Film experiences are no more than a collection of sounds and colors that hit audiences with an emotional wall. It’s sentiments like these that bring simplicity to the otherwise enigmatic masterpiece in the Science Fiction canon, Stanley Kurbrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey.” A seductive visual landscape with razor thin story, Kubrick’s film has left an indelible impression on filmmakers and critics alike. “2001” remains the most prominent and celebrated science fiction film, reminding audiences the importance remains the idea behind the spectacle.
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In a video essay edited by Alejandro Villarreal we begin with the voice of filmmaker James Cameron and the opening sequence of the main title playing over the conjunction of the moon, earth, and son; a God’s eye vision. It’s an image almost sacred in the history of filmography that its recreation has never made the same effect. From here, we are taken on a prosaic, sentimental journey through the lens of filmmakers and critics as to the importance and universally weighted themes Kubrick eloquently, if subtly, explores.
Kubrick has influenced a whole generation of filmmakers, Martin Scorsese, William Friedkin, Steven Spielberg and many more laud the director in this video, and his name recognition and artful filmography continue to expand generational lines. Technically, “2001” demonstrates the keys of editing, framing, a shot, and create a color palette for an intergalactic mosaic. Christopher Nolan, cited in the video essay, ruminates on how “2001” supplemented the passion for pursuing expansive experiences through cinema. Kubrick’s film changed the form and made audiences begin to take science fiction seriously. An agnostic film, we return to it to explore the meanings of creationism, religion, and technology as a Frankenstein’s Monster. Kubrick, through his respectful and restrained style, creates a visionary poem. Immortalized in its universal thematic exploration and imprinted in the minds of cinematic explorers and makers, “2001: A Space Odyssey” delineates in a most powerful visual what is intrinsically so fundamental about humanity.