A Few Words About A few words about...™ 2001: A Space Odyssey -- in BD & HD (2 Viewers)

[OliverK]

As long as they give me a Sony quality UHD from the negative/IP the prints are derived from I will be happy (for now).

Sony is doing a terrific job with their older titles on UHD but I think that with regard to detail even they could only do so much with an IP as opposed to being able to work from the negative. Oh well, it will certainly be better than the previous Blu-ray so I am in.

 

[Dave H]

I am not enthused (to put it mildly) that Nolan oversaw this. I have not been impressed with his oversight on most of his UHD BDs (thin milky blacks, DNR to varying degrees, refusal to go back to the OCN and demands to stick with IP, etc.). Why didn't Warner hire a true film restoration expert? Yes, I too wish Sony owned this one.

 

[JoshZ]

Nolan worked closely with Warner Bros. throughout the mastering process. .

Ah crap, that means he's going to crank the music and effects audio to 8,000 dB and pull the dialogue channel down to a barely audible whisper. Probably crop the whole thing to 4:3 for IMAX theaters too.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I just realized that the date Warner has selected for this theatrical reissue, May 18th, is the same date as the new Star Wars film comes out.

This strikes me as a very bad idea. "2001" is my all-time favorite movie, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand that two space-themed movies opening on the same day will be competing for the same audience. If Disney decides to make up some 70mm prints for the Han Solo movie, which they may do, that would further reduce the already small number of venues that could show this.

I kinda wish this re-release was being targeted for the fall. For the past several years, the major studios have had box office hits releasing space themed movies in October/November (including Gravity, Interstellar, The Martian, Arrival and others). I think that would have been the perfect time for "2001".

 

[PMF]

With Mr. Nolan's superb eye for visual excellence, it is doubtful to me that his overseeing of 2001 at Cannes would be anything short of thrilling. I am certain that he has captured THE best print possible.

 

[TravisR]

I just realized that the date Warner has selected for this theatrical reissue, May 18th, is the same date as the new Star Wars film comes out.

Solo comes out May 25 and Deadpool is May 18 but you're still right, the fall would be a much less competitive time too. I've got an IMAX theater near me that can also run 70mm and I'd imagine that there's little chance that they're going to give up two or three screenings a day of Deadpool to run 2001.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I stand corrected on the Solo date - I knew there was something big coming on May 18.

I would say there is zero chance that any 70mm equipped IMAX theater will play it. They'll either be showing Avengers Infinity War or Deadpool. My guess is that Deadpool won't even be getting much of an IMAX release, since they moved their movie to May 18 after Avengers had already claimed that May period. With Avengers Infinity War being the first movie to be shot entirely with IMAX digital cameras, I can imagine that IMAX will be playing that for as long as possible.

I'm just worried that "2001" won't get any good venues to play in. Disney has really strong contractual language about how long theaters are obligated to play their releases and in which auditoriums, and for something like Avengers Infinity War, it's probably a 3-4 week requirement that it plays in the largest screen in the multiplex. It's understandable that Disney insists on this since their films usually deliver the goods, but it's bad for other movies that want the same screens. Even Tarantino couldn't get Disney to release a 70mm equipped theater for Hateful Eight that would have been the ideal venue for that film (Cinerama Dome). More recently, Murder In The Orient Express was shot with 70mm cameras and had a limited 70mm run. When it played in NYC, it played in 70mm in one of the smaller auditoriums of the multiplex because the theater was contractually obligated to play Disney's Thor Ragnorak in the largest auditorium. It didn't matter that Thor was digital and could be seen in any auditorium with optimal results, and that the auditorium Thor was in was specifically designed for 70mm film exhibition - there was no way that the theater was going to pass on being allowed to show Thor at all just to give the lower grossing Orient Express the proper auditorium.

So I'm just not optimistic that this can get any screens worth a damn at the time they're putting it out. Which is a real shame.

 

[Nelson Au]

Hey guys, kind of late to the thread and I haven’t read every post, but most. So what I’m getting is that it is dubious that there will be a 4K remastered Blu-ray of 2001 anytime in the near future. I’ll believe it when I have one I hand.

The discussion of a theatrical run at the 50th Anniversay I’ve seen discussed here and there. Upon reading Josh’s and Travis post that the release date conflicts with the Han Solo Star Wars film and Deadpool too had me thinking about the audiences. My take if these dates actually happen for 2001, is that the audience going to see Han Solo and Deadpool is not going to know what 2001 is or care. I have co-workers who are under 40 and they have never seen it or know what it is. So if 2001 is out in May, it might not be a conflict. I feel like 2001 is at art film status now. So the audiences could be different. Is it really going to be shown at the big multiplex franchises?

