Did you Hear That Film?

Alyssa Zelman

P100166851

January 28, 2014

MDIA 1020

Did You Hear That Film?

Stanley Kubrick is notorious for being meticulous and precise. He famously forced Shelly Duvall to do so many takes during the bat scene in The Shining that she began to lose her hair due to stress (Not to mention the fact that he would verbally berate her to get a more realistic performance). Even though 2001: A Space Odyssey was obviously filmed on Earth, Kubrick insisted upon all of the on-screen equipment be built in such a way that it would actually work on the moon. Some US Airforce Personnel described the B-52 bomb in Dr. Strangelove as "absolutely correct". So it was baffling to discover that the infamous soundtrack to 2001 was merely a placeholder that Kubrick decided he liked. He had commissioned Alex North to compose the soundtrack, but due to investors pushing him to see progress, used the current soundtrack to show off what he had so far.

            I listened to the first half hour not only with the picture off, but with my eyes closed to get the full experience. I could tell something epic must have been happening. Then there came the nature sounds. I could identify birds and crickets, but the apes sounded like dogs at first. By their frantic screams I was sure they must have been slaughtering one another, or being attacked by some beast. I was half correct on that assumption, as a cheetah attacked one of them, and in a later scene the two opposing groups attacked each other. But watching the first half hour again without sound, it was clear that at least one instance of the shrieking was in the scene with the monolith. They were making such a ruckus not to express pain, but confusion and wonder.

            At some point there came a noise that sounded like a swarm of bees. As it progressed, it turned out to be a choir. They got louder and louder, drowning out the screams of the apes. I wonder if this too was in the monolith scene, I can’t recall. It probably was, because I think the epic music came soon after. The choir made me cringe a bit, mostly due to the bees, but also because it seemed maddening.. Really the first part of the half hour felt frantic and rather frightening.

When the light, happy orchestral music took over it was a pleasant, if confusing, change. Watching it again I could sort of remember the sounds in order and piece them with each scene, so it was interesting realizing that the orchestra was paired with the majesty of the spaceship. Visually Kubrick spends a great deal of time surveying the enormity of the ship, watching it as it slowly turns in space. I was rather relieved to finally have some dialogue, although when it came time to watch it without sound the only part I could remember was the part where the man video chats with his daughter, so the rest of the scene was lost on me.

The story clearly lies in both the pictures and the sound. One could gather a plot from watching or listening to either alone, but I imagine doing so would leave the viewer somewhat confused. This doesn’t mean that a blind or deaf person would find the movie utterly strange and unpleasant. I think Kubrick intended the movie to be confusing and he accomplished his goal.

Film and Television Scores, 1950-1979: A Critical Survey by Genre Pg 185

http://www.visual-memory.co.uk/amk/doc/0075.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Strangelove#Sets_and_filming
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shining_(film)#Production
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081505/trivia?tr=tr0793133
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062622/trivia?ref_=tt_trv_trv