2001: A Space Odyssey useless beginning?

[theNothingComes]

It is threads like this which are posted by what I'm assuming is a younger op that opens my eyes to the fact not all film collectors appreciate the fact that films like 2001 are trying to be kept intact and distributed on blu-ray in it's original theatrical presentation. During the first viewing of my blu-ray of this Kubrik master piece you could not have been able to remove the smile off my face as the Overture began and I sat in my recliner remembering the experience of seeing this film at the Indian Hills Cinema in Omaha, Neb. (back in the day). And that's exactly what is was - an experience!

I can just imagine the outcry (and I would be one of those films buffs screaming the loudest) if you removed the opening title crawl at the beginning of the original Star Wars! In the same way removing the overture from 2001 would be giving you an incomplete experience of what Kubrik intended.

As has been stated in this thread - how many of our young film fans are neglecting such a wonderful rich history of great films because they are filmed in black/white, have no desire to understand the events of the time of the films creation, or in this case inclusion of overtures and or intermission music.

[SpaceDog]

It's important to replicate the theatrical experience. Having the overture included allows for those of us who are purists to enjoy the experience. Your fast forward button should allow you to have a reasonable film experience also.

[whiskeyred]

It's the overture, the music played with the curtains drawn in most theaters back in the day, God forbid we ever get back to that type of anticipation. Completely theatrical, sets the mood if you are lucky to catch this remastered in an old theater, you will experience the intentions of it.

[Steverhcp02]

i didnt really "love" this movie either. Just because something is a "classic" doesnt mean it must be loved. The movie was unique.

Im surprised with the amount of snobby comments from this forum towards the OP just because 2001 wasnt his cup of tea.

I get it, no life, then life, the progress of technology etc. Some of the effects were important to cinema and the end as far as techs. evolution to near human transcends time.....i guess i can appreciate perhaps what the movie did for future cinema, but the movie was still poorly paced, not as poignant as its subtext...... and i dont need anticipation for the first whatever minutes of a movie, imo, it pointless since i clearly anticipate going to the movie or else i wouldnt be there.....just my opinion.....now go ahead and tell me how young and stupid i am. haha.

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by Steverhcp02

Im surprised with the amount of snobby comments from this forum towards the OP just because 2001 wasnt his cup of tea.
.

HER

I don't think it's the part about her not enjoying the film, but the fact that she said the beginning should have been cut etc.... That's like me saying that movie about robots shouldn't have been made because it sucked (and that's how I feel about it) if I didn't like it, that's fine, but if I'm going to suggest ways to make it better, I should be prepared to defend myself against those who liked the Director's well.... "Direction" !

EDIT... I see she didn't suggest changing it directly, she just said it was "useless"

[Riff Magnum]

I'm pretty sure the opening piece is by Ligetti. Kubrick used him and Penderecki alot in 2001 and The Shining. Both composers are way ahead of their time (like Kubrick) and if you like modern composers you should definitley check them out. Ligetti died recently but i think Penderecki is still alive.

[Midnightsailor]

This is an amazing film..and the best looking Blu-ray that I own, in my opinion. I think everything about the beginning is perfect.

[caliminius]

Originally Posted by Steverhcp02

i didnt really "love" this movie either. Just because something is a "classic" doesnt mean it must be loved. The movie was unique.

Im surprised with the amount of snobby comments from this forum towards the OP just because 2001 wasnt his cup of tea.

I have to agree. At 31 years old, I don't know if I fall into that "younger crowd" that the people in this thread are bashing, but the only thing 2001 did for me was put me to sleep. I don't know if I ever made it through the first hour of the movie still awake.

P.S., I'm not a fan of that "robot movie" either unless you're talking about "I, Robot" which I did enjoy despite it obviously deviating from the source. It was still a pretty nice interpretation of Asimov's work, a lot of which I've read. It was interesting that it used the "0th Law of Robotics" which was one of the last concepts that Asimov introduced into his Robot series.

[WickyWoo]

There is so much to complain about 2001, and the complaint is about the overture and the wonderful music?

[bferr1]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

HER

I don't think it's the part about her not enjoying the film, but the fact that she said the beginning should have been cut etc.... That's like me saying that movie about robots shouldn't have been made because it sucked (and that's how I feel about it) if I didn't like it, that's fine, but if I'm going to suggest ways to make it better, I should be prepared to defend myself against those who liked the Director's well.... "Direction" !

EDIT... I see she didn't suggest changing it directly, she just said it was "useless"

Again, she was talking about the Overture, the three minutes of music over black screen, and not the movie itself-- in her own words, "where the screen was blank and music was playing." It's been repeated enough times here; I don't know how you keep missing it. You're making it sound like she's talking about the beginning to the actual movie, and she's not; she's talking about the Overture that precedes the movie.

[jadedeath]

Originally Posted by jj5206

i am 16 and i saw this film first on Universal HD and loved every minute...Stanley Kubrick is a brilliant film maker, and he didn't let me down with 2001. I actually bought the blu for 20 bucks and have watched it multiple times since...I think this is an A+ film

Wait.

Hold the Phone.

