Audio Asylum Thread Printer

Get a view of an entire thread on one page

FAQ / News / Events

Films/DVD Asylum

2001 is one of the few science fiction movies that intentionally doesn't parody.

63.177.65.131

[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ Thread: Display All Email ] [ Films/DVD Asylum ]

In Reply to: Re: Well YOU said one film (EWS) had done "major damage" to his posted by Victor Khomenko on February 03, 2004 at 18:04:12:

No other science fiction film approaches its reach: it touches on anthropology, i.e. the origin of homo sapiens' intellectual development and the first use of weapons in violent combat.
Metaphysics: what comes after "life?" Are we alone?
Also, individual alienation in the super-modern world of space travel.
Further, the issue of technology overcoming traditional human nature, creating a hybrid personality, i.e. the astronaut communicating distractedly with his parents on his birthday through a screen; the father talking to his far-away daughter.
Finally, the power and potential danger posed by machines which have greater powers than humans--and which necessarily have "emotions."
The film also is remarkable for its many stunning visual moments: the bone transforming into the spaceship, accompanied by a waltz; the rotation of the stewardess; the flashing screens during the landings with that damn pinging!; the eerie silence---pierced only by the very heavy breathing---during the retrieval of the body floating in space; and, of course, the light trip and subsequent aging of the astronaut----culminating in the much-satirized embryo-rebirth.
Sorry you didn't appreciate it.

Follow Ups:

More... - Victor Khomenko 19:19:03 02/03/04 (0)
The basic philosophical ideas of 2001 could be nicely compressed into a paragraph... which you did.
But try to do so with something like Andrey Rublev.
As I said, it had its moments, but not enough to make it into a work... - Victor Khomenko 19:17:42 02/03/04 (7)
...that would be considered in the same context as for instance Nights of Cabiria or Persona.
All that techno stuff is something I loved like thirty years ago... I think I grew out of that.
- Well, the "tecno stuff" is what sci-fi is all about! - tinear 05:02:42 02/04/04 (6)
  Few films, such as Solaris, for instance, can do w/out a certain amount of the "gee-whiz!" stuff. But, these are very different movies, one purely about the impact which technology can effect upon emotions and the other, well, I listed several above.
  If you prefer, one can summarize 2001 in one sentence: the history of the human race. I don't believe any other movie has attempted so large a statement, or come anywhere near its accomplishment. Kind of like the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel...on film.
  - You broke the code - I do not like sci-i films... - Victor Khomenko 06:07:53 02/04/04 (1)
    ...if all the movie has to offer is sci-fi.
    Solaris has plenty to offer besides the primitive effects, so it has a strong leg to stand on, both artistically and philosophically, and the 2001 has some good stuff in the artistry area, none in philosophy (unless you indeed consider the question: "Are we alone?" a deep philosophical question...:-)), but its emphasis is on effects, so it lost me quickly. Sure, back then these were near revolutionary, but today... who cares?
    - Who cares? Well, don't you think we are becoming more alienated? Consider how - tinear 07:57:01 02/04/04 (0)
      we're communicating, for example!
      How many of our asylum members live in different cities, away from their grown children (or children of divorces)?
      Now, add space, more techo wizadry...and our tactile humanity becomes that much less "physical" and intimate.
      So, in sum, the depiction of technology WAS a critical part of the movie----how it can even threaten mankind's very survival.
      Is there a more originally scary (and yet, poignant) moment in film history than the "killing" of Hal by Dave? "Dave, DAVE!!---I can feel my mind...."
  - Re: Cappella Sistina. - patrickU 05:21:51 02/04/04 (3)
    If 2001 is the story of the human race, I would prefer not to be a member.
    Ok, the transition of the apes to another world was brillant. And some other parts too.
    But it remains empty, like a Cary Grant LSD trip, it was just all ouside without very much inside.
    It was just a " pseudo " film.
    - Well, of course you don't want to be a member of - tinear 08:01:14 02/04/04 (2)
      THAT future. Such immensity of change is terrifying. That, I believe, is the point of showing the embryo---he will only know a futuristic world; he will be at home in it (we don't miss huddling in a cave, frightened by a saber-toothed cat because we don't "remember" it).
      Think of 2001 as a sci-fi cousin of "Lost in Translation."
      We're well on our way!
      - Re: Well, of course you don't want to be a member of - patrickU 08:42:24 02/04/04 (1)
        
        In Reply to: Well, of course you don't want to be a member of posted by tinear on February 04, 2004 at 08:01:14:
        
        The Lost- is coming soon to my shore.
        I wonder if I will or not see it the way Victor did. her first work was a little bizarre but I had the feeling more for the sake of being.
        5 never had the wish to look at it twice.
        
        Very different films: I disliked Virgin Suicides and loved LIT. nt - tinear 09:47:03 02/04/04 (0)
        
        In Reply to: Re: Well, of course you don't want to be a member of posted by patrickU on February 04, 2004 at 08:42:24:
        
        s

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:

You can not post to an archived thread.