# 2001: A Space Odyssey turns 50 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 3, 2018, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2001-a-space-odyssey-turns-50/811723 "2018-04-03T15:27:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2001-a-space-odyssey-turns-50/811723/21 "2018-04-04T05:50:28Z")
> [@harmonicamoon](#): > > There was dialog in only 33% of the movie. > > All visual. > > Kubrick didn’t want to confuse us with the spoken word. That’s why it’s a movie, not a book. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2001-a-space-odyssey-turns-50/811723/22 "2018-04-04T05:57:16Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > _Star Wars_, while a fine actioneer with special effects in the original release that mostly still hold up (the less said about “enhanced” versions the better), isn’t any kind of science fiction. Nothing in the plot, which is half-Kurosawa action-comedy and half-WWII war movie, has anything to do with science or the impact of technological innovations on a society, and in fact it invokes non-scientific mysticism as a core element (“The Force”) and all-purpose plot-scrubber. > Stranger Star Wars began scifi in the modern use of the term, not Forry’s original use. I think you nailed what differentiates scifi from science fiction. Scifi outsells science fiction, but then the Shaver mystery outsold Astounding so I can’t blame modern society. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2001-a-space-odyssey-turns-50/811723/23 "2018-04-04T05:59:20Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > I saw it in utero and keep thinking I need to give it another go. It seems important to see. The Blu Ray version looks great. I was very impressed. And it comes with nice extras, but don’t bother listening to the commentary, which just shows that Lockwood and Dullea had no idea of what they were a part of. ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2001-a-space-odyssey-turns-50/811723/24 "2018-04-04T08:13:08Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > And I fully agree about **Rendezvous with Rama**. Doesn’t Morgan Freeman have the rights tied up? They oughtta make that sucker into a film. According to this [Variety article](http://variety.com/2017/film/features/morgan-freemans-biggest-revelation-he-could-shape-his-own-destiny-lori-mccreary-1202631663/) from a few months ago, Freeman is now planning a TV series adaptation instead of a feature film. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2001-a-space-odyssey-turns-50/811723/25 "2018-04-04T15:39:40Z")
Having grown up _reading_ science-fiction, I was quite taken with _2001_. After all, up to then the only cinematic s-f (“media” in fannish) was [pretty](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060672/reference) [much](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047573/reference) [dreck](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052564/reference). Yes, it had its flaws but I had the same sense of wonder I get so often reading and so rarely watching the genre. In a similar vein, I enjoyed [_Moon_](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1182345/reference), Sam Rockwell’s tour de force. His character is nearing the end of a three-year contract supervising an automated tritium mining facility on Luna. He starts hallucinating, possibly due to the fact that a communications malfunction has left him isolated for quite some time leaving only the station AI (Kevin Spacey) to interact with on a day-to-day basis, and doubts what is true and what is not. It was shot on an incredible $5-million budget and, like _2001_, the scenes on the Lunar surface were done with miniatures rather than CGI. Also like _2001_, it is slow-paced, the main action being a vehicle crash. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2001-a-space-odyssey-turns-50/811723/26 "2018-04-04T16:14:24Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > That’s why it’s a movie, not a book. Imagine all of the blank pages? Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2018, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2001-a-space-odyssey-turns-50/811723/27 "2018-04-10T02:25:01Z")
A documentary highlighting various technical details of this movie…including the Slit Scan tour de force of the Stargate sequence. Hard to believe something 50 years old is of higher quality than some of the shit since then.:rolleyes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StZ2fmWYom4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxDA\_PL-XzA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09LrEH4oIA0&t=68s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EKreQ5HD4w&t=921s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-WBxfwspTc ---
**Author:** ![MacLir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9e8a1a/32.png) [@MacLir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacLir)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2018, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2001-a-space-odyssey-turns-50/811723/28 "2018-04-18T22:34:40Z")
Since my name is Dave, I had some fun with this in 2001. I set my answer message to a recording of a HAL voice that said: “Hello, this is HAL. Dave stepped out. Just a moment and I will clear a memory buffer for your message. Speak after the tone, and I’ll give it to him … if he gets back in.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2018, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2001-a-space-odyssey-turns-50/811723/29 "2018-04-19T01:56:17Z")
