History Film / TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey

* OlderThanTheyThink: Most people who watch the film and do not know its age believe it to have come in the wake of Star Wars or thereabout - i.e., the late 1970s. Part of this is the impeccably accurate portrayal of modern spaceflight, technology, et all, and part because of the gorgeous quality of the cinematography and special effects, which rival StarWars and make it appear as though it were made in the late 70s.
** It's really hilarious to see people's reactions when you tell them that it was released BEFORE WE LANDED ON THE MOON - ONE YEAR BEFORE to be exact.

* AdaptationExpansion / TheFilmOfTheBook: Clarke's original short story, "The Sentinel", dealt only with the part about the Monolith on the Moon. Kubrick and Clarke then expanded the story into a film and book that were released simultaneously. Clarke stated the book should be credited as "Clarke and Kubrick", with "Kubrick and Clarke" credited for the screenplay.
** Unlike a {{Novelization}}, there are distinct differences between the two; for starters, Clarke's ''Discovery'' travels to one of Saturn's moons, while Kubrick's ''Dicovery'' goes to Jupiter. The reason for this change was the RuleOfCool: the film crew couldn't build a model of Saturn that Kubrick liked, so he changed it.

* AliensStealCable: In the novel, the "hotel" area constructed by the Firstborn to receive Bowman is based on TV broadcasts received by the Monolith. The hotel room is supposed to give Bowman [[AFormYouAreComfortableWith an environment he's comfortable with]], but in the movie the [[{{In-Universe}} aliens]] clearly did not research things very well, because a room with lights in the ''floor'' looks intensely disturbing. (They also put the bathroom mirror over the tub instead of the sink.)
** They didn't really do their research in the novel either; or at least, they did, but there are still gaps in their knowledge. For instance, the cover of a phone book, while passable from a distance, is blurry when viewed up close because the aliens never got a good enough look at one to reproduce it exactly. Also, the beer cans contain, not beer, but the macaroon-like purple foodstuffs that the aliens provide Dave with to sustain him.

** HAL never deviates from his calm, unaffected delivery. He can't. Even when he's [[NightmareFuel begging for his life.]]

* BeamMeUpScotty[=/=]StockShoutOuts: '''''"I'm afraid I can't do that, Dave."'''''
** There are plenty that do use the actual term; a [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a69eC7ldAcI 2009 commercial]] by jewelry chain Jared quotes it correctly. (The commercial itself received a [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNqjmPQUUp0 sequel]] in 2011.)
** "My god, it's full of stars!" -- This line appears in ''2001'' the book, but not in the movie. Ne'ertheless, in ''2010'' '''the movie,''' it's claimed Bowman said this before entering the star gate.

* BigBrotherIsWatching: HAL has cameras in every compartment of the ''Discovery'' that we see -- except the emergency airlock.
** He possibly has one there too. The big difference is that it's the only entry point NOT under HAL's control.

* CosmicHorrorStory: This was the real reason for Kubrick's use of LeaveTheCameraRunning and MindScrew: to convey that space is an immense and hostile place in which humans are insignificant by comparison, where if we encounter aliens they'd be incomprehensibly advanced, refuse to explain themselves to us, and be interested only in using us as tools.
** Lampshaded in the out-takes book ''The Lost Worlds of 2001'', which covers parts of the astronauts' pre-mission training. They are told simply to take lots of pictures and not to try too hard to make sense of what they see... and to hope their hosts (if any) are aware of their limitations.

** Anthony Hopkins claimed it was his inspiration for the voice of Hannibal Lecter.

** OminousLatinChanting: György Ligeti's "Requiem" and "Lux Aeterna" are ''so'' ominous, you can't even tell they're in Latin anymore. (Or Greek, in the case of the Kyrie from the "Requiem"!)

