Stanley Kubrick, 1968
[35 votes]
~ Froilan Vispo
“It’s hard to know what to
say about 2001: A Space Odyssey that
hasn’t been said, and argued, and debated since its release 44 years ago.
Especially for me since, unlike most other great films, this is one that I’ve
lived with for as long as I can remember. I’ve grown up with this film and it’s
part of my mental architecture in a way that the works of Bresson or Ozu just
aren’t.
“So all I can say about 2001 is how I react to it personally: as
the greatest film yet made by an atheist about the wonder and majesty of the
universe, a ‘religious’ film for a technological age, finding God in the spark
of intelligence and scientific advancement rather than in an invisible
cloud-father. It’s a film that is utterly clinical and dispassionate in its
view of the human race, running around the Discovery
as if it was a giant hamster wheel, blathering on about alien artifacts in an
interminable committee meeting – and yet by the end, totally in awe of these
furless monkey-people reaching out into the stars. It’s a film of grand
conception, told with surprising simplicity: consider that there are
essentially only about five ‘characters’, and fewer than ten ‘locations’ in
this film spanning all of human history and the expanse of the solar system.
It’s a film in which the characters without fail are so enmeshed in their daily
routines that the majesty that surrounds them is all but ignored, to the point
where Kubrick has to indulge in an audiovisual spectacular in the last act in
order to drive home the beauty of the heavens – A beauty that can be created by
a few guys in a paint factory.
“Ultimately, I think that’s
what gets me most about 2001 today: it’s a film that combines the utterly banal
(toilet jokes, screaming apes) with the incredibly profound to display the full
range of Kubrick’s vision. It’s a film that showed me, as a kid, what a ‘movie’
could be and could say – if its makers wanted to.” ~ Jeff McMahon
“2001: A Space Odyssey” is The Greatest Picture of All
Time
(in rhyme)
How do I justify my
pick for greatest of all time pic -
“2001: A Space
Odyssey” by Stanley Kubrick?
On the greatness of
“2001”
Much has already been
sung
But has any of it
been in the form of a limerick?
But to sum up my
feelings for this epic
In limerick would be
too ascetic.
The AABBA rhyme scheme
Seems so constricting
and extreme.
The limerick idea had
to end
For this man has
neither patience nor talent.
It’s beyond the skill
of this fan
So, instead, I'll
rhyme it out as best as I can.
(Aside: sadly, not
many words rhyme with monolith.
I include unused
words describing “2001” herewith:
Original,
groundbreaking, extraordinary,
Profound and
promethean (pre-Ridley),
Majestic, mythic, miracle,
Enigmatic, rapturous,
sweeping. Pinnacle.)
I'll seem a critical
arriviste
When I list
The reasons
So I thought I’d
season
My praise with humor.
Maybe this’ll succor
Ears deaf to
oft-repeated praise
That “2001” does
amaze.
Read on why “2001” is
the ne plus ultra.
How about musical
accompaniment? “Thus Spake Zarathustra?”
But you protest, “How can you declare ‘2001’ the best?
It barely passes the
smell test!
It bores with its
barely-there story and barely-there gab.
The most interesting
character is a big black slab!”
Kubrick may be
accused of being a narrative curmudgeon
But he’s undeniably
unsparing in his vision.
With eye candy in
spades,
His visuals
definitely make the grade.
Kubrick’s always knocking
the viewer askew
With exacting details
and breakthroughs up the wazoo.
(Is that prior art
for the iPad and other things techno?
I think there’s even
legal precedent for Velcro!)
Every scene in “2001”
reveals a surprise.
It’s cinematic
Stendhal syndrome for ears and eyes.
With the jarring
juxtaposition of new and old
And stylistic choices
that today remain bold,
Not only is Kubrick’s
direction, as usual, deft,
Ever present is his
usual intellectual heft.
Witness the most
famous of match cuts: bone thrown
Morphs to spacecraft
above our earthly home.
Spacecraft dancing to
“Blue Danube?” Inspired!
Psychedelic Stargate?
Was he wired?
Such choices weren’t
just visual preening;
They’re choices
teeming with meaning.
Far from
story-deficient,
Every shot is simply
efficient:
Wordlessly, primate
eyes shimmer with terror at the dying of the light;
Affectingly, HAL
sings "Daisy" as he goes gently into the good night.
Narrative lapse?
Kubrick says look and
listen and fill in the gaps.
The movement may look
lento;
But it all moves
certainly towards the final crescendo.
Oh, and everything
before – the scope!
The ending – such
hope!
It’s been said “2001”
renders science fiction films obsolete.
I don’t know if it’s
true but it’d be sure hard to beat!
I saw “2001” at the
Toronto Cinematheque.
I went in tabula rasa
not knowing what to expect.
While watching I was
probably muttering, “What a vision!”
For me, it was akin
to finding religion.
Kubrick’s appeal to
the subconscious
Kept me off my
haunches.
It pulled the pin and hurled
Me beyond myself. It
rocked my world.
I was immersed
And then I emerged
From over two hours
of total beauty
Feeling, among
others, hopeful, inspired and giddy.
Pardon the caps but
isn't that what Great Art should do?
Many owe “2001” their
due
Like homages such as
Duncan Jones’ “Moon.”
For many a cartoon
It has fathered pomo
quotes aplenty;
“The Simpsons” alone
owes a hefty royalty.
Great Art inspires
new spaces for the inspired to fill
With their own
creations or whatever they feel,
Be it a monolith as
interpreted by a mime
Or even praise
delivered in rhyme.
So, I’ll say it
again: the best since film began
Is “2001: A Space
Odyssey.” Stan’s the man.
~ Froilan Vispo
No comments:
Post a Comment