I just finished a book of essays on 2001 by a passel of English and film professors. They all loved 2001, but most of them seemed to have no clue. One made a big deal about how the monolith turned the omnivorous apes into carnivores - and thought that increased what they could eat. :rolleyes: Another said that 2001 could be considered both sf and a fairy tale, but because he didn’t get sf he’d analyze it as a fairy tale. The last part of his essay was how the whole thing involved mothers, especially in the final hotel room sequence. No mothers there, you say. Sure - it was about Dave looking for his mother. What part of the movie justifies this? He didn’t even give any. They got stuff out of sequence. Most of them never read Clarke’s book to figure out what was going on. And one essay was about how 2001 was obscene (a good thing) but she never bothered to define what obscene meant in this context. I don’t think the whole book was meant to be a parody - but it could serve as one. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2018, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2001-a-space-odyssey-turns-50/811723/30 "2018-04-19T02:18:20Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > And one essay was about how 2001 was obscene (a good thing) but she never bothered to define what obscene meant in this context. Well, _Discovery_ did kind of look like a spermatozoon. So…there’s that. The rest of the essays I don’t have any input, except that [eating animal protein did probably allow humans to grow larger brains](https://www.amazon.com/Human-Advantage-Brains-Became-Remarkable/dp/0262533537). That first protein was likely from shellfish rather than wildebeests, but protohumans foraging in tidal pools isn’t nearly as dramatic as one clubbing wild swine and then using the same weapon to kill the leader of an opposing tribe, and wouldn’t have been as thematic a transition as [a thigh bone being tossed into the air to overlay onto an orbiting weapon platform](https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=qtbOmpTnyOc&t=1m31s). Stranger ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2018, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2001-a-space-odyssey-turns-50/811723/31 "2018-04-19T10:06:29Z")
> [@MacLir](#): > > Since my name is Dave, I had some fun with this in 2001. I set my answer message to a recording of a HAL voice that said: > > “Hello, this is HAL. Dave stepped out. Just a moment and I will clear a memory buffer for your message. Speak after the tone, and I’ll give it to him … if he gets back in.” > > 😃 Ha! ---
**Author:** ![7happycreations](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/7/8e8cbc/32.png) [@7happycreations](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/7happycreations)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2018, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2001-a-space-odyssey-turns-50/811723/32 "2018-04-19T10:39:04Z")
Love that movie. Saw it when I was a kid on the big screen. Awestruck. 50 already. WOW\> ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2018, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2001-a-space-odyssey-turns-50/811723/33 "2018-04-19T13:05:47Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Well, _Discovery_ did kind of look like a spermatozoon. So…there’s that. > > The rest of the essays I don’t have any input, except that [eating animal protein did probably allow humans to grow larger brains](https://www.amazon.com/Human-Advantage-Brains-Became-Remarkable/dp/0262533537). That first protein was likely from shellfish rather than wildebeests, but protohumans foraging in tidal pools isn’t nearly as dramatic as one clubbing wild swine and then using the same weapon to kill the leader of an opposing tribe, and wouldn’t have been as thematic a transition as [a thigh bone being tossed into the air to overlay onto an orbiting weapon platform](https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=qtbOmpTnyOc&t=1m31s). > > Stranger The 4 million year edit. Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2018, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2001-a-space-odyssey-turns-50/811723/34 "2018-04-19T14:20:19Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > . . . That first protein was likely from shellfish rather than wildebeests, but protohumans foraging in tidal pools isn’t nearly as dramatic as one clubbing wild swine and then using the same weapon to kill the leader of an opposing tribe,. . . … > > Stranger Were there swine in that sequence? I remember tapirs. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2018, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2001-a-space-odyssey-turns-50/811723/35 "2018-04-19T14:26:05Z")
