Bluray Review: 2010: The Year We Made Contact
Highly Praised Sequel to Kubrick Classic Gets High Def Treatment
Apr 29, 2009
The product of a collaborative effort between Hyams and 2010 author Arthur C. Clarke, this film tries to pick up the pieces nine years after the events of the original, to ascertain what Dave Bowman's last words "My god....it's full of stars..." actually meant, and what happened to the ship and its small crew.
2010 Brief Synopsis
It's indeed 2010 (what a clever title!), and nine years have passed since the original mission to Jupiter, aboard the Discovery spaceship, which was piloted by Dave Bowman (Keir Dullea) and Dr. Francis Poole (Gary Lockwood.
From their home base, it appears as though the crew and ship were lost in 2001, following the events of the original film. As a result, the NCA (National Council of Astronautics) needed a scapegoat, and chose to blame Dr. Heywood Floyd (Roy Scheider, Jaws, French Connection), who resigned and accepted a post as chancellor of a university in Hawaii.
When the Russian Astronautics group detects a large monolith similar to that see in the original film, near Jupiter, as well as what may be the Discovery drifting off one of the moon of Jupiter, they set out to venture back out into space, to investigate.
Given that the Discovery is an American ship, and tensions are currently high between the two nations (take note, this film was made prior to the end of the Cold War, so it feels a bit dated given what we know today), the Russian ship Leonov grants access to three Americans, including Dr. Floyd.
Floyd heads up on a three-year journey, along with the Discovery's designer Walter Curnow (John Lithgow, TV's Third Rock From the Sun) and the programmer for the HAL 9000 computer, Dr. Chandra (Bob Balaban, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind).
Once the long trip is made (during which most of the crew is in cryo-sleep), both crews begin their investigation, while detecting anomalous readings off of Europa one of the larger moons of Jupiter.
The events which follow point to some extraordinary events about to happen, which are only made more so, when Dave Bowman (again played by Keir Dullea) makes an appearance, in his evolved form. He warns both crews to leave the region of space without delay, as some monumental spatial event is about to take place. Can the crew make it home safely? What is this event the evolved Bowman speaks of? 2010 answers these questions, and more.
2010 Overall Analysis and Bluray Features
The first thing viewers will notice about this film transfer is the obvious dated look of the film. This is to be expected. The movie was filmed as a futuristic sci-fi thriller, but projected futuristic inventions we clearly know to be off the mark by now.
That being said, the movie is decently photographed, and the set designs by Art Brenner and Rick Simpson (who were nominated for an Oscar for this film) colorfully come out in clean crisp tones on the Bluray format.
The best standard-to-Bluray transition for 2010 is evident in the outer space scenes, where the star field and ship hue become a breathtaking sight. Given the limited use of bluescreen in the early 1980's, it's marvelous to see how more often than not, simpler is better.
The indoor scenes are grainier in comparison, but don't take away from the cast and their busy interaction, as they are faced with new variables to their space mission.
The late Roy Scheider has the heavy task of maintaining audience interest, in that the story often delves into densely scientific exposition scenes. Also, the rest of the crew are supposed to be Russian (though to their credit, most actors cast are Russian-born or of Russian heritage, facilitating the task at hand), it would have been nice to allow for their dialogue to be incorporated into the sub-titles or close captioning which accompanies most films on discs today.
John Lithgow and Bob Balaban provide most of the dramatic (and sometimes comedic) banter on this film, in their supporting roles. Both play well opposite Scheider. As for Helen Mirren, it is refreshing to see her character Tanya Kirbuk speak decent Russian (if not fluently, though most non-speakers would be fairly convinced), something refreshing in this role from yesteryear. After a bit of research on the subject, it can be found that Mirren does have Russian family roots.
The Bluray disk has very little in terms of extras, given the time the film was made, only a brief "making-of" segment is provided, but it is of such low quality, it contrasts against the high resolution of the main feature, and may turn off some viewers. Instead, watch this film for the added value of Keir Dullea (Dave) and the voice of Douglas Rain (HAL 9000), reprising their respective roles from 2001: A Space Odyssey.
7 out of 10, namely for incredible space sequences despite limited F/X resources, and good performances by most of the cast. Bonus points for getting Keir Dullea to reprise his legendary role.
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