8.8 | / 10 |
Users | 4.9 | |
Reviewer | 5.0 | |
Overall | 4.9 |
A mysterious black monolith appears on Earth in prehistoric times, changing the course of human evolution. When it reappears on the Moon in 2001, astronauts embark on an ill-fated interplanetary voyage to discover.
Starring: Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester, Daniel Richter, Leonard RossiterDrama | 100% |
Epic | 69% |
Mystery | 45% |
Sci-Fi | 42% |
Adventure | 10% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.20:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.20:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
German: Dolby Digital 5.1
Italian: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 2.0
Polish: Dolby Digital 2.0
Japanese: Dolby Digital 2.0
English SDH, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, Arabic, Cantonese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Korean, Mandarin (Simplified), Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Swedish, Thai, Turkish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 5.0 |
Hang on to your childhood knick knacks, they may end up being worth considerable bucks one day. As a burgeoning film fanatic even in my pre- teen years, I was determined that I was going to understand 2001: A Space Odyssey, a film which was confounding a lot of people (including adults) back in the day, even well past its original roadshow engagements. Sometime after the film was released, but before I personally had seen it for the first time, I found a paperback called The Making of Kubrick’s ‘2001’, edited by Jerome Agel, which went into some detail about the film, and, if I recall correctly, actually included a reprint of Arthur C. Clarke’s short story The Sentinel, which many have (in my estimation correctly) seen as at least a spark of inspiration for what 2001: A Space Odyssey ultimately became. (If the Agel book didn’t contain The Sentinel, it at least referred to it, because I know I read the Clarke story as well as Clarke's novelization of the screenplay in preparation for going to the theater to see the film for the first time.) I thought of the Agel book again as I revisited this remastered version of the film in preparation for this review, and in looking online found that it’s going for quite a bit more than I remember paying for it decades ago. Of course, it has a little competition now from any number of other printed analyses, including a really deluxe hardback out from the venerable folks at Taschen. At any rate, my reading paid off, for though I was a kid when I first sat in wonder and maybe even awe watching 2001: A Space Odyssey, I had no problem following its tale of human evolution perhaps nudged along by some all knowing — well, something that seems to like large black rectangles that emit music by György Ligeti.
2001: A Space Odyssey is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Warner Brothers Home Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.20:1, and already that aspect ratio should be an early tipoff that things are definitely "new and improved" from the long ago Blu-ray release. As is documented in an actually fascinating two page "history" of the restoration provided by Warner's Stuart Herriott for this release, "the 2018 release contains correct picture aspect ratio as it was scanned directly from the 65mm original negative which is spherical (flat) versus anamorphic (scope). The 35mm anamorphic (scope) reduction that was scanned for the 2000 and 2007 releases contained a little more information on the left and right of the frame then [sic] was intended for 2.2 70mm projection aspect ratio. Also, the optical scope reduction added a slight amount of linear image distortion, which is not present in the 65mm spherical camera negative." Mr. Herriott's detailed accounting of the long and involved restoration process, which Mr. Herriott traces back to photochemical work begun in 1999 (if I'm understanding things correctly) makes it clear that Warner, typically a commendable curator of its catalog, has approached this title with the care and handling that it deserves, and those who were fearful of Christopher Nolan's perceived "revisionism" can probably relax. So, with that out of the way: how does the darned thing look? Pretty spectacular in sum, though as Mr. Herriott also gets into, those who are going to utilize previous home video releases as the standard against which this release is measured may quibble with some aspects, notably the color timing, which is noticeably different in some respects from previous releases. As Mr. Herriott mentions, "audiences may be most familiar with previous home video releases. . .and may be struck by some of the differences. However, the newly remastered version has been scanned and timed to directly match the original film release, rather than the previous home video master." Some of the most noticeable differences happen right off the bat in The Dawn of Man sequence, where there's a slightly more desaturated look, with a brighter overall ambience that tends to make skies paler. But there are some interesting new changes here, albeit often on minor things like the weirdly mid(21st?)century modern chairs on the space station, which have a kind of crimson tone to them now. Restoration efforts have also eliminated some of the projection effect anomalies that were prevalent in previous versions, and I frankly noticed none of the admittedly minor speckling and dirt that were in evidence on the previous Blu-ray release. Detail levels are superb throughout the presentation, and there's a nicely organic looking grain field, one that spikes expectedly in many of the optical effects, but which resolves without any issues whatsoever. Blacks looked solid and (for those who may have feared) unboosted, and the entire palette looks appealingly saturated, and what Mr. Herriott terms as "luminance and color" dropping at the sides of the image on the older version has been eliminated. The psychedelic climax is bold and vivid and certainly better detailed than I remember seeing in 35mm reduction prints.
2001: A Space Odyssey features two DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 tracks, one listed as restored and remixed (which the accompanying press sheet identifies as having been "completed in 1999 (for the previous DVD and Blu-ray releases)" and a new 5.1 repurposing of the original theatrical 6 track audio. I frankly didn't hear a ton of difference between the two in terms of actual surround activity, though occasionally individual effects like the "hiss" of air that underlies several sequences involving Dave either outside of the ship or inside after HAL has gone berserk sounded a bit more forward in the mix to my years in the original theatrical version. The biggest difference to me was a clear if arguably fairly slight brighter quality to the higher frequencies of the "restored and remixed" track, something that can be especially discerned during some of the music, especially some of the "odder" source cues that tend to play under scenes featuring the monolith. That said, you can hear what I'm talking about even in the "prelude" music that occurs during the first couple of minutes before any actual imagery begins. The original theatrical track's higher frequencies don't sound muffled in any major way, but they're not quite as bright (and some might say strident) as on the remixed version. That said, I was personally a bit more impressed by the low end on the original theatrical track than on the remixed version, though it's again a probably incremental difference. Again, during some of the louder music cues, there's a slightly rumbly quality that may be slight distortion but which I feel in some instances (notably the quote from Also Sprach Zarathustra) are probably endemic to the original recordings. As fans of the film know, dialogue in this outing is actually on the sparse side, but is always rendered cleanly and clearly, and the effects are typically often placed smartly in the surround channels to develop what is strangely both a kind of claustrophobic and a wide open mix. There are a number of fantastic sound design choices in the film that may actually startle newcomers to 2001, and I'd only point out how brilliantly Kubrick and his team actually utilize silence at some key junctures. There's been a lot of chatter about perceived "changes" to the video side of things with this release, but some who don't mind at least a bit of revisionism may wonder what a Dolby Atmos or DTS:X remix might have offered to this release, at least in addition to the "original" mixes included here, since the film's sound design certainly provides ample opportunity for those kind of effects, but the two tracks here should certainly satisfy most ardent audiophiles.
Disc One contains the feature film and an Audio Commentary by Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood.
Disc Two contains the following supplements:
If you've never seen 2001: A Space Odyssey, prepare yourself for one of the most memorable viewing (and listening) experiences of your cinematic life. For those who have a history with this title, Warner has done this release proud, with top flight technical merits and some interesting supplements. Highly recommended.
1968
1968
Remastered
1968
Recalled - w/ No Fade Error Version
1968
1968
1968
1968
2019
2014
10th Anniversary Edition
2009
2018
First Printing DigiPak with Slipcover
1976
1972
2011
1968
The George Lucas Director's Cut
1971
40th Anniversary Edition
1977
2016
1997
1936
2016
Includes "Silent Space" version
2013
1975-1977
Солярис / Solyaris
1972
2005
Extended Edition
2015
2016