OK... I haven't told you about this, but I'm in desperate need of some 'classic' films to watch. You'd be ashamed at the stuff I haven't seen. Seriously, I'm yet to see the classic romance of Bogart and Bergman in Casablanca, the mafia-style masterclass of Coppola's The Godfather, not to mention Parts 2 & 3 as well. I also haven't seen Citizen Kane, Pulp Fiction -- ohh the list is endless. Anyway, what I did manage this weekend is to strike one of those off the list, a renowned 'classic' that is regularly at the top of a critics all-time list. Surely you've guessed by now?
Yes -- Stanley Kubrick's 1968 Sci-Fi epic 2001: A Space Odyssey based on or co-incided with Arthur C Clarke's Book 'The Sentinel'. I've been wanting to see this for some time, and finally managed the two and a bit hours the other day. It is, quite simply, astonishing. It is definitely an epic, but an epic that stands alone as something totally unique. This has never been done before and nor will it ever be done again. Much of it is captivating, some of it is simply too lengthy, but in terms of creativity and context, this is awe-inspiring and leaves you with a hell of a lot to think about.
I don't really know how I'd grade it, I must admit that I do like my endings to have at least some resolve. Am I pathetic? (that was rhetorical btw) Should I challenge myself more? When films leave you thinking as much as this one (i.e. Mulholland Drive), I tend to reflect more positively after mental stimulation. There's just too much intellectual babble to admire it at the time. When I understand it, I can enjoy it. Of course, in 2001 there is a welcome break of operatic beauty, and though the effects are very outdated, there is a sense of wandering into the unknown that Kubrick manages to exert. A great film, but one I shall be thinking about incessantly in the near future.
Off to hunt summore classics down. See ya.
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