2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968) - EXPLAINED AND ANALYSED 

I just watched this film for the first time and my first thoughts were "1968 really?". In one of the earlier scenes a guy has a essentially a skype convo, and ipads are also depicted lol. Everything looks pretty futuristic even now. In 1968 this film must have been amazing

And I thought Wall E and Interstellar were so original until I saw this film. And its a film from 1960s. NINETEEN SIXTIES

10 66: "Sorry, you missed a very important part. HAL intentionally makes a mistake during the chess match. He is testing Dave. Dave fails to spot the mistake twice. HAL becomes self-aware that he/it is "smarter " and cannot allow the (now) "faulty " humans to complete the mission he/it was built to complete. This is the most important scene in the film. " I agree with 1066's comment (although it was Frank who was playing chess with HAL and got fooled, not Dave.). HAL doesn't "make a mistake" when he mentions the AE35 Unit malfunction. Declaring the functioning unit malfunctional is all part of a deliberate plan. Look at the scene where HAL first mentions the AE35 Unit malfunction - It occurs during a conversation he's having with Dave Bowman. HAL talks to Dave about his artwork, and Dave picks up that HAL is evaluating his intelligence. This causes HAL to be flustered for a few seconds ("Just a moment....Just a moment...") This is HAL panicking as he realizes that Dave isn't as gullible as Frank and that he might be a threat to him in the future. This is the moment when HAL decides on a final test for the astronauts. HAL declares the AE-35 unit nonfunctional. If the astronauts take him at his word and replace the unit without looking at it, then it means they're still under HAL's psychological control and all is well. But if the astronauts decide to examine the unit, this means that they're doubting HAL and will need to be eliminated as potential threats to him and the mission. Needless to say, when Dave and Frank look at the unit and see that it's fine, it pretty much seals their doom in HAL's eyes. TL;DR, no matter what film analysers (or even official sequels to 2001) might say, HAL's plan to kill the astronauts was not caused by a random malfunction in HAL's brain, but by HAL's AI becoming paranoid and deciding that the astronauts were too much of a threat to him and to the mission for them to remain alive.

I always thought those trays of heated food looked oddly delicious.

Before Star Wars there always was and always will be 2001 A SPACE ODYSSEY!

This motion picture has formed the subconscious mind of at least 5 generations to date. The ending interpretation may have been left to free individual thought process, but what about everything leading up to that open conclusion ...... Never the less, impressive in both aspects, the art of movie making and social engineering !!

Kubrick had at one point, acknowledged that in many ways the film is structured like a dream. The restroom instructions were the films' only intentional joke. The success of the mission had been so prioritized to HAL, and because of the secrecy about the true nature of the mission being withheld from the two crew members that he was interacting with daily, he became paranoid about their ability to carry out the mission successfully and since the mission was of paramount importance, he had to insure that they would not interfere with HAL completing the mission. The fact that he was at his core programmed to accurately supply information and operate in a transparent way just added to the stress.

Thank you for this video I don’t even watch movies due to years of family trauma but you’ve reinvigorated me. 😻

Has anybody else had an acid trip similar to when he travels through space before reaching the room?

Great rendition and explanation of the awesome film: Space Odyssey 2001.

Excellent video! In my opinion the movie has two different planes of analysis, yet completely related to each other. On one level, the film shows the director's interpretation of the cycle of life (birth, death and rebirth) and the soul's transcendental experience. On a more macro level, it shows key moments on the evolution of the human species, which is also part of a much larger cycle of birth, death and rebirth of the universe, or universe expansion and contraction. I think it is also interesting how the director uses technology as the agent of transition, both physical and metaphysical.

thank you for a great analysis, I had trouble with this movie, I feel more informed and I would love to watch it again now, it will surely be more pleasurable :)

Very nice job. You mentioned things I did not pick up on. I'll have to watch it again.

This is one was the greatest movies ever made but this movie has potentially traumatized me as well

Best analysis yet on the movie. Well done!

Nice analysis, LCG. I'd also like to recommend that you read Arthur C. Clarke's 'companion' novel to this movie. It put some things in a clearer light and helped me enjoy the motion picture much more.

Your video analyses are incredible. I watched Mulholland Drive with the missus and she almost throttled me. Then I watched your video and she appreciated its genius immediately.

Not really artificial gravity but centrifugal force. Artificial gravity would be as in Star Trek when there is no rotation involved. The scene where you show artificial gravity is just the grip shoes in the movie but a rotating set in filming.

It is the symmetry and the alignment that makes this film a piece of art as well as how you describe it.

