Warner Bros. Discovery and Universal Home Entertainment

Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke’s classic SF tale…

The first time I saw 2001 was on the BBC’s initial broadcast of it, when some genius decided that what this widescreen film needed was not black bars top and bottom, but that those bands were, to quote, “full of stars”. To be fair, widescreen broadcasts were few and far between in those far-off days but it really did not add anything to Kubrick’s mastery of visual composition (and of course the mono soundtrack from our contemporary telly also knocked some of the majesty and grandeur).

The most recent time I saw 2001 was in this incredible 4K edition, originally released a few years back but the centrepiece of this Film Vault edition. The visuals are stunning – from the crimson of the chairs in Dr Heywood’s meeting with the Russians to the psychedelic mix of the trip through the Stargate – and there’s a choice of two versions of the soundtrack, both of which work well. The 4K disc simply has the commentary with Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood on it; the other audio-visual extras – and there’s a tidy amount of them, giving insights into the film and its creators – are on a separate Blu-ray disc.

Alongside the two discs are multiple extras: there’s an individually numbered crystal display plaque, seven replica Lobby Cards – with added film quotes – as well as double sided reproductions of theatrical posters and a key art poster. Housed in a casing that should hold up to the rigours of a trip through the monolith (perhaps the one trick this misses – maybe that should have been the jet black of the sentinel?), it’s fitting for a movie that you’re likely to revisit regularly.

Verdict: An SF movie that has stood the test of time in the edition it deserves. 9/10

Paul Simpson

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