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2001: A Space Odyssey
Stanley Kubrick
I watched this one in two parts. Basically with the intermission from one day to the next because I was so afraid of falling asleep and missing something the first night. But, I'm glad that I did. This film is a very interesting look at what Kubrick did for motion pictures, and a lot to think about.
The movie seems to flow from uncivilized monkeys finding a means to make tools, to taking a huge leap to his very classically-A-symmetrical shots of earthy toned and ultra-civilized travelers discussing the scare of an epidemic outbreak, which is of course (and again, a very Kubrick-movie-esc) a government coverup.
I'm finding that most of the movies I've seen of his, don't tend to follow any kind of clear beginning-middle-end narrative. There are many times within Clockwork Orange, for instance, I feel that the movie could have ended and it would have though. It's more of a chain of vignettes that just build up to an end that kind of just leaves you in wonderment.
I've also found that his movies tend to take a little while to fully digest. Really not anything that you can sit up straight from watching and feel like it's truly finished. This is something I really like. I love spending those moments the next day at work or wherever just thinking back and letting things play out, especially when the filmmaker has something to say with their work.
One thing that made the movie a little hard to watch though from my vantage point was the music. Since it's time in the late 60's the epic music has been parodied so much that anytime I heard it and saw the block, I just had to laugh a little. It took me out of the movie for sure.
A recommendation I have for anyone that liked the look and the timing of this movie, but may have rather had a more clear-cut story line needs to watch Moon by Duncan Jones. I feel like that movie took the astronaut from the space craft and said what if this guy is alone and on the moon and... then just kind of ran with it. The feel of the middle of the movie was very much the same. The trippy end, not so much.
0 viewing minutes + 148 min = 148 minutes of new films viewed
Yeah, I enjoyed Moon. You remember he had that talking robot that controlled the ship he talked to much like HAL.
ReplyDeleteOne obvious theme that seems to run throughout most of Kubrick's work is 'Dehumanization.' And also the 'duality of man' (most notably in Full Metal Jacket). I think once one realizes this they're able to dissect his movies easier.
I totally agree with you here. It's almost like an out of body experience, because you're watching his characters from outside of their thought process. You don't have many characters that you feel you walk in their shoes in perspective, and the ones that you start to feel like you do, end up completely shocking you. You just sit back and watch the human populace act... well... like they do and ironically, in most cases, destroy much in their wake.
ReplyDeleteTo this day, I still see Full Metal Jacket as one of the most disturbing films I've ever seen. And yes, we did have a Martyrs/Inside double feature once. So, that's saying something.