2001: A Space Odyssey is an ethereal experience. What it covers in its 2 and a half hour run time makes all other films pacing seem bad by comparison. It's timeless and timely whilst offering a complex journey that tells so much of its story visually in a way that really trusts the audience.
Keir Dullea is the ideal protagonist for a slow burning film like this. Since the film is light on exposition and answers a lot of his performance is internalised with his Kubrick stares saying everything. Douglas Rain as HAL 9000 is so unsettling from the first words spoken. His calm tone is perfect as it turns everything he says into a threat.
Stanley Kubrick's direction is so confident, completely unafraid to take its time by letting the sound announce itself well before any image appears. The film not only holds up but also looks younger than it is with visual effects that feel ahead of the time and it contains the greatest match cut in cinema.
By serenading the space travel with classical music it's never felt more serene in those early moments. When the music isn't present the reliance on diegetic sound or none at all for large stretches is immensely effective in maintaining tension. The sets are staggeringly good, watching the actors move around them and the sets themselves rotate never gets old.
Keir Dullea is the ideal protagonist for a slow burning film like this. Since the film is light on exposition and answers a lot of his performance is internalised with his Kubrick stares saying everything. Douglas Rain as HAL 9000 is so unsettling from the first words spoken. His calm tone is perfect as it turns everything he says into a threat.
Stanley Kubrick's direction is so confident, completely unafraid to take its time by letting the sound announce itself well before any image appears. The film not only holds up but also looks younger than it is with visual effects that feel ahead of the time and it contains the greatest match cut in cinema.
By serenading the space travel with classical music it's never felt more serene in those early moments. When the music isn't present the reliance on diegetic sound or none at all for large stretches is immensely effective in maintaining tension. The sets are staggeringly good, watching the actors move around them and the sets themselves rotate never gets old.