This is the 2002 Guestbook Click below for previous years
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The Stanley Kubrick Page of Remembrance

 

Host: ujakmi.kozut.hu
Date: Thursday December 12, 2002   05:00:28
Name: Viktor
Comments: Hello! I have seen the movie not once, but at least five times too, and sure I'm gonna watch it again from time to time. And I must tell, (if some of you wouldn't yet know), that it's really fascinating and monumental. Whereas it didn't change my life to a great extent, but my way of thinking about the future of human.
In addition, the contrast/harmony between the Waltz and spacecraft was one of the most breath-taking experience I ever had. It kind of opened a window for my relation to arts, like classical music. And ever since then I can't stop "hearing" the tune when I see spacecraft on TV etc., and also imagining spaceflight when hearing the actual piece of music:)
Thanks to Mr. Kubrick, Mr. Strauss, and Mr. Underman...although I started with the guestbook, and I haven't looked at the site itself yet, but I promise I'm just going to:)

From The Underview:

Hope you enjoy it, Viktor.

As Bob Grassi reminds us (below), in 1968 Kubrick made a film that set artistic and technical standards well into the future. Will it be remade? Of course it will, in one form or another, and the lie will be spread that it's what Kubrick wanted all along. The process of recreating him as one of the Hollywood trough- feeders was in place before most people had even heard of his death. 2001 is too important a landmark to leave undegraded.

If you have any doubts, look at the fate of Solaris and reflect on how far backwards we have been herded since Andrey Tarkovsky created his masterpiece.

(Remaking 2001 is conjecture, no plans are known to actually do it. But when it happens, you read it here first.)

Host: pcp02354629pcs.pimaco01.az.comcast.net
Date: Sunday December 08, 2002   21:52:47
Name: Bob Grassi
Comments: It has been a while since I visited this site. I was inspired to do so after my recent purchase of a DVD player, a 27" flat screen (non HDTV) tv, and a copy of the 2001 DVD release of 2001. I hooked up the tv to my stereo speakers. Even on the small screen the improved visual definition when watching the film from a DVD is breathtaking. The journey of the spaceship from Earth to the spacestation continues to be one of the most elegant and graceful visual displays captured on film. I never realized the importance of sound to the movie until I listened to it throught my stereo speakers. The DVD provided a crispness to the picture that brought back memories of what I felt while viewing the film for the first time in 1969. I have seen the film on video tape but there is no comparison. The film continues to be a wonderous experience and I still get chills down my spine when the star child appears over Earth at the end (or should I say the beginning).

Host: 210-86-47-6.dialup.xtra.co.nz
Date: Monday November 18, 2002   01:15:40
Name: Gerard
Comments: A sighting of that second Parker pen?

Are Bowman and Poole using this pen to make notes on their clipboards just after HAL announced the imminent failure of the AE35 unit?

From The Underview:

And what was Dave using for his sketches? Good thinking, a whole new field for investigation!

Host: 24-90-202-34.nyc.rr.com
Date: Wednesday October 30, 2002   09:38:51
Name: Keith
Comments: Okay. I've been scouring over quite a few of the 2001/2010 websites in answer to one very preplexing question.

Why does Dr. Floyd have a daughter (approx age 4) in 2001 and a son (approx age 10) in 2010?

From The Underview:

Aah... I don't think you were supposed to notice that...

Host: cache-dl05.proxy.aol.com
Date: Monday October 28, 2002   01:52:41
Name: Voltaire the ape-man
Comments: good to see that you are keeping up the good work.. cheers.

Host: blf2-t1-2.mcbone.net
Date: Sunday October 20, 2002   07:26:45
Name: Shaun
Comments: I have been trying in vain for years to get a copy of the soundtrack to 2010. I did have a copy on tape, but taped over it being certain that I'd be able to get a copy on CD (wrong!). If anyone knows where I can get a copy I'd be grateful for advice.

From The Underview:

http://www.gemm.com

Host: 206.48.17.99
Date: Tuesday October 08, 2002   07:56:19
Name: John Tutu
Comments: That is all it have to take the site is so good & i love it so for all igbos have noite of this The site is good please keep it up.

Host: web-cache.surrey.ac.uk
Date: Saturday October 05, 2002   10:50:52
Name: None
Comments: I'm currently studying the role of music in film. Any ideas where i can find more info on the role of music in 2001?

From The Underview:

Not much of a response on this one. If anyone has done it, they have done it quietly.

