Customer Ratings & Reviews

This is one of the best 4K transfers ever produced. Even though the film is 50 years old it looks like it was recently made. The sound and picture are perfect. It has lots of interesting bonus materials on a second Blu-ray disc as well which includes…. 2001: The Making of a Myth (480i; 43:08) is an interesting retrospective with lots of people discussing the impact of the film. Standing on the Shoulders of Kubrick: The Legacy of 2001 (480i; 21:25) features people such as Steven Spielberg and George Lucas discussing what the film has meant to them and the art of cinema. Vision of a Future Passed: The Prophecy of 2001 (480i; 21:31) looks at some of the things that seemed futuristic in 1968. 2001: A Space Odyssey: A Look Behind the Future (480p; 23:11) is a longer form archival piece that includes production data and interviews. What Is Out There? (480i; 20:42) 2001: FX and Conceptual Artwork (480i; 9:33) features some interesting comments from Douglas Trumbull. Look: Stanley Kubrick! (480i; 3:15) is a brief piece focusing on Kubrick's work as a magazine photographer. 11/27/1966 Interview with Stanley Kubrick (1:16:31) is an audio interview conducted by Jeremy Bernstein that plays to a still image (1080p) of the Starchild gazing on his new toy (Earth). Theatrical Trailer (480p; 1:51) Also included is a small booklet with production photos and four 5x7 cards. “2001 A Space Odyssey” is a film that belongs in every collection. It is groundbreaking in every possible way and is the the film that has influenced so many countless other films.

While the mysteries of how a lot of the scenes were filmed are known it is still incredible. At times it feels like it is a bit much, but it is still visually worth the watch. The ending definitely pops in 4k with HDR.

Fantastic presentation of this science fiction classic. 2001: A Space Odyssey is Stanley Kubrick taking the next step in his evolution as a filmmaker and advancing special effects light years in the process.

I already had this movie digitally but I always believe that physical media is always better and the audio is being preserved without loss. I bought this with $5 voucher so it’s an easy decision.

One of the greatest science fiction films. A bit slow at times, but the visuals still hold up. And the music is phenomenal!

Very good scan and transfer. Produced a good image.

One of the greatest movies of all time, and looks amazing in 4K. The packaging is real nice also.

This movie is an absolute classic. Love Kubrick. Would’ve been better with a digital code, but still, looks great.

Stanley Kubrick masterpiece creation of the Arthur C Clarke book! Kubrick broke new ground in creating a Sci-Fi that raised the bar for the Genre. It has stood the test of time, which was 50 years ago. The picture quality in 4K Ultra is amazing. The sets and scenes were masterfully shot. Re-watch this movie, and enjoy it even more at home!

Visually, 2001 is a tour-de-force, nearly 50 years old now (premiered in 1968) but still alive with imagery that stimulates the mind in many ways. Kubrick's detailed direction keeps it going. The problem is the lack of dialogue (nothing for the first 30 minutes) and a complicated unsaid understory about the slow 4 million year evolution of man vs the rapid rise of computer "intelligence" and the power to make decisions. The final flight through the universe has never been repeated in the history of film. Watch it - and watch it again.

This is a beautiful edition of such a classic film. The steel book looks great. The extras on the disc are fun and go pretty deep. I’m glad I purchased this.

If you know it, no commentary necessary. Make sure to get 2010 as the story conclusion ;)