A 16 year old in THIS society with more than half a brain?

Not on MY watch!

Here, have some Doritos!

Play some Halo 3 on the 3shitty, quickly man, you're developing the ability to think for yourself!!

While you're at it, pound back some Halo 3 Master Chief endorsed Mountain Dew... that oughta kill those errant brainwaves!

{yes, I am implying that marketing and Microsoft's Xbox 360 have destroied the braincells of WAY too many people}

Logan

[theNothingComes]

Originally Posted by bferr1

Again, she was talking about the Overture, the three minutes of music over black screen, and not the movie itself-- in her own words, "where the screen was blank and music was playing." It's been repeated enough times here; I don't know how you keep missing it. You're making it sound like she's talking about the beginning to the actual movie, and she's not; she's talking about the Overture that precedes the movie.

As I stated in my earlier post - it is a part of the whole movie experience.

Let's say 20 years from now the movie audiences hate reading so they take the opening title crawl out of the original Star Wars (or any of them for that matter) - it can be argued that you could still get the story and enjoy the movie but that original opening is a part of the film's overall concept.

[Tiger I]

Nice job of explaining. Now it is up to the reader to comprehend.

[surfdude12]

Originally Posted by bferr1

You're making it sound like she's talking about the beginning to the actual movie, and she's not; she's talking about the Overture that precedes the movie.

no, the overture is part of the movie. it establishes a fundamental time scale used later in the movie. as i said, the 3 minutes of "beginning of earth until beginning of man" dovetails with the fraction-of-a-second shot later in the movie between the flying bone and the flying spaceship, showing that man has only been around for a fraction of a second on a 3 minute scale.

IMO any conclusion which ignores the above is not well founded. just my opinion, i could be wrong

[camper]

2001 is pure eye & ear candy, extremely well done for its time and it deserves it's respect because because of what it meant for it's time--very much like the aforementioned Citizen Kane. Yet like Citizen Kane, it doesn't stand up against films of this day and age; and it was most certainly not Kubrik's best work. (IMHO)

That doesn't mean that it isn't an exceptionally important film--both 2001 and Citizen Kane have done more for cinema than practically any other film in the past 20 years.

But like Hitchock's Psycho, when you remove them from their time and into the now the elements that they pioneered seem dull and boring due to the number of times they have been copied. And like Psycho, when you take away the relevance of the era in which it was released you LOSE a lot of the impact which can make the film seem like less than it originally was. Seriously, Anthony Perkins in drag at the end of the film elicits laughs and not the mixture of shock/horror/disgust it did in 1960.

Likewise, 2001 doesn't have the same impact because it has completely lost the connection to the preparation of the moon landing in 1969 making the possibility of space travel real for the first time, the advent (and potential fear of) computers in the minds of the public, and the use of special effects in a very nonchalant (yet impressive) way.

2001 is a snooze fest if you're not in the mood to sit in front of the movie and simply relax and take it in. As a film, it's extremely boring. Even those who love it understand that 'not a lot happens' in the film, and what does is abstract on purpose. You don't say "I'm in the mood for sci-fi" and then pop it in, you say "I'm in the mood for 2001". While some might see that as a strong point, perhaps it is more of a flaw than anything else.

Personally, I don't think that the film stands the test of time (neither do the other two) but they are respected because they earned it the hard way. And, that doesn't mean that they aren't enjoyable today, or that today's films are superior (I don't believe the latter one bit). Still, in 2001's case a lot of the impact has been lost from 1968 to now and I really think that only the people who saw it for the first time then truly 'get it' in the way it was meant to be gotten.

~Camper
(Yes...I've got my fireproof suit on, so let me have it)

[Rabidhunter]

I think it really set that the mood of watching it in the cinema well. I really miss intermissions in movies at the cinema too. Those were the days. I remember watching movies with intermissions and then I watched a movie and they were gone, just like that.

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by Rabidhunter

I think it really set that the mood of watching it in the cinema well. I really miss intermissions in movies at the cinema too. Those were the days. I remember watching movies with intermissions and then I watched a movie and they were gone, just like that.

They started making 88 minute long action movies

[Blu-Ray Buckeye]

Originally Posted by horseflesh

I know I shouldn't be so sarcastic, bordering on patronising, but sometimes threads like this just break my heart.

I probably shouldn't be so melodramatic either

Actually you should be... it's the other people who should be better.

Remember, it has been statistically proven that at least 84% of all humans suck shit.

[ajc68]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

Citizen Kane is one of the all-time greats, I can re-watch numerous times.....

I can't wait for this to come out on BD. And when the kids get introduced to it, I'm sure we'll have at least 17 threads complaining about the black bars (pillar box) in the film.

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by surfdude12

no, the overture is part of the movie. it establishes a fundamental time scale used later in the movie. as i said, the 3 minutes of "beginning of earth until beginning of man" dovetails with the fraction-of-a-second shot later in the movie between the flying bone and the flying spaceship, showing that man has only been around for a fraction of a second on a 3 minute scale.

Then, what do the 3 minute "Overture" openings to Patton and Sound of Music represent?