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2001 Space Odyssey Revisited: in Blu-Ray

This movie was first mentioned to me by my a childhood friend, Rudy Dumapias ( now a retired Philippine Consul living in Texas, USA. ) about 3 decades before the actual year 2001. He, like me is a Certified Movie Buff. We could talk about movies for hours even without food and water.

It will be 2009 soon. So far no event portrayed in the movie happened yet. There was no mission to Jupiter. There was no discovery of that strange slab in one of the moon craters.. There is no HAL, the computer turned psycho.

But the movie, still remains as one of my sci-fi favorites blowing all the 6 STAR WARS movies into the strastophere. Come to think about it STAR WARS is not sci-fi, it is more of an entertainment, a good one at that one.

But I read that when it was premiered in New York, most of the viewers hated 2001. What kind of movie is this? many commented. No action. No green space monsters wanting to take over the world. No big bang explosion at the climax blowing all the bad guys into atoms.

My friend Rudy was all praises about 2001. It was only after a few times of viewing that I found the movie is something after all. One of the movies you will not grow tired of watching.

I first saw it in Dagupan City, Philippines in a movie house called VINA theatrer. I did not understand it at that time.In fact I might have taken a nap somewhere during the 148 minute-run.

When I arrived in Toronto, I found the city a Paradise for movie buffs. There are used book stores all over the place especially along Yonge street. During my first weeks, I went through every book store and bought several volumes of magazines, anthologies especially about the classic films of the 50's and '60s. Then I found a book on Stanley Kubricks and his monumental 2001 Space Odyssey.

Though the instrument panels in the movie's space ships are outdated, the movie still followed some concepts of science. First, there is absolute SILENCE in outer space because of the absence of air. Sound is created only by air waves. Thus, when there is a space ship moving in space, there are no rumbling sounds. Just silence, or the Blue Danube Waltz making space travel less boring.

Then there are the medical aspects about hibernation while traveling in space: low pulse, low heart beat and the hibernators ( the people ) sleeping not in beds but in coffin shaped pods. Geez.

Another slightly funny part of the movie is when one of the characters was reading the instructions on how to use the zero-gravity toilet .Would be pretty messy when you sitting on the John and the gravity controller would malfunction, right? .

A few days back I had the chance to watch the movie for the nth time and this time in Blu-Ray. It is a celestial experience. The images looked as if you are watching a film master, not a video. Blu Ray technology on the 1080, 52 " would make your eye-balls pop out. Just kidding, of course. But if you are a movie buff like me, it is worth each dollar of whatever you invest in your home entertainment.

So, I resolved not to watch movies anymore, at least for a while in these huge theatres.

The images in the screen are huge, but blurry and the colour is not that intense as what you can see in Blu-Ray. If I have to watch a movie, I would prefer the smaller ones with regular screens and film projectors just like in the old days.

I would save money, the hassle of traveling back and forth from the cinema house, and of course the possibilty of contracting some virus just in case you happen to sit beside a guy who has just come out of the hospital.---#