2001: A Space Odyssey

Name: 2001: A Space Odyssey
Genre: Adventure, Sci-Fi, Mystery
Released: April 2, 1968
Duration: 141 min
Rating: 84
Cast: Gary Lockwood, Keir Dullea

1968

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 25 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Universal acclaim based on 1147 Ratings

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8.1

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8.1	User Score Universal acclaim based on 1147 Ratings

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2001: A Space Odyssey

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Movie Details & Credits

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) | Release Date: April 2, 1968 | G

Starring: Gary Lockwood, Keir Dullea

Summary: 2001: A Space Odyssey is a countdown to tomorrow, a road map to human destiny, a quest for the infinite. To begin his voyage into the future, Kubrick visits our prehistoric ape-ancestry past, then leaps millenia (via one of the most mind-blowing jump cuts ever conceived) into colonized space, and ultimately whisks astronaut Bowman (Dullea)2001: A Space Odyssey is a countdown to tomorrow, a road map to human destiny, a quest for the infinite. To begin his voyage into the future, Kubrick visits our prehistoric ape-ancestry past, then leaps millenia (via one of the most mind-blowing jump cuts ever conceived) into colonized space, and ultimately whisks astronaut Bowman (Dullea) into uncharted realms of space, perhaps even into immortality. "Open the pod bay doors, HAL." Let the awe and mystery of a journey unlike any other begin. (Warner Bros.)… Expand

Director: Stanley Kubrick

Genre(s): Adventure, Sci-Fi, Mystery

Rating: G

Runtime: 141 min

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Metascore

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

Critic Reviews

100

Scott Rosenberg

Beloved for many different reasons, including its scrupulous scientific accuracy, its vast reach from "The Dawn of Man" to the next stage of human evolution, its unrivaled integration of musical and visual composition, its daring paucity of dialogue and washes of silence, its astonishingly creative psychedelic sequence and its still-gorgeous pre-digital special effects. Read full review

100

John Mahoney

It is, as promised, "a majestic visual experience," quite unlike any film we have ever seen...These details are merely a means employed by Kubrick and his distinguished screenplay collaborator Arthur C. Clarke, to provoke the more limitless imaginings of the mind, to assault the viewer with tantalizing enigmas to force exploration of that personal universe in relation to time and space, meaning and potential. Read full review

100

Owen Gleiberman

Still the grandest of all science-fiction movies.

100

Dave Kehr

Fascinated by the technology of movies as much as by the technology of space—it presents film as a fabulous, exciting plaything, reviving Orson Welles's observation that a movie set is "the biggest electric train set a boy ever had." Read full review

100

Joshua Rothkopf

It remains as intelligent and provocative as ever, bearing years of conceptual dreaming. Read full review

Staff (Not Credited)

Like Space Odyssey itself, the ambiguous ending is at once appropriate and wrong. It guarantees that the film will arouse controversy, but it leaves doubt that the film makers themselves knew precisely what they were flying at. Still, no film to date has come remotely near Odyssey's depiction of the limitless beauty and terror of outer space. In this 2-hr. 40-min. movie, only 47 minutes are taken up with dialogue. The rest of the time is occupied with demanding, brilliant material for the eye and brain. Thus, though it may fail as drama, the movie succeeds as visual art and becomes another irritating, dazzling achievement of Stanley Kubrick, one of the most erratic and original talents in U.S. cinema. Read full review

Stephen Hunter

A crackpot Looney Tune, pretentious, abysmally slow, amateurishly acted and, above all, wrong. Read full review

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User Reviews

LanceRomance

Feb 1, 2011

The greatest epiphany? That the monolith represents the film screen itself, with its black rectangular appearance. And that the monolith is also depicted as the catalyst for change only encourages the notion that we actually evolve as we watch ourselves on the screen, and furthermore, BECOMEThe greatest epiphany? That the monolith represents the film screen itself, with its black rectangular appearance. And that the monolith is also depicted as the catalyst for change only encourages the notion that we actually evolve as we watch ourselves on the screen, and furthermore, BECOME what we see. And that's what 2001 is ultimately about; becoming. Constant becoming. Constant becoming through endless mediation. What will become of you when the credits finally roll? I, for one, became a pretentious film critic.… Expand