Host: host-209-215-43-40.ilm.bellsouth.net
Date: Saturday September 28, 2002   13:16:23
Name: Michael Brantley
Comments: Underman: You have created a monster. I cannot seem to stay away from your site. I have been on 2001 binge since early August (must have watched it 20 times since then). I finally decided to see 2010..didn't want to ruin the original..but I must say that it really wasn't that bad, except for the early 80's style cinematography (seemed more like a made for tv movie actually)and the fact that they brought back Haywood in the person of Roy Scheider. I feel that the script would have been much better written if they had scripted it with a collegue of Dave's wanting to go on that mission instead of Haywood. I liked the Russians though..very funny at times. Keep up the good work! P.S. Anyone looking for some really cool 2001 desktop themes should check out Themeworld.com

From The Underview:

There are a few interesting comments about 2010 in Frederic Raphael's book, "Eyes Wide Open" (bearing in mind that it's not exactly everybody's favourite book). The Space Odyssey books might be a matching set, but the films really have nothing in common at all. The "monster" is Kubrick's doing!

Host: cache.igrin.co.nz
Date: Wednesday September 25, 2002   05:35:53
Name: Eon Apocalypse
Comments: 2001 changed all. Everyone who has left a message on your amazing site has obviosily in some way been affected. I like to think of 2001 as a visual bible. Im a 14 year old athiest, I beleive in no god but i beleive in ideas. I beleive in awareness and expanding on realms of perception. Stanley Kubrick visually enhanced our minds, gave us substance to mold thoughts out of.

The movie to me was about the very purpose it was there to serve - the expansion and evolution of our brains. If Stanley was really trying to show us how humans had been, how they were changing, and how consciouness fitted into this, then not only did he show it but he made us feel it. I felt as though my mind had stumbled on some great secret when I watched the movie, the movie evolved me as I watched it evolve itself. It has such amazing visual effects and music, it sets the mood and the scene. I only wish more thought was put into what we watch, why should we settle for stupid gameshows and talkshows when such beautiful ideas could be being constructed into movies? If more movies were like 2001 then I think the human species would evolve just a little bit quicker.

My intepretation of this movie is that Stanley Kubrick had more on his mind then just a movie, his movie is the monolith.

By watching it, you felt its power didn't you? 2001 is the monolith, the more open minded we are the more it will affect us. Im going to go watch the movie again now, I'm in the mood to be mystified.

Eon Apocalypse

From The Underview:

Well said, a few more like that and I'll have to revise my opinion of thinking in the world today. :)

Host: cache.igrin.co.nz
Date: Wednesday September 25, 2002   05:20:17
Name: Eon Apocalypse
Comments: 2001: is one of those few moments in history where we are forced to really think. Stanly Kubrick not only created a movie, he created an entirely new way to see our universe. Im only 14, but have already put a lifetime of thinking into the visions he inspired.

Host: f143151.upc-f.chello.nl
Date: Monday September 23, 2002   15:53:15
Name: Frank Muusz
Comments: I'm looking for a soundclip of Hal, saying:'What are you doing, Dave?' I want to use it on my computer, can anybody help me? Thanks!

From The Underview:

Best place is the sounds section on http://www.palantir.net/2001/.

Host: 66-188-115-95.mad.wi.charter.com
Date: Wednesday September 11, 2002   20:15:11
Name: gary
Comments: I first saw it at 10 years old. It made me think. 25 years later, I'm still thinking. Thanks Stan.

From The Underview:

Give yourself a break, you deserve it! ;)

Host: webcacheb09a.cache.pol.co.uk
Date: Wednesday September 04, 2002   12:28:52
Name: Kevin Powney (England)
Comments: I think that the impact of 2001 aso is reflected by the fact that so many people from across the globe feel the need to offer their thoughts on the meaning of this epic. In 1968 when I saw the film for the first of many times I was struck by the attention to detail regarding the computer displays etc. It seems strange that I am using a similar medium to add my comments on 34 years later. I guess that Kubrick may not have got every forcast right but there will not be many films made today that accurately predict events and technology 34 years from now as well. Clarke is a great writer but Kubrick was the great visionary and I will be eternally grateful to him for giving us a film which always intrigues and strangely seems to subtly change every time I watch it.

