The Bottom Line
Pros
- Visually stunning, brilliant, and enigmatic
- Landmark film that is intellectual science fiction at its best
- Ending is both baffling and sublime
Cons
- May be too slow-moving for some viewers
- May be too confusing for some viewers
- DVD offers no bonus materials of any significance
Description
- DVD containing Stanley Kubrick's 1968 science-fiction classic movie "2001: A Space Odyssey"
- Film ranks number 6 in 2002 "Sight and Sound" Critics' Poll
- Movie is 2 hours 28 minutes long
- Preserves aspect ratio of original theatrical exhibition enhanced for widescreen TVs
- Excellent picture quality (new 2000 digital master from restored elements)
- Excellent sound quality (soundtrack newly remastered Dolby Digital 5.1)
- Movie has theatrical trailer, but no other bonus materials of any consequence
- DVD release date: June 3, 2003
Guide Review - 2001: A Space Odyssey DVD Review
"2001: A Space Odyssey" is one of my all-time favorites. It's one of the films that started me on a life-long love of the movies. I've seen it so many times I've lost count. To my mind, "2001" is one of a handful of quintessential large-screen movies, and so I was a little worried about seeing it on DVD, especially after seeing it a couple of years ago in 70 millimeter at the Egyptian Theater in L.A. But after watching it on DVD recently, I was pleasantly surprised that much of its visual brilliance and grandeur still came through.
Stanley Kubrick's 1968 science-fiction classic is visually stunning, brilliant, and enigmatic. A mysterious monolith is discovered on the moon, and the remainder of the story revolves around a manned mission that is sent to search for the extraterrestrials who are presumed to have placed it there. To complicate matters further, the spacecraft's remarkably human and supposedly infallible HAL 9000 computer goes through something akin to a nervous breakdown. Eventually, another monolith is found near Jupiter, leading to surreal revelations and an ending that is both baffling and sublime.
The DVD looks and sounds terrific. The film is presented in letterbox widescreen format preserving the "scope" aspect ratio of its original theatrical exhibition enhanced for widescreen TVs. My only complaint about the DVD is that it’s rather barebones: the only bonus material of any consequence is a theatrical trailer.