* EverybodysDeadDave: I think you know the problem as well as I do, Dave.[[hottip:*:Note that the TropeNamer for this trope is ''RedDwarf'', which may have been making a ShoutOut to ''2001''.]]
* {{Everything Is an iPod in the Future}}: UrExample -- the iPod was ''named after'' the space pods in this movie, and the white surfaces and black control panels on all of ''Discovery'''s equipment were an inspiration for its design.
** The novel describes something so close to a Kindle or iPad that it could be their inspiration: a flat 'Newspad' the size of a sheet of paper on which you can read the news, zoom in and out, easily toggle between different pages and newspapers...
*** In fact in the various lawsuits where Apple is suing Google and others for infringement of the iPod and iPad with various smartphone and tablet devices, 2001 has been cited as a source of prior art thus negating Apple's patent claim.
* EvolutionaryLevels: Self-evolution, but still mentioned - the Firstborn's status as {{Energy Being}}s is stated to be the ultimate stage in physical evolution.
** From the novel: "And if there was anything beyond ''that'', its name could only be God." Given how incredibly powerful the Firstborn are, this is quite justified.
** This is what the opening "Dawn of Man" sequence is about.

* FirstContactMath: In the novel, Bowman tries unsuccessfully to communicate with the Iapetus monolith by broadcasting primes at it.
** While size can differ wildly, all monoliths in the Space Odyssey universe share the same proportions - 1x4x9 - the first three integers squared. They are also all the same size: ''as large as necessary''.
*** It's stated in the books that this pattern doesn't stop after the third number; [[YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm it's just that human beings only perceive the first three dimensions.]]

* FoodPills: With one notable exception, every meal depicted is in some way deeply unappetizing. While the food in the movie appears to be much like a TV dinner, the book goes to mention that the food on ''Discovery'' is designed to be just like "real" food, including fresh baked bread, in order to help make the years long space trip tolerable.
** The notable exception is of course the raw tapir meat, which looks mouth-watering.

* FunWithAcronyms: The whole (apparently unintentional) [=HAL/IBM=] thing.

* TheGreatPoliticsMessUp: The USSR is remarkably healthy in 2001.
** On the other hand, relations between the US and USSR are remarkably amicable, from the [=PoV=] of the 1960s. (Kubrick's previous film ''was'' DoctorStrangelove.) They have built a huge space station together, and are generally cooperating in the exploration of the moon. (The Russians being suddenly shut out of the Clavius moon base is seen as a very unusual event.)

* IWantMyJetpack: In 2001 we have manned interplanetary spaceflight, permanent bases on the Moon, suspended animation and sentient computers. (Contrast with Zeerust below.)

* MatchCut: The bone club thrown in the air by the ape-man turns into a piece of orbiting space hardware.
** Not just any hardware but an orbiting nuclear bomb. Mankind has advanced technologically but still is violent.

* MurderIsTheBestSolution: For HAL, apparently.

* PublicDomainSoundtrack: Classical music, used brilliantly.
** There was a soundtrack by Alex North in the works for the movie, but until it was ready they used the classical music as a placeholder. Kubrick ended up liking the classical music version so much he never used North's compositions.

* ScienceMarchesOn: Besides [[IWantMyJetpack technology progressing slower]] than the production team anticipated, there are two details of astronomy in this movie that have since become dated. Kubrick insisted that the artists paint the Earth very pale blue because its albedo is 0.38. Only a few years later, photos from the Apollo missions made everybody realize that this figure is averaged over the pure white clouds and the deep blue oceans. Jupiter and its moons were also intentionally depicted vaguely because of the limitations of ground-based telescopes.

* SealedRoomInTheMiddleOfNowhere: The hotel room has no exits. (In the novel, it was specifically a Sealed Room in the Middle of a ''Red Giant Star''.)

* SocietyMarchesOn: Pan Am flies spaceships to the Moon. Ma Bell provides the telephone service. [[TheGreatPoliticsMessUp The Soviet Union is still going strong]]. All in 2001.

*** And the attendant on the security video-screen asks new arrivals for their ''Christian'' name, suggesting there are no SpaceJews.
**** "Christian name" could mean "given name".

* SpaceIsNoisy: An all-too-rare aversion, which arguably adds to the creepiness of certain scenes, such as when Bowman is attempting to reenter ''Discovery'' via the airlock.
** [[spoiler:The moment Poole's spacesuit breather ''stops'' as Hal kills him is effectively chilling.]]

** In the book, the signal is tracked by the impact of its wake on the probes that detect it.
** The signal was arguably a tipoff to humanity to tell it where to look next, if it could.

