Reviewer's Rating 4 out of 5
2001: A Space Odyssey DVD (1968)

"2001" only improves with repeated viewings, and while cinema has until now been the only way to experience this movie, there's now a strong case for watching it at home on DVD. The better the home cinema set-up, the more this movie will thrill. If necessary, swallow your pride, and admit that one of your friends has a superior audio/visual combination than your own so that you can appreciate this disc fully.

The DVD offers a beautiful transfer of mysterious inky black space that contrasts with the sharp and vivid colours of the art design.

Prepare to add this DVD to your list of favourites with which to test your amplifier by. Some of you may feel that Johann Strauss "The Blue Danube" and various awful versions of Richard Strauss's "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" have been exploited to overkill over the years. Even so, they move and excite all over again on a disc that fills the 5.1 speaker soundstage with depth and considerable atmosphere.

If you're not buying the Limited Edition Giftset, then you may be a little disappointed that the disc only comes with a trailer. It's still worth purchasing though, simply for the quality of the transfer. If you splash out on the Giftset you'll get a 70mm cell, a CD of the music, and a small booklet.

Read a review of "2001".

How does the "2010" DVD compare?

Chapters: 32
Region: 2
Ratio: 2.2:1 (Anamorphic)
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
Extra Features: Scene selection, trailer, multiple languages, subtitles, English for the hearing impaired. Limited Edition Giftset includes: CD of the music used in the film, senitype (70mm limited edition film frame) and 16-page booklet.

End Credits

Director: Stanley Kubrick

Writer: Stanley Kubrick, Arthur C Clarke

Stars: Keir Dullea, William Sylvester, Leonard Rossiter, Robert Beatty, Daniel Richter, Margaret Tyzack, Frank Miller, Alan Gifford, Penny Brahms, Edwina Carroll, Sean Sullivan, Douglas Rain

Genre: Science Fiction

Length: 139 minutes

Original: 1968

DVD: 10 September 2001

Country: UK