Host: sc-gw1.homechoice.co.uk
Date: Tuesday September 03, 2002   00:43:57
Name: Mike Hawkins
Comments: Kenneth Kendal is still very much alive and thriving. He has his own tea shop down at the coast in Hampshire.

From The Underview:

Wise man! The Hampshire coast was one of my own haunts way back, perhaps I will end up joining him one day :)

Host: aegis.itc.gu.edu.au
Date: Sunday August 18, 2002   23:36:27
Name: Ed Herbert
Comments: Imagine reading this resume: 2001, Lolita, Dr Strangelove, Full Metal Jacket, The Shining etc etc etc... Stanley Kubrick is the greatest director of all time, period. A master of every genre; a master of character; a master of irony; a master of SFX; a master of dramatizing and filming the human condition, psyche and race; THE master.

Host: avocado.dialups.via-net-works.ie
Date: Thursday August 15, 2002   09:25:25
Name: Dominic Phelan
Comments: I think the following is worth a look - this comparison of an earlier Soviet film that shares many similar visual themes of Kubrick's movie certainly gives a new angle on a subject I imagined was done to death...

Comments anyone?

http://www.astronautix.com/articles/roastars.htm

From The Underview:

As soon as pop-up windows start to appear, I'm off, so I will probably never see this page. But I am not familiar with that film, so more information is welcome.

Host: 216.215.128.77.nw.nuvox.net
Date: Sunday July 28, 2002   16:41:12
Name: Michael Brantley
Comments: Great site. I am amazed at the number of people who love this film as much as I do. I am one of the lucky ones who was able to see TTOASO the way it was intended to be shown..on the large screen. I must have been about eight years old. I think it was probably one of those Saturdays when my mom wanted my brother and I out of the house for a while so she drops us off at the movies. I remember thinking whats up with all of the breathing this isn't anything like Star Trek..boy was I bummed. I'm glad I decided to see it again (and again) once I became older. It truly is the greatest movie of all time. One other thing. So much is made of the true meaning of the movie, the different interpretations of this film is why we are discussing it over 30 years later. I think it is just what they had in mind.

Host: a122d31.elisa.omakaista.fi
Date: Sunday July 21, 2002   03:41:04
Name: Steve Bird
Comments: Thoroughly enjoyable site, thanks for your work. I saw 2001 for the first time in '68 at the age of 15 and have always found time to see it again in a good theater when possible. I also have a VHS recording from 1989 when Finnish tv broadcast it - complete with Finnish subtitles! I watch the movie on average once a year and these days I mourn for the lost future we once had.

From The Underview:

Is there anything we can do to get it back? It seems such a waste, after looking forward to it for so long.

Host: 12.104.103.199
Date: Friday July 19, 2002   09:34:47
Name: T.B.
Comments: I watched "2001" in 1968 when I was eight. I remember my father, on the ride home, being upset that us kids didn't "get it." Sheesh, dad. I just remember that the film was IT back then. It was being talked about everywhere, sort of like a political scandal nowadays. It was a "you're either on the bus, or off the bus" movie. My feelings towards the film have not changed over the years. You pay your money, plop down in the seat, and here we go! The real deal, the whole trip, nothing held back, a truly artistic expression.

That said, I wonder why not too many have picked up on the Homeric parallels. A space ODYSSEY. An ODYSSEY in space. Get it? Homer, Odysseus, heck, even James Joyce. You don't have to know Homer's Odyssey well to enjoy Joyce's "Ulysses": but if you do, it lets you in on the joke. (The "overman" is mentioned in the first chapter of "Ulysses," BTW.) Also, the main music, R. Strauss's "Also sprach Zarathustra." This is another clue, etc., etc., keep up the good work.

From The Underview:

Len Wheat had a lot to say on the subject. He won't be the last.

Host: syr-24-169-66-148.twcny.rr.com
Date: Tuesday July 16, 2002   20:11:54
Name: J Holsapple
Comments: What is there to say -- 2001 is the greatest film ever made, period, end of story.

Host: h151n1fls23o825.telia.com
Date: Thursday July 11, 2002   00:10:31
Name: benjamin staern
Comments: I forgot to mention that your site is marvellous and I wonder if you have any clips as a QuickTime movie of one of Kubrick's films?

Do you have any suggestions where I can buy video or DVD's on the net with Kubrick's movies?

Best regards, Benjamin

From The Underview:

Digital movies have never been included in The Underview, because (mainly) they take up too much space. Amazon is still a good starting place for videos, etc. There are links now on my home page.

