Upfront, somewhat of a refinement on some of the other answers. The space exploration programs in the united states and the soviet union were only in the early stages. A space odyssey explained were now 18 years past 2001, weve never been to jupiter, and the enigmatic ending of the movie still haunts the generations who watch it. Evolution then enabled humankind to reach the moons surface, where. In this space, time seems to excel or jump toward the final days of. It depicts the differences between the written work and the movie production, and analyzes possible alternate meanings to certain themes and motifs.
The outlines of a simple plot were already in place. I decided to pass that information along to you with this explanation and analysis of the book. One of its most enduring qualities is how open to interpretation it isover the years, the enigmatic film has. A space odyssey has been analysed and interpreted by numerous people, ranging from professional movie critics to amateur writers and science fiction fans. Clarkes novel 2001 a space odyssey, his short story the sentinel, and kubricks famous film, 2001. There are few conversations that could not be handled with title cards. Clarke, wanted to leave the film open to philosophical and allegorical. The final scenes of the film seemed more metaphorical than realistic. This lacking in traditional storytelling elements is what makes 2001. A space odyssey, which had so tormented me in my youth, is my favorite movie of all time.
A space odyssey is a 1968 science fiction novel by british writer arthur c. Dec 08, 20 this site is dedicated to the science fiction work 2001. Christopher nolan returns kubrick scifi masterpiece 2001. After you have read the story of lazarus in the bible, you dont need anyone to explain it to you. A space odyssey, which is being rereleased this year for its 50th anniversary, baffled film critics when it first came out but now tops their lists of the most important. The star gate brings bowman to a replica of a hotel room. In a newly unearthed interview, the ending of 2001. The same is true, i believe, of stanley kubricks parable 2001. A space odyssey community note includes chapterbychapter summary and analysis, character list, theme list, historical context, author biography and quizzes written by community members like you. Summary read a plot overview of the entire book or a chapter by chapter summary and analysis. The star child is what david bowman becomes after his experience through the star gate, in the jovian system, in arthur c.
The novel, for example, attempts to explain things much more. The director of the film, stanley kubrick, and the writer, arthur c. It was a film that was made roughly over the course. This one goes out to all the folks that love 2001 a space odyssey but still dont know what the hell was going on at the end gelmis. If you disagree with my interpretation please be polite and. Aug 07, 2012 this one goes out to all the folks that love 2001 a space odyssey but still dont know what the hell was going on at the end gelmis. At the end of 2001, we see dave pass through a bizarre dreamscape of light patterns and totally alien imagery, and then wake up in a weird set of rooms that are bathed in light in all directions, with oddly historical furnishings. As bensons book suggests, in a way the release of 2001 was its least important milestone. A space odyssey is possibly the most famous computer in cinema history and one of the most cryptic fictional characters of all time. The screenplay was written by kubrick and arthur c. A space odyssey opens with a ten millionyearolddrought. Im excluding things that were explained in the book for that reason.
A space odyssey has finally been explained by the 1968 scifi movies director, stanley kubrick, himself. A space odyssey ending explained by stanley kubrick. It took many years to figure out the meaning of the ending alone. It contains the answers to all the questions it advances.
The manapes of the world, who lived by gathering berries and nuts, were facing a lack of food. May 03, 2018 one of cinemas most acclaimed directors, christopher nolan, is supervising the creation of new prints of stanley kubricks 2001. Here is the interpretation i learned in my film class and always thought was the most widely held. This site is dedicated to the science fiction work 2001. A space odyssey was a visual effects pioneer 2001 casts an enormous shadow on the last halfcentury of pop culture, let alone the sciencefiction genre. A space odyssey is possibly the most famous computer in cinema history and one of the most cryptic fictional characters of all. He concludes that the homicidal hal had cracked due to inner conflicts regarding the true nature of the mission. The ending of 2001 a space odyssey explained by stanley.
Ironically, the dialogue containing the most feeling comes from hal, as it pleads for its life and. Clarke, and was inspired by clarkes short story the sentinel and other short stories by clarke. A space odyssey ending in a rare, unearthed video the director famously refused to give his interpretation of the scifi masterpiece. A space odyssey ending explained by acid flashbacks. Yet, despite that, the plot actually isnt all that complicated. What is the meaning behind the opening scene of 2001. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. A space odyssey symbolically describes the story of mankinds life. He must manually check all the systems on a regular basis.