That's a good explanation and analysis

So glad you started uploading again

when a video is good you watch it all the way .....nice video ...this was helpful

You know, there's a whole book about this story and the real meaning. Some "Clarke" guy wrote it. Pretty good insights too. You should check it out sometime.

Please make a video on its 2nd part - "2010 The Year We Made Contact (1984)", i understood it quite well but still if you make a video it will be quite helpful, Thank You in advance, looking forward to it. :D

Very Interesting analysis of an excellent film. Thank You!

Hal is just Alexa now. Give it another 500 years.

Thank you, thank you for Brilliant Analysis, Great Movie for the Grey 🧠, ❤️ reading the comment section ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you for this great analysis. I already love this film but your analysis makes me love it even more.💕💕

I think trying to figure out the meaning of 200I is a fool's errand, because i don't think Kubrick made movies to tell stories. He used his extraordinary talents to manipulate the audience with the camera and soundtrack. Claustrophobic sets, forcing characters to move in particular directions, making the viewer feel..he did that in all his films. In doing so he made works of art. Story was secondary, maybe not even that, just a framework to hang the beauty.

I really enjoyed both this Movie and your excellent observations! THANK YOU!

Thanks for this analysis. Have you visited the Kubrick Archives? It's not very accessible for Americans, but it's right there in London.

I love this voice and could listen to this lady forever

Awesome analysis. I had never noticed that everyone has wobbly legs, like a new born, when going to the moon and the first shot on the ship 18 months later is a man easily jogging. Further evolution forward? Also, the very first space ship in the flash forward is actually a satellite carrying nuclear weapons so the flash forward is from man's first weapon to its current, very destructive weapon.

Thank you! I like the explanation because I needed it when I just watched it 30 minutes in..

Great vid, not picking holes just mentioning...Daisy isn't a nursery rhyme. (I'm sure it'snot important but everything in 2001 seems to be significant so I never know!)

This if the most concise, on-target overview I have ever seen. I have been an ongoing student of 2001 over the years, so I feel confident in making this succinct statement.

Finally a video without a pretentious American monotone guy using big words without saying anything.

interestingly(or not) HAL are the 3 letters before the letters IBM

Awesome way of explaining this great film. When breaking it down without attempting to theorize and hypothesize, it leaves one with base thoughts and beautiful cinematography. HAL does, however play a very important role in the film, whereby the next phase in human evolution shall include advancement in computer technology and possibly human's downfall as a result.

😊Excellent analysis also check out Rob Ager’s analysis where the monolith is symbolic of the cinema screen. And Bowmans realization that he is a movie character

Being on unbiased this is one of the greatest films ever made... This is just quality film making... It may not be as entertaining as others but it's got such a rich and complex story it's getting wanting to watch and examine it again.. I really wanna see 2001 a space Odyssey in threaters someday and maybe in 3D that would be awesome.. this movie is basically perfection..

An interesting and well-done analysis, thank you for answering the many questions I have had since since my late teens when I first viewed this film. I remember the college crowd I saw it with had high expectations but came away with many complaints, the largest of which, according to my memory, were: 1. the apparent "gayness" in HAL's voice, 2. the "dull" personalities of the two astronauts, 3. the "ridiculous" final room scenes which had no obvious purpose or reason, and 4. the "weird" cosmic greeting card and baby god scenes at the end of the film which were big let-downs for them (all adjectives theirs, not mine). My one complaint was the reason HAL went insane to begin with, which was glossed over too quickly in the dialog for me to even hear. I felt there had to be good explanations for those scenes but was too dumb to figure them out until now. Thanks again for this thoughtful and carefully researched analysis!

London city girl, if you haven't already, please read Less Than Zero by Brett Easton Ellis. The film was awful, but the book is a modern masterpiece. I'm subbing, loved this vid, thanks LCG

In the beginning of the movie sounds just like the Bible. The fallen angels came down to earth and showed man how to use make tools, use tools, eat meat, makeup, clothes, build etc. They basically gave knowledge to man.

There is reason spaceships are circular and spin, that is to create artificial gravity by " spinning everyone to the outside". and the Eva pods are spherical as it is a geometrical stable shape that distributes pressure evenly around the craft. Sorry for being a nerd. Good explanation to film.

I was planning to watch the movie lmao!

Love your videos, but the audio levels for your voice are too low. I'd consider getting a usb microphone, the audio clips/distorts when you hit certain s sounds. Fantastic video and analysis otherwise!

Best explanation ever

Ever notice how the HAL interface (red eye) is shaped (has the same proportions) just like the monolith?

Take the name HAL and change each letter to the one after it in the alphabet. What do you get? IBM, of course.

