Review Detail
8.6 8 10
Overall rating
8.4
Audio/Video Quality
8.0
Audio Editing
9.0
Visual Editing
9.0
Narrative
8.0
Enjoyment
8.0
I wasn't going to rate A/V quality as this is an SD edit that was made ~10 years ago, so it's tricky to say what the yardstick should be. The file could probably be smaller than ~3.5Gb for SD, but I didn't notice any issues in the context of a 480p file.
I think, more than anything, I have somewhat mixed feelings about this edit because as rogue-thex said, it feels at times like two edits with different goals pulling in opposite directions - sometimes it's straining to be a more straightforward plotty sci-fi film, others it's very happily exploring its own bellybutton with some cool music.
I found the first 30 minutes or so felt quite slow - e.g. the opening stylistic gag with Eye of the Tiger alternating between back-and-front shots was funny, but as the song continued it shifted from a funny joke to a song I don't much like outstaying its welcome. In fact, for me up until Neil Young makes an appearance on the score around 25 minutes in, the new score clashed with the reworked scenes to somehow make me more aware of the slow pace inherent in the material - however, from that point on the music and visuals lined up and worked really well together, and the song choices were great.
The choices made on the narrative front to distil the story to its essence were interesting and effective; although they can't entirely escape the absolutely leaden pace of the original, they certainly help! I particularly like the changes made around Bowman's conversation with HAL after their chess game and the changes ahead of the arrival at Jupiter. It's a bold simplification of the plot, executed cleverly.
I've long felt that the Jupiter sequence at the end of the film spends far too much time on the psychedelic visuals (with the landscape parts in particular an underwhelming element), so I was a tad disappointed that they were largely intact here (though the pairing with the new score does work well).
I'm glad I watched this edit - it's an interesting alternate take on the central plot of 2001 and has some fun examples of changing the tone of scenes via re-scoring. I *like* 2001 in its original, plodding, trying-its-audience's-patience form, but I'm glad to also alternative interpretations of it like this.
I think, more than anything, I have somewhat mixed feelings about this edit because as rogue-thex said, it feels at times like two edits with different goals pulling in opposite directions - sometimes it's straining to be a more straightforward plotty sci-fi film, others it's very happily exploring its own bellybutton with some cool music.
I found the first 30 minutes or so felt quite slow - e.g. the opening stylistic gag with Eye of the Tiger alternating between back-and-front shots was funny, but as the song continued it shifted from a funny joke to a song I don't much like outstaying its welcome. In fact, for me up until Neil Young makes an appearance on the score around 25 minutes in, the new score clashed with the reworked scenes to somehow make me more aware of the slow pace inherent in the material - however, from that point on the music and visuals lined up and worked really well together, and the song choices were great.
The choices made on the narrative front to distil the story to its essence were interesting and effective; although they can't entirely escape the absolutely leaden pace of the original, they certainly help! I particularly like the changes made around Bowman's conversation with HAL after their chess game and the changes ahead of the arrival at Jupiter. It's a bold simplification of the plot, executed cleverly.
I've long felt that the Jupiter sequence at the end of the film spends far too much time on the psychedelic visuals (with the landscape parts in particular an underwhelming element), so I was a tad disappointed that they were largely intact here (though the pairing with the new score does work well).
I'm glad I watched this edit - it's an interesting alternate take on the central plot of 2001 and has some fun examples of changing the tone of scenes via re-scoring. I *like* 2001 in its original, plodding, trying-its-audience's-patience form, but I'm glad to also alternative interpretations of it like this.
T