Film Review - 2001: A Space Odyssey

Fig 1. 2001: A Space Odyssey Poster (1968)

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) is one of the many classics brought to life by Stanley Kubrick. The film stands out in the world of cinema nowadays for the way it was produced but at the time of its release it didn’t receive that many good reviews from the critics, however, it inspired future film makers such as Steven Spielberg and Ridley Scott.

Like with most of his films Kubrick frames or centres most of the shots using the rule of thirds a technique that he learned from his days as a photojournalist for Look magazine. As shown in Fig 2 the rule of thirds involves placing a 3x3 grid over the image and lining up the key subjects within it so that everything is not cluttered on one side, in Kubrick’s case he places key subjects in the middle of the grid with other subjects on both sides of it so that the audience’s eye is drawn to what is being shown in the middle. As show in the example Dave Bowman and Frank Poole are on ever side of the shot but the audience’s eye is focused on HAL in the middle.

Fig 2. The Rule of Thirds example

A part from the way he sets up the shots used in 2001 Kubrick builds suspense by making nearly every new cut an establishing shot to show in detail what each of the characters are doing as well as giving the viewer a chance to work out what they might be thinking throughout the scene. This also works for any close up of the character’s face as shown with Dave Bowman when HAL locks him out of the main ship, see Fig 3. While focusing on Bowman we quickly understand that he is ever weighing up his options on what to do next or realising that he is truly alone and must deal with HAL by himself.

Fig 3. Dave Bowman in the pod

By using these shots Kubrick also helps to make up for the lack of background music that happens throughout most of the film. Because of the lack of music, we do get the understanding that the characters are in space as it is impossible for sound to travel here. Background music is normally used to convey to the audience the mood of what is happening on scene but without it they are left in a state of uneasy with just the hum of the spacecraft breaking the silence.

By doing all of this Kubrick has made a film that is designed to not just tell the viewer the story but to also make them question what is happening and to debate this with their friends and family, even if there are some questions that seem impossible to answer. This isn’t done because of poor directing Kubrick does this for the viewer to make up their own mind on what is happening, as he puts it himself: “How could we possibly appreciate the Mona Lisa if Leonardo Da Vinci had written at the bottom of the canvas, 'The lady is smiling because she is hiding a secret from her lover'? This would shackle the viewer to reality, and I don't want this to happen to 2001.” 

Fig. HAL: "I'm sorry Dave"

Illustrations

• Figure 1. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) [Poster] At: http://www.nowplayingpodcast.com/archives/npp2001201001.php (Accessed on 12.10.2016) 
• Figure 2. The Rule of Thirds example [Film still diagram] At: http://kafkasfilm.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/project-8-balance.html (Accessed on 12.10.2016) 
• Figure 3. Dave Bowman in the pod [Film still] At: http://www.avclub.com/article/i2001-a-space-odysseyi-43912 (Accessed on 16.10.2016) 
• Figure 4. HAL: “I’m sorry Dave” [Poster] At: http://ajournalofmusicalthings.com/hal-2001-space-odyssey-sounded-like-siri/ (Accessed on 16.10.2016)

Bibliography

• IMDb. (s.d) Stanley Kubrick - Quotas At: http://m.imdb.com/name/nm0000040/quotes (Accessed on 12.10.2016) 
• Katz, Steven D. (1991) Film directing: shot by shot – Visualizing from concept to screen. California: Michael Wiese Productions. 
• Kazan, Casey. (2009) Ridley Scott: “After 2001 – A Space Odyssey, Science Fiction is Dead” At: http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2009/07/ridley-scott-science-fiction-is-dead.html (Accessed on 17.10.2016) 
• Perno, G.S. (2015) Directors’ Trademarks: Stanley Kubrick At: http://www.cinelinx.com/movie-stuff/item/7193-directors-trademarks-stanley-kubrick.html (Accessed on 13.10.2016) 
• Twisted Sifter. (2014) Before Filmmaking, Stanley Kubrick was a Photojournalist. This is 1949 Chicago At: http://twistedsifter.com/2014/12/stanley-kubrick-photographs-life-in-chicago-1949/ (Accessed on 13.10.2016)