> [@MacLir](#): > > Since my name is Dave, I had some fun with this in 2001. I set my answer message to a recording of a HAL voice that said: > > “Hello, this is HAL. Dave stepped out. Just a moment and I will clear a memory buffer for your message. Speak after the tone, and I’ll give it to him … if he gets back in.” > > 😃 I like “clever and funny”! (picture thumbs up smiley) ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2018, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2001-a-space-odyssey-turns-50/811723/36 "2018-04-19T14:29:35Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > Were there swine in that sequence? I remember tapirs. You are correct. Kubrick was an incredible stickler for accuracy and details, but in terms of Photography he was willing to go with the tapirs even though they are only native to South America. They looked good and they looked someone exotic. Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2018, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2001-a-space-odyssey-turns-50/811723/37 "2018-04-20T02:51:53Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Well, _Discovery_ did kind of look like a spermatozoon. So…there’s that. Curiously unremarked on in the essay. > [@](#): > > The rest of the essays I don’t have any input, except that [eating animal protein did probably allow humans to grow larger brains](https://www.amazon.com/Human-Advantage-Brains-Became-Remarkable/dp/0262533537). That first protein was likely from shellfish rather than wildebeests, but protohumans foraging in tidal pools isn’t nearly as dramatic as one clubbing wild swine and then using the same weapon to kill the leader of an opposing tribe, and wouldn’t have been as thematic a transition as [a thigh bone being tossed into the air to overlay onto an orbiting weapon platform](https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=qtbOmpTnyOc&t=1m31s). > > Stranger I think the writer meant vegetarian to carnivore, and didn’t know the difference. (These English majors …) Kubrick could have lightened them up if he had shown one of the apes eating grubs or something. While what you said is true about the meat, I think that they got a lot more calories for a lot less work is more important. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2018, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2001-a-space-odyssey-turns-50/811723/38 "2018-04-20T02:53:21Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > Were there swine in that sequence? I remember tapirs. They were very messy tapirs. Drove Kubrick crazy. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2018, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2001-a-space-odyssey-turns-50/811723/39 "2018-04-20T15:31:17Z")
A great movie, which I first saw in a TV broadcast in my early teens. I’ve seen it three or four times since, and it’s still a masterpiece. I love the epic sweep of it, from prehistory up to the near future, as humanity is guided in its evolution by unseen aliens. The quiet horror of HAL’s descent into madness and murder, and Bowman’s hard-won triumph over him, are compelling. The sfx and sets are still very impressive. Here’s my earlier thread on meeting Keir Dullea, and some of his interesting behind-the-scenes stories about making the movie: [I met Keir Dullea tonight! - Cafe Society - Straight Dope Message Board](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=616628) And here’s a good thread on HAL and his chess-playing: [HAL 9000 Playing Chess in 2001 - Cafe Society - Straight Dope Message Board](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=656637) But what if HAL had won?: [2001: What if HAL had won out? (spoilers) - Cafe Society - Straight Dope Message Board](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=530903) > [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > …Peter Hyams’ follow-up… largely followed the story of the novel except for changing “Dr. Chandra” to “Dr. Chandler”… No, Bob Balaban’s character was still named Dr. Chandra, but he wasn’t of Indian descent as he was in the book: > **[2010: The Year We Make Contact](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010:_The_Year_We_Make_Contact)** > > 2010: The Year We Make Contact (abbreviated on-screen as simply 2010) is a 1984 American science fiction film written, produced, shot and directed by Peter Hyams. It is a sequel to Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey and is based on Arthur C. Clarke's 1982 sequel novel, 2010: Odyssey Two. The film stars Roy Scheider, Helen Mirren, Bob Balaban and John Lithgow, along with Keir Dullea and Douglas Rain of the cast of the previous film. > Nine years after the failure of the Discovery O... > **[2010 (1984) ⭐ 6.7 | Adventure, Mystery, Sci-Fi](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086837/)** > > 1h 56m | PG ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2018, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2001-a-space-odyssey-turns-50/811723/40 "2018-04-20T16:37:37Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > While what you said is true about the meat, I think that they got a lot more calories for a lot less work is more important. The calories were important, allowing the gracile australopiths that evolved into genus _Homo_ to spend less time foraging and remain in a smaller area, but the specific saturated fats and high quality proteins from animal sources allowed hominids to develop and support larger brains than the other primates. > [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > No, Bob Balaban’s character was still named Dr. Chandra, but he wasn’t of Indian descent as he was in the book: > > [2010: The Year We Make Contact - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010:_The_Year_We_Make_Contact) > [2010 (1984) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086837/) That is even worst whitewashing than changing the character. Balaban is a great character actor but he his just about the furtherest ethnically from Bhāratan than pretty much anyone but a Scandinavian. Stranger [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2001-a-space-odyssey-turns-50/811723.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2001-a-space-odyssey-turns-50/811723.md?page=3)