A space odyssey has finally been explained by the 1968 scifi movies director, stanley kubrick, himself. Did stanley kubrick finally explain the films ending. After you have read the story of lazarus in the bible, you dont need anyone to explain it to you. It contains the answers to all the questions it advances. A novelisation of the film released after the film s premiere was in part written concurrently with the screenplay.
Im coming in late here, but i searched reddit for 2001. Yeah, we hear you say, of course there are screens everywhere. A space odyssey is one of my favorite films and my favorite scifi of all time, i ve committed far too many hours of my life watching it and i m now here to share my thoughts on what the. A space odyssey, alien and her so dont be surprised to see those pop up in my writing from time to time. Evolution then enabled humankind to reach the moons surface, where yet another monolith is found, one that signals the monolith placers that humankind has. A space odyssey is possibly the most famous computer in cinema history and one of the most cryptic fictional characters of all. This involves messages being delivered to the audience outside of the actual movie content. Much of the films luxe vision of space travel was overambitious. A kind of zoo of humans for aliens where they can see you, but you cant see them i remember that in the book, the decoration was similar to a hotel, but with low definition, you couldnt read the labels of the food neither the books, as everything. The monoliths are a race of galatic watchers who work to ensure life forms they. One of the most enigmatic movie endings in history becomes a little clearer with input from the man who directed it. If 2001 the year looked like 2001 the movie, it was partly because the film s imaginary design trends were made real. I grappled with a lot of the same problems, having just watched the movie myself. Kubrick doesnt appear in person in the video, just.
Today im uploading another video to my explained and analysed film series, and this time its my favourite film of all time. A space odyssey ending explained by stanley kubrick. After discovering a mysterious artifact buried beneath the lunar surface, mankind sets off on a quest to find its origins with help from intelligent supercomputer h. A space odyssey as one of the astronauts on the mission to track the source of an alien artifact found on the moon. The same is true, i believe, of stanley kubricks parable 2001. Clarke and stanley kubrick, the plot sequences that are symbolic. The hal 9000 computer is one of the stars of stanley kubricks sciencefiction film masterpiece, 2001. A space odyssey because here for once is a film that makes a total. If people do not have the courtesy to shut up during a film, they should at least be. Much like the star child of the film, the origins of this video are a little complicated and weird. True, but when we say everywhere, we mean everywhere.
My favorite movies are before sunrise, pulp fiction, 2001. The monoliths were created by an unseen alien race, known only as the firstborn. A space odyssey, david bowman enters in a room decorated as a hotel. The film chronicles the moments when a higher intelligence caused our ape ancestors to step towards becoming man, and later when modern man evolves from a technological and space age into a godlike being.
A novelisation of the film released after the films premiere was in part written concurrently with the screenplay. A space odyssey is a 1968 epic science fiction film produced and directed by stanley kubrick. The screenplay was written by kubrick and arthur c. Upfront, somewhat of a refinement on some of the other answers.
The dawn of man in a sere african landscape, a group of apelike hominids and some tapirs compete for the meagre green plants. The movie is about numerous themes, with evolution being one of the more important threads both of life and intelligence. In this space, time seems to excel or jump toward the final days of. These movies, though cheesy, found a new use for editing and special effects. He was willing then to give a fairly straightforward explanation of the plot on what he called the simplest level. A space odyssey made its world premiere at washington d. A space odyssey is a very good example to illustrate the point, if not the best. The star child is what david bowman becomes after his experience through the star gate, in the jovian system, in arthur c. A space odyssey has been analysed and interpreted by numerous people, ranging from professional movie critics to amateur writers and science fiction fans.
What on earth did the end of 2001 a space odyssey mean. A space odyssey the meaning of the monolith revealed variations on the same haunting piece of music, taken from gyorgi ligettis requiem, seem to occur every time an. If kubrick had explained it, perhaps by having some little green men from. Much of the film s luxe vision of space travel was overambitious. Kubrick encouraged people to explore their own interpretations of the film, and refused to offer an explanation. Much of the dialogue exists only to show people talking to one another, without much regard to content this is true of the conference on the space station.
There are few conversations that could not be handled with title cards. A space odyssey is as mysterious, stunning and current as ever. The manapes of the world, who lived by gathering berries and nuts, were facing a lack of food. To richard strauss tone poem thus spake zarathustra, the title sequence shows the sun rising behind the earth, which is behind the moon. The soundtrack is known for its use of many classical and orchestral pieces, and credited for giving many classical pieces resurgences in popularity, such as johann strauss iis 1866 blue danube waltz, richard strauss symphonic poem also sprach zarathustra inspired by the writings of friedrich. Description, analysis, and more, so you can understand the ins and outs of 2001. A space odyssey symbolically describes the story of mankinds life. Clarke, and was inspired by clarkes short story the sentinel and other short stories by clarke.