Movies shot on 35mm film or less, like 16mm, reach their ceiling at Blu-Ray 1920x1080, to a max of 2K tops. Even people who own grand spectacle movies from Close Encounters of the Third Kind to Ghostbusters note the obvious, gritty, film grain in Blu-Ray. It only gets worse in 4K. The technology for digitally cleaning up the grain and bringing 35mm movies up to 4K quality isn't there yet as of this 2019 writing. Except for Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. So what made this movie the exception? Stanley Kubrick's mania. He shot this on the best (read expensive) Eastman Kodak film stock available at the time and on a whopping large 65mm negative format. Before IMAX there was Cinerama and it demanded massive screens projecting 70mm positives that overwhelmed the audience beneath it. On top of this, Stanley wanted an auditory spectacle that would match his image, and employed a 6 track separation stereo on the film stock. Few theaters could handle such a tall order but Stanley was a perfectionist and correctly realized that the technology of the theatrical audio and visual of cinema would only get better with time. He wanted to stave off the moment - for as long as possible - when audiences would technically regard his movie as on par with silent black and white cinema. In fact, Kubrick would have shot it in 3D if he felt the technology of his era was up to it. The beauty of all of this is that we can own this classic - Kubrick's first Horror movie* - and enjoy it on a large 4K screen with pristine picture and sound. *Science fiction Horror, he would go on to shoot his first Supernatural Horror, Stephen King's The Shining, over ten years later. For the next 50 years, fans of 2001: A Space Odyssey, had to endure 35mm at arthouse theaters or worse, TV, VHS, or DVD quality. No longer. Kubrick's visionary decision ensures that you can finally enjoy this movie in a way you have likely never seen, even in a theater. Personally speaking, I was not disappointed.

"2001" is one of those movies that you're either going to love or hate. I pity those who hate it, as its simply one of the best sci-fi films ever. It starts off with "dawn of time," where humans were still primitive apes, who stumble across a mysterious monolith that aids their evolution to being human. Fast forward to 1999, another monolith is found buried on the moon and the origin is determined from Jupiter. The next evolutionary step is what "2001" focuses on: man and computer. This movie's visuals are nearly poetic in nature. Kubrick's attention to detail is staggering. Keep in mind this was filmed before man landed on the moon in real life. In fact, conspiracy theorists to this day believe unused footage from this movie is what the US gov't used to "fake" the moon landing. Regardless of your own personal beliefs about that, it is a testament to how realistic and believable every aspect of this movie is. Let me come back to my opening statement, that you'll either love or hate this. Though I clearly love it, I can see why some would not. For example, the first bit of dialogue is at 25:38, and up until then the camera and music tell the story. The last 23 minutes are the same way (there's about 88 min of dialogue-free footage total) and the visuals become the narrator. Those looking for fast camera cuts and laser guns and explosions and things of that nature will likely find this boring. The mood is relaxed, almost tranquil. The pace is slow. Take a deep breath and take everything on the screen in. Something else that may be [unfortunately] seen as a negative is how open for interpretation the overall story is, especially the ending. Personally, I believe that's what makes it so great, but I do know some people like their plot spoon-fed to them. "2001" was filmed in 70mm in the 2.2:1 aspect ratio, which means that though it was filmed over 40 years ago, the clarity and crispness of the picture makes it look like something that was filmed recently. For visuals alone, this is a Blu-ray worth owning just to show off your HDTV to friends. This is one of those rare movies you "experience" more than you "watch."

Great movie, one of the foundational works in the Western Cannon. Disc quality is great as well.

Having seen this in its original Cinerama roadshow release, it was imperative to me that the restoration maintain the look and feel of the brilliant original without a lot of manipulation or second guessing, and it appears this is about as true to the original as we're likely to see. I saw the film last year both in IMAX in Dallas and the newly struck 70mm print at the Cinerama in Seattle, and both looked and sounded fantastic. After a couple of false starts that should never have happened, Warner Bros. seems to have gotten everything in sync and with proper editing issues resolved. It's a real shame the steelbook was so limited that by the time the corrected versions showed up they were snatched up too quickly, but the version with the booklet and slipcase is quite nice, and the one I purchased was in excellent shape - no evidence of scratched, recycled covers that I have seen online. There are many other great Cinerama productions that deserve a true restoration (picture and stereophonic multi-track sound), including The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm, Khartoum, Circus World, and most especially The Hallelujah Trail, the latter having had a dismal initial Blu-ray release that was incomplete and ineptly mastered. Here's hoping for this 2001: A Space Odyssey to set an example for how it should be done, even considering the initial glitches in disc production.