Host: h151n1fls23o825.telia.com
Date: Thursday July 11, 2002   00:06:09
Name: benjamin staern
Comments: The first time I ever saw a Kubrick film was 2001 in 1997. I was stunned for its ascetic style and poetical messages. For me, as a contemporary composer his movies have inspired my way of thinking in timing. Kubrick has a special relations to timing, for instance once you think the movie is going to end at a certain point like in any old commercial or traditional movie, it doesn't end there. It proceeds!

Then I've seen also his version of Lolita in which came a few years earlier than 2001. Also a great movie and a very original play by V.Nabukov. I've seen some parts of Eyes Wide Shut, his last movie. Though it's lasting nearly 3 hours, still it fascinates you in one way.

Host: host169-33.pool80206.interbusiness.it
Date: Wednesday July 10, 2002   05:51:15
Name: Giuseppe Gobbetti
Comments: A very interesting and beautiful site. Thanks very much for your good good good work. ( I think 2001 the best film in the history )

From The Underview:

Thank you, Giuseppe.

Host: adsl-65-64-153-234.dsl.stlsmo.swbell.net
Date: Sunday June 30, 2002   22:23:15
Name: David R. Bowser
Comments: I just saw 2001 again in a local theatre where they are showing it this week. One thing that I noticed this time around is that the Aries captain who comes down to the passenger deck to chat with Dr. Floyd looks to be wearing one of the Hamilton watches that you show in the 2001 lifestyle section.

From The Underview:

Kubrick didn't make those product placements obvious, did he!

Host: pcp01305123pcs.pimaco01.az.comcast.net
Date: Tuesday June 25, 2002   15:23:54
Name: Bob Grassi
Comments: I periodically revisit your website and continue to be pleasantly suprised by the way it has grown and diversified. It is interesting how 2001 continues to spark interest in the most unusual places. I have seen 3 TV commercials in the last 6 months that are a "testimonial" to the movie. Recently there was a Bank of America commercial where the main person sees black monoliths all over the place. They turn out to be ATM machines. A recent Lincoln Navigator commercial shows the 3rd seat of the car folding down slowly to the sounds of the opening theme to the movie. Same for a local Ford dealer commercial that talks of 2002 savings while numbers flow off into space (a la Star Wars) while the 2001 theme loudly plays.

I wonder how many people make the association with the movie? Regardless, it is nice to see that somewhere certain commercial makers have enough respect for the movie to give it a discrete salute in their productions.

I recently purchased a copy of The Lost Worlds of 2001 by Arthur Clarke. Nice telling of the relationship between Clarke and Kubrick.

From The Underview:

I don't know if it is a global campaign, but for some time now IBM has been running a series of press advertisements featuring "astronauts" in various situations, all wearing spacesuits closely modelled on those from 2001. Over the years, the film must have generated more "discrete salutes" than almost any other.

"Lost Worlds": ref. the "Books" page in this web site.

Host: user-uivfpe0.dsl.mindspring.com
Date: Saturday June 01, 2002   12:32:02
Name: Hal Prentice
Comments: Very good site.

I saw the film in Detroit in June, 1968. I can't recall the name of the Cinerama theatre, though it seems it was not the name you indicate on your site. Since 1968 I've seen 2001 "projected" at least 80 times, though not since the late 70s. I was unable to catch any of the re-release showings.

The original recording of Also sprach... used in the film (not the Bohm version, as is so often supposed) with the Vienna Philharmonic conducted by Herbert von Karajan was reissued on CD on London, though I am not sure if it is still available.

The Columbia recording of music used in the film conducted by Bernstein/Ormandy with Subotnik electronic interludes was rather a disappoint. However, the suite from Blomdahl's "Aniara" featured on the flip side is the real treasure on that album. The complete opera was issued on Columbia around 1960. (I have both LPs in my collection and have transferred it to CD and digitally cleaned the "Aniara" suite.)

Anyway, very fine site. Thanks for your efforts.

Host: 62.56.188.237
Date: Friday May 31, 2002   06:05:41
Name: I BE GUYMAN
Comments: IT IS ALREADY BEEN DONE........

Host: dialin65138.flashlink.net
Date: Saturday May 25, 2002   18:11:02
Name: Viridian
Comments: I did a Google search of "best motion picture ever made" and I have done similar searches for best film and best movie. Along with predictable picks like Citizen Kane, Star Wars, and Gone With the Wind, there is also mention of 2001: a space odyssey. I believe it is only a matter of time (centuries perhaps) before we are the majority opinion. Most people have never seen 2001 on a big screen--much less a curved Cinema screen.

