"2001: A Space Odyssey" by Stanely Kubrick is considered to be one of the best movies in the western world. Being aware of such a rank it is no doubt that encountering this movie for the first time one has high expectations. Needless to say that those are often followed by great disappointments.
In this short post I will not write about the message of the movie or any underlying ideas and techniques used in order to transfer them. I just want to express the first impressions I had and as can be imagined, they are connected with the technical aspects of Kubrick's creation.
Let me begin with my main concern. I will not hide that the storyline has literally put me to sleep. Even though great ideas are standing behind, that kind of movies are usually not driven by an exciting and attention-drawing action. However, watching it made me feel uneasy and I simply could not understand, why the realization of the plot was so slow. With a pace of the snail, the story was revealed and the worst part is that in order to fully understand the movie, one has to be aware of all the small details pictured on the screen. This requires constant attention and - to say the truth - it is extremely hard to maintain it during the never-ending scenes of spaceships floating around to the tune of Strauss' waltz.
One may argue that capturing millions of years of evolution could not be transferred into tense action. It is a valid point, nevertheless - going to the other side of the spectrum is also not a good idea.
What is mentioned above is in my eyes the biggest vice of with the "2001" movie. However, there is a bright side and actually a thing which made the greatest impression on me. It is a pure technological aspect. "A Space Odyssey" had its premiere in 1968. Watching the images of the space, spaceships, the Moon - I could not resist repeating to myself the same question: "How did they do it?". The visual side of Kubrick's film is simply amazing. Even though for people living in XXI century the vision of future developed in the late 60's can seem funny, it is still a great achievement in terms of creating a science-fiction reality.
To conclude, those were the first thoughts which accompanied me through the whole "2001: A Space Odyssey". There are always positive and negative impressions and for me it were a purely visual side and the development of storyline. As for the message which comes with the movie - this is a topic for separate essay and I will definitely spare you the doubtful pleasure of reading it.
Have a great weekend!
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