Beyond the Infinite – 2001 on IMAX
Ken Jones
- Chief Film Critic
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the release of 2001: A Space Odyssey by director Stanley Kubrick. It remains one of the most confounding, perplexing, and fascinating films ever made. It is a film that I saw for the first time in high school, in class actually, and was rather bored with it at the time but has definitely grown on me with subsequent viewings. I consider it one of the greatest films ever made. The Blu-ray was a must-own and the 4K disc releasing this fall will likely also be as well.
For this 50th anniversary, the film has been re-released with a brand new 70mm print from the original negatives, a process that Christopher Nolan oversaw and dubbed an “unrestored” print of the movie, completely reproduced with no digital touch ups to recreate exactly what the film would have looked like 50 years ago. Moviegoers back in May in several cities were treated to a limited run engagement of the 70mm version of the movie. For this week, the film is playing across the country at all IMAX locations. Despite a ridiculously busy week at my regular job, which has left me basically zero free time outside of sleep, I had a window Friday night after I got out of work. It was basically my only chance at my only chance to see this film in the biggest format possible.
Not surprisingly, the theater was mostly empty, maybe only 5-10% full, not surprising for late on a Friday night. I was able to secure my usual favorite seat, right on the front row of the main section of seats; the IMAX essentially takes up my entire field of vision and I can put my feet up on the railing. Good times. I was settled in, but, as it turns out, completely unprepared for this viewing experience.
Whether we fully realize it or not, there is a dramatic difference between seeing a movie on the big screen and seeing it in the comfort of your own living room. Our environment can absolutely influence our opinion of a film. There are a handful of films over the last few years that I have noticed this sort of disconnect, most notably with Mad Max: Fury Road. I’ll bet if you asked the majority of people who didn’t like it if they saw it in the theater or not the overwhelming answer would be no. And the same for Dunkirk. Some films need to be seen larger than life. My whole life, I had interacted with 2001: A Space Odyssey on a TV screen. Seeing it on the IMAX opened up a whole new world for me.
The film opens with an extended musical introduction and a black screen. Most of the times I have watched 2001 on my own, I have simply fast-forwarded through this to the beginning. Not having control over the viewing experience is yet another way that the movie theater is different from the living room. It forced me to sit there and listen to the music and sit with the blank screen. It felt a lot like an orchestra practicing before a performance when people are still milling about, but the symphony is about to start. It also felt had the distinct air of a director clearing his throat before launching into his magnum opus.
The story progresses at a deliberate pace and embraces the technical side of filmmaking as it does the story. After the prolonged prehistoric opening with the apes, the technical brilliance on display in portraying space stations in orbit and space travel is truly a marvel, not just for 1968 standards. The docking sequence at the space station is amazing, but perhaps more impressive to me is the Clavius base landing on the moon. As the ship descends into the base, inside are several rooms on both sides of the platform where people are working on various tasks. Each of those smaller rooms features people walking about and working, a level of detail and intricacy that is nothing short of impressive given the FX limitations.
The other part of the moon section of the film that stands out more on the big screen is when the party arrives at the monolith that had been buried on the moon. So much of the film has the meticulous visual framing that Kubrick is so well known for. Here though, there is a handheld, almost POV perspective mixed in as they mingle and eventually group together to have their picture taken. It almost feels like a homemade video of the moment.
Lastly, and most impressive, was the visceral reaction I had to the final part of the film, titled “Jupiter & Beyond the Infinite.” As Dave ventures into the psychedelic color trip beyond the infinite, I started to react physically to it, as if I were in Dave’s shoes entering this unknown. This is a film I have seen several times before, but I had never had this reaction to this ending before. It hit me on a completely different level than I had ever experienced it before.
Truly, you have not experienced 2001: A Space Odyssey until you see it on the big screen. It’s only a one-week engagement, and there are only three days left of it as I write about it on a Monday, but if you happen to have the time, go check it out. If you are a fan of the film, if you have never seen it before, or even if you are a film nerd that just didn’t connect with it before, see it on the biggest screen available and be prepared for a fresh new encounter with a 50-year-old film.