A giant monolith appeared on earth one day and began to experiment with many of them, probing and developing their minds. Clarke and kubrick worked on the book together, but eventually only clarke ended up as the official author. Summary read a plot overview of the entire book or a chapter by chapter summary and analysis. After david bowman discovers the jovian monolith, he travels through a star gate of unknown space and time. Today, were analyzing the themes and motifs, and talk about what actually happened. Sometime in the distant past, someone or something nudged evolution by placing a monolith on earth presumably elsewhere throughout the universe as well. It took many years to figure out the meaning of the ending alone.
A space odysseys ending is famous among strange film endings, and when you consider that the competition includes magnolia, mulholland drive, and rockadoodle, thats sayin something. Sparknotes is here for you with everything you need to ace or teach. The soundtrack is known for its use of many classical and orchestral pieces, and credited for giving many classical pieces resurgences in popularity, such as johann strauss iis 1866 blue danube waltz, richard strauss symphonic poem also sprach zarathustra inspired by the writings of friedrich. Kubrick could probably have shot 2001 from a treatment, since most of what clarke wrote, in particular some windy voiceovers which explained the level of intelligence reached by the ape men, the geological state of the world at the dawn of man, the problems of life on the discovery and much more, was discarded during the last days of editing, along with the explanation of hals breakdown. Still, some others say its just daves fever dream as he runs out of oxygen on the planet. A space odyssey was a film aboutwell, what is about. Apr 07, 2018 the interactive transcript could not be loaded. Rating is available when the video has been rented. A space odyssey but was replaced in the role by roy scheider in 2010. True, but when we say everywhere, we mean everywhere. There are few conversations that could not be handled with title cards. Aug 12, 2017 the following content is mainly based off of arthur c.
The ending is largely symbolic, and reading the book helps with its interpretation. Heywood floyd is sent to the moon owing to a secretive and rumored disease that is believed to have inflicted the american portion of the colony. Yeah, we hear you say, of course there are screens everywhere. Clarke and the 1968 film directed by stanley kubrick. It was developed concurrently with stanley kubricks film version and published after the release of the film. Heres where youll find analysis about the book as a whole. A space odyssey was written, mankind had not yet set foot on the moon. Evolution then enabled humankind to reach the moons surface, where yet another monolith is found, one that signals the monolith placers that humankind has. In 1969, kubrick told joseph gelmis you begin with an artifact left on earth four million years ago by extraterrestrial explorers who observed the behavior of the manapes of the time and decided to influence their evolutionary progression. Well explore the events in the book, discuss and analyze its main. Clarkes novel 2001 a space odyssey, his short story the sentinel, and kubricks famous film, 2001. Read a plot overview of the entire book or a chapter by chapter summary and analysis. William sylvester played floyd in the film version of 2001. Fiftytwo years later, this horrifying story is a science fiction classic, touted by the times.
Ironically, the dialogue containing the most feeling comes from hal, as it pleads for its life and. A space odyssey and indepth analyses of hal and david bowman. After the first encounter with the monolith, we see the leader of the apes have a quick flashback to the monolith after which he picks up a bone and uses it to smash other bones. A space odyssey, revealing its meaning and storyline. A space odyssey explained were now 18 years past 2001, weve never been to jupiter, and the enigmatic ending of the movie still haunts the generations who watch it. A space odyssey is a soundtrack album to the film of the same name, released in 1968. Mar 16, 2017 in terms of the content, making and technical brilliance, 2001.
How could we possibly appreciate the mona lisa if leonardo le. The star child is what david bowman becomes after his experience through the star gate, in the jovian system, in arthur c. A space odyssey is undoubtedly way ahead of its time or even our time. The odyssey is a long greek poem by homer about a dude named odysseus who goes on a long voyage. The first encounter with a monolith gave our ancient ancestors the knowledge of how to use tools. Were now 18 years past 2001, weve never been to jupiter, and the enigmatic ending of the movie still haunts the generations who watch it. A space odyssey was a visual effects pioneer 2001 casts an enormous shadow on the last halfcentury of pop culture, let alone the sciencefiction genre. One of its most enduring qualities is how open to interpretation it isover the years, the enigmatic film has. A space odyssey is a film that lacks what they desire most in a movie. Frank poole is an astronaut aboard discovery one on the first manned mission to jupiter in 2001.
Trusting every aspect of our lives to a giant computer was the smartest thing we ever did. Truthfully though the movie is more properly based on clarkes novel childhoods end. The manapes of the world, who lived by gathering berries and nuts, were facing a lack of food. The outlines of a simple plot were already in place. Typically, a novel is released, and then a few years later, a film adaptation is made, but with 2001.
