2001: a Space Odyssey - What the fuck?

Okay, I just finished watching it, and I've come to the following conclusion - What the fuck?

The first hour and the last hour and a quarter are - apart from a short monologue - totally disjointed from each other. The last quarter of an hour seems like Kubrick and Clarke dropped some acid and got really fucking drunk when they wrote and filmed those scenes.

This movie made no sense to me, and more, it had no point. There's a fine line between suspense and boredom, and Kubrick crossed over into boredom far too many times, with the constant shots of slowly moving objects with little or no sound (usually repetitive if it was there).

Can someone please explain this to me? I heard that it was supposed to be a classic movie, and yes, some of the special effects are good, especially for 1968, but overall...

What the fuck?

The best thing going for the movie is that piece of music they play at the beginning, when the monkey man is learning to use that bone as a club, and at the very end. Very cool music. I also must express my admiration at the Dawn of Man section - that was very well done, if pointless, just like the rest of the movie.

 

I refused to watch the film. I've seen clips and although apparently a masterpiece it seemed to me to be utterly boring and rather crap, with a few cliched monologues thrown in for good measure.

Hell, even the book was a bit crap. I finished it in an hour and it just... well, ended. Infact, all of his books (damn, can't remember his name) are a bit short and all the same. They're slow moving, but highly detailed and somehow dull books that just lead you through them with no sense of urgency or excitement. And they all end with the destruction of the human race (bar one, which just mildly screwed everything up). Nice that.

 

Tolkien?

 

I believe that Ferret meant Arthur C. Clarke.

 

Oh, silly me. By his description, I could've sworn he was referring to Tolkien.

 

ho-HOoo. we ARE controversial here, aren't we?!

 

Hey man, it keeps this place hoppin'.

But seriously, I was just trying to get a rise outta people. Much in the same way as if I were in a crowded subway station, and I whipped out my dick and started shaking it, hollering, "Bwwwooooggie bwwoooggie bwwoooggie bwwoooggie bwwoooggie!!!" And I expected much the same response. General looks of disgust, and the people that did like it, I wouldn't really want to be involved with.

That said, I do think that, in his later years Tolkien just kinda got stuck on boring the absolute shit outta his readers. That's why, to this day, I still say that THE HOBBIT is the best book he's written. Better than the trilogy. There's more action, and not as much "Oogdash, son of Frimfram son of Helen of Troy from the land of Googenheim which borders the Peaked Mountains, whence came the trolls that burned and sacked the villages of SnotSmear and BoogerPicker, in the Land of Men." Too long, nobody has the mental picture in their mind that Tolkien did, and it's boring as F U C K. That's why I never finished the trilogy. I finally got tired of trying to remember who was kin to who, and what their father's names were, and what lands they were from, and why their lands mattered worth a shit. Damn. Get to the fucking battles already. And don't build me up for a battle between the orcs and humans/dwarves/elves/gay-hobbits for a book and a half, and then dedicate one-half page to the actual battle itself.



SHEEE-IT!.

 

I've always thought that 2001 was rather good; it certainly provoked a good deal of thought in me. I felt the book was mediocre at best, but Kubrick really brought it to life in the film.

Also, it only seems clichéd because it's actually the first use of those particular themes and ideas that later became clichés.

 

Sorry for derailing your thread Jar.

I've not seen Space Oddessy, but everything I've seen by Kubrick is weird and dumb. What was that movie that was talked about soooo much, with Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman? That was Kubrick. Everybody talks so much about Kubrick, like he's so deep, and he's so wonderful.

I think he's fucking stupid, so I won't be watching Space Oddessy.

 

He's also very, VERY dead.

 

Well, it's clear I've been talking outta my ass. I apologize for my inflammatory remarks regarding Kubrick and his work. For some dumb reason, I was not aware that he was dead. Although, I should've known, because Tom Cruise commented in an interview on what it was like working with Kubrick on his last work. But I didn't remember that until Jinxed's message.

Also, I was confusing 2001: A Space Odyssey with a newer movie that come out only a couple years ago. And I'm not dare telling which movie, either.

I'm going back to my cave now, to re-insert my head firmly in my ass.

 

Any thoughts you'd like to share? 2001 always seemed to me to be one of those works that has no real meaning, and which tries to hide that fact by being intentionally obscure. Then people (such as the majority of academics) who don't want to be thought of as stupid pretend to like it, and soon you've got whole legions proclaiming the genius of the author or director or scholar or what-have-you even though NOBODY KNOWS WHAT THE FUCK IT'S ABOUT.

I rather liked Dr. Strangelove though. But that might just be due to my childhood infatuation with Henry Kissinger.

