2001: A Space Odyssey - The Abridged Cut

This was a really enjoyable edit. The editors definitely accomplished their intention, which was to reduce the tone poem elements and make a lean cut of 2001 which retains the narrative of the original. I'm really surprised they were able to get it as short as they did while not sacrificing much in the way of narrative. I definitely missed a lot that was cut but that's because I love the long, slow burn of the original. This is a really cool alternate way to view the film and I would recommend this to others.

It's been a looooong time since I've watched 2001: A Space Odyssey. I remember the first time I watched it was my sophomore year in college. I watched the DVD on my computer. I remember going "WTF?!" and (this was still back in the days when people used AIM) I put up an away message that said "Anyone who has watched 2001, please explain to me wtf it is about!"

Well I've rewatched it several times since then. I appreciate it and understand it a bit more. I'd say I have a pretty good attention span and sometimes actually find action sequences in movies boring! But I still always feel that some parts drag on in the movie. Most notably the Dawn of Man section.

So with that in mind, I just finished watching the Abridged Cut. This is a very good firstling. As I said, its been awhile since I've seen the original so for the most part I couldn't tell what had been cut. But I was aware that stuff was missing (and I have to say I was a little disappointed that the iconic jogging/shadow boxing scene was cut). So it is a bit difficult for me to judge the visual editing but there were no flash frames or harsh cuts that I noticed. Audio editing was good as well (and this is something a lot of editors have trouble with, firstlings, veterans etc., myself included).

This is definitely a faster-paced cut of 2001, and while definitely not a replacement, if I ever feel like watching 2001 but not wanting to kill 2 and a half hours, I'll be watching the abridged cut.

I watched the SD mp4, audio and visual quality seemed good.

So job well done to Livinginoblivion and Silentpete!

This was a great re-telling of 2001. I felt that the editor pulled off his intention very well. ("The film has been reduced to 1 hour and 24 minutes, and we feel the film, plot, and characters are completely intact, and that a faster, more energetic film has been created.")

This still feels very much like Kubrick's vision, just an hour shorter, as if Kubrick was forced to make a second cut-down version of 2001 (after cutting 20 minutes the first time).

A/V Quality is good for DVD5 standards. I didn't notice any flaws in the editing.

Been a while since I've seen the original, but this was very well done. Most of what I remember of the film is there, only shorter. I noticed one audio transition near the beginning that seemed a bit iffy, but visually my only complaint is the fade transitions. These may have been in the original, I'm not sure, but a couple felt out of place to me.

Quality was as good as you'd expect from a dvd. The film in general looks fantastic for its age.

The narrative is kept well intact, despite having an hour shaved off. Although, it does feel a little odd having such an epic film fly by so fast.

Overall, a very impressive edit and much enjoyed. It doesn't replace the original, but nor do I think that was the editors intention. This evening I wanted to stick something short on - whoever would of thought I'd watch 2001?

The editors did a great job, keeping the tone and feel of the original intact, while providing a much shorter and in my opinion less plodding version of the film.