Thank you for this video. What struck me the first time I saw this movie is the use of classical music as a means of creating a feeling for the audience. That has always impressed me deeply. I will see this movie again. I am curious to rediscover it and see how I experience it now, given that I have changed - and hopefully grown :-) - in the twenty-odd years since I last saw the movie.

Arthur C. Clarke wrote two successive books, where he told the functions of the Monolith, and the fate of Bowman, Poole, Jupiter and Europa. The monoliths are powerful, multipurpose automated servants of an advanced civilization which starts and stops life on some other planets. The controllers of the monolith of Jupiter are 450 light-years away. After that colorful travel, Bowman enter the monolith and, even if he loose his body, is transformed into a powerful entity, which is asked from the monolith to conduct some close-up inspections in the Universe. The monolith sends a signal to its controllers that the experiment Earth has failed, and remain expecting orders, to arrive after 900 years. In a successive books, the monoliths ignite Jupiter which become a Star, heating up Europa where life is present under its sea of ice. In another book, thousands years have passed, Earth has now a superior Civilisation, they find Poole body in deep space and revive him. The body less entity of Bowman go to meets his old comrade Poole and reveals him that the controllers have ordered the monolith to destroy life on Earth, based on a report of the 20th century. Scientists asks the Bowman entity to deliver a computer virus into the Monolith, which is disabled and fails to destroy Earth. It had begun to place a giant screen in front of the Sun, so Earth was no longer receiving Sunlight.

Nice interpretation, but I have a few areas of disagreement. In CLarke's novelization of the film, he states that the monolith is a machine that comes from super-intelligent alien explorers, whose sole goal is to cultivate intelligence elsewhere. I too at first thought it meant that man advanced on the evolutionary scale (a misunderstanding of Darwin), but Clarke makes clear in 2010 that Bowman's mind has been preserved in a new form without his physical body, in effect to serve the monolith and the aliens' purpose. Neoclassical style is in fact very late Enlightenment, associated more with the Romantic movement in my opinion, i.e. the reaction against Enlightenment assumptions and ideals. While I agree that HAL was a competing intelligence and hence the ultimate achievement in machines, it is clear when he is pleading that he has little true understanding or emotions that are akin to human - he is, in effect, out of his depth. This too is explained in 2010 by Dr. Chandra, who believes that HAL became paranoid because he was told to lie in contradiction to his programming to always tell the truth.

Now I get it. Thanks!

Utterly Awesome...

I just watched this film for the first time, I thought I was watching Monty Python towards the end, it just seemed to be weird and bizarre without really giving any answers to anything.

Anyone else see the humans acting inhuman like...more like robots and Hal acting more human?

Great video (and movie). We can use a monolith now, as apparently the human race has receded.

So, like the humans' arrogance towards the monolith, HAL is arrogant in his own readings. However, is it truly arrogance or just what HAL was 'taught' (programmed) to 'think' by humans? HAL says he cannot make a mistake; I don't know whether this is something HAL genuinely feels in his arrogance or is just a line he spouted that is indicative of him believing he is truly _incapable_ of making a mistake due to how he was programmed (much like Bowman says it is impossible to truly know whether HAL really has emotions or not due to his programming).

Not as good as the original Wall E, seriously, a brilliant analysis.

The screenplay really was way ahead of its time

My interpretation is that ... sometimes it's nice to watch a movie.

The shift to the diamond symbol is a dimensional shift along the axis from the more human square to the 3D, rotating diamond. This signifies that a dimensional shift is taking place in the protagonist.

Let's not forget that the script was hashed out between Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke together based on an original earlier idea by Clarke. Clarke also wrote the novel contemporaneously to penning the film. He also wrote 3 sequels that go a long way to explaining this original. Ultimately the genius of Clarke's writing combined with the genius of Kubrick's vision make this an incredible and breathtaking film that hasn't dated at all. Like The Godfather, this just gets better and better with each repeated viewing.

“Since humans are 98% as smart as I thought, then we have to eliminate them.” Damn HAL

Sorry, you missed a very important part. HAL intentionally makes a mistake during the chess match. He is testing Dave. Dave fails to spot the mistake twice. HAL becomes self-aware that he/it is "smarter " and cannot allow the (now) "faulty " humans to complete the mission he/it was built to complete. This is the most important scene in the film. Watch the display during the chess match. Even the display demonstrates the deception (missed by Dave). Either way, 2001 is really a 3 part visual symphony/opera(3 acts). A true masterpiece. Heck, you could do a whole video on the chess game alone. It's hard to believe that a film shot in 1968 would hold up so well? I have zero respect for anybody that hates this film.

