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

2001: A Space Odyssey

1968 Directed by Stanley Kubrick

An epic drama of adventure and exploration

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

149 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by dEL 96

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 ScreeningNotes ★★★★★ 40

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 Matt Singer ★★★★★ 19

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 Mary Conti ½ 231

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 Aaron ★★★★★ 58

“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…
Review by DirkH ★★★★★ 47

Part of Dastardly Difficult December: film nr.13

This is not a ‘film’. It is cinema in its purest form. Every aspect of this particular artform is used to its fullest extent. It exposes themes without narrative, offers no explanations but leaves room for interpretation and it provides a visual and aural sensation to accompany the unravelling of its internal philosophical debate. No other director than Kubrick could have made this.

The first time I saw this film I didn’t care much for it. I was far too young to fully grasp what it was trying to do. I remember finding it very dull and confusing, not something that sits well with your average teenager. It has therefore never been a…

Recent reviews

Review by Jon Godfrey ★★★★★

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

how much LSD did Kubrick have while making the last twenty minutes of this movie

everything that could be said about this movie has been said, but i just wanna say my favorite stuff anyways:

instead of using a traditional film narrative, this movie uses ideas and symbolisms as its way to tell the story about the progression of mankind and the harm that the tools of man can bring to others, no matter what timeframe.

the freaking jumpcut within millions of years GOT ME GEEKIN’

the music is so incredibly eerie and grand at the point its chosen to be played

and theres a million things i could say but these are just a few i really appreciated :)
Review by julianfilmmaker ★★★★★

I have no words.

5/5.
Review by Ethan S ★★★★★

I love this film. Gets better with each watch. I am only now starting to really appreciate all of Kubrick’s films.

P.S. This is also the best science fiction film ever made.

“Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do. I'm half crazy all for the love of you. It won't be a stylish marriage, I can't afford a carriage. But you'll look sweet upon the seat of a bicycle built for two.”

10/10 (A+)
Review by Immortan Joe ★★★★★

50 years old and still feels new. Something different to take from this on every viewing. Why do I feel the urge to watch WALL-E now?
Review by KyleFowleAV ★★★★★

The sheer existential weight of this film is staggering. Human existence as an endless search for more *everything*, which is both beautiful and incredibly violent.
Review by Alexander Jønsby ★★★★

Wow, what an odd movie. I love the setup and world building and the special effects make me go "How did they do that in 1968?!". Kubrick was way ahead of his time here and it shows in all the sets. The philosophical parts really did not speak to me as much as I would have liked, but overall a masterpiece of cinema.
Review by sikes ★★★★★

Every frame of this movie is incredible
Review by Patrick Riley ★★★★★

Saw that they're releasing an untouched, non-remastered 70mm version of this film soon and I'm excited as shit. I told my dad about it and we're planning a day trip to Chicago to watch it since we don't have an art house theater that'll show it in our town lol. He told me the story about when he went and saw it as a kid... His mom thought it would be a fun space adventure movie for her kids... Little did she know she'd be walking into almost 3 hours of Stanley Kubrick/Arthur C. Clarke science fiction...
Review by Saksham Gupta ★★★★★

It blows my mind that this movie was made in the 60s. It was ahead of its time and it very clearly set the tone for all the space age movies that followed. I'm looking at you Mr. Nolan. Just a really good wholesome movie.