2001: A Space Odyssey

One of the films that we were required we watch to help us in our studies and give us key references was 2001: A Space Odyssey. Released in 1968 and directed by the great Stanley Kubrick, this film shows the story of a monolith that appears on various planets, including the moon. It shows the level of the people who travel to find out what it is and its origins, while some complications cause a massive chain of events throughout the film.

After my first watch of the film, I found myself quite confused by specific points, including the ending and certain decisions made throughout. While most of these confusions were rectified in the second viewing, I still found that the end was a little confusing. Perhaps this is the emotion that Kubrick was trying to convey to make the film a little more complicated than it seems.

Throughout the film, there are numerous points where I found it to be truly brilliant, from the shot of the ape throwing the bone into the air for it then to cut to a shot of a spaceship to the sheer passive-aggressive nature of HAL, which i found to be one of the most frightening characters.