2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY

Part of The Sight and Sound Top 10 (#6)

A black monolith, present since the dawn of man, is discovered beneath the surface of the moon. When the source of the object is determined to be Jupiter, an expedition is launched to explain its mysterious origins. Dave (Keir Dullea) and crew must face off against the next stage in human evolution in the form of the ship’s sinister AI system — a sabotaging super-intelligent HAL 9000 computer — as they travel to Jupiter and beyond the infinite.

NOTE: This film is preceded by a 3-minute overture. There will be a 10-minute intermission, followed by a 2-minute entr’acte.

“Sometimes people tell you that a movie becomes an entirely different thing when you actually see it on a huge screen. (I am often one of these people.) Often, they’re (we’re) exaggerating; the movie may play better, and you may watch better, but what’s actually on screen rarely changes. 2001, however, is a different thing. It’s a film made for that huge screen, for absolute immersion.” ––Bilge Ebiri, Village Voice

“The film creates its effects essentially out of visuals and music. It is meditative. It does not cater to us, but wants to inspire us, enlarge us.” ––Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times (March 1997)

Topic:
Video introduction by Tracie Prater, Technical management, Space Habitat Systems Development at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center

About the speaker:
Tracie Prater supports technical management in the Habitat Systems Development organization at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Prior to this role, she was a materials engineer serving as the laboratory lead for the in-space manufacturing project and a subject matter expert for NASA’s Centennial Challenges prize competition program. She has a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Vanderbilt University and is a senior member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Her hobbies include travel, reading, and watching movies.

“Sometimes people tell you that a movie becomes an entirely different thing when you actually see it on a huge screen. (I am often one of these people.) Often, they’re (we’re) exaggerating; the movie may play better, and you may watch better, but what’s actually on screen rarely changes. 2001, however, is a different thing. It’s a film made for that huge screen, for absolute immersion.” –– Bilge Ebiri, Village Voice

“The film creates its effects essentially out of visuals and music. It is meditative. It does not cater to us, but wants to inspire us, enlarge us.” –– Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times (March 1997)

“It's an overpowering experience, awe-inspiringly photographed by Geoffrey Unsworth, groundbreakingly enhanced by Douglas Trumbull.” –– Mark Kermode, The Observer