2001 A Space Odyssey
December 2007 Reviewed by: Doug Blackburn Format: HD DVD	(all ratings out of 5): Overall Enjoyment Picture Quality Packaged Extras Sound Quality

A cinema icon makes its debut on high-def disc. So what have we got here? Well, this would have been the ideal opportunity for a restored version of 2001, since 2008 will be the 40th anniversary of the movie's release. What we have instead is a very clean transfer without restoration (at least no obvious or publicized restoration). This is the best-looking version of 2001 outside of a 70mm theatrical presentation. That, you’d think, would justify a very high rating for image quality. But there are problems. Frame-to-frame density variations are common throughout the movie. Mechanical jerks and visible edits appear from time to time. And while there are not a lot of problems with dirt, there are enough white spots that appear in black star fields that it’s hard not to see at least some of the dirt spots. Some frames with black space as the background have what look like light leaks coming in from the left and right sides at times when there’s no obvious reason for the background to be anything but completely black. And that problem will be inconsistent during various scenes. It might appear at the beginning of a scene, disappear (nice dark star field), then return again as the scene progresses.

All of these issues were undoubtedly on the print used for this transfer, which is why a restoration may be appropriate at this point. This movie looks pretty darned good for its age, but it does have a vintage look some people love. With the vintage look comes a vintage lack of sharpness. There’s plenty of detail in the transfer, but the lenses, film, or both just were not able to produce images as sharp as those possible with newer optics and newer film stocks. In the end, you have an excellent version of 2001 that turns out to be not as technically perfect as the best modern releases. I feel like a traitor with my middlin’ image-quality rating, but there have been high-def releases of older films with better image quality than this version of 2001. Grand Prix, for example. But this is probably the best version of 2001 that will be released without digital restoration, which may make it a mandatory edition for many fans.

The minimalist soundtrack is still unlike that of any other movie before or since. There are extended periods of time that there’s no sound at all or perhaps only music or only breathing in a space suit. It’s not the sort of soundtrack you’d put on for a system demo. The soundtrack also sounds vintage in the way the images play as vintage. Music seems compressed and not particularly clear or detailed. I have a feeling the original recordings for the soundtrack are a lot better than the soundtrack that keeps getting transferred to laserdisc, DVD and now HD DVD and Blu-ray. I can only hope that when 2001 becomes a restoration project that there will be a full restoration of the soundtrack using the master tapes. The soundtrack is an amazing achievement and concept, but the technical quality just can’t push the rating any higher.

In spite of the problems, there are times when the visuals and sound are remarkably compelling, reminding you why this movie is on everybody’s list of significant achievements in cinema. For many of us, it was the first time we ever saw science-fiction taken seriously in cinema. Fans of the movie and fans of Kubrick will be very pleased with this release.

The special features include eight featurettes on the movie, Kubrick, and space. There’s a commentary track by the two lead actors, Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood, and a theatrical trailer. The eight featurettes are all quite interesting. They are all in standard definition, widescreen, and they span quite a range of years and appear to be culled from previous laserdisc and DVD releases.

I have a sneaking suspicion that this isn’t the last version of 2001 we’ll be seeing, though some might argue that a digitally restored version will not be the same film.

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