2001: A Space Odyssey is presented on 4K UHD courtesy of Warner Brothers Home Entertainment with a 2160p transfer in 2.20:1, and already that aspect ratio should be an early tipoff that things are definitely "new and improved" from the long ago Blu-ray release. As is documented in an actually fascinating two page "history" of the restoration provided by Warner's Stuart Herriott for this release, "the 2018 release contains correct picture aspect ratio as it was scanned directly from the 65mm original negative which is spherical (flat) versus anamorphic (scope). The 35mm anamorphic (scope) reduction that was scanned for the 2000 and 2007 releases contained a little more information on the left and right of the frame then [sic] was intended for 2.2 70mm projection aspect ratio. Also, the optical scope reduction added a slight amount of linear image distortion, which is not present in the 65mm spherical camera negative." Mr. Herriott's detailed accounting of the long and involved restoration process, which Mr. Herriott traces back to photochemical work begun in 1999 (if I'm understanding things correctly) makes it clear that Warner, typically a commendable curator of its catalog, has approached this title with the care and handling that it deserves, and those who were fearful of Christopher Nolan's perceived "revisionism" can probably relax.

What can I say about this timeless classic that hasn't already been said. Mesmerizing, thought provoking, a visual feast. It still remains to me one the most photorealistic representations of space that I have seen. I often wonder what it must have been like for the audience seeing this movie for the first time back in 1968 when science fiction films didn't even come close to looking like this. A movie that was so far ahead of it's time that it seriously affected the consciousness of so many individuals. So powerful, so convincing. The 4K transfer. I didn't think that they could improve on the older 1080 blu ray, because it was a pretty good transfer in itself. Well, prepared to be blown away. The 4K transfer is nothing short of astounding! I mean your jaws will drop. It tops the 1080 blu ray in spades, goodness gracious. I saw this movie when it was re-released in the theaters some years ago in 70MM Cinerama, that was the only theatrical experience I had ever had with this film and I'm telling you thats how it looks and sounds on this latest transfer, very filmic, and detailed, graphically detailed.

I want to give this a higher score, because the movie is so iconic, but if you have seen it, you know the drill here, it is one of the slowest openings to a movie ever...it drags on and on. If you are patient, you will be rewarded with an iconic, fantastic movie. The video quality of the 4k transfer is amazing. I am talking reference quality level video here folks. The attention to detail when doing this transfer takes away all excuses from other teams that seem to lack the ability to take an older movie (1968) and achieve this level of mastery. Inky blacks abound, with insanely minimal picture noise, while the video is razor sharp. This is why I got the 4k version! Color quality is astounding and brilliant. Seriously folks, the video quality has to be seen to appreciate what I am merely stating in this review. The audio is great, but if you know the movie, you know that audio was used sparingly throughout much of the film in order to create a sense of isolation. When the audio comes through, it is of very high quality, albeit taking a back seat to the superb video.

New 70mm prints for the classic film were recently struck from pristine printing elements made from the original camera negative. A longtime admirer of the late American auteur, Christopher Nolan worked closely with the team at Warner Bros. Pictures throughout the mastering process.The 4K Blu-ray disc of 2001: A Space Odyssey will feature Dolby VisionTM HDR that dramatically expands the color palette and contrast range and uses dynamic metadata to automatically optimize the picture for every screen, frame by frame. Synopsis: Stanley Kubrick's dazzling, Academy Award-winning achievement is a compelling drama of man vs. machine, a stunning meld of music and motion. Kubrick (who co-wrote the screenplay with Arthur C. Clarke) first visits our prehistoric ape-ancestry past, then leaps millennia (via one of the most mind-blowing jump cuts ever) into colonized space, and ultimately whisks astronaut Bowman (Keir Dullea) into uncharted space, perhaps even into immortality. "Open the pod bay doors, HAL." Let an awesome journey unlike any other begin.