by Nevin Hooper

Over Spring Break on the certain date of April 3rd was the 50th anniversary of by far one of the greatest films in cinematic history. This is master Stanley Kubrick’s greatest achievement, only surpassed by The Shining (that’s just my opinion though, because The Shining is another cinematic masterpiece). This film is one of the most- if not the most- influential science fiction film ever, and is also one of the best films of all time. It is a genuine must see for film connoisseurs.

The film follows many stories throughout the runtime, starting with the evolution of ape intelligence before humans ever existed, and then jump cuts to many years into the future where technology has considerably advanced, and follows two crew members on a ship to Jupiter, named Dave and Frank (both played excellently by Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood). But, once their superintelligent computer, H.A.L. 9000 (voiced creepily by Douglas Rain), starts to act strange, and Dave and Frank debate about shutting him down, H.A.L. seeks to kill all of those who want to shut him down.

This film is a visual masterpiece with Oscar-winning visual effects that still hold up surprisingly well that strengthens the heavy symbolism of the plot. This is by far one of the best directed films ever made, and is one of the only films I’ve seen where every single shot means something, or at least makes you feel something extraordinary.

The music is by far one of the most parodied score of all time, and still to this day is extremely hypnotizing along with the film’s masterful sound design, varying from extravagant and loud sounds to absolute silence. which in this film can be extremely effective, and sometimes even frightening.

This film truly is a must see; everything about this film is perfect and is an overall flawless film and most definitely deserves an 11/10.