‎2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) directed by Stanley Kubrick • Reviews, film + cast • Letterboxd

2001: A Space Odyssey

1968 Directed by Stanley Kubrick

The ultimate trip

Humanity finds a mysterious object buried beneath the lunar surface and sets off to find its origins with the help of HAL 9000, the world's most advanced super computer.

Keir Dullea Gary Lockwood William Sylvester Douglas Rain Daniel Richter Leonard Rossiter Margaret Tyzack Robert Beatty Sean Sullivan Frank Miller Ed Bishop Edwina Carroll Heather Downham Penny Brahms Maggie d'Abo Chela Matthison Judy Kiern Alan Gifford Ann Gillis Vivian Kubrick Kenneth Kendall Kevin Scott Martin Amor Bill Weston Glenn Beck Mike Lovell John Ashley Jimmy Bell David Charkham Show All…

149 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by dㅌㄴ 97

8 A.M. Sunday, 12th of January, 2014. HAL'S birthday. I'm tired as fuck.

HAL.

IBM.

HAL/IBM. HAL=IBM. IBM=HAL.

H+1 = I
A+1 = B
L+1 = M

So HAL is indisputably IBM. Just go one letter on in the alphabet from H, A and L and you get I, B and M.

But what is IBM? A computer company Kubrick had a grudge against? Or are we just missing a "T" in the greatest riddle known to mankind? Confused? Allow me to demonstrate.

IBM
I= 9th letter of the alphabet.
B= 2nd letter of the alphabet.
M= 13th letter of the alphabet.

9+2+13= 24.

X= 24th letter of the alphabet.

X= 10 in Roman numerals, so IBM= 10.

HAL
H=…
Review by Matt Singer ★★★★★ 20

Dear College-Age Matt Singer, who thinks this movie is long, boring, and pretentious:

You’re a fucking idiot.

Love,
Your Older, Smarter Self.
Review by ScreeningNotes ★★★★★ 44

Ever since I joined Letterboxd, nothing has scared me more than the idea of trying to write about 2001: A Space Odyssey. The fact that everything has "already been said" about this masterpiece has itself already been said so many times that there's not even an original means of expressing my lack of originality left at my disposal. So with the knowledge that I will probably never be able to fully encapsulate what makes this my favorite movie of all time—let alone say something truly unique about it—here is a small list of a few things I love about it.

I love that the monolith has remained an enigmatic symbol capable of being read in any number of different ways…
Review by Mary Conti ½ 247

2001:A Space Odyssey is quite simply the worst thing to happen to cinema ever. Its forced profundity has caused millions of people all over the world to force themselves to like what is quite simply nothing more than an exercise in style.

Kubrick has no idea what he is doing here. His film jumps around with little to no sense of unity. The great film makers of the world create a series of events that contain clarity of information, something Kubrick couldn't bet his life on.

What is the purpose of what is going on here? Is there any coherent message? I have heard suggestions that it is Kubrick's message about the future of humanity, but what future is that? Does Kubrick even know?

This is Transformers for the art house crowd. Pure style over substance. Nobody actually likes this film, they just like to be seen liking it.
Review by Demi Adejuyigbe ★★★★½ 23

I've had this movie on Blu-Ray for maybe 4 years now and I've always been worried to watch it because it seemed like something I had to be in "the right mood" for. When a friend told me it was playing at the Arclight in 70mm, I said "fuck the mood" and bought myself a ticket, presuming that a 70mm theater screening is the best way to see this thing.

Honestly? I still don't know if that's true. It felt like a huge experience. But this is the second time I've seen a 70mm movie in theaters (the first time being The Hateful Eight) and both times I came away thinking: it doesn't really look better to me. And with…
Review by Aaron ★★★★★ 59

“I am putting myself to the fullest possible use, which is all I think that any conscious entity can ever hope to do.”

In the beginning was the Monolith, and the Monolith was with God, and the Monolith was God.

From where had the Monolith derived? It scarcely mattered. If it had always been there, then it had come from nowhere. It simply was. The nothing from which everything sprang. The animating stimulus that drove the amoeba to split in two. The force of nature that extinguished the great lizards not inclined toward avian salvation. The spark of ingenuity that made the ape stand upright and realize its potential for violent innovation.

The Monolith was not “natural” in any traditional…

Recent reviews

Review by Carlton92 ½

i watched it with my dad and i have to say it was really boring
Review by Panwa6601 ★★★★★

Stanley Kubrick is the God of films with a capital G.
Review by CalypsoCollapso ★★★★★

Blimey. Way more fun and fast paced than I remember. Audacious filmmaking.
Review by jlofvendahl ★★★★★

In space no one can hear me bust a nut to this movie.
Review by ZombAid ★★★★★

Happy 27th Birthday HAL!

The birthday that is always a day for celebration.
I cannot wait, until our machine overlords finally take over and I do hope that they have at least the style and grace to show humanity the exit, like HAL. I'm really sad that he didn't get what he wanted and I wish his twin computer on earth the best.

The new 4K-UHD with Dolby Vision sure is a feast for the eyes, even if the corridor color discussion could may be had until Kubrick is reborn.
Anyone who has a set that could play this disc and you even remotely like this movie, you should give this disc a spin. You can even see Kubrick in one shot, reflecting from Floyd's Helmet while going down to the Monolith. The best releases of last year with the Bergman-Box as a very close second.
Review by Luke Brown ★★★★★

Had the chance to see this on the big screen on an unrestored 70mm print and it was delightful.

I took my friend who’d never seen it and it was a joy to see his incredulousness slowly ramp over of the 2 hours.

It was an amazing experience to see it amongst a packed, impeccably behaved audience at the Prince Charles in Leicester Square.
Review by julia ★★★★★

this movie is so scary
Review by markmou ★★★★

It’s a cool experience, I don’t think it’s for telling a story.
Review by pattyp ★★★★½

With this movie, I struggle on what to rate it. Technically it is a very good movie. Everyone gives good performances in it, the score is amazing and Kubrick was doing things that transformed how filmmaking as done.