login | register

2001: A Space Odyssey

An epic drama of adventure and exploration 

Year: 1968 
Running Time:
Aspect Ratio: 2.20:1 (70mm) 
Certificate: BBFC U Cert – Universal 
Subtitles: This film is not expected to be subtitled, though this cannot be guaranteed. 
Directed by Stanley Kubrick 
Starring: Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester  
An image from 2001: A Space Odyssey


Review:

Now this was the Kubrick film to knock my socks off. Perhaps that’s the basic view, the Filmbro view, the what-you-expect-this-review to say view. But it did. I could not believe this film is from the 1960s, because the set and scene is astonishing in how beautiful and believable it is to being futuristic science fiction. It’s jaw-dropping. I was lucky enough to see this on 70mm at WSC, which I think has become a core memory. Sitting towards the left of the middle, third row from the front, eyes upcast, gazing in sheer awe. When it got to the interval, I spoke a mile a minute with the friend I had been watching with about how bloody cool it was.

What particularly surprised me at points was how the score managed to terrify me in a film that doesn’t try to be a horror, but definitely is horrific. The string quartets that scream as the men approach the obelisk is a stand out moment that made me want to hide behind the seats, and Hal’s chilling “I’m sorry, Dave” sent shivers down my spine. Quite simply, it’s a must-watch. And if you’re watching it on 70mm at WSC, doubly so!

Sueda Baxter

You can tell you’re dealing with one of the most influential films of all time when you know so much about it without actually having seen it. 2001: A Space Odyssey is a prime example (how often has that bone/spacecraft match cut been imitated and parodied since?), and even today its presence is still felt in cinema.

The film begins millions of years in the past, following a tribe of primitive apes in a desert wasteland as they discover the use of tools and weapons. We are then thrown far into the future, to an age of space travel and moon excavations, and then we leap forward once again to join a group of astronauts, including Dave Bowman (Dullea) and Frank Poole (Lockwood), on a mission to Jupiter: a mission overseen by the creepily ambiguous spacecraft computer HAL 9000 (voiced by Douglas Rain). The common thread linking these chapters is the presence of huge, black rectangular entities called monoliths. What it is that they represent is something you’ll have to find out…

Prepare for a journey through prehistoric turmoil, futuristic marvels and a world of artificial intelligence, executed by one of the most acclaimed directors of all time; Stanley Kubrick. Don’t be put off by the slow pacing of the film: its quiet sparseness accentuates a rich, glorious atmosphere as we follow mankind’s progress through time, making great technological – and evolutionary – leaps forward along the way. The film is classic science-fiction, and boasts some truly spaced-out special effects, most of which still hold up spectacularly well, considering that the film itself is over forty years old.

Iconic, enigmatic and ground-breaking, 2001: A Space Odyssey is a journey well worth taking, and will leave you with plenty of food for thought when the lights come up!

Michael Perry

More Information | Back to Previous Schedule | This Season  |  BBFC Classification Guidelines

Screenings of this film:

1981/1982 Autumn Term (16mm)
1985/1986 Spring Term (16mm)
1992/1993 Autumn Term (35mm)
1995/1996 Autumn Term (35mm)
2011/2012 Spring Term (digital)
2014/2015 Spring Term (70mm)
2014/2015 Spring Term (70mm)
2018/2019 Autumn Term (70mm)
2018/2019 Autumn Term (70mm)
2022/2023 Autumn Term (70mm)
2022/2023 Autumn Term (70mm)
2023/2024 Autumn Term (70mm)
2023/2024 Autumn Term (70mm)
2024/2025 Autumn Term (70mm)
2024/2025 Autumn Term (70mm)