While this has been my favorite movie for a very long time, and I've revisited it many times, for the first time I'm amazed by how good the leopard attack looks. I guess it's possible to find a trained animal of just about any species.

I saw this movie when it first came out, and twice after that in later years. There was so much about it that I liked visually, but never really understood the message that Stanley Kubrick was implying. I like this interpretation of the movie's meaning. Well done, Thanks.

I have watched a lot of interpretation videos and I have to say that this is the best and that is why I'm subscribing to this channel. Thank you for this amazing video.

HAL didn't make a mistake when he said the module was malfunctioning; he was lying. He lied in order to get out of a difficult conversation about the mission. Also, there is a hint that the strange colours of the planetary surface near the end may in fact be due to Dave's altered perception, as we are seeing through his eyes: watch how Dave's eye changes to an unnatural colour that later matches the planet's colour scheme, possibly symbolising a change in his perception. It is only when his eye turns back to a normal colour that we see a normal-looking room.

My favorite movie since childhood. I remember sitting in the theater with my parents in '68 and at the final seen when the star child appears, my mom and the rest of the audience say " ... and what's that suppose to mean??? " haha

It's definitely my favorite film. Every time I watch it I learn something new. No computer graphics, it's full of inventions we use today and and will do in the future. A masterpiece, and when you juxtapose it with all of Kubricks films it amplifies how much of a master he was, all are masterpieces, yet all completely different.

At each transitional phase, humanity is able to reach out physically and touch the unknown without understanding but by doing so expands beyond the known. The dichotomy between physical presence, mastery and intellectual advancement is thematic throughout the film through the final scenes when humanities physical inability ultimatelly traps the intelect leaving only the quiescence of humanity a polarity leaving understanding beyond reach, leaving the viewer with death and rebirth, showing humanity as an infant to the grandeur of the unknown, of the infinity.

HAL didn't mistakenly identify the antenna module as faulty. He manufactured the fault. HAL's orders conflicted with his programming. His programming mandated that he report accurate information. His orders mandated that he keep the monolith a secret. A human being can compartmentalize these two, different mandates with no conflict. HAL, as a computer, could not. He failed the antenna unit to cut their communications with earth so earth could not reveal the existence of the monolith. He killed the crew (including his attempt to kill Dave) as his resolution to the conflict. If there's no crew to keep a secret from, then there's no longer a conflict between his programming and his orders. This is all in the book. It's also clarified in the second movie.

One of the greatest movies ever made.

I cannot stay awake watching this movie. Maybe it's because I'm a millennial. But I also cant stop thinking about it. The more I read and learn about it, the more I want to watch it again and inevitably take another nap.

Thank you for this, I too saw this aged 13 upon 1st release, was blown away then, and still am. A small contribution if I may, to the importance of the number 3. 2001 added equals 3, the heavenly bodies in alignment are 3, the 3 opening notes of Also Sprach Zarathustra ( a representation of Nietsche's Ape/man/superman evolution), the film is in 3 parts, there are 3 references to birthdays - if you include the final rebirth image, the Blue Danube is in 3/4 time ( ie perfect time) & so on and on!!

I watched this movie as a 10 year old. Completely missed it. I read the book many years later but was then even more confused. Thankyou for the very insightful analysis. Along with a few comments below, I think that now I am 60 I am ready to try again.

A few comments… - My son when aged about 8 years was mesmerised by the “Open the pod bay door, Hal” scene. He’d watch it over and over again (on DVD) - Surprised you didn’t mention the significance of the music which plays a huge part. In contrast, the long scenes with no music or heavy breathing are great cinematic tools. - HAL, with each letter advanced one = IBM

I know no more now than I did after watching the movie 17 times!

If enough money were allocated the Discovery One spacecraft could be built today with two exceptions. First, the pods could actually be improved. The centrifuge for gravity would be the toughest but nuclear powered it could run indefinitely. The two exceptions were the hibernation chambers and while people could be put in a coma for years they'd be pretty much wasted when revived. The second was HAL. True AI is a long way off. Just looking at the giant space station and the moon base layout I figure Kubrick and Clarke were about 200-600 years off.

I'm noticing this summary doesn't go into the 20 scenes where we see a spaceship moving in space 3.5 minutes straight. I really liked the film, but boy, I think the film technology was cool and they wanted to show it off. Something a little more succinct would have been my preference -- primarily in parts without dialogue or action or anything other than a ship flying through space.

Thanks for the video. I watched the movie once and didn't get it but with this video I'm willing to give it another try. It was the same case with 'primer' and 'Donnie Darko'. You're a life saver

This is a masterful analysis and presentation of a masterpiece. *Thank You* 😊💜

Superb analysis, concise and well-written with well-chosen illustrative film-clips. Nice work.