* TheyShouldHaveSentAPoet: The Star Child sequence.

* WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs: The film's climax. Don't forget this was the late 1960s, too; many, many hippies [[JustHereForGodzilla saw it just to see that one sequence]].
** Clarke himself relates an anecdote in which he was handed an envelope with a letter of thanks and an assurance that the remaining contents (a white powder) were "the best stuff". [[spoiler:He flushed it down the toilet.]]

** Only looks dumb. In fact they are frighteningly powerful.

*** In fact in the various lawsuits where Apple is suing Google and others for infringement of the iPod and iPad with various smartphone and tablet devices, 2001 has been cited as a source of prior art thus negating Apple's copywright claim.

The film's story tracks long-term human evolution as it is influenced by unseen {{Precursors}}. An ill-fated expedition is dispatched to Jupiter, where the astronauts soon realize that their computer has reached critical intelligence levels. The film's finale is particularly famous for ''seeming'' to be a GainaxEnding at first, but actually being perfectly logical MindScrew.

A 1968 science-fiction film, written and directed by StanleyKubrick, with help from ArthurCClarke (who also wrote a novel version in tandem with the film's production), and inspired in part by Clarke's short story "The Sentinel". Long-term human evolution is influenced by unseen {{Precursors}}, an ill-fated expedition is dispatched to Jupiter, and minds are generally blown.

** There are plenty that do use the actual term. A 2009 commercial by jewelry chain Jared uses it correctly.

* OutgrownSuchSillySuperstitions: By the year 3001, religion is abolished. In place of "God" they say "Deus", as in "By Deus - It's full of stars!".

** It didn't work. Several models (rebuilt or maybe the same film clip) have been used. ''{{Space1999}}'' used the same rocket landing site on the Moon.
** Bowman's spacepod can be seen in the background as Watto shows Qui-Gon Jinn about his scrapyard in ''Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace'', though this could be a deliberate shout-out.

* FreudWasRight: Long phallic space-ships, docking bays opening up to receive them, music climaxing as the ship touches down, narrow slit windows with red light shining through, women emerging from doorways that look like vaginas, the Star Child. Really, this list could go on forever.

** Not just any hardware but an orbiting nuclear bomb. Mankind has advanced technically but still is violent.

* ArtisticLicensePhysics:
** When Floyd drinks out of a straw in zero-g, the liquid moves back down.
** One of the flight crew leans on a chair (in zero-g) to talk to Floyd.
** The Aries lands with its cockpit windows facing upward, so the pilots shouldn't be able to see the Earth moving up past the windows. (Perhaps the windows have some kind of transparent display overlay?)
** When the Earth is seen from the moonbase at Clavius and the Monolith dig site in Tycho, it's oriented with north pointing upwards. However, Clavius and Tycho are in the Moon's southern hemisphere, so the Earth should have been upside-down (and angled proportionately to the viewer's lunar latitude).

*** Though this could happen in zero-g if the food-paste-box were reasonably airtight--it would just suck the liquid back in due to the elasticity of its sides.

** The comic book (by JackKirby!) expands the story in two directions, first by having the monolith present at the invention of fire, the wheel, etc., and later by introducing the character of Machine Man, a robot who embodies the ever-upward-striving theme of the series.

* IWantMyJetpack: In 2001 we have manned interplanetary spaceflight, permanent bases on the Moon, and sentient computers. (Contrast with Zeerust below.)

* CosmicHorrorStory: This was the real reason for Kubrick's use of LeaveTheCameraRunning and MindScrew: to convey that space is an immense and hostile place in which humans are insignificant by comparison, where if we encounter aliens they'd be incomprehensibly advanced, refuse to explain themselves to us, and interested only in using us as tools.

* NarrativeFiligree: Many scenes, especially the middle.

* TheWalrusWasPaul:
-->'''Arthur C. Clarke''': If you understood ''2001'' completely, we failed. We wanted to raise more questions than we answered.

* CosmicHorrorStory: This was the real reason for Kubrick's use of LeaveTheCameraRunning and MindScrew: to convey that space is an immense and lonely place where humans are insignificant in scale, where if we encounter aliens they'd be incomprehensibly advanced and refuse to explain themselves to us.