Freud walked slowly down the slope towards the black cuboid, not only in awe, but also helpless in his heart. Right here, at the door of the earth, there may be puzzles that humans will never solve.
This movie is relatively boring, and the writing level of the post is average. It may be boring, but I hope you can take the time to read this film review, not with respect to the critics, but with awe of the classics created by Lao Ku, one Such as Freud's awe of Blackstone.
1. About the director
"Cinema Crazy" Lao Ku’s personal style of filming is very heavy, and he is also quite different in the film industry. Friends who have watched "The Shining" and "A Clockwork Orange" should all treat him rigorously in composition and color of the picture. I am very impressed by the bold use of.
When Kubrick was young, he looked very similar to Bollywood superstar Almi Han, but his appearance could not withstand the test of time. Although his handsomeness has faded, his endless creative enthusiasm still remains. In the mind of this talented director.
Far away, let’s take a look at the movie itself. The structural anatomy of the previous section may be verbose, but I sincerely hope that friends who have watched it or have not watched it will read it carefully when they have time, so that they will have a deeper understanding of the following text. (If you feel too boring, just skip to the third part, I will start to discuss the in-depth content of the film in the third part)
2. About the anatomy of the film structure
(1) The rise of dawn
The magnificent music of one minute and forty-three seconds at the beginning, and the shocking sunrise in space, have completely shocked the audience, and they have already seen how extraordinary this movie is. The shocking beginning is not good for ordinary movies, because it is destined to raise the audience's expectations.
So, why does this beginning give people a shocking feeling? I personally think there are three reasons.
1. Subjects & CG: The profound background of the universe and the spectacular sunrise in space were already at the highest level of special effects at the time, and they were also awe-inspiring. At the same time, they clearly conveyed to the audience the theme and sub-theme of the film-sci-fi ·Space epic.
2. Soundtrack: Soundtrack is the soul of a movie. It's like a horror movie without a soundtrack, and horror is mostly less; a cyberpunk movie without a soundtrack, and depression is mostly less. The opening "Also Sprach Zarathustra" has the power of a symphony of destiny, coupled with the background of the universe, solemn and solemn, like a divine enlightenment, enough to achieve a deterrent effect. I remember that when I traveled to Italy in 17 years, this music was playing in a hotel in a small town, and its influence can be seen. I will mention the role of the soundtrack in this film many times later.
3. Composition: The composition is symmetrical on the central axis. The sun is the only moving point light source. From being sheltered, to dawn, and then to the final general illumination, it will give people a magnificent feeling, which seems to be "THE DOWN OF MAN". "The reflection of each other indicates that the dawn of wisdom has come.
(2) THE DOWN OF MAN
After the magnificent beginning, it was a fixed-point shooting of the sunrise without sound for several minutes. For the first time, it was not very tangible. A group of monkeys swayed in front of the camera, showing "The Down of Man", but It's like watching a documentary on the African savannah filmed by BBC and National Geographic. After that, a rectangular black stone fell from the sky for no reason, and the monkeys all screamed back and slowly stretched out their hands, putting their hands on the black stone like a pilgrim.
The camera switched again. In order to snatch the water source, the apes used animal bones as weapons for the first time, which represents the birth of wisdom.
The scene of the subsequent camera transition has always been talked about by people-the moment the ape threw the bone into the air and cheered, the bone became a space station in space. The two, no matter how simple the former, or how complicated the latter, are wisdom. The manifestation of the two connects the two, and at the same time runs through the dawn of human wisdom. At this time, when you look at "The Down of Man", you seem to know that it means the darkness before dawn (the birth of wisdom).
1. Soundtrack: There is no sound except the roar of animals, and the elegant "The Blue Danube" after the transition of the picture. This strong contrast seems to symbolize the changes before and after the civilization of human intelligence.
2. Composition: Let's first turn our attention to the composition of Kubrick's shot of Blackstone. For him, every shot must have its own meaning. You can recall the axis symmetry in the picture I mentioned earlier, which will make people feel in awe, but why do you want to shoot the composition of the black stone with axis symmetry? Not only the black stone and the sun, but even the crescent moon, are symmetrical to the overall central axis of the picture. What did Kubrick express? Using this method to shoot Blackstone may also implicitly convey to the viewer the unusualness of Blackstone. But where is it unusual? I will discuss in detail later
(3) The Blue Danube and Space
Pens are floating in the air, people are floating or strolling in the spacecraft, the awkward and hard "heavy metal shell" of the space station is intertwined with the joyous notes of the blue Danube, which has become Lao Ku's artistic aesthetic throughout the centuries. The plot is that Freud is going to the moon to investigate a black stone that has been buried for millions of years. When the sun rises above the black stone, the stone slab sends out harsh radio signals. When I saw it for the first time, I was still confused about the plot. However, let's dissect it first.