There are only three Cinerama theatres left I'm told and Microsoft's Paul Allen refurbished one of the three. God bless Paul Allen!

Anyway, seeing 2001 on television chopped up by commercials or on the small screen via VCR, DVD and video is not the same experience. This is one (of many reasons) why 2001 does not get more respect. I personally refused to watch the broadcast premiere because I hold the film in high regard.

My thanks to the great people who maintain 2001 websites like this one!

Host: 63.227.60.113
Date: Wednesday May 22, 2002   12:34:34
Name: John_S
Comments: Yes, I am very sorry. I have been looking extensively at this site and others like it for the past few days, and well, yes it's the same thing, sorry to be repetitive but YOU MUST READ THE BOOK. Same goes for 2010. There appears to be a vast network of people that are really into the movies but for some unknown reason refuse to read the books, so they endlessly debate possible meanings and interpretations. This I do not understand, but to each his own I guess. And no I do not agree that the book 2001 was "just one interpretation", the book and the movie go hand in hand, it was the basis for the screenplay. The main plot and the subplots in the book and the movie are identical. Yes there are some minor differences like in the book they go to Saturn instead of Jupiter, Bowman does not recover Poole's body, etc. But the stories remain the same. Especially the reson for Hal's breakdown, it is impossible to garner this from the movie, and it is a fascinating story! Sorry, this is a great site, lots of work obviously, it just is driving me crazy that so many people won't read the book! Why???

From The Underview:

Short answer: ref. the "Frequently Asked Questions" page, point 6. Long answer: ref. Len Wheat's "Fresh Insights".

Host: adsl-151-201-38-233.pittpa.adsl.bellatlantic.net
Date: Tuesday May 14, 2002   19:43:02
Name: cecil2
Comments: Was Kubrick inspired by the 1953 film The Wages of Fear? In it, the Blue Danube visually complements a scene at the end that highlights an ironic ending.

Host: 63.227.60.113
Date: Tuesday May 14, 2002   12:20:22
Name: John_S
Comments: Ummm, I love your site but I'm a little confused by all the confusion as to what the film means and some of your answers about that. It still is as true now as it was in 1968: you have to read the book. If you don't, I can well see how one could come up with all sorts of possible scenarios as to the meaning, but reading it clarifies it completely, that is the only true meaning. The film is impossible to understand on it's own, beautiful as it may be. Why would somebody want to make up a false meaning when all you have to do is read the book? It's a short book. The film is also much more enjoyable once you understand it.

Host: 129.71.222.81
Date: Thursday May 09, 2002   10:16:14
Name: Chuck Anziulewicz
Comments: I have dropped by this website from time to time, over the years, and there's always something new.

http://hometown.aol.com/PolishBear

Host: aca5a859.ipt.aol.com
Date: Sunday May 05, 2002   12:17:38
Name: wally anderson
Comments: My daughter asked to rent the movie this weekend. She followed 75% of it. She had a hard time understanding the very end. We are on the web today, through our Britannica link, to find some essays explaining the final scenes.

From The Underview:

75% is a good start! I doubt whether 2001 is too controversial for Britannica.com, but I was motivated to add a "buyer beware" comment about them in my Links page after finding that their content on an unrelated subject was less than trustworthy.

Host: host217-35-166-149.in-addr.btopenworld.com
Date: Sunday April 28, 2002   16:36:33
Name: John Hill
Comments: 2001, the best film ever.

Host: 62.248.38.17
Date: Monday April 22, 2002   05:45:55
Name: burak deniz
Comments: I think Kubrick is the greatest director of the world.a clockwork orange,eyes wide shut,the shinning are my favourite.his style is very effectly and more different than the other director.(burak deniz)

Host: 194.224.58.37
Date: Thursday April 11, 2002   05:19:37
Name: Fernando
Comments: Great film. Your website is very interesting.

