Stanley Kubrick explains the plot of 2001

[megoscott]

Huh. He makes it sound so simple. Dangerous Minds | Stanley Kubrick explains the plot of

[Cmonster]

Only the great Kubrick could break that film down so simply and eloquently. Granted, it's his film, but still...

SC

[Sandman9580]

It's surprising that the kind of person who'd make such an obscure and mystifying movie would be the kind of person to give an interview and say exactly what it was about. But then I've heard that Clarke's 2001 novel explains a lot -- so I guess it wasn't like he was "betraying" his movie.

[LadyZod]

You know, pretty much all Stanley Kubrick movies give me a headache. It's not that I find it difficult to understand or appreciate... it's the sound editing. There's a hollowness to the audio tracks on his films that give me the worst cluster headaches/migraines whenever I try to watch one.

I enjoyed 2001, but had to pop a couple of aleve and put a cool cloth over my eyes for an hour afterwards.

[megoscott]

I thought the same thing, Sandman. I haven't watched it in years, but I don't know how much of that is possible to glean from the film.

[johnmiic]

If you read 2001 you can get that. There are more descriptions of how the Monolith was a sort of teacher to the apes and tried teaching them things till they caught on. In the book it uses graphics and visuals. The film is not so obvious about this. All you get is the rising storm of opera singers.

If you read 2010 - Odyssey Two Clarke tries to explain more of it but it's sprinkled throughout the book. There are some great comments on what the Monolith is in the book:

If an alien civilization can make a device that functions after 3 million years we have to assume they're still out there and may come back for it!

The Monolith is a tool but an all purpose tool-like a swiss army knife.

[cdhall]

Very cool. I never read the book, I don't think, or liked the movie. When I get new glasses I may rip through some books I should (re)read. I think there are about 100 on the list...

[Meule]

Wait...2001 had a plot?
Oh, I guess maybe if it wasn't THE MOST BORING MOVIE EVER MADE and I was able to stay awake past the cool monolith/ape-men beginning I might have noticed that.
Rich

Bingo
Let's face it: if you have to explain your own movie you've obviously done something wrong

[cdhall]

Nahh

Wait...2001 had a plot?
Oh, I guess maybe if it wasn't THE MOST BORING MOVIE EVER MADE and I was able to stay awake past the cool monolith/ape-men beginning I might have noticed that.
Rich

Nah, I'm thinking just because the movie had a plot, it doesn't mean you could follow it.

Like all characters have a motivation but it doesn't always help you appreciate an actor's performance.


I'd have to go watch the whole movie but Kevin Spacey in Superman Returns might be a good example.

Or more likely, most of the stuff Keanu Reeves has done. But I loved Bill and Ted 1 and 2.

[jds1911a1]

Wait...2001 had a plot?
Oh, I guess maybe if it wasn't THE MOST BORING MOVIE EVER MADE and I was able to stay awake past the cool monolith/ape-men beginning I might have noticed that.
Rich

beat me to the punch
I feel the same way. I feel Kubrick is too self enamoured to make a cogent film. Basically R Lee Ermy rewrote the whole 1st half of Full metal jacket that's why it meanders after they get out of basic

[Mikey]

I can't watch Full Metal after basic.

Basically after basic training I change channels

[david_b]

Bingo
Let's face it: if you have to explain your own movie you've obviously done something wrong

Not necessarily. Typically I'd agree, but much like it's illegitimate child (1999's 1st year), it's the type of story-telling that allows the viewer to interpret, very open-ended.

There's a lot of artistic underground films like that, and like paintings, there's a mystery to it. It won't telegraph you all the answers, but allow you to summize it's inner meanings to talk/discuss with others.

It's satisfying on another, deeper level for those who like those films. The virture of Kubrick explaining his film doesn't necessarily detract from finding your own meanings; it just shares his intent.

The ending of his 'Clockwork Orange' was the same way..: 'Was he cured or wasn't he..?'

Some movies are spelled out for folks, others aren't.

david_b

[Brazoo]

2001 is right up there with my favorite movies. It's complexity is part of the experience I love about it, and after 30+ viewings there are still details I'm left thinking about, but it never bothers me.

I've never read the book because I consider the film the original source, and seems more like Clark's take on the movie.

My take on the basic plot wasn't far off from Kubrick's (I don't think), apart from a few details, but he isn't really saying much about US vs. USSR and HAL and a few other ideas central to the movie's theme.

I'd be curious to know what others think - also what other people's takes on the film might be.

[Goblin19]

Yeah, I pretty much knew the plot anyway. It's one of my favorite movies and I don't want a concrete explanation on film. I've never watched 2010 for that reason.

[Brazoo]

Here's my basic take on the movie that I had worked out. There are still tons of questions and things to think about - which is why I love this movie so much.

I'm curious to think of what you guys think of my take - but I'll understand if people don't bother looking at mine.




Part 1 - Early Man

- Two tribes are at war
- A mysterious alien force leaves a monolith which grants one tribe the intelligence to use tools and beat the other tribe
- The all-important first tool is tossed into the air... and here's the famous match-cut of the bone to the spaceship...

Part 2 - Advanced Man 1

Our tools are more sophisticated, almost at the limit of our imagination (for the 60s anyway) but we're still mentally and physically limited. Are we that much different than early man?

- We're still two tribes at war (USA and USSR)

The USA finds the mysterious alien force's 'calling card' - a monolith buried on the moon (here I totally got what Kubrick was going for, the alien force is like, "if they get smart enough to find this monolith buried in the moon it's going to signal for them to go to the edge of their galaxy at a specific point - another monolith - and if they reach that point we'll get them to the next level."

Part 2 - Advanced Man 2 - The Jupiter Mission (here's where all the interesting questions I can't answer are)

HAL 9000 - our most sophisticated tool. Humans have now created intelligence - like the aliens did with early man.

We've either done a perfect job and HAL goes insane because deep space travel for 18 months is nearly at our natural mental limits to cope with - OR - HAL goes insane because we're not nearly as good at creating intelligence as the alien force was.

In any case the two main things happening here are:

- We're at the limit of the intelligence the alien force gave us
- Conflict always follows us - we're at war now with something we've created (HAL 9000)

Part 3 - The Next Level

The surviving human Bowman (a fitting name since it represents the use of a tool of war) has reached the final monolith and is taken on a journey through time and space. He grows old -

(Here I don't get the zoo thing Kubrick is talking about. I always thought the sequences with Bowman in the white rooms was some sort of mental state. Like, he needed to live the rest of his life and die to reach the next level and his brain created this illusion so he could deal with living all those years deprived of his senses. In any case, I always thought that travel through space/time was still a feature, since he's seeing himself at different stages at his life. That fits more with the theme of human mental limits to me too.)

ALSO: (I'm not sure I like the idea that the alien force is even aware of what ever happened to humans. I personally think the idea that the aliens left this automated system around knowing that the universe is so immense that they might never directly contact their 'creation' again. Anyway, to me that's more intriguing than the idea that Bowman's on some "Tralfamadore" type planet being stared at. Would beings that advanced even be that curious about us? Anyway...)

- before he dies the last monolith is revealed.

Bowman returns to our solar system transformed into a new state of being. A new state of humanity, at total peace, unbound by anything physical and beyond our mental capacity to even understand. The baby is a symbol for us to try and understand it more than an actual physical representation of what's happened.

Anyway - that's my take! Looking forward to knowing what you guys think, though I'll understand if not everyone has this much spare time today as I did