2001 A Space Odyssey [Blu ray] :: Education by Design Store

Customer Reviews

The best copy of 2001 Space Odyssey in Blu-ray....

2008-10-03
Keep in mind how old this movie is and then sit back and be blown away of how good it looks on the new Blu-Ray format! If you've seen it before then this will give you another great reason to watch it again like never before. If you haven't seen it before it may be a little slow because back when the film was made they did not use a lot of ambient music and such to fill that uncomfortable scilence you sometimes get on the older movies. There seem to be more of those then I can remember on this film but it's still one of the greatest and inspired a lot of great now classics and newer films as well. If you have a good 1080p set and Blu-Ray player then sit back and drool....

Thankyou, Mr. Kubrick

2008-09-30
Still a teenager when I first viewed "2001" at a tiny off-campus one screen theater....I recently bought the Bluray disc version....and viewed it on my 1080p Panasonic plasma screen....fantasically vivid in color and detail...simply amazing. It was as if I'd never seen the movie before. The extras are fascinating...watching with the commentary on gives you an insight into the making of the movie...but more importantly, gives you an appreciation...that Kubrick made this movie. Thankyou, Mr. Kubrick.

Mercury Rising

2008-09-26
People jeer at media-created celebrities of today like Paris Hilton, but things were worse in the 1950s and 1960s when we were always hearing about the ASTRONAUTS. Stuffed down our throats, nobodies like Scott Carpenter and Gordon Cooper became household names, even though (and maybe because of the fact that) what we knew about them was tightly controlled and protected by layers of government secrecy and PR. Even their wives were sort of famous, though they never really took as celebrities, none of them, no matter how many insipid articles in McCalls or Good Housekeeping on "Annie Glenn's Favorite Mincemeat Surprise" or "Cooking with Tang." There was Jackie Kennedy, then there were the astronauts, a group of highly trained men we all fell for, and I think Kubrick must have too, for he bases his astronaut heroes on the media representations of the original "Mercury Seven" US astronauts, wed to the plot of Arthur C. Clarke's story "The Sentinel," so that there would be a twist and the astronauts would seem soulful compared to the flat significations of HAL their pet computer.

I assume that's why Kubrick selected some fairly colorless US actors to play their parts, although who knows, at the time Keir Dullea was regarded as a deep well of tangled and tragic emotions after starring in DAVID AND LISA and BUNNY LAKE IS MISSING, but Gary Lockwood had nothing on his resume that would indicate any depth whatsoever, beyond his marriage to Stefanie Powers. Also in the cast, as Lockwood's mother, the swan song of wonderful Ann Gillis, once little Becky Thatcher in Selznick's version of TOM SAWYER, and also the voice of Faline, Bambi's love interest. She hadn't made a film in decades when Kubrick found her and cast her in this small but crucial role. She was the original LITTLE ORPHAN ANNIE (1938) and her eternal sunny optimism is used ironically in the film. (Kubrick wanted the original Depression optimist, Shirley Temple, but her agents said no way was Temple going to re-locate for the required London filming.)

That said, the acting in 2001 is terribly underrated, and the movie should have been nominated for Oscars in several acting categories. MGM built on the tech savvy of FORBIDDEN PLANET, with its similar mix of electronic music, beefcake spacemen, and uppity robot voices, and came out a winner all around. Kubrick had worked with MGM before (on LOLITA), though Dr. STRANGELOVE was for Columbia. After 2001, Kubrick made a longterm pact with Warner Brothers which lasted until his death, but even though some love the photography of BARRY LYNDON I don't think he was ever able to match the tech credits of 2001 ever again. (In fact some of his later pictures look very studio-bound and TVlike.)

My mistake I read the book first!

2008-09-16
I think where I went wrong was reading the book first. Considering the time it was made it was impressive in some of the style and effects but if I were to judge the film as a stand alone today it is just not that amazing. I am sure had I seen this in 1968 my mind would have been blown but in 2008 much less so. The first half feels twice as long as it actually is with very indulgent shots of stationary models moving across other models. Large portions of the story are just plain missing in favor of extended shots of switches and lights. When this movie came out I am sure it was exciting to see but it does not age well. In a lot of ways it suffers from the same problems many films from the 60s and 70s did; slow pacing, jarring soundtrack, guitar solo-esque visuals. The middle segment with HAL & Dave is probably the only part of the movie that is somewhat in the spirit of the book (which is awesome unlike this movie). I felt many aspects of the book were left out when it would have been beneficial to the story and instead were replaced by very slow atmospheric scenes. I love atmosphere myself but because I had the book in mind I was just wanting more meat to the film and that was lacking. I'm not entirely sure why the ending was changed, it's probably a great ending if you are into recreational drugs but I feel the book was a more satisfying ending because it more artfully tied the end to the beginning. The ending was really a grand payoff in the book and by going with Dave on his journey you were completely connecting with him so that his journey was your journey. I understand that a movie cannot convey an internal monologue in the way a book can but scrapping it in favor of visuals seems like a bad choice for the character and the story.