Host: h15.226.dialup.iptcom.net
Date: Sunday April 07, 2002   01:23:55
Name: Mike
Comments: this is great page! good luck!
---------
WBR, http://www.theposters.net

Host: spider-wc072.proxy.aol.com
Date: Saturday March 30, 2002   12:05:36
Name: Wolfman
Comments: I`m a big Odyssey fan, this is the greatest Odyssey site that I`ve found. But I`ve noticed somethig kind of subtle that I haven`t read anywhere on your site. The first thing that Heywood Floyd tries to do when he sees the Monolith is touch it. The exact same thing that Moonwatcher did. I could be searching too deep into the movie, but could this mean something? Maybe our basic instincts are still a lot like the ape`s instincts.

From The Underview: Kubrick does seem to suggest that four million years has not made quite such a difference as we might like to think. Lunar Models captured the moment nicely (right).

Host: pix100.nvusd.k12.ca.us
Date: Friday March 22, 2002   14:25:48
Name: Kem Graham
Comments: I first watched 2001 at age 6 in 1969 and was in awe at Kubrick's work that Arthur C. Clarke. Today, as an engineer, I long to have an HAL 9000 computer working with me. I am glad to see the pursuit of 2001 and beyond so well documented in this place we call the www.

Host: modem101.netkonect.net
Date: Thursday March 21, 2002   02:58:00
Name: Hugh Schoenemann
Comments: Hello everyone,

Great site.

I saw some speculation in the cast list section that the BBC 12 newscaster in the film was a BBC newscaster (a newsreader as we say here in the Old Country) in real life, though I found no reference on your site to what his real name was.

Well, in real life he was KENNETH KENDAL and he was a newsreader for many years for the BBC here in the UK. As far as I can remember he retired from newsreading in the late seventies or early eighties, though he did go on to present other shows from time to time.

Sadly I do not know whether Mr. Kendal is still with us; give me a few days and I shall try to find out.

Best wishes folks,

Hugh (2001 nut since I first saw it in 1968 at the age of 10).

From The Underview:

Thanks, Hugh. Information always gladly received. I believe Dennis Gonzales has recently done some work on this subject, you might like to check his website "http://www.2001exhibit.org".

Host: h182.229.dialup.iptcom.net
Date: Wednesday March 20, 2002   15:51:57
Name: http://www.theposters.net
Comments: very nice site!

Host: hack-io4.bccls.org
Date: Wednesday February 20, 2002   16:36:18
Name: j
Comments: Saw something the other day that may be of interest. Seems Gary Lockwood has his own book detailing his life story. I think the title was: 2001: An Actors Odyssey. Book includes info and pics from his time working on 2001, as well as other movie and TV works.

si england

From The Underview:

A reliable source advises that Dan Richter ("Moonwatcher") is also making progress with his own life story.

Problems at the domain server have made performance of this guestbook and web site unpredictable this week. Hopefully all is now back to normal. Well, perhaps "all" is a slight exaggeration, I mean "all" in relation to The Underview. The rest of it out there gets worse by the day.

Talking of events this week (see below), somebody has got themselves a nice new watch, and hello Malcolm - strange how short the time since 1968 seems looking back, when 2001 was such a long time coming.

Date: Sunday February 17, 2002   18:04:45
Name: Malcolm Worsham
Comments: 2001 changed my life in 1968!

Date: Friday February 15, 2002   11:54:14
Name: Vasko R. Mitzev
Comments: Hi, check out the Kubrick Commissioned Hamilton Odyssee 2001 Watch I've got on Ebay right now. No reserve and in fab shape. Ebay Item #1704069119 Please pass this email to interested collectors. Thanks and all the best- Vasko.

Host: crystalwareltd.demon.co.uk
Date: Saturday February 09, 2002   16:54:50
Name: simon beith
Comments: this is a great site. Underman, is there any real significance in the LAGRANGE POINT? (1772)

si england

From The Underview:

It's one of those things that seems to have some meaning for Clarke, but I can't say that I have ever looked it up. Maybe a Clarke follower would know?

This guestbook is getting a bit big, I'll tidy things up some time when I'm at a loose end (that's an in-joke... but I've done it, anyway.)

Host: user-uivee7p.dsl.mindspring.com
Date: Wednesday January 30, 2002   21:17:54
Name: 398
Comments: Regarding your analysis that Hal was in fact, infallible and all his actions were justifiable because of the importance of the mission objectives: How do you account for the killings of the 3 hibernating scientists? As far as know, they posed no threat to the mission in Hal's eyes (unlike the Bowman and Toole) so why did he terminate their lives unless he was malfunctioning?