A space odyssey film community note includes chapterbychapter summary and analysis, character list, theme list, historical context, author biography and. What is the meaning behind the opening scene of 2001. Movie endings dont get any more iconic or enigmatic than the final 15 minutes of stanley kubricks 2001. One of the most influential of all scifi films and one of the most controversial stanley kubricks 2001 is a delicate, poetic meditation on the. The viewer must cross reference information throughout the film and piece the concept back together. A space odyssey featured numerous fictional future technologies, which have proven prescient in light of subsequent developments around the world. A space odyssey was a film about well, what is about. There are many people who think 2001 is about the afterlife, or how nothing really matters. Definitely had amazing images, the scenes with hal were cool, and stuff like that, but i had trouble digesting it. Man emerges as a species slowly, over tens of thousands of years, man explores the stars slowly and actual space travel is very slow. The following content is mainly based off of arthur c. Sometime in the distant past, someone or something nudged evolution by placing a monolith on earth presumably elsewhere throughout the universe as well.
Also, kubricks explanation is closer to what happens in arthur c. Kubrick stuffs so many screens into his shots that even a verizon store floor planner would think its a tad overkill. The deliberately mannered tempo of the first 90% of the film reflects the unhurried pace of mans progress. Here is the interpretation i learned in my film class and always thought was the most widely held. This explanation will be split up based on how kubrick split his film up. If 2001 the year looked like 2001 the movie, it was partly because the films imaginary design trends were made real. The director of the film, stanley kubrick, and the writer, arthur c. Still, some others say its just daves fever dream as he runs out of oxygen on the planet.
Sure, it might be what happens, but i think the meaning of the movie goes. A space odyssey, injected a speedball of heroin and cocaine up to seven times a day while shooting the movie. Get a full month of mubi, a handpicked selection of cult, classic and award winning films, for free. With keir dullea, gary lockwood, william sylvester, daniel richter. In a newly unearthed interview, the ending of 2001.
For 50 years the films ambiguous ending has been the subject of debate among fans, with numerous theories providing a possible explanation. In this piece i will attempt to identify and explain a few of these phenomena, focussing on symbols, signs and metaphors present in the film. Clarkes most famous works, due in part to the film versions popularity, he was a prolific and influential science fiction writer. In 1969, kubrick told joseph gelmis you begin with an artifact left on earth four million years ago by extraterrestrial explorers who observed the behavior of the manapes of the time and decided to influence their evolutionary progression. After david bowman discovers the jovian monolith, he travels through a star gate of unknown space and time. While one group of apes is drinking at a waterhole, another group approaches. A space odyssey was a film aboutwell, what is about. The extraterrestrial species that built the monoliths is never described in much detail, but some knowledge of its existence is given to dave bowman after he is transported by the stargate to the cosmic zoo, as detailed in the novels 2001. A space odyssey culminates in the final evolutionary change of the human race at the beginning of the epic film, the aliens plant the first monolith in. The section of the movie called the dawn of man has many examples of symbolism. First, there are five things in the dawn of man that show the endangerment of a. As we see in the beginning of the movie a bunch of apes the early men come across the monolith and they have no idea what it is. Were now 18 years past 2001, weve never been to jupiter, and the enigmatic ending of the movie still haunts the generations who watch it. Before the films production began, director stanley kubrick sought technical advice from over fifty organizations, and a number of them submitted their ideas to kubrick of what kind of products might be seen in a.
A space odyssey is a film that is filled to the brim with symbols. A giant monolith appeared on earth one day and began to experiment with many of them, probing and developing their minds. The iconic star gate sequence in 2001, when dave bowman, the films protagonist, hurtles in his space pod through a corridor of swimming. The clues i have already described as to the meaning of the monolith are a good example of fractional messaging. A monolith is a mysterious black slab, discovered throughout the solar system in various sizes, but all of them maintaining a 1. One of its most enduring qualities is how open to interpretation it isover the years, the enigmatic film has.
A space odyssey, and the novel it is based on by arthur c. The star gate brings bowman to a replica of a hotel room. The song, the first ever performed by a computer, was called daisy bell, more commonly known as bicycle built for two or daisy, daisy. A space odyssey has finally been explained by the 1968 scifi movies director, stanley. Among those in whom the monolith took an interest was moonwatcher, the only manape who walked fully upright. Ironically, the dialogue containing the most feeling comes from hal, as it pleads for its life and. It has often been a legend that the name hal was derived because each letter comes one place before ibm in the alphabet. When clarke collaborated with stanley kubrick on 2001. Clarke, wanted to leave the film open to philosophical and allegorical interpretation, purposely presenting the final sequences. The existence of this species is only hypothesized by the rest of humanity, but it is obvious because the. The first monolith to be discovered was officially dubbed tycho magnetic anomaly one, or tma1.
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