The bonus features were nice, I think every movie should come with at least one commentary track. If I were a fan of the film I am not sure I would be satisfied with the bonus features however.

I can see that I am in the minority in thinking this but I just didn't connect with the movie in the way I did with the book. To put it this way, it took me about 5 hours to read the book which felt in no way as long as this movie did. I guess that lumps me in with the adolescent proles who can't appreciate great art but to be honest this movie was terribly boring and just in no way as great as the book.

I highly recommend the book.

One of My Favorite Films

2008-09-09
Film buffs frequently create lists of their 10 favorite movies. My answer changes from day to day, but there are three films always on the list: 2001: A Space Odyssey, Fantasia, and Koyannisqatsi. A science-fiction drama, a cartoon and a new age documentary; three completely different films.

2001 is an imaginative look at how man's evolution might have been affected by outside influences. Much of the film has no dialogue whatever. The rest has occasional patches of dialogue, with most having nothing to do with the plot. There is the TV interview, a father's phone call on his daughter's birthday, proud parents radio message on their distant son's birthday, a computer's seeming random questions while working up the crew psychology report, the rambling song of a computer having its memory erased. None of this has anything to do with the search for the source of the strange artifact first found by prehistoric apes, then later by explorers on the moon and how it may affect man's future. More important than dialogue are the amazing visuals and music. The spaceship ballets, technical hardware, and the ending star gate dance of lights, combined with magnificent music evoke the sense of wonder and awe that the vastness of space and the possibilities of the future should inspire.

Walt Disney's Fantasia is a groundbreaking film creating a painted ballet to accompany several pieces of well-known music. The only dialogue is short introductions to each piece by renowned musicologist Deems Taylor. He briefly comments on the composer, if the music tells a specific story, and whether Disney's animation follows that story. Music can evoke strong emotions in the listener with or without a story. Fantasia frequently creates new stories for the music, but the power of the music to arouse the listener remains. The mouse king is gone from the Nutcracker Suite, but a circle of dancing mushrooms, and bouquet of waltzing flowers is no less charming and whimsical. The primitive dances of the Rite of Spring have been changed to the struggles of prehistoric life, but the music is still powerfully thrilling. The rage and fury of demons in Night on Bald Mountain end at dawn as the serene beauty of Ave Maria accompanies the glory of a sunrise. Image and music again stir the viewer's soul.

Koyannisqatsi is the newest and least known of these three films. It is a 1982 documentary with ads that said "Until now, you've never really seen the world you live in.". Director Godfrey Reggio combines stock footage (rocket launches, landscape vistas, building demolitions, munitions tests) with spectacular new footage by cinematographer Ron Fricke (cityscapes, commuter crowds, clouds and waves, traffic jams, assembly lines). He creates a mosaic of life in the modern industrial world and how it has become disconnected from the natural world and is now a `life out of balance', which is a translation of the title. Although the film has no characters, dialogue or narration, the dramatic editing and stirring score by Philip Glass create a great emotional, and even physical impact. I once talked my mother into seeing it with me. While she liked it very much and still comments on it, at the end of one particularly frenetic sequence she said, with a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness that's over".

A science-fiction drama, a cartoon, and a new age documentary; three completely different films thematically that each show the power of image and music to reach the viewer emotionally.

Splendor in the Sky

2008-09-09
A space mission that could reveal man?s destiny is jeopardized by a malfunctioning shipboard computer. A dazzling journey that tops them all ? and showed the way for other effects-packed films that followed.

Amazing detail!

2008-08-31
"2001: A Space Odyssey" has been among my favorite films since it was released. I saw it twice in the theater, and have never been able to thoroughly enjoy it at home... until now. On Blu-Ray disc, viewed on a 40" Samsung LCD HD television (1080p, of course), I can see everything Stanley Kubrick envisioned for this movie, and the details are stunning. For younger viewers who have grown up with the staggering developments in Special FX (ever since the early days of George Lucas' "Industrial Light & Magic"), the "effects" will seem somewhat primitive. To me, this is the second-best viewing ever of this seminal film. Well worth the cost.

A classic

2008-08-24
2001 - A Space Odyssey, sets the standard in realism for science fiction films. The physics of the space craft and station, rotating in perfect coordination, illustrates how much attention was payed to keeping the 'science' in science fiction.