 

I liked when the monkey/man hybrid smashed the other monkey with that hippo leg bone, after that it got so fuckin' dumb I stopped watching. Eyes Wide Shut sucked ass too, except for the mansion orgy.

 

Hmm, either you don't like me, or I remind you of your father. Shame Freud's deader than the spontaneous germination theory.

I watched 2001 when I was about seven/eight, before then Sci-Fi had been, for me, Inspector Gadget and Jean-Luc Picard in tight lycra. 2001 left me with a real sense that humankind is itty-bitty teeny-weeny, and that's pretty terrifying to someone who's not even reached their tenth year. At the time the movie scared me far more than it intrigued me. HAL was particularly scary, It's only as I've grown older that I've been able to see why, soft-voiced, all-present and all-knowing, and worst still he only kills because he's following his core programming, brrr. HAL is single-handedly responsible for my hatred of organised religion, whenever I think of God I see HAL on a cloud. That said, I became deeply fascinated with him and the whole idea of computers and technology (That's why I'm here after all) and now the most upsetting part of that movie is when the "Hero" lobotomizes HAL, it always sends my testicles shooting into my abdomen when HAL starts rambling on like a retard (no offence, Retard).

Any part of the movie that doesn't feature HAL really didn't capture me in the same way, the score was good and I liked the idea that mankind's evolution has been facilitated by outside influence. I feel that I cannot appreciate 2001 properly because many of the ideas that were groundbreaking when it was first released are now commonly used in (and have almost become the founding principles of) modern Sci-Fi movies. *shrugs*

Just my two cents as you crazy Yanks say.

 

The book was neat with the HAL parts. I never saw the movie, cuz it looked kinda freaky. I understood the concept (big monolithy thingy made monkeys into men, started evolution), but really really didn't like the friggin cosmic baby thing. What the hell!!!!!!!!!!!!!

but Arthur C. Clarke is still a kick-ass author. Read his short stories, like Tales from the White Hart, or maybe even the Rama stories.

 

Somehow that comment combined with your avatar made the whole thing funny.

 

Come now, we all love Tolkien, but even his most die-hard fans must admit he tends to "Ramble On"

As for 2001... I haven't seen it since I was in college, and at the time I was an English major and could find 28 hidden meanings in any goddamn thing you wanted. I thought it was interesting, and I'm glad I can say I've seen it. Now I hope I never have to sit through it again. I liked Clockwork Orange much better. Give me a little of the ol' Ludwig Van anytime
Kubrick was fucking weird. I don't think he'd be offended by my saying that. Or anyone's. No, I think the dude was going for "Fucking weird". I think he liked to make movies just to MAKE you go What the Fuck?

If nothing else, he helped push movie-making into new places. A lot of really cool Sci-Fi movies probably couldn't have been made if he hadn't broken ground. And really, where would the world be without Bladerunner and Total Recall? (both Philip K. Dick, you know).

Actually, check that... he helped break ground in AMERICAN movie making. The Brits have been making weird fucking films forever. Not to mention the French. And don't even get me started on Anime... the Japanese as a culture are so repressed it hurts. SPeaking of which, everyone over 18 should go check out my favorite online comic immediately:
http://ghastly.keenspace.com/
Gosh, I'm belligerent tonight, huh?

 

:thumbup: Mmmm...new smiley.

Anyway...first, I'd like to believe that 2001 was just a good yarn, not meant to have any deep meaning. If you read 2010 (read the book first - the movie's kind of 80-ish, and screws up about 4 really important bits), you'll find that the monolith builders want to nurture intelligence throughout the galaxy/universe/whatever you like. I'm pretty sure that's the only thing.

2001 is a screenplay made into a book, not vice-versa - so watch the movie. I really liked it - really liked it, especially the scene in HAL's circuit room. No matter how many times I hear that "Daisy, Daisy", I still enjoy it. A tip for those who haven't seen it (and maybe those who have) - never watch 2001 when half-asleep. I was drifting in and out of conciousness during the hotel room - and it scared the crap out of me...

2010 is also a great book, not so great a movie. The only times it really approaches 2001-ness is the 'prank' ("Look behind you") and Chandra's final chat in the Discovery - both of these I loved. However, it changes the story a hell of a lot. The Chinese are completely taken out of the picture - instead of the message from Chong, or whatever his name is, you get a freaking fireball shooting out of Europa. What the fuck? Second, two lines are added on to the final message [/b]CHANGING THE THEME OF THE MOVIE COMPLETELY.

If you want to enjoy 2001 -

• 
  Watch 2001, then read it if you must (the book and screenplay are quite different),
  Read 2010, then watch it.

DO NOT READ 2064 OR 3001!

 

Fell asleep during the first 20 minutes when I first tried to watch it a few years ago. (May have just been the late-night sceduling.)

Regards,
Morden