1. Objects & CG: All the interior scenes of the space station, spacecraft and space station captured by the camera in this clip are all scaled down models or one-to-one models. I thought of "Blade Runner 2049" for the purpose of filming the future. In Los Angeles, Weta Studio was asked to make dozens of three-dimensional models of scaled down. Have to admire the excellence of the crew. Lao Ku even invited a French furniture designer to design the chairs in the space station.
2. Soundtrack: This clip has no soundtrack except "The Blue Danube", only the dialogue of the actors, which is like an endless universe, empty, suitable for conveying depression and boring feelings.
3. Composition: Lao Ku used axisymmetric composition twice in this clip, both of which were shooting the space station and the spacecraft, but with the blue Danube, it is more leisurely than awe-inspiring. Maybe it's a hymn to the highly developed technology
4. Setting: The background behind the characters on the screen is the key to expressing the emotions conveyed by the film, and it can also increase the authenticity of the film (such as the Hilton Hotel sign in the space station). When Freud was talking to his daughter on the earth, the earth in the background was constantly rotating, indicating that the artificial gravity of the space station was generated by its own rotation.
(4) The collapse of HAL9000
Eighteen months later, David Bowman and Francisco Poole, as well as three other hibernating scientists, went on a mission that was not informed of the purpose. The HAL9000 (which has never made a mistake) on the spacecraft mistakenly replaced normal parts. When it was judged that it was a faulty part, the two crew members began to suspect. In order to prevent HAL9000 from knowing, they talked in the space capsule and were read by HAL9000. Poolin was repaired by the HAL9000 cabin and broke the oxygen tank. Three hibernation scientists Also died, Bowman shut down the host of HAL9000.
The rhythm of this section changes from slow to fast, from boring to tense. In what way did Kubrick convey this information through the screen?
1. Objects & CG: The interior of the cabin is all shot with a 1:1 model, and the hull is a scaled down model.
2. Composition: When Poole and Bowman were talking in the space capsule, readers should pay attention to the composition of the picture. Lao Ku used a perfect axis-symmetric composition to make the viewer feel the strange and tense atmosphere.
3. Soundtrack: There is no music in this section except for human conversations. However, in the section where Bowman tried to rescue Poole, Old Kuo deliberately tuned Bowman’s breathing. There was no music, no gravity, no air, but It's even more depressing and suffocating.
4. Editing: The editing of this paragraph is a direct transmission of the emotions of Bowman's characters. The long shot from the beginning expressed Bowman’s boringness in the monotonous space life. With the collapse of HAL9000, the long shot of a few minutes turned into a shot of tens of seconds, which can render a tense atmosphere, and finally Bowman The short shots that switched once every few seconds when rescuing Poole and shutting down the HAL9000 host showed the confusion in Bowman's heart. This reminds me of the fast-changing short shots in "The Confinement Island", which are similar to this section. Lao Ku is also good at using highlights and reflections to reflect the environment (for example, the red highlights on Bowman's helmet)
4. Hue: Lao Ku’s bold use of color is breathtaking. The bar-shaped red lights on the full screen when Bowman turned off the HAL9000 host also rendered the tense atmosphere.
(5) Jupiter, Black Stone and Infinite Sky
Bob drove away from the spacecraft in the space capsule and found another black slab in Jupiter's orbit. Bob, who was close to the slab, suddenly passed through a colorful tunnel at high speed, and ended up in a simple and gorgeous bedroom. Bob grew old quickly, and when he was dying, a fourth slate appeared beside the bed. The slate turned him into a fetus in a transparent light cluster-the star child, staring at the vast universe, waiting for the unknown new birth.
This section can be said to be the most informative part of the film, and it is also the most abstract part. Before and after contacting the film, we can also define Blackstone. I will talk about it in the third part.
1. Subjects & CG: The dazzling lights when Bowman crossed the tunnel once again demonstrated Lao Ku's bold use of tonal conflict.
2. Soundtrack: The messy music conveyed the mixed and confused feeling of Bowman's thoughts at that time.
3. Setting: Please take a closer look at the room where Bowman stayed last. The simple white bas-relief on the wall, the typical Rococo architectural style, the combination of classic and modern, and the exquisite metal tableware. This is in my opinion and the film The shot of turning the skull head into a spaceship is very similar, that is, combining primitive-classical-modern together, running through human wisdom.
Bowman in the room saw his future. He was aging rapidly, and his years were drained by Black Stone until he became a star child.
So far, the second part, the anatomy of the structure of the film is over
3. Interpretation of the obscure content in the film
We left two main questions in the front. Due to the length of the space and personal opinions, I will put them here.
(1) Why does HAL9000 crash?
Before thinking about this issue, we must first look at the characteristics of HAL9000-the first is to be absolutely honest with the user; the second is to absolutely execute commands. As I mentioned earlier, Poole and Bowman went to Jupiter without their knowledge. In other words, the only person on the spacecraft who knew the true purpose of the mission was HAL9000. Poole and Bowman were computer users, according to HAL9000. The system must be 100% honest with them; but at the same time, before dispatching the mission, HAL9000 is set to conceal the true purpose of the mission. I have written the general meaning of the specific dialogue in the film in the picture below.
