2001: A Space Odyssey 2-disc SE? (1 Viewer)

[Christ Reynolds]

it appears that douglas rain is still alive, how cool would it be to have HAL do a commentary? it could be either very corny and tacky, or one of the best special features on any dvd in existance.

CJ

 

[Holadem]

Hmmm... I saw it NYC a couple of years ago, I would have sworn that was in 2001.

--
H

 

[Haggai]

I remember the theatrical re-release being done in a pretty slipshod manner, not very well co-ordinated and not as wide as it should have been. I managed to see it twice, though!

I'd been thinking about watching this again for a little while now. It had been about three years since I last saw it, which was when I got the re-mastered Kubrick collection right when it came out. This thread turned the tide decisively in its direction, so I watched it tonight, first time seeing it with my recently acquired 16X9/5.1 HT setup. Gets more gripping every time, it seems. The turning of the pod that attacks Frank, with the straight-on shot of it coming towards him to strike, blows me away every time. Super powerful stuff.

And has there ever been a better demonstration in any movie of the "Kuleshov effect" than the shots of that red light that represents HAL? That effect, named after a Russian director from way back (the '20s, I think), refers to the technique of showing someone's face, cutting away to what they're (ostensibly) looking at, and then cutting back to their face again, to get the audience to identify with what the character is experiencing. Hitchcock used that technique all the time, to great effect. In 2001, it's not even somebody's face that you're looking at when it cuts away and back--it's a frickin' red light that never changes! Yet it absolutely registers feeling every time, depending on the situation: helpfulness, uneasiness, fear, anger, etc. Remarkable stuff.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

They did... beginning late 2001 and extending into 2002. The problem was that it was a limited run, avaliable only in 70mm, and I believe there were only two prints in circulation - so it couldn't be in very many places at once. I do know that New York City and Boston both had it, as I saw it two times in each. A breathtaking experience.

The 70mm are still around... MoMA in NYC had a showing of it in August, and it'll probably continue to pop up every so often at festivals and art theatres.

 

[JeffMc]

Well, that explains it. However, I don't really think two prints across the whole country classifies it as anything close to a "re-release". Prints are available for practically any movie at any time if a particular theater actually wants to show it. In fact, "2001" just showed recently at midnight at a local Westwood theater here in Los Angeles, but I wouldn't classify that as a re-release. So WB made up two 70mm prints in 2001 and offered it to a few theaters that could play it. Big deal. It didn't even show in Los Angeles. The Cinerama Dome would surely have shown it, but it was under renovation at the time. And the Dome has "revived" the film on it's own over the years and shown it in 70mm quite a few times - and none of these engagements were official WB rereleases.

Well, I guess it's good that WB didn't re-do "2001" like their BIG re-release of "The Exorcist" a couple of years back and add CGI spaceships and multiple Starchilds to the film. As it stands, their pathetic 2001 limited "re-release" of the film could still be classified as
"2001: The Version Practically No One Saw".

 

[MatthewLouwrens]

I would definitely be interested in seeing the deleted scenes.

 

[Anthony Neilson]

I think it's very unlikely we'll ever see any deleted scenes on a Kubrick disc. Leon Vitali claims that all such footage was destroyed at Kubrick's say-so.

The only film for which such material exists, in that case, is EYES WIDE SHUT but I doubt very much whether the Estate's largesse would extend to doing things that they know SK was opposed to.
He didn't believe in showing cut material and he didn't believe in making any attempt to explain his films. These two fundamental tenets are unlikely to be broken.

However, I know that Kubrick's family are anxious to dispel the distorted image of SK that has prevailed for so many years. Even Kubrick had resigned himself to addressing this ; he had planned to do some high-profile interviews to support EYES WIDE SHUT.

 

[Sean Campbell]

Speaking of 2001 - is this documentary worth picking up?
http://www.blackstar.co.uk/video/item/7000000068840

 

[Jack Briggs]

Jeff, one of the fresh 70mm prints that made the rounds in the U.S. and Europe in late 2001 did indeed get booked in Los Angeles. The film screened for two weeks at The Egyptian. Warner's most-visible promotional effort for the L.A. run was a tiny ad that ran in L.A. Weekly, tagged "Still the Ultimate Trip."

Some effort. Most people didn't even know a sparkling 70mm print featuring cleaned-up sound was even showing. The revival might have done a wee bit better had the studio that now owns this film thought to announce its presence in those select cities with 70mm venues. No?

Warner has become a champion studio to home-theater enthusiasts. But the matter of its treatment of this particular property is something of a sore spot with me.

Meanwhile, there have been ongoing rumors that Arclight Cinemas might be screening The Film at its renovated Cinerama Dome. Occasionally a person who works there will assure me that it's definitely going to be screening. Other times, no one knows anything.

Thus, "it's [showtimes] remain a total mystery."

Home theater, I love ya.

 

[JeffMc]

Thanks for the info, Jack. Obviously I missed that Egyptian engagement. I pick up the LA Weekly pretty regularly, but this must have slipped by me somehow. Well, at least they did something, although I agree with you that it was still way too little for a film of this stature.

And I've also been patiently waiting for the Dome to get around to reviving it again. Since the renovated Dome is now showing dreck like the new DAWN OF THE DEAD and other new blockbusters, I'm not holding my breath for 2001 to happen anytime soon. But I can always remain hopeful and I will continue to check the Arclight schedule regularly.

 

[Osato]

I was fortunate to see the new print of this film here in Des Moines, IA.
Truly amazing on the big screen. Very cool!

I would be interested in a 2 disc set for DVD. I enjoyed the new DVD, but lack of extras is disappointing.

It seems from a business aspect, maybe the didn't want to put a lot of $$ into extras at this time. Perhaps fronting the $$ to do a new transfer and sound was all they could warrant spending at this time. I think this happens a lot with DVD's of films like this. Probably not a huge seller, but it has it's following, etc. Bottom line the studios want to get back the investment they make on the disc, etc.

 

[Mark_vdH]

In my opinion definitely not. There is some interview footage with Clarke that seems pretty recent, but most of the rest has surprisingly little to do with 2001: ASO.

The runtime is not 106 minutes BTW. Believe it or not, that time is including the hour of "bonus" documentaries.

 

[Sean Campbell]

Thanks for the info Mark. I saw it in a store here a few days back and wasn't sure if I should pick it up on not. Glad I passed on it

 

[Mike Frezon]

Wow, Jack! Capital letters when its not a proper name?

 

[Jack Briggs]

Reverence, Mike, reverence.

 

[Michael St. Clair]

I'm fairly certain it has been broadcast in HD in Japan.

Personally, I think the current DVD remaster could be improved substantially (mostly due to the EE). However, it looks way better than the older DVDs and lasers.