Nelson Au
Senior HTF Member
- Joined
- Mar 16, 1999
- Messages
- 19,040
There is a thread in the software section asking whether there will be an new anamorphic reissue of 2010, aka: The Year We Make Contact, on DVD. The discussion veered toward some negativity towards the Roy Scheider film, so the moderator suggested a new thread here for those who are more favorably inclined to this film.
Here's my stab at it. There is no denying that 2001: A Space Odyssey is a cinematic masterpiece and stands on it's own. Considered the greatest science fiction film, I would rather call it one of the greatest films in the history of cinema. It's story telling at it's purist form. A pure cinematic experience. A sequel was not necessary and I don't think there was anyplace for one to go. Anything done in the same visual and story telling style that Kubrick had done could have been a feat that resulted in a disaster. I think Peter Hyam's take, using a straight forward literal approach, adapting the Clarke novel more or less as written, was the way to go if they had to do it. It set's it apart from the Kubrick film.
I really enjoyed that aspect of it. I know a lot were dissapointed that this film didn't take on the same style and mystery of the original, but as I said, there was no where to go. And this is Clarke's take, not Kubrick's take on what happens after Dave's transformation at the end of 2001. I like that it is from the point of view of Earth, what happened to the Discovery?
As a straight foreward film, complete with action and adventure, and some good performances by the cast, it's a great popcorn film and I separate it from 2001. 2001 I watch only on occassion because I don't want to diminish the experience by over exposure and I can look for new insights at each new viewing. I've watched 2010 probably over 20 times because I don't expect more then a fun romp.
The explaination of HAL's behavior in 2001 is a source of soreness I know for the 2001 fans. This is Clarke's explaination. I'll let others argue about it. I just accept it as part of this film's structure.
The scene where Chandra explain's HAL's reasoning for killing the Discovery's crew was a fun scene for me. I enjoyed Scheider and Lithgow's reaction to Balaban as Chandra. "I didn't know!" All the character bits are fun, from the bit about the calculator to the discussion about hot dogs. Perhaps that's all trite to those that dislike this film, or see it as a slap in the face of Kubrick's film, but that's the fun of it. Of course this kind of dialogue banter does date the film as something of the contempory era of film making. 2001 does achieve timelessness, it's not as easily dated. 2010 shows too much of contemporary 1984, 2001 managed to avoid showing what Earth looked like in 1999 to 2001.
The other reason's I like the film are the technical aspects, how they were able to recreate the sets of Discovery, though some shots show how poorly the sets are made, it's still a hoot to see. And one of my favorite designers, Syd Mead was responsible for all the design of the Russian ship and hardware. Finally, the whole idea of uniting the people of Earth as a final message, while a lot find it corny, is appealing.
That's about it for now. What do you think?
Here's my stab at it. There is no denying that 2001: A Space Odyssey is a cinematic masterpiece and stands on it's own. Considered the greatest science fiction film, I would rather call it one of the greatest films in the history of cinema. It's story telling at it's purist form. A pure cinematic experience. A sequel was not necessary and I don't think there was anyplace for one to go. Anything done in the same visual and story telling style that Kubrick had done could have been a feat that resulted in a disaster. I think Peter Hyam's take, using a straight forward literal approach, adapting the Clarke novel more or less as written, was the way to go if they had to do it. It set's it apart from the Kubrick film.
I really enjoyed that aspect of it. I know a lot were dissapointed that this film didn't take on the same style and mystery of the original, but as I said, there was no where to go. And this is Clarke's take, not Kubrick's take on what happens after Dave's transformation at the end of 2001. I like that it is from the point of view of Earth, what happened to the Discovery?
As a straight foreward film, complete with action and adventure, and some good performances by the cast, it's a great popcorn film and I separate it from 2001. 2001 I watch only on occassion because I don't want to diminish the experience by over exposure and I can look for new insights at each new viewing. I've watched 2010 probably over 20 times because I don't expect more then a fun romp.
The explaination of HAL's behavior in 2001 is a source of soreness I know for the 2001 fans. This is Clarke's explaination. I'll let others argue about it. I just accept it as part of this film's structure.
The scene where Chandra explain's HAL's reasoning for killing the Discovery's crew was a fun scene for me. I enjoyed Scheider and Lithgow's reaction to Balaban as Chandra. "I didn't know!" All the character bits are fun, from the bit about the calculator to the discussion about hot dogs. Perhaps that's all trite to those that dislike this film, or see it as a slap in the face of Kubrick's film, but that's the fun of it. Of course this kind of dialogue banter does date the film as something of the contempory era of film making. 2001 does achieve timelessness, it's not as easily dated. 2010 shows too much of contemporary 1984, 2001 managed to avoid showing what Earth looked like in 1999 to 2001.
The other reason's I like the film are the technical aspects, how they were able to recreate the sets of Discovery, though some shots show how poorly the sets are made, it's still a hoot to see. And one of my favorite designers, Syd Mead was responsible for all the design of the Russian ship and hardware. Finally, the whole idea of uniting the people of Earth as a final message, while a lot find it corny, is appealing.
That's about it for now. What do you think?