Both the novel and the film are partially based on clarkes 1948 short story the sentinel, an entry in a bbc short story competition, and encounter in the dawn, published in 1953 in the magazine amazing stories. Among those in whom the monolith took an interest was moonwatcher, the only manape who walked fully upright. With keir dullea, gary lockwood, william sylvester, daniel richter. An important thing to understand is that on the one hand there is nothing to understand about this movie, its express purpose is to make you think. The main function of the 2001 monolith seems to be to inspire or bring about transcendent change, but its fully possible it alerted its creators at the same time. A space odyssey returned to theaters earlier this summer and toured the country with an unrestored 70mm print. As we see in the beginning of the movie a bunch of apes the early men come across the monolith and they have no idea what it is.
So whats up with the title is that clarke is saying, that old greek dude went on a long voyage and had adventures way back when, and so heres a story about the future of 2001, when some other dude is going to go on an awesome voyage also. The star gate brings bowman to a replica of a hotel room. Everything that is there on the screen is there in the. Someone please explain the ending to me like im a 5 year old. This lacking in traditional storytelling elements is what makes 2001. A space odyssey film is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel. A space odyssey, the novel and the movie were developed concurrently and released around the. Kubrick may have set out to make a sciencefiction film, but 2001. In 1951 john wyndham published his novel the day of the triffids to moderate acclaim. The following content is mainly based off of arthur c. A space odyssey is a 1968 science fiction novel by british writer arthur c. In this space, time seems to excel or jump toward the final days of.
Read a plot overview of the entire book or a chapter by. I loved the way it told a story without necessarily explaining everything, and really allowing ones own imagination to fill in some of the gaps. This article reveals the explained plot and the detailed events in stanley kubricks 2001. A space odyssey, had its premieres across the country. A space odyssey quiz that tests what you know about important details and events in the book. A space odyssey is the 1968 science fiction novel written by arthur c. A space odyssey symbolically describes the story of mankinds life.
Fifty years ago this spring, stanley kubricks confounding scifi masterpiece, 2001. A space odyssey, the great work on film by jay weidner. Trusting every aspect of our lives to a giant computer was. A space odyssey is the 1968 science fiction novel written by arthurc. A space odyssey begins with a manape named moonwatcher millions of years ago and leaps forward through time to the present day when dr. We recommend you to read it only after watching the movie, and not before, in order to preserve the pleasure of the first vision. A space odyssey has fascinated audiences for years. I decided to pass that information along to you with this explanation and analysis of the book. A space odyssey, which turns 50 this week, is closer to home than we think, writes nicholas barber.
The novel, for example, attempts to explain things much more. Kubrick stuffs so many screens into his shots that even a verizon store floor planner would think its a tad overkill. The first part of the novel, in which aliens influence the primitive ancestors of humans, is similar to the plot of an earlier clarke story. After discovering a mysterious artifact buried beneath the lunar surface, mankind sets off on a quest to find its origins with help from intelligent supercomputer h. The space exploration programs in the united states and the soviet union were only in the early stages. Stanley kubrick is an enigmatic director who put a lot of layers into all his work.
Well explore the events in the book, discuss and analyze its main themes, and finish with a short quiz. Bowman ends up in a room somewhere in one universe or another, and we have no idea where. A space odyssey describe this movie in one simpsons quote homer. One of the conventional wisdoms of adapting novels in to film is that the book is always better. Understanding the film 2001 is best done through the lens of homers the odyssey hal as the cyclops, nietzsches thus spoke zarathustra and the genealogy of morals, along with finally frueds civilization and its discontents the film is structured around the odyssey, while it contrasts neitzschian transhumanism on the one hand against frueds thesis that civilization.
A space odyssey is one of my favorite films and my favorite scifi of all time, i ve committed far too many hours of my life watching it and i m now here to share my thoughts on what the. This fabulous novel is a science fiction treatment of an essential gnostic ideal. The one based on the book goes like this the black monolith you saw in the beginning of the film, and the one found buried on the moon, were placed there by a supremely advanced alien race as a way to nudge along the evolution of humanity. Both the novel and the film are partially based on clarkes 1948 short story the sentinel, an entry in a bbc short story competition, and encounter in the dawn. It seems to explain the ending of the film more clearly. There are many people who think 2001 is about the afterlife, or how nothing really matters. A space odyssey novel actually explains the crazy ending. Clarke and stanley kubrick teamed up on the mindblowing 1968 film 2001. Much of the dialogue exists only to show people talking to one another, without much regard to content this is true of the conference on the space station. One of the most influential of all scifi films and one of the most controversial stanley kubricks 2001 is a delicate, poetic meditation on the. Next, the one on the moon pointed us farther out into space, toward jupiter and may have given us the ability to create artificial intelligence i. A space odyssey many years ago and being blown away by how powerful it was, and also a bit scared by it. In terms of the content, making and technical brilliance, 2001.
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