ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

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Thanks, David. I'll enjoy that scene more the next time I see, because I'll understand the reason for the pod's position instead of thinking it seemed illogical.

The air line to the suit was interesting, too.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

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Bogmeister certainly had a high opinion of this movie — though he starts right off stating that it's not his favorite sci-fi movie. But he wrote his longest review for it, then he wrote three more!

Rather than combine them into one colossal post, I'll add them each separately, just the way he did on his own board. But I'll add the three after the one below, one per day, starting in several days.

Enjoy!
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bogmeister]

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To examine and analyze this film — a film I didn't understand or like when I first saw it as a teen during some poor TV airing — it sometimes behooves me to use the comments of someone else, someone who may be a big fan of the film. In this case, I'll use the remarks of Tom Hanks. (Yes, the Tom Hanks.) It was all here, in the December, 2000 issue of Space Illustrated magazine:

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To begin with, this is not my favorite science fiction film. This isn't even my favorite Kubrick film (that would be A Clockwork Orange). But, what has happened over the past 30 years is that I find that the positives outweigh the negatives with this film for me now, if just slightly. (All following quotes/info from Tom Hanks taken from Space Illustrated magazine)



Let's begin with the first 20-minute sequence, with the apes. I don't want to call them simply monkeys. Isn't the point that these are not apes, not simply versions of today's chimps or gorillas? These are something in-between apes and homo sapien, an early version of a human being.

[Bud Brewster]

[alltare]

I stumbled across an interesting article about the monolith a few days ago.

The monolith was, according to Clarke's book, carefully measured to be exactly 11 feet high, 5 feet wide, and 1.25 feet deep.

The problem is that the author says the carefully measured dimensions resulted in the exact ratio of 1:4:9 (the squares of the first 3 integers). This was an indication of the unearthly precision of which the aliens were capable. And yet, the 1:4:9 ratio means that the big black block really should have been 3 inches taller (11.25 feet). The ratio, using the dimensions given in the book, is actually 1:4:8.8. I wonder why Clarke never actually crunched the numbers.

"They Missed the Point! Incredible Undetected Mistake in Arthur C. Clark’s Novel, “2001: a Space Odyssey” can be found here:
https://www.zyvexlabs.com/they-missed-the-point/

Note that the article pertains only to the novel. No numbers were given in the movie.

By the way, Amazon is selling 1:1 model kits of HAL for ~$40.

[Eadie]

[alltare]

[scotpens]

[alltare]

[ralfy]

Also, not just Nietzsche's poem but Genealogy of Morals, especially in light of the juxtaposition of bone and spacecraft.

[Eadie]

The CineRama theater is closing!

https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/movies/seattles-cinerama-to-close-for-renovations/

One of Seattle’s most beloved movie screens is going dark, temporarily — and leaving much of its staff behind.

CineRama, which opened in 1963 on the corner of Fourth Avenue and Lenora Street downtown, is closing for renovations starting this week. A representative for Vulcan, which has owned the theater since the 1990s, said the updates would include new carpet, general wear-and-tear refurbishment, and an overhaul to the kitchen, which will allow the theater to expand its food offerings.

Declining to give a specific date for the theater’s reopening, the Vulcan rep said only that CineRama would be back in business “later this year ahead of the year’s biggest films.”

Cinerama also laid off many members of its staff.

Vulcan’s representative gave the following statement Tuesday: “We retained the necessary staff to complete the renovation. We were unable to retain concession staff, since we will be closed and unable to give staff hours over the next several months. While we don’t discuss employment terms publicly, we are working with impacted individuals to ease their transition.”

The Vulcan rep declined to say how much notice laid-off staff members were given or give details about severance pay.

One of the laid-off employees, speaking anonymously due to a nondisclosure agreement, said that the staff was called in to work Tuesday for an all-hands meeting, but not told of its purpose. “We got there, and they read a statement,” she said. Staffers were given exit paperwork, told that they could reapply for their jobs when the theater reopened, and instructed to gather their things.

