2001: A Space Odyssey

[David cgc]

I remember reading the first TV broadcast was in letterboxed widescreen, which was unusual for the time, so the network insisted on putting stars over the black bars, so the audience wouldn’t be confused when the black of the space scenes blended into the black bars.

 

[Redfern]

I remember reading the first TV broadcast was in letterboxed widescreen, which was unusual for the time, so the network insisted on putting stars over the black bars, so the audience wouldn’t be confused when the black of the space scenes blended into the black bars.

According to a blogger named THX1139, what you describe was supposedly done by the BBC.

Star spangled letter-boxing

I honestly can't recall how NBC did it, though I suspect it was the traditional "pan and scan".

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

I saw the BBC's star-spangled letter-boxed transmission back in the 70s. It was a travesty but I understand why they did it to prevent people thinking there was something wrong with their TV. The parents of a friend of mine thought so anyway and he had to explain to them what was going on.

 

[Ithekro]

I saw it in the Castro Theater in 2001. The sound system was not up to the challenge.

 

[publiusr]

I think a good design for Discovery II might have it to have had a helical tank arrangement with them being shed in a Fibonacci sequence spiral.

Go from a spine/bone (weapon, death) to a double helix (life, flowering).

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ Can you translate that into English, please?

 

[Redfern]

I thought this was an 8 pm airing of 2001, too. I must've turned in for school by 9 because I had to turn it off when Dave was trying to reason with HAL.

8 PM Eastern, 7 PM Central. I lived in Birmingham, Alabama at that time, so it started at 7 there. With commercial breaks and whatnot, the (in)famous pod bay door exchange would have been roughly at the 2 hour mark.

 

[Vger23]

The first time I saw this movie, it aired on WLVI-56 out of Boston probably in 1983 or 1984 (not a network station, a local independent). It was accompanied by a radio broadcast of some sort that was heavily advertised by the station. I think you were supposed to tune in and listen while you were watching, almost like a modern commentary track. I did not, so I never heard or got to listen to what that was all about. I've searched to see if I could find it somewhere, but have never been successful

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Happy birthday Gary Lockwood!

 

[RandyS]

The first time I saw this movie, it aired on WLVI-56 out of Boston probably in 1983 or 1984 (not a network station, a local independent). It was accompanied by a radio broadcast of some sort that was heavily advertised by the station. I think you were supposed to tune in and listen while you were watching, almost like a modern commentary track. I did not, so I never heard or got to listen to what that was all about. I've searched to see if I could find it somewhere, but have never been successful

It was around that same time they aired that here in Sacramento on what is now my local FOX station. It was simucast on a local radio station, I don't remember which one. What made it memorable for me was that it was the second time my Grandpa watched a sci-fi movie, the first being the first Star Wars. When it was over Grandpa said "It sure was a pretty movie. But if Dave knew he could just turn HAL off, he should have done that before he killed Frank".

 

[crookeddy]

Is the 4k restoration significantly different from the Blu-Ray? I have the BD version (from before the latest Nolan-led restoration) and it already looks great. Any need to rewatch in 4k?

I think I saw an older 4k restoration at the Cinerama festival at the Cineramadome, which is now closed due to the pandemic :-(

 

[Kor]

Is the 4k restoration significantly different from the Blu-Ray? I have the BD version (from before the latest Nolan-led restoration) and it already looks great. Any need to rewatch in 4k?

I think I saw an older 4k restoration at the Cinerama festival at the Cineramadome, which is now closed due to the pandemic :-(

4K UHD will bring out more color depth with the HDR. I would say that the improved color quality is the main draw of UHD over blu-ray, since the difference in resolution isn't really discernable to the naked eye on typical consumer-size televisions. Also, the 4K version of 2001 is in 2.20:1 aspect ratio as Kubrick intended. Previous releases were in 2.22:1 which included stuff on the right and left edges that wasn't meant to be in the projected film.

Kor

 

[crookeddy]

4K UHD will bring out more color depth with the HDR. I would say that the improved color quality is the main draw of UHD over blu-ray, since the difference in resolution isn't really discernable to the naked eye on typical consumer-size televisions. Also, the 4K version of 2001 is in 2.20:1 aspect ratio as Kubrick intended. Previous releases were in 2.22:1 which included stuff on the right and left edges that wasn't meant to be in the projected film.

Kor

Unfortunately my 4k TV does not have HDR. Stupidly bought it in 2014 Just generally though, I was wondering what he Nolan restoration added. I guess the AR is and important change.

 

[Vger23]

Is the 4k restoration significantly different from the Blu-Ray? I have the BD version (from before the latest Nolan-led restoration) and it already looks great. Any need to rewatch in 4k?

I think I saw an older 4k restoration at the Cinerama festival at the Cineramadome, which is now closed due to the pandemic :-(

I have the 4K disk and I have watched it twice now. I have to say, as a guy who has a home theater and cares a lot about little AV details, 2001 looks AMAZING in 4K. This was obviously done with painstaking care and a lot of love. It looks tremendous. Somehow, they kept the vintage look of a 60's sci-fi movie (grain, etc) while also making it look bright, clear and colorful. It's absolutely glorious and if you're a fan of the film, I highly recommend it. It is a significant improvement, even over the very good BR disk.

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

The 4K disc of 2001 is generally reckoned to be one of the best UHD Blu-rays that are available for any movie. I also have the HD Blu-ray as part of the Kubrick collection but I now have no reason to play it.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

One thing they definitely fixed with the 4K version (which I bought from iTunes):

In the original HD BluRay, during the Dawn of Man sequences it's obvious that the outdoor scenes were actually filmed in a studio with the backgrounds projected onto a screen - the actual screen itself is plainly visible wherever the 'sky' appears.

The 4K version fixes this.

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

To be fair, I seem to think that was kind of obvious when I first saw 2001 in a movie theatre over 50 years ago. Purists might argue it shouldn't have been fixed. Personally, I don't mind.

 

[JD]

Can you tell a different between 1080p and 4K on a 1080p TV/computer/whatever?

 

[David cgc]

Can you tell a different between 1080p and 4K on a 1080p TV/computer/whatever?

Not in terms of resolution, no, but 4K releases are usually also remastered. So you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the new 4K release and the 1080p blu-ray that came with it* (since either way, your screen can only show as much visual detail as is on a blu-ray), but you would if you compared either to the prior blu-ray release of the film.

*I'm pretty sure a blu-ray came with it? They usually do, but I just moved and my copy is under... somewhere.

 

[JD]

OK.