Starring: Keir Dullea, William Sylvester
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Rated: G
STANLEY Kubrick was shocked and delighted in 1969 when the Vatican and the International Catholic Cinema Organisation gave his film 2001: A Space Odyssey an award.
The citation reads: “This film raises important ethical questions about origin, destiny and the ever increasing role of technology in our lives. It is commended for the excellence of the film craft and the lyrical mysticism of its narrative.”
It was the first and last time the Vatican liked a Kubrick film.
It is timely, of course, to see this film in the year in which it is set.
This print has been painstakingly restored, the soundtrack digitally remastered and, as seems to be the case with most re-releases, six minutes added to make an already long film even longer.
Kubrick teamed up with Arthur C. Clark to write a complex story linking human development with space exploration. It is big on visuals and short on story.
Kubrick was a visual and aural genius and if you have not seen this film on the big screen or heard it through 20 speakers, treat yourself to a matinee.
Luckily, for us, his dire predictions about computers are not a reality in 2001 and that sort of despotic artificial intelligence seems a long way off yet.