34 of 42 users found this helpful348

MYP

Aug 1, 2019

Ok, i know most of you were confused when you watched this film. In my opinion, don't expect that everything is going to be explained to you. In my opinion what made this movie so special was that it does not explain. It's a symbol, it tries to explain an idea to you. There's a lot ofOk, i know most of you were confused when you watched this film. In my opinion, don't expect that everything is going to be explained to you. In my opinion what made this movie so special was that it does not explain. It's a symbol, it tries to explain an idea to you. There's a lot of analysis on this movie so i'm gonna shorten this text a little bit. I mean when you start watching the movie you can't do anything it hypnotizes you because the scenes are not perfect, they're not fabulous, they're something else. Something that no one can explain. The sound, the visuals and the cinematography of this movie made some scenes that are unique in the Cinematic history. This movie is the best sci-fi movie ever. I mean everyone has a perception of the plot of the movie. Some body thinks it's talking about (symbolizes ) the discovery, somebody thinks it symbolizes the power of the humen that is destroying him. The plot can cover a lot of concepts and that's what makes this movie so special and important. Some Stanley Kubrick's Scenes are so perfect that they just hypnotize you. If you haven't watched this movie stop reading this review and go and watch it right now cause it's a perfect movie. It's flawless. My Score : A+… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

spielbrick90

Oct 21, 2011

A cool film that I very much enjoyed watching. Exeptional directing from Stanley Kubrick and also exellent acting from Kier Dullela. It is very real considering in the scenes in space it is completely silent and the spacesuits are brilliant.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Critic0

Jul 2, 2014

How do I begin to describe this film? It's too good for words, and it always will be! Stanley Kubrick gives us this provocative and interesting film about who we are and where we're going. It truly shows us what it is like to actually be human, and the mistakes we make.

A flawless scienceHow do I begin to describe this film? It's too good for words, and it always will be! Stanley Kubrick gives us this provocative and interesting film about who we are and where we're going. It truly shows us what it is like to actually be human, and the mistakes we make.

A flawless science fiction (or science fact) film so enigmatic and chilling, its legacy still impacts our world today. 2001: A Space Odyssey is the big bang of sci-fi and will always be the greatest of the genre.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

VirgonoShaka

May 26, 2018

2001: A Space odessey is one of the fundamentals of Sci-fi and I can definitely say that it is honor well deserved. Not only it has some incredible effects for it's time, but the way the story starts, and how it uses it's dialogues, silence and music to convey it's message is superb. My only2001: A Space odessey is one of the fundamentals of Sci-fi and I can definitely say that it is honor well deserved. Not only it has some incredible effects for it's time, but the way the story starts, and how it uses it's dialogues, silence and music to convey it's message is superb. My only gripe would be that the last scene is maybe a tad bit too long and can be hard on the eyes. But other than that, this is one journey that everyone, not matter where they come from, should embark in.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

ragekoi

Aug 16, 2013

This film expects the viewer to be a philosopher in order to understand the enigmatic allegory Kubrick is trying to convey. Despite the excruciatingly slow pace, parts that feel irrelevant and/or drag on too long, and the extremely pretentious message, 2001: A Space Odyssey remains anThis film expects the viewer to be a philosopher in order to understand the enigmatic allegory Kubrick is trying to convey. Despite the excruciatingly slow pace, parts that feel irrelevant and/or drag on too long, and the extremely pretentious message, 2001: A Space Odyssey remains an avant-garde experience that deserves a watch/interpretation from everyone.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

ThomasB.

Dec 28, 2008

The worst film I've ever seen. What does the film want to be? This is no art it's only crap. Please dont see this film, every euro you would spend on it is lost, lost, lost.

0 of 18 users found this helpful

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