Every book on your english syllabus summed up in a quote from the office. A space odyssey film community note includes chapterbychapter summary and analysis, character list, theme list, historical context, author biography and. If you have a question please ask below and i will get back to you as soon as possible. I loved the way it told a story without necessarily explaining everything, and really allowing ones own imagination to fill in some of the gaps. The feeling i got from this reading was that it explained things in a way that dont date the technology being discussed in any way that ruins the overall story. After david bowman discovers the jovian monolith, he travels through a star gate of unknown space and time.
When asked by eric nordern in kubricks interview with playboy if 2001. Clarke and stanley kubrick teamed up on the mindblowing 1968 film 2001. A space odyssey was a film aboutwell, what is about. Another part is that a lot of the book is just description of astronomical niftiness. The odyssey is a long greek poem by homer about a dude named odysseus who goes on a long voyage. The monoliths are a race of galatic watchers who work to ensure life forms they. The shuttle pilots carefully match rotation and steer the shuttle into the stations central docking bay. A kind of zoo of humans for aliens where they can see you, but you cant see them i remember that in the book, the decoration was similar to a hotel, but with low definition, you couldnt read the labels of the food neither the books, as everything. A space odyssey was a religious film, kubrick elaborated. A big part of that is because theres no real character development to speak of. A rare and never before seen alien race uses a tool with the appearance of a large crystalline monolith to. Stanley kubrick is an enigmatic director who put a lot of layers into. Someone please explain the ending to me like im a 5 year old. Read a plot overview of the entire book or a chapter by chapter summary and.
David restores the ship to working order after the halmurderingfourpeople episode. A space odyssey and you loved it but you kinda dont know what just happened. A novelisation of the film released after the films premiere was in part written concurrently with the screenplay. Were now 18 years past 2001, weve never been to jupiter, and the enigmatic ending of the movie still haunts the generations who watch it. A space odyssey is a film that lacks what they desire most in a movie. The novel starts millions of years in the past, with a bunch of manapes. A space odyssey came out a whopping 14 months before armstrong, aldrin and collins won the space race for the united states via apollo 11. Everything that is there on the screen is there in the. There are many people who think 2001 is about the afterlife, or how nothing really matters. I think its fairly clear in the film that the monolith that appeared at the dawn. A space odyssey film community note includes chapterbychapter summary and analysis, character list, theme list, historical context, author biography and quizzes written by community members like you. Still, some others say its just daves fever dream as he runs out of oxygen on the planet. As bensons book suggests, in a way the release of 2001 was its least.
Well explore the events in the book, discuss and analyze its main. A space odyssey, david bowman enters in a room decorated as a hotel. A space odyssey returned to theaters earlier this summer and toured the country with an unrestored 70mm print. A space odyssey many years ago and being blown away by how powerful it was, and also a bit scared by it. As a single passenger dozes in his seat, a flight attendant with velcro shoes recovers his floating pen. Aug 12, 2017 the following content is mainly based off of arthur c.
It seems to explain the ending of the film more clearly. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of 2001. One of cinemas most acclaimed directors, christopher nolan, is supervising the creation of new prints of stanley kubricks 2001. Much of the dialogue exists only to show people talking to one another, without much regard to content this is true of the conference on the space station. The book ultimately came out a couple months after the movies april 1968 premiere. It was developed concurrently with stanley kubricks film version and published after the release of the film. A space odyssey movie features bizarre colours and the main character appearing in a bed, then becoming an old man and finally a fetus i always found this a pretty disappointing end to the film because it seemed to make no sense. A space odyssey is a 1968 epic science fiction film produced and directed by stanley kubrick.
So whats up with the title is that clarke is saying, that old greek dude went on a long voyage and had adventures way back when, and so heres a story about the future of 2001, when some other dude is going to go on an awesome voyage also. The book shows one such monolith appearing in prehistoric. The following content is mainly based off of arthur c. As near i can tell its just some nebulous poorlyexplained concept thats far too often used as a crutch in scifi as the ultimate trump card for feigning depth where there wouldnt normally be any. Clarke, wanted to leave the film open to philosophical and allegorical interpretation, purposely presenting the final sequences. A space odyssey has fascinated audiences for years. As we see in the beginning of the movie a bunch of apes the early men come across the monolith and they have no idea what it is. A space odyssey was written, mankind had not yet set foot on the moon.
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