From The Underview:

At the time I wrote that analysis, my intention was to do what I had not seen done before: tell the story from the dark side of the red lenses, where the human beings counted as nothing more than one of many mission elements. Having had all that trouble with Dave and Frank, I'd suggest that Hal was being tidy- minded: get rid of the other three before they woke up and, like as not, started being even more of a bother.

If I was writing it now, I would probably use different words, but I still like that conclusion. At least, that part of me does, that doesn't think that maybe computers were all a big mistake to start with...

Host: spxyric1.bankofamerica.com
Date: Tuesday January 29, 2002   12:23:58
Name: Robert Sercombe
Comments: Wanted to answer the comments by Jessica Irish in the Interpretations page, re: the gender inequality in the film.

There are female astronauts in the film: the Russian women on the space station. Kubrick may have done this because Russia had already put a woman in space by 1968, whereas all NASA astronauts were white men. The white men who ran everything had absolutely no idea that the women's movement was only two years off. Kubrick was working from what he saw, and what experts told him was likely or possible by 2001. It certainly made sense to suppose women and nonwhites would reach space someday, but as Kubrick was portraying the social monotony and emotional emptiness of a technologically-advanced future, the general absence of women and nonwhites may be Kubrick's congenital pessimism. We need aliens to improve us because we can't improve ourselves, we only make more advanced tools. I mean, a man doesn't even smile at video of his mother wishing him happy birthday from 78 million miles away. He won't see her for years but doesn't seem to care.

Who said Kubrick was portraying a just, sensible, ideal future? At the time, the seemingly-endless Vietnam War and Cold War mocked such hopes. (And then he made A Clockwork Orange, in which a wretched old derelict asks "It's no world for an old man any longer! What kind of a world is it at all? Men on the moon, and men spinning around the earth, and there's not no attention paid to earthly law nor order no more!")

From The Underview:

At the time they made the film, Kubrick and Clarke both seemed to have faith in the notion of technology helping us reach onwards and outwards. It is nice to hope that the future is "just, sensible, ideal", but Kubrick perhaps knew that we would each have different definitions of those things. "White men" have had a bad press.

Host: ns.worcester.ac.uk
Date: Saturday January 26, 2002   09:17:55
Name: dave scanman
Comments: Only just this hour watched 2001 for the first time and so it is still echoing inside my head. I liked it overall but I'm perplexed by the ending, a bit surreal and disjointed. I was ok up to the point of HAL's death but then the story was lost on me. I really liked the film's epic size, stirring music and pace. Though I must admit the sub contexts and under themes were lost on me at times (Except in the beginning which I thought was brilliant). I feel rather disorientated , a bit like the scene where the moon spinning around and around in the window. I've yet to fathom the ending out and so I will read the book soon.

From The Underview:

How strange it seems, after the year 2001 has been a key future point for so many people for so long, to find ourselves on the far side, and realise that the film still affects new viewers just the way it did back when it all started. Grim reality has ended up being very different to the way it was supposed to be, yet perhaps some things will never change.

Hope you have all had chance to catch up with what's "in the pipeline" - 2001 might have gone, but work on the subject continues to expand!

Host: spider-mtc-ta082.proxy.aol.com
Date: Thursday January 03, 2002   07:10:37
Name: j
Comments: Well I finally went to see 2001 New Year's day. It was sad though to see the low turn out. Interestingly, the Sunday before, I read a letter in Roger Ebert's movie column from a N.Y. film critic who also expressed his disappoinment at the low turn out when he went to see 2001. He asked why Warner Bros. hadn't made more of an effort to publicize the re-release of such a landmark movie. Ebert agreed and said he would pass the critics' comments on to Warners. Despite the low turn out, it was still an enjoyable experience. I found my self getting misty eyed listening to Dawn of Man theme and the Blue Danube. I just wish there was some info as to how long the engagment is. Don't miss the chance when 2001 comes to your area.

Host: aca1dad3.ipt.aol.com
Date: Tuesday January 01, 2002   00:09:39
Name: gary lee conner
Comments: 2001 is in the past!!!!! I saw 2001: a space odyssey in 1969 when I was six years old. It scared the hell out of me. It has haunted me ever since. I've seen it in theaters about 4 times since then and on video probably fifty times. It is undeniably the best movie ever made. Stanley Kubrick (rip) and Arthur C. Clark are gods. Happy New Year. Gary Lee Conner

From The Underview:

I was wondering whether interest in Space Odyssey would die down once the year had finally come and gone. So far, it's looking good!

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