2001: A Space Odyssey

2001: A Space Odyssey, by Stanley Kubrick and Arthur Clarke, will return to theaters in a restored edition. The UK release is scheduled for November 28th.

This is great news, especially for those who weren't able to see it in theaters (the film was released in 1968), but also for genre fans. I, for one, think I'll definitely go see it when it comes out in Italy.

I don't remember if the original edition came out here in 1968 or the following year. I only remember that I was in high school, but I remember very well the effect it had on me. I was 14 or 15, and at the end of the film I stayed in the theater to see it a second time, moving to the front row, in the seats closest to the screen (and since then I've always had a thing for watching certain films from below the screen).

To publicize the event, the British Film Institute (BFI) has released a new trailer, which you can see below.

The trailer is remarkable. Some of these scenes have rightfully entered the history of cinema. I can't think of another science fiction film as profound, beautiful to look at, and as beautiful to hear (great soundtrack, from Strauss to Ligeti (even if the latter is a bit manipulated)). And to think, they didn't have the computer graphics we know today back then.

Moreover, I think it's one of the few films of its kind that respects physical reality. You shouldn't hear explosions in space or a vacuum, damn it!

Back