2001: A Space Odyssey by Stanley Kubrick Essay Example

the most iconic music pieces ever to be written. The piece was nice to introduce the film. It was also to be used to show the iconic features that would be seen in the film. Though Kubrick had also decided to go with other songs, Zarathustra’s piece was exciting and blended in with the scene; it was evident that the opening scene was a little bit sour without the Strauss piece in the epic.
Even after editing the film 2001: a space odyssey’, Michel Climent laid all the different types of tracks that would be used in the film so as to bring out the different objectives which fitted perfectly in the scenes. Nevertheless, Climent went ahead and wrote a score which was more of an alien to the music chosen and was also inadequate in the film. Despite that, North’s original score is spotted in various places of the film. This is an advantage to the classical score listeners as they can easily relate to the film’s song.
Regarding the docking sequence in the film, The Blue Danube, the music is orderly and conventional, with the quiet pieces of the melody developing from the darkness of space in one oddball way. This sequence enables the audiences to be able to embrace the paradox of science as brought out in the film: from the available space crafts to the developed gadgets used. (This is the amazing technology that is no seemly just part of our usual lives). It is noticed that the waltz repeats the third note and holds it for about three beats. This is the (do-me-sol-sol) which invokes the sense of constancy and regularity, and

a feeling of shock at something modern.
The use of varying styles in the film, at times, collocate against each other thus creating a distinct experience to its audience. Although critics argue both ways, the choices made by Kubrick worked to support the genre at the specific given time. This makes the music an iconic feature in the film. There are themes and conventions of the science fiction genre at the time. This notwithstanding, the collocation of these styles stood out as something modern. The music portrays a new meaning in the way that Kubrick perceives it. This excites the audience to watch the film.
Kubrick decided to renounce North’s score and instead stood for the familiar classical music referred to as ‘guide pieces.' This he did without letting North know, only for North to realize it during the first screening of the film. After Gene D. Philips had listened to the sample of the original song that North would have used in the movie, he asserted that there is no way that Kubrick would have settled on that song.
However, some individuals like Kevin Mulhall asserted that indeed the 2001 film would have been a better if Kubrick had used only North's music. The rejected score of Alex North contained cues that were sensitive to the audience while the selected final music existed outside the act while uplifting it. It is quite clear that the film would have been better with North’s song in it. Though not many individuals agreed with Kubrick’s choice of music, in some specific scenes, a disturbing combination of general sounds and styles in the film led to the different team of classical

composers that the director had used.
It is clear that some of the music used in the film was not relevant, yet the Director guaranteed that the mixture brought out the best of the movie as was expected by the audience. Failing to use North’s music touched the hearts of most individuals, and it also made Stanley North devastated, as he had expected his song to be aired in the movie regarding presentation, it might have been remarked that the music of the other films differs from the one in 2001 by its prominence, (Ebert). This is not just because it has no overlap in between the scenes and music, scenes with dialogue, or even silent scenes, but rather because the chosen music is both striking and is in combination with the screen images. Kubrick's choice of songs was not written for any film but rather was meant for concert halls.

Conclusion

When classical music is connected with the popular entertainment, the result is usually meant to trivialize it. The film proved to be more than expected by the public and was clearly loved by everybody. The songs used in the film all connected well with the individual scenes in all parts of the movie. Although there’s an argument that the film lacks enough music and that North’s score would benefit the movie as it would have brought out the audiences’ emotions and also would have helped them in relating to the respective parts of the film. Kubrick’s choices enabled 2001 to subvert the genre and ultimately influenced popular culture. The film has most uniquely associated its images with its songs.

Works cited

• Robert Hardy. The opening scene of
  

‘2001: A space of odyssey’ just isn’t the same with a different score. Print 2014