 

[Michel_Hafner]

Ah crap, that means he's going to crank the music and effects audio to 8,000 dB and pull the dialogue channel down to a barely audible whisper. Probably crop the whole thing to 4:3 for IMAX theaters too.

In case you are not joking, he has his likes and dislikes, but he also knows this is a Kubrick film and not a Nolan film, so he will make sure it sounds/looks as close as possible to what it looked/sounded like when it was released within the limitations of an all photochemical approach. Anything else would not be tolerated by the Kubrick estate/WB anyway.

 

[Steve Christou]

Looking at my notes the last time I saw 2001 on the big screen was 29 July 1978, nearly 40 years ago! Jeez I'm getting old.

It was at the ABC Shaftesbury Avenue, London and in 70mm according to this website.

http://www.in70mm.com/newsletter/1998/55/shaftsbury/index.htm

I was only a teen at the time and being a sci-fi fan it thrilled the heck out of me. The next time I saw it in full widescreen was on BBC TV in 1989, an exciting event for British Kubrick fans but the image was a tiny strip of light on my 22inch set.

 

[Charles Smith]

My last time in 70mm would have been at the Cinerama Dome in the 1980s (?), I'm not actually sure when that was now. Before that, I remember "Dimension 150" showings at the Egyptian in the 1970s. And before those, any number of times in original "Cinerama" and 35mm. So anyway, it's been a good long while for me and I'll certainly not miss it this time around.

 

[Craig Beam]

I saw 2001 in 70mm at the Hollywood Theatre almost exactly three years ago here in Portland. It was transcendent. I hope like hell it makes its way here again....

 

[Steve Christou]

Looking at that 70mm website I linked earlier there are some interesting articles

"2OO1" in 7OMM sells out at the ARCADIA

"The print is still in a very good condition with full color spectrum and the big red eye of HAL9000 filled the 30 meter wide ENERGY screen in all of its magnitude."

http://www.in70mm.com/news/2017/arcadia/index.htm

http://www.in70mm.com/library/film/2OO1/index.htm

 

[PMF]

I told that I was limited to only one ticket to either Deadpool, Hans Solo or 2001, I wouldn't even hesitate. 2001 is genius, still mightily relevant and Geoffrey Unsworth, in addition to Kubrick, visually paved the way for all the rest.

 

[dpippel]

I told that I was limited to only one ticket to either Deadpool, Hans Solo or 2001, I wouldn't even hesitate. 2001 is genius, still mightily relevant and Geoffrey Unsworth, in addition to Kubrick, visually paved the way for all the rest.

Did someone say HANS Solo???

 

[PMF]

Did someone say HANS Solo???

View attachment 45185

Hans can go to HAL.

 

[Dick]

What I never saw in any theater (or, with any prior t.v. I have owned, on a monitor) were pitch-black, velvet skies between the stars that I've always hoped for with this movie. Until now. If you can get hold of an OLED, whether 3D or not, 2001 will seem like a revelation. You really feel like you are in deep space watching it on this format. I don't know whether or not the 4K edition will (or can) improve much on that aspect of it. Detail in the models will almost certainly advance the PQ. I will be interest in how Mr. Harris finds this transfer.

 

[Charles Smith]

2001 was inky black, at least in those first beautifully projected Cinerama engagements. On subsequent runs, who knows, the brain probably had to fill it in on some later viewings. But those first impressions were of absolute blackness.

There. That's my memory of it and I'm sticking to it.

 

[Dick]

2001 was inky black, at least in those first beautifully projected Cinerama engagements. On subsequent runs, who knows, the brain probably had to fill it in on some later viewings. But those first impressions were of absolute blackness.

There. That's my memory of it and I'm sticking to it.

I saw it on a Cinerama screen also and was overwhelmed by it (the movie in general) at the time. But unless the prints utilized silver in their emulsion to block light from the projector beam, there is no way I was seeing absolute black. It just seemed that way to my young eyes. OLED perhaps simulates what 2001 contrast levels would have looked like if processed and projected using the techniques of the 1930's. Then again, I might be speaking with my head up my ass!

 

[Charles Smith]

Understood, and my use of “impressions” was deliberate. Maybe the truth is out there.