2001 @ 40.

Ray Pride, with help from Jamie Stuart, has gathered early reviews, interviews with Stanley Kubrick and a host of launching pads for further exploration to mark the 40th anniversary of the world premiere of 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Updated through 4/6.

Update, 4/4: "Time has revealed Kubrick's masterpiece to be a kind of celluloid enzyme, a herald of our graduation as a species, the epicenter of a cultural force that changed the very face of our planet," writes Tim Lucas. "It lives on as a kind of moveable milestone, a touchstone that we can revisit throughout our lives to keep track of how much we have grown or remained the same. If the black monolith represents an inscrutable source prompting quantum leaps in human growth and discovery, I ask you, what film better fills that definition than 2001?"

Updates, 4/6: "While the idea of HAL 9000 and cosmic commuting may have excited audiences about what the future would hold, Kubrick probably saw it as a dark reminder about our inconsequential rank in the cosmos, and perhaps how we are all dwarfed by a higher power," writes Adam Ross.

"I've grown to have a lot of admiration for 2001, but not a lot of fondness," writes Edward Copeland.

Posted by dwhudson at April 2, 2008 2:52 PM