Prepare to be dazzled.
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
Reviews Counted:50
Fresh:48
Rotten:2
Average Rating:8.8/10
Consensus: 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.
Runtime: 2 hrs 39 mins
Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy
Synopsis: A four-million-year-old black monolith is discovered on the moon, and the government (while hiding the situation from the public) sends a team of scientists on a fact-finding mission. Eighteen... A four-million-year-old black monolith is discovered on the moon, and the government (while hiding the situation from the public) sends a team of scientists on a fact-finding mission. Eighteen months later, another team is sent to Jupiter in a ship controlled by the perfect HAL 9000 computer to further investigate the giant object--but on this trip something goes terribly wrong. 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY is a masterpiece of filmmaking. Director and (with Arthur C. Clarke) co-screenwriter Stanley Kubrick has created a visual and aural spectacle that stands as one of the greatest achievements ever put on celluloid. The film begins with the "Dawn of Man" segment, about the evolution of apes, and then ventures into the future, taking a look at what the world might be like in the first year of the 21st century. Kubrick's film is a triumph of technological storytelling, with stunning sets and a brilliant, overwhelming soundtrack. Long dialogue-free scenes sparkle with indelible images backed by powerful orchestral music, culminating in an unforgettable, inscrutable tale of birth and rebirth, human evolution and artificial intelligence, the past and the future. [More]
Starring: Keir Dullea, William Sylvester, Gary Lockwood, Daniel Richter
Starring: Keir Dullea, William Sylvester, Gary Lockwood, Daniel Richter, Leonard Rossiter, Robert Beatty, Douglas Rain
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Screenwriter: Stanley Kubrick, Arthur C. Clarke
Get This Movie
Reviews for 2001: A Space Odyssey
A beautiful, confounding picture that had half the audience cheering and the other half snoring.
Its triumph lies in its scope of cinematic splendour and the attempt to marry some of man's most beautiful music to the infinite mystery of space.
Awesome, influential, mind-blowing, cool, obsessional, pretentious -- 2001 is all of these.
Its intelligent attempt at exploring human development is as relevant today - long after the date the movie's climactic events are set - as when it was released in 1968.
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.
It was a freshening attitude then, though its long-term effects haven't been all to the good.
If you can surrender to it, Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey is a mind-shaper.
One of the most mysterious, talked about, and intellectually stimulating films of all time.
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
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.
A cold, majestic motion picture, a movie that seeks to remind us of the vastness of space and our relatively insignificant place in it.
Pure unadulterated sci-fi and there's nothing like it and probably never will be again.
It expresses the hope that we'll soon be done with being idiotic ape creatures and can look forward to superior incarnations.
Latest News for 2001: A Space Odyssey
November 12, 2009:
Five Favourite Films with Ang Lee
The rule that no two Ang Lee movies are ever the same is confidently kept intact with the release of his latest, Taking Woodstock, a comedy about the true story behind the... More...
July 16, 2008:
Exclusive: The World of WALL-E
The artists behind this year's freshest film share their story with RT, with exclusive contributions from Andrew Stanton, Ben Burtt, Jim Morris, Lindsay Collins, Angus MacLane,... More...
April 10, 2008:
Kim Newman on... The Terrornauts
RT Obscura, the exclusive column by renowned critic Kim Newman, sees the writer plumbing the depths of the RT archive in search of some forgotten gems. In his 15th column, Kim... More...
March 24, 2008:
Kim Newman on... The Invisible Boy
RT Obscura, the exclusive column by renowned critic Kim Newman, sees the writer plumbing the depths of the RT archive in search of some forgotten gems. In his 14th column, Kim... More...
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 66% 66% | Public Enemies |
| 83% 83% | Harry Potter and the H… |
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| 75% 75% | Julie & Julia |
| 32% 32% | Terminator Salvation |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 90% 90% | District 9 |
| 86% 86% | 500 Days of Summer |
| 63% 63% | Extract |
| 06% 06% | All About Steve |
| 78% 78% | It Might Get Loud |
RT On Current TV
DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196 | More...
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
CloseSponsored Links
Around The Network
- 2001: A Space Odyssey at Rotten Tomatoes
- 2001: A Space Odyssey at IGN
Fresh Links
Featured

Take a look at MSN's choices for the Top 10 films of 2009.

What were your favorites? Least favorites? The funniest and scariest? Moviefone wants to know!

Hollywood.com explores why QT's characters resonate so well with audiences.

TIME chimes in with their own list of the best films released this year.

Click through to see which movies BuzzSugar placed in their Best-of-Decade list!
Promos

Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!



Top Critic



