Sadly,
to the date of this writing, author Arthur C. Clarke’s classic science fiction
quartet is an Odyssey half-filmed: 2001:
A Space Odyssey was directed in 1968, by Stanley Kubrick. 2010 in 1984, by Peter Hyams.
The epic
evolved from Arthur C. Clarke’s short story, The Sentinel:
… to: 2001: A Space Odyssey, 2010: Odyssey Two, 2061:
Odyssey Three, and 3001: The Final
Odyssey:
I love
the full picture artwork for 2010 and
2061, by Michael Whelan:
This is
an alien contact story that goes for realism rather than spectacle … until the
Star Gate sequence. Evolution is the main theme: of humans, from ape-men to
space pioneers, along with technology and artificial intelligence. What set it
apart and made it admirable, for me, was the concept of the enigmatic Monoliths
and the unseen alien intelligence behind them, the use of classical music, slow
and deliberate pacing, accurate representation of space travel, and minimalist dialogue.
There is also a good subject for discussion in the strand of the plot dealing
with what happens when man puts too much reliance on artificial intelligence, and
then faces disaster when conflicting orders cause the A.I. to malfunction, with
tragic results; the reason made clear in the sequel: 2010. This is a technology
turning on mankind theme that would later be explored in movies like Westworld, Demon Seed, The Terminator, I
Robot, Tron … and many others.
A
timeless classic and easily one of the greatest science fiction movies ever
made.
Sun,
Earth and Moon in perfect alignment:
Dawn of
Man and the push towards evolution:
The
bone-to-satellite jump-shot to the year 2001:
The
space station:
Deflection:
Zero-gravity:
Heywood
Floyd and the second monolith:
Discovery
and the mission to Jupiter:
HAL 9000:
"I don’t
think there is any question about it. It can only be attributable to human
error. This sort of thing has cropped up before, and it has always been due to
human error."
In
error of predicting the fault:
Suspicion, paranoia and murder:
Disconnection:
The
journey through the Star Gate:
Frozen
moments in time:
Neoclassic containment cell:
Age, death
and rebirth:
Quite a
journey!
