2001 A Space Odyssey [1968] [Blu-ray] [Region Free]

a spectacular film thats so hard to describe so i well tell you it looks and sounds stunning on blu ray, its a great buy and the first time you watch it be prepared to have your mind blown

It's curious how all my favourite things - books, music, films, were discovered when I was age 15 or 16. I guess this is the age when such discoveries make the most significant shifts in the foundations of one's outlook? I was 11 when this came out, and space mad. I had huge scrapbooks of all the space race news, both Russia and America. And of course, the Apollo project was heading towards it's climax the following year, and the first manned round trip to the moon and back, Apollo 8, made it a particularly special Christmas that year. I had no adult willing to take me to see the movie, but all the same there was a huge flurry of media interest, with lots of newspaper and magazine articles, and making-of documentaries. I cannot believe there was ever a better time to be an 11 year old boy, obsessed with science. 2001 seemed so far away. I would be old by then, and after a lifetime of developments in space exploration, it seemed a near certainty that I too would have gone into space, and maybe to the moon or beyond by that time. People not born into that era cannot imagine how limitless the horizon seemed. I got to see the film eventually when I was 15 and of course, it blew my mind. I didn't really know how to describe the experience, but I knew that I had seen something that was more then just a film, more than just telling a story in pictures. As my mind was opening to the world of classical music I sensed that the way the film made use of music, in particular the awesomely, eerie, Ligeti vocal works, was something more than just incidental. It was as though the film itself was music, or meta-music, but I didn't have such concepts then, just spooky, ineffable feelings. The feelings the film puts you through: the dawn of mankind and the dawn of human thought. Yes, we could probably CGI the hominids better now, but they are pretty darned good for people in monkey suits. The bone is thrown up and turns into a spaceship - just like that! What a moment in cinema? What a way to make a statement that captures the entire history of our species? Space ships dance with balletic grace and zero gravity is portrayed more convincingly than in anything I have seen since. And space is huge and dangerous. The moon is bleak and cold but full of mystery. And then we move to the Discovery, Jupiter mission. We experience the ennui of deep space flight, with a minimal waking crew of two, filling in time with routine tasks, in the company of an eerily human-like Artificial Intelligence HAL. The remaining crew is in suspended animation in the iconically spooky sarcophagi, around the wall. As a programmer there are still days when I walk into work and switch on my machine and mutter "Good morning Hal - Good morning Dave". The introduction to HAL was to be the beginning of my life-long fascination with AI and with the mind-body problem in philosophy. That we do not have HAL-like intelligent machines is if anything, even more surprising than the way the promise of space-travel fizzled out. The battle of wits between HAL and Bowman is very cleverly conceived, still riviting, and introduced a new kind of villain into the movie landscape. In the final part of the film we have the prolonged psychedelic journey through some unspecified, trans-dimensional void, again accompanied by the amazing music of Mr Ligeti. At 15 I knew not what to make of this aspect of the film beyond finding it compellingly beautiful. With subsequent viewings and exposure to the more demanding but wonderful Russian movie, Solaris, I came to realise that the significance of this section was a depiction of an encounter between humanity and something way beyond it's comprehension, and that such an encounter might not be describable in terms of any conventional narrative. I'm guessing that the more disappointed reviews are coming from people who grew up with Star Trek, and Son of Star Trek, and are just wondering where the plot and explosions got lost. I just ask them to imagine growing up in a time when this movie seemed to be as much predictive documentary as a work of science fiction.

This is without a doubt the best 2001 has looked for home viewing! The transfer is one word WOW! I went to see the Christopher Nolan 'unrestored' 70mm print at The Prince Charles Cinema in London and despite being a fan of Kubrick and the film this was my first time seeing it on The Big Screen. Well I was amazed more then ever as Kubrick's genius took over the full booked auditorium and my senses were addicted to the experience. Well needless to say was excited for this package and using both Nolan's new negative which was scanned in 8K and under the supervision of Leon Vitali's colour grading for home viewing this is the closest the film looks to an actual 70mm version. The transfer is deep and rich with strong black levels and highlights, colours pop off the screen, skin tones are natural/close to their original print colour and there are no scratches or dirt anywhere or appearance of artificial sharpening with a fine film grain texture. Once again with the colour as many pop off the screen but the Crimson Red which Kubrick used in most of his colour films just sparkles and shines on screen. This is the best 2001 has looked in it's digital form and all the team involved should be applauded especially Vitali who literally supervises the transfers of all of Kubrick's films for free overseeing every single frame from start to finish. Him and the team have done a fabulous job. Not only is the picture amazing but so is the soundtrack. The film originally had a 6 channel stereo track that has been mixed into DTS HD 5.1 format that will please many but to my happy surprise the disc also comes with the original stereo 6 track itself which I personally prefer on a purist level. Fans will love this option and just listening to the dark atmospheric moods of Ligetti or the sweet sounds of The Blue Danube on any sound system (even televisions) is well worth it. Lastly we have all the great features from the original blu ray and the lobby cards and booklet are nicely package in the box. Speaking of the box I am not a fan of most modern designs but this looks beautiful with the Red and Black. This one gorgeous set and one thing I forgot to say is that the included blu ray has the 4K transfer as well so if you not upgraded yet you can still enjoy the film with it's beautiful new picture. A Must for all Fans!

Ein Film aus dem Jahre 1968 war als Sci-Fi Abenteuer ein Hit. Heute wirkt er wie eine Doku des echten Lebens. Erstaunlich wie Kubricks Idee zur Realität wurde.

I like the film music title opining and closing. Thank you.

c'est bien le film mais la pochette ne ressemble pas à celle annoncée avant la vente. c'est bien dommage ça ne change rien à la qualité du film et des menus

todo bien, pero esperaba que viniera con slipcover

Esta es una de mis películas favoritas, por lo cual decidí comprarla en blu-ray para obtener una buena calidad de imagen. Ahora bien, la edición tiene esta cubierta de cartón con HAL, pero que realmente se quita y es la misma de siempre, pero es un poco más cara de lo que debería. No estoy molesto, pero es mejor que lo sepan antes de comprar.