5 Reasons to see 2001: A Space Odyssey, in Theaters Now!

It’s the 50th anniversary of the release of Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece, 2001: A Space Odyssey. The generations who have fallen in love with sci-fi films created by directors and writers who are heavily influenced by the film have mostly had to see it on the small screen. When my 2001-obsessed Siren Spouse and I went to see it this Friday, on the first day of the special engagement, there were a scant 10-15 people surrounding us.

I will forever love the 15 year old boy behind us who not only expressed his dismay at the small audience, but went on to explain the many reasons why it’s required viewing for all movie lovers, and if the chance to see it in IMAX presents itself, all true sci-fi lovers must go. In his honor, and because clearly people, especially younger film fans who haven’t seen it at all, need reminding why they must stop whatever they are doing and see it now in glorious 70mm, without the aid of psychedelic drugs famously responsible for the increased attendance via word of mouth the first time around, I present 5 reasons to do so:

1. The number of A-list production designers and geek-adored directors who site this film as their reason for making movies is staggering:

James Cameron, Christopher Nolan, Steven Spielberg, Guillermo Del Toro, and Wes Anderson all place the film at the top of their list of influences. If you love their films, you should see what inspired them on the big screen. After sitting through an IMAX version of it, you’ll be all the more able to recognize the origins of things like Darth Vader’s mouth-breathing and Wes Anderson’s obsession with Mine en Scene.

2. Apart from being important to pop culture and film history, 2001 is also important to US history:

It ushered in the era of heady, philosophical science fiction films like The Man Who Fell to Earth, Silent Running, and, more recently, Gravity, Interstellar, Ex Machina and Arrival.

Oddly though, the pre-moon landing creation of the production design and inventions utilized for 2001 were so believable, they led to the conspiracy theories about the faking of the moon landing.

3. It offers a magical example of real effects:

Everything created for the film was done without the sort of the special effects and CGI now depended upon heavily to grab and keep the audience’s attention. The interiors of the spacecrafts were created with enormous sets, including the rotating centrifuge, the filming of which owes more than a little thanks to the scene of Fred Astaire dancing on the ceiling in 1951's Royal Wedding. Models were painstakingly created for every spaceship, and unfortunately Kubrick had them all destroyed at the end of production to insure they wouldn’t be used again. Tragic news for prop collectors!

4. The film is a portent of things to come, rendering it timely even now:

There are so many elements used in the story that have proven to be prescient. Many of the machines and equipment shown onscreen have branded logos with big company names, as if to suggest future space travel would be privatized. Hand-held devices that look like I-Pads being used everywhere, as are monitors for video calling. One of the lead characters uses a credit card to make a phone call. There are little touches through the entire film that we are used to now, but were not invented at the time. Remember also that the moon landing hadn’t happened yet, and even so, the look of the landscape proved to be spot-on.

5. There is a prelude and intermission:

This may not seem like a big deal to anyone who went to movies before the early 70s, because they had both for movies that beyond a certain length. If anyone has a copy of Gone With the Wind that they watch at home, for example, they see them. It’s different in a theater. There’s no need to look up online when the right time to climb over your companions to use the restroom might be. You can also go back and get more Snowcaps and Icees without missing plot. Teenagers who see this movie in theaters will definitely be experiencing that for the first time.

About Cinema Siren:

Leslie Combemale, who writes about women in film and artists behind the scenes and below the line at http://cinemasiren.com/, is a movie lover and aficionado who aspires to get more people back into the beautiful alternate worlds offered in dark movie houses across the country. She has also been the owner of ArtInsights Gallery of Film and Contemporary Art (https://artinsights.com/) for over twenty five years, promoting artists who are the unsung heroes essential to the finished look of films and their campaigns. She interviews actors, directors, and production artists from all over the world, and writes about film for sites like AWFJ.org, thecredits.org, http://www.animationscoop.com and likeabossgirls.com, and is often invited to present at conventions such as the San Diego Comic-Con, where she has been a panelist and host for The Art of the Hollywood Movie Poster, Classic Film History, Disney & Harry Potter Fandom discussions, and now produces a panel at SDCC called "Women Rocking Hollywood”, in its third year.