Perfectly scored with Copeland's "Fanfare for the Common Man," and filmed with dramatic and yet somehow understated camera work (a halmark of director Kubrick) it combines the hardest of science with the fanciful portrayal of humanity's first (and ultimately meaningless) interaction with intelligence greater than our own.

It also introduces Hal, the murderous, strangely passive super computer, represented by a simple, blinking red light that is able to portray more malice than most human actors.

A triumphant film, boned up on real 'science,' and with one of the most memorable villains in sci-fi film, Kubrick once again demonstrates his dominance as a director. A true classic.

PERFECT! As good as it gets and then some

2008-08-17
This is, IMO, nearly a reference Blu-Ray disc.

Okay, because the movie is 40 years old, it lacks some in the surround audio department, but it's still very good. The Blu-Ray video rendering is absolutely stunning - deep, pure blacks in the star fields, wonderful color and contrast, very little graininess -- perfect.

This movie hasn't looked this good since I saw it in the theaters (way back) in 1969.

The special features (documentaries) are extensive and easy to access. Also, no "forced" movie previews when loading the disc; you go right to the main menu (still bummed on my "Pirates of the Caribbean: Black Pearl" experience).

Buy this disc now (you know you want to).

The First Truly Great Science Fiction Movie!

2008-08-08
There are few movies that have hooked me as much as this one. It's such a classic that for some reason that I cannot pin down I keep returning to it at least once each year without fail. I feel strangely drawn to it from the eerie opening overture music and pure black screen meant to signify the dawn of creation on earth to the first bars of Strauss' "Also Sprach Zarathustra" to the early humans seque-ing brilliantly to man in space, the trip to Jupiter and the super computer gone mad to the final mysterious ending signifying the wonders of the undiscovered and the awesomeness of it which would leave our jaws dropped just as this film does for me each time I watch it.

If you are an intelligent film lover who looks beyond the quick thrill quick fix movie ala "The Mummy" and its countless sequels but look instead at good storytelling and character development as well as innovative, inspired directing so that the whole becomes a work of art to be admired and to stand the test of time, there are really not that many films in existence; this film happens to be one of those that stand the test of time to remain a work of film art to inspire and to entertain serious movie-goers for decades to come.

Directors of note since the film's release such as Spielberg, Lucas among many others have already heralded the genius of this film and copied elements for their own work but you don't have to be a student of film to see just how brilliant this work of art is. You don't simply watch this you experience it and I know each time I do, I take away something new from it and I always look forward to the next installment each year.

Some have claimed that there is no clear story in this film but that is clearly false; there is one constant theme of the monolith and how it affected the various stages of human development suggesting it was the catalyst that got our civilisation going along the path it finally took. There are a few different mini-stories such as the early man, sickness and discovery of the monolith on the moon, the technology gone mad HAL story on the way to Jupiter and the final quest for the still unknown mysteries of space and hence the future of man i.e. the Starchild story at the end. A few mini-stories but all connected by the central theme of the monolith. What is the monolith? The religious among us may suggest that it is an analogy for God, for the atheists maybe some alien force that has an invisible hand in our species' growth and development; for George Lucas, it is The Force and I'm sure many others can substitute their own theories for this as well.

Why are so many younger people so upset at this film? Because in the old days of film, a good film like any good classic book or work of art doesn't tell you what to think but inspires and encourages you to find the meaning to make yourself better than you are by getting you to actually look into yourself and to find out how much potential you have to improve. Films in the last couple of decades don't do this as they tell you what to think and simply give you what you want effectively dumbing down things so that you don't have the chance to improve yourself; the quick sugar fix that dies soon after the 2 or so hours are over.

Some of you may say so what and still think "The David Letterman Show" is the epitome of great television; for you please give this and other films that are artforms such as "Lawrence of Arabia" a miss because you just won't get it. For those who see film as art and the great potential it has to educate and to encourage you to use your full God-given potential to think and grow, this film certainly ranks among the top-10 ever of greats of filmdom.

This dvd is also a real treat for fans as it has been restored very well with the Dolby 5.1 Digital Surround although the picture quality is quite good there are still some imperfections that can be improved upon. I can only imagine just how breathtaking the improved Blu-ray version must be. The Special Features also include excellent footage of the late great Arthur C. Clarke giving a speech and Q&A session at the opening of the film. By the way, widescreen is the only way to view this film and do any justice to it.

Not only is this the best Sci-Fi movie I've ever seen, it is also among the Top-10 works of film art ever made. I cannot recommend this film highly enough and this dvd version is also of good quality although I'm sure the Blu-ray version would have removed the picture quality imperfections.