And a program, even if it is a complicated program, cannot hide the task while maintaining absolute honesty when the user asks about the purpose of the task. This will lead to internal conflicts and collapse of the program.
(2) What exactly is Blackstone?
Many movie fans, including mainstream understanding, seem to think that space roaming is the use of black stones to symbolize abstract and immaterial wisdom (the reason is that each appearance of them brings a qualitative leap to mankind), but my personal opinion is different. , If abstract concepts are conveyed in the form of concrete material entities, this is still limited to the "sci-fi category". Perhaps only life can "transcend the sci-fi category" in the form of science fiction, because of its incredible existence. A real miracle.
So I personally think that Black Stones are not even "things", they are life, that is, higher civilization. They have been able to transmit their own wisdom, thoughts, memories, and all the consciousness carriers to non-biological individuals, and can even easily transmit wisdom and consciousness to any matter they come into contact with, so that their consciousness will last forever, and even ---self Some of his wisdom is transmitted to other uncivilized creatures in every corner of the universe, and this—isn’t this the most poetic greatness of 2001: A Space Odyssey? ——The advanced forms of life give mankind wisdom. This is no longer science fiction, but a myth. It is a bold conjecture of evolution, the ultimate thinking about the origin of human wisdom, and a hymn to the miraculous existence of life. And this is exactly what makes 2001: A Space Odyssey unique and great. It no longer describes human beings, but writes the history of the birth of wisdom and establishes the biography of miraculous life forms.
Readers can recall that I mentioned in the second part of Lao Ku’s axisymmetric photographic composition of Blackstone, as well as the awe and mystery that the axisymmetric composition brings to the audience's psychology... All of this is to reflect the "deification" of Blackstone. , And (if according to my thinking) the greatness of life in this form, isn't this in itself incredible? Lao Ku is a genius, he can convey content through composition (not lines), and this is why his position in film history is unshakable.
Four, about the film’s irony of reality
Clark said: "If anyone feels that they fully understand what space roaming is talking about, then Kubrick and I must have made a mistake."
All we can do is guess. The following is my personal understanding of what I want to convey in this film.
(1) What is the purpose of evolution?
Whether it is the tossed bone or the spacecraft, human beings seem to always rely on tools, not themselves. We only try to trust the tools, trusting them even surpasses similar ones.
The first appearance of Blackstone made us stand out in the knockout round of natural selection. Is it a tool? It is the wisdom brought about by evolution; the last time Blackstone appeared, Bauman became a star child, able to move freely in space, relying on tools? It is the metamorphosis brought about by evolution. Humans seem to have turned the cart before the horse-relying too much on tools. We have not considered integrating ourselves into the environment, but imprisoned ourselves in tools, and then put the tools into space. Humans seem to have forgotten the origin of evolution-self.
(2) Where is human nature?
The astronauts were expressionless in the video of their parents singing birthday songs, showing indifference to the human heart; the conversation between the two on board was rare, but the conversation with HAL9000 was more relaxed and pleasant, indifference to the same kind; in order to save himself, Bao Man left the possibly rescued Poole back into the cabin. Compared to Poole’s death, HAL9000’s "death" is more humane. Its deep voice chanted over and over again-"Daisy～Daisy", its memory, humanity, Is it even beyond human beings, or is it the depravity of humanity?
Perhaps this is the fall of human nature.
5. About the inheritance of classics and spirit
Through the previous analysis, we can roughly understand that space roaming mainly discusses the origin of human beings and the annihilation of human nature. These two are also the source of the enduring sub-themes of other films in film history.
(1) Discussion on the origin of mankind
2001: The exploration of the origin of mankind in space roaming reminds me of the scientist's exploration of the "cartographer" in "Prometheus". The giant created human DNA in front of the waterfall. Although the two are different, they are both different. It shows the philosophical thinking of human beings on the origin of itself.
(2) Thinking about human nature
Space Odyssey’s description of human nature and its elegant and indifferent style reminded me of "Blade Runner", which has similarities. Humans have created clones, but clones are more human than humans and cherish the value of life more. And this subject matter is equally enduring.
(3) A tribute to the classics
In many current science fiction films, we can see the shadow of a space roaming and paying tribute to it (such as the spaceship of "Interstellar"). Even now, when Nuo is re-screened in the space roaming, it is still full With awe, the box office is not a factor in determining their success or failure, because time can prove the real classics, because they are truly great and truly eternal things.
Six, the end
For 50 years, Space Odyssey has influenced generations of movie fans, and I hope it will be remembered by movie history forever.
On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the release of Space Odyssey, I would like to pay tribute to the old library and briefly describe my own opinions.
Thank you very much for your reading and love of the movie
Daisy——
Daisy
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