2001 is arguably the most sensational expression about birth/proliferation/human purpose that has ever been made. the symbology, narrative structure, and style, all come together in a flawless composition of thematic beauty. the questions that are posed and the answers that are derived are of the most valuable experiences that film has to offer. your video summarizes them well, good work.

Let me add that our ape crew become bipedal after encountering the monolith, which is a rather huge step forward in evolution, (pardon the pun).

I saw this movie in 1971 when I was 12 on a "$1 wed nite" special. I was by myself so I got an adult to get me in. At that time, it was the scariest I movie i had ever seen. It was the starkness and silence that hit me. Now, 50 years later, it is still the most "useful" movie ever made. Does still mankind think it is not too smart for its' own good? You bet. The universe destroys and re-creates constantly. Space, our sun or the earth itself can call for a renovation any time and that's it for us. We are not the master. We are the child. We do not need to understand everything. Only live in gratitude for all that is given to us and enjoy it in peace. Even in death there may be new worlds and dimensions to come.

I wish someone would take on making the last two movies (part 3 and 4). Someone with vision and full understanding of the books. 2001 is but a mere intro to a much larger story. I strongly recommend reading all four books.

A very well explanation. I have seen explanation from other channel but not satisfied. You did a very good job. Thank You

I don't think that's Earth he's looking down to at the end. I believe the point is for the new star child to start life on an empty planet. Just my theory though.

faking 40+ years in film is not a joke. stanlye kubric was super genius. imagine faking 2060 in todays time its impossible

I finally saw this entire movie. Here is my super basic conclusion. AI studied us through time and finally created a humanoid IA once they studied our evolution.

Have enjoyed the analysis, and many of the comments. I've noticed many of the comments pointing back to the book to explain this or that. (Or even to "2010", which had the advantage of offering explanations for plot points retroactively.) Please remember- and this applies to all novel-inspired-films- that they are by necessity a New vision, an Individual Expression by Its creator, in this case- the Filmmaker. The Filmmaker is at liberty to- and by necessity must- not only choose which themes to emphasize (some themes may not even be apparent the original text,) and tell it Visually. And their work must be able to exist without reference to the text. What I'm saying is, the Film 2001 exists independently from the Book, but yes- informed by the book. And some of the explanations for events, motivations of characters and emphasized themes may differ in the secondary work. Heck, witness all the hoopla over Kubricks...adaptation(?) of Stephen King's "The Shining", which King disowned. Kubrick used "The Shining" book as an inspiration and springboard for his own work product. Reading "2001" can certainly enlighten the film viewer of Clarke's vision, the original template, allowing the viewer to understand Kubrick's original inspiration. But Kubrick's work stands on its own, and his freedom in the telling, affords the opportunity to present a differing (in details large and small), self-existing story and message.

I love this movie and I love that I can still learn things about it 30+ years later. It’s like a moving piece of art and I now have to watch it again!

Every time I watch this movie, I'm reminded of how much HAL'S "eye" looks like the Sun; the real source of all life on Earth...

Hard to believe that this movie and Green Slime came out the same year. Vast difference. It took a long time for the movie industry to match 2001's technical savvy.

Overall, this movie was shit. Absolutely shit. Stanley Kubrick was on too much drugs and his film are all trippy and shit. It's only good cos we have media and internet to explain what it's about. My mum & dad watched this when it first came out, and they both said it was SHIT, boring & confusing. There was no newspaper or magazine that had reviews back then nor explained it in detail. Basically if you're going to make a movie that can't make audience understand or make them fall asleep, then is a shit movie!

The greatest film ever made in every aspect. Made in 1968 and 54 years later remains the greatest looking film of all time imo

A great book read by a Thousand different people are thousands of different books . I always get flabbergasted when Dave goes through the colourful sequence . It is something beyond explanation. A colourful blast of space aura's , digital numbers , every written language drawn by humans with such an audio score is enough to throw even alerted minds of ex-veterans . The meaning of the film gets fuzzy 😂 after that event but i always thought Dave died during that awe inspiring mega event & he is seeing how humanity always gets defeated after a certain point , while staying in that particular room. A.i. as it never physically depreciates itself, it gets to be the next evolution. Either you'll understand & respect A.I. & future on robotics otherwise you'll just get beaten. By time , by space ,by emotions, by whatever human is limited for . Changing times requires change in rules . The baby in the very ending seemed like it was made to confuse people. Or it is the next intellectual who witnessed all of the cinema . Directors, you know .. Weirds❤