2001: A Space Odyssey (occasionally referred to as simply 2001) is a 1968 science fiction film directed by Stanley Kubrick released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and written by Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke. The film deals with thematic elements of human evolution, technology, artificial intelligence, and extraterrestrial life, and is notable for its scientific realism, pioneering special effects, ambiguous imagery that is open-ended to a point approaching surrealism, sound in place of traditional narrative techniques, and minimal use of dialogue.
DVDs of this film restore the blank screen musical prelude that appeared in the original road-show release though this was not seen in the wider theatrical release of the film or early VHS releases. The viewer sees a blank screen while the theme music “Atmospheres” plays (the same music played during the final StarGate sequence). After about three minutes the music dies out and the MGM logo appears. The title sequence then begins with an image of the Earth rising over the Moon, while the Sun rises over the Earth, all in alignment. (This is the first of three occurrences in the film of the iconic “Thus Spoke Zarathustra” theme. See music section for further discussion of the use of music in the film.)
Over images of an African desert, a title caption reads “The Dawn of Man”. A tribe of herbivorous apes is foraging for food. One of them is attacked and killed by a leopard. They are driven from their water hole by another tribe. Defeated, they sleep overnight in a small exposed rock crater. Waking at sunrise, they find that a black monolith has appeared in front of their shelter. They approach it shrieking and jumping, and eventually cautiously touch it.
Soon after that, one of the apes (Daniel Richter) realizes how to use a bone as both a tool and as a weapon. The apes have now learned how to take down prey, and are seen eating meat in a subsequent scene. The next morning, they wrest control of the water hole from the other tribe, killing its leader in the process. Triumphant, the ape leader throws his bone into the air, which switches via match cut from a close-up of the bone to a long shot of an orbital satellite millions of years in the future. This satellite and three more immediately following it are generally identified as orbiting nuclear weapons.
