is the notion that few things are more meaningful than a child's first steps, the emotive impact of this scenario manifest in every one of the film's dizzying set pieces, albeit multiplied to epic proportions.
2001 certainly is a colossal bore, unless you're on its wavelength, in which case it's one of the greatest films of all time.
Prepare to be dazzled.
It has reached the status of Art, meaning that it's going to go on provoking strong opinions.
What else can such a film be called but ART?
Still one of the best
Part space opera, part cinematic symphony and part horror story, the film is a shape-shifting painting.
The most influential sci-fi film ever made, 2001 caused culture shock when released, forever changing the conventions, style, and prestige of the previously debased genre
Une leçon de cinéma par l'un de ses plus grands artisans.
Audience Reviews for 2001: A Space Odyssey
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Movies Like 2001: A Space Odyssey
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- Bowman: HAL 9000: Good morning, Dave.
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- Bowman: Open the pod bay doors please, HAL.
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- HAL 9000: [as he is being shut down] Good afternoon... gentlemen. I am a HAL 9000... computer. I became operational at the H.A.L. plant [voice becomes lower & slower] in Urbana, Illinois... on the 12th of January 1992. [voice becomes even more lower & slower] My instructor was Mr. Langley... and he taught me to sing a song. If you'd like to hear it I can sing it for you.
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- HAL 9000: [to Dave] This mission is too important for me to allow you to jeopardize it.
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- Dr. Heywood Floyd: I'm really not at liberty to discuss this.
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- Poole: I've got a bad feeling about it.
Discussion Forum
| Topic | Last Post | Replies |
|---|---|---|
| Ebert's late death. | 2 months ago | 2 |
| Is Factual Legitimacy a Legitimate Concern? | 4 months ago | 0 |
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Latest News on 2001: A Space Odyssey
October 24, 2012:
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December 17, 2010:
Warner Bros. Discovers 17 Minutes of 2001 FootageIn arguably the most unexpected story of the week, Warner Bros. has turned up an additional 17...
August 18, 2010:
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Top Headlines
Foreign Titles
- 2001: Odyssee im Weltraum (DE)
- 2001 : l'odyssée de l'espace (FR)



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