2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

A visually stunning film told in several distinct yet interconnected parts with an excellent score … though the world didn’t turn out quite like this at least not yet;-) Keir Dullea in his career role as Dr. Dave Bowman and Gary Lockwood as Dr. Frank Poole travel into deep space to Jupiter in order to explore the origin of a strange black monolith (the object which connects the film’s story-lines) found on the moon by Dr. Frank Lloyd (William Sylvester).

This masterpiece by director-producer Stanley Kubrick earned him his only Oscar for Best Effects Special Visual Effects no less though he also received a Best Director nomination and shared a Writing nomination with Arthur C. Clarke (his only nomination). The Art Direction-Set Decoration was also nominated. Kubrick had previously received director & producer nominations for Dr. Strangelove (1964) and went on to earn 7 more nominations in various categories before his death in 1999 (two years before this film’s title;-)

The real star of the film is the HAL 9000 computer (AFI’s #13 villain) who at first assists astronauts Bowman & Poole before something goes wrong and "he" takes over the mission with tragic results. The film is #22 on AFI’s 100 Greatest Movies list & #40 on AFI’s 100 Most Heart-Pounding Movies list. "Open the pod bay doors HAL." is #78 on AFI’s 100 Greatest Movie Quotes list. #47 on AFI’s 100 Most Inspiring Movies list.

Purchase this DVD now at

or buy the Blu-ray Disc here

or purchase this movie’s soundtrack now at