After working for the theater for several years, she said she was given a final check equivalent to “one busy week.” Asked if she and her colleagues planned to reapply for their jobs, she said, “No one’s really interested.” The theater, she said, had employed approximately 20-25 employees; all but two lost their jobs Tuesday.

Known for its giant screen and night-sky sparkling ceiling, CineRama is among Seattle’s oldest moviehouses. Its history is a dramatic one: Popular initially as a showcase for big-screen-format films, Cinerama fell into disrepair in the ’80s and ’90s as moviegoers fled to the suburbs.

Paul Allen, buying it in 1998, saved its future as a moviehouse (a Seattle Times story from that year said that its previous owners spoke of turning the building into a dinner theater or a rock-climbing club) and financed a major renovation, reopening it in 1999. More recently, CineRama closed for renovations in 2010 (primarily an upgrade of the theater’s technical equipment) and in 2014 (new seats, screen, and sound system, as well as a splashy new mural outside the theater).
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Art Should Comfort the Disturbed and Disturb the Comfortable.

[Bud Brewster]

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Looks like a great theater, Eadie (assuming I found a picture of the right one). Is this the theater you saw Forbidden Planet at several years ago?




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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Eadie]

Yes, THAT'S IT!!!
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Art Should Comfort the Disturbed and Disturb the Comfortable.

[Bud Brewster]

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I'm watching 2001 on TCM right now and, as always, I'm annoyed by the errors in logic (and in story telling) during the Frank Poole's EVA scene!

What do I mean? I'll tell ya.

When Frank Poole goes out to change the unit on the communications array (both times) he parks the pod over 100 feet from the Discovery and then floats over to the antennae.





Why?

There was no reason for him to park so damn far away! And because of this puzzling choice, Hal was able to get a good running start and ram the hell out of poor Frank.

Then we see Dave Bowman calmly walk into the pod bay, politely ask Hal to activate the pod and rotate it, and then open the hatch. As we all know, it never seemed to occur to Bowman that he should put on his helmet.





During all this, Bowman never shows the slightest bit of emotion or anxiety about the fate of his fellow astronaut who is sailing into the void. Hal continues to report that there is no radio contact with Frank.

Bowman and Poole already had concerns about Hal's reliability, and they were concerned about what Hal would do if they tried to shut him down. So, Dave should have realized that the pod was under Hal's control when it rammed Frank.





And yet the calm, cool, logical Dave Bowman somehow didn't realize that venturing out of the ship without his helmet might be a really bad idea!

However, even if we forgive him for that mistake, what about Frank Poole?

Being rammed by the pod damaged Frank's suit. We see him desperately struggling to reconnect an air hose.





Therefore, when Dave reached Frank in the pod, he would need to get him INSIDE as quickly as possible and do whatever might be necessary to keep Frank alive until they got back to the ship.





Unfortunately, all Dave could do was grab Frank with the pod's arms and carry him back to the Discovery.





And when he got there, of course, Frank was simply dead weight — literally — and Dave had to dump him so he could get in through the emergency airlock.




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So, I ask you, gentlemen. Was Kubrick justified in having Dave Bowmen do so many dumb things?
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Pow]

Good questions, Bud.

Given that Kubrick was insanely perfectionist in his film making, I always assumed he would have had scientists that he would have consulted on this classic movie.

Did he, as so many creators do, sacrifice sound science at the altar of dramatic storytelling?

That Bowman, and earlier Poole, demonstrate little emotion doesn't surprise me at all. I used to chalk it up to Kubrick making his astronauts as dedicated men of science who can be reserved in real life. Add to that a military background and you will have highly intelligent and competent individuals who are the antithesis of science fiction films and television shows with dramatic, and at times, over-the-top acting.

However, I find that many of Kubrick's movies spotlight undemonstrative people. They come off as cold & aloof to me. Kubrick is kinda the anti-Frank Capra.

As a result I find some of his films emotionally sterile. The cinematography and production values are superb. Finding likable and humans you can relate to is rare.