The movie
The science fiction movie 2001: A Space Odyssey , released in1968, was directed by Stanley Kubrick. The cast includes Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood and William Sylvester.
Although at that time it was not possible to have computer-generated special effects, Kubrick managed to create some of the best special effects ever put on film. No surprise that he was awarded the Academy Award for Best Effects, Special Visual Effects.
The most important aspect of the film is that it is quite unconventional in terms of narrative techniques. Dialogue is not used much, while there are long sequences of scenes accompanied only by classical music.
One of the most impressive scenes of the movie is undoubtedly when a spaceship approaches a space base and we hear the “Blue Danube” of Johann Strauss. Yet, to my opinion, the opening scene marks the film.
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- Opening scene of 2001: A Space Odyssey (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer).
The movie starts with the initial fanfare of Richard Strauss’ music “Also sprach Zarathustra” (Thus spoke Zarathustra), which is a tone poem by Richard Strauss, composed in 1896 and inspired by Friedrich Nietzsche‘s philosophical novel “Thus Spoke Zarathustra”.
We gradually see a sequence of planets in the space and the music is so predominant and emotional that we feel as if we were on board of a spaceship or, even more, that we are literally part of the universe.
2001: A Space Odyssey certainly deserves a prominent place in any cinephile’s movie library.
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