Hmmmmm...I think we have a bit of a "generational" problem here.
For some of our younger posters, I know that a picture like "2001" can seem "slow", even painfully so, compared to the noisy, furiously paced "action" films of today. Back in 1968, people were more willing to be patient and
watch a movie from beginning to end attentively. Remember, there was no home video, no chance to see a film in its integral, truly "cinematic" form except in a movie theatre.
Now then, let's consider some points that the younger generation might not be conscious of:
1. The Visual Aspect -- In this current age of "Star Wars" and the many other film and TV sci-fi franchises that have followed in its wake, it is too easy to forget just how
stunning the visual effects/Spfx that Douglas Trumbull came up with for the film were in 1968. I was supremely lucky in that I saw the film for the first time in its original Cinerama format and I tell you all, I and most of the rest of the audience sat there with our jaws dropped wide open. Where today's generation can only see a boring "slow" sequence, my generation was astonished at the sheer
gorgeousness of the leisurely trip from the earth to the space station, and from the space station to the moon. The same is true for all of the other sequences in the film--the current "cgi/space-saturated" generation simply cannot appreciate how innovative and startling these visuals were in 1968 (OK, I'll admit to one notable exception: the infamous "trip" sequence at the end of the film, which was much criticized at the time as being overlong [frankly, it is], and also for being much more like an LSD-induced "trip" than anything to do with sci-fi
).
2. The Musical Aspects -- again, it is difficult to overstate the impact this had in 1968. As a classical musician, I was familiar with the music of Richard Strauss, yet seeing the famous sunrise accompanied by the 3-note brass motif, pounding drums and pealing organ of the opening of "Also sprach Zarathustra" was absolutely
breath-taking the first time. The same holds true for most of the other sequences: the famous use of Johann Strauss' "Blue Danube" for the space voyage (no one had ever thought of such a use for this music before!), as well as the use of modern (i.e. contemporary [in 1968]) classical composers such as Khatchaturian and Ligeti. You can't imagine how amusing it was to watch people of all ages walk into record stores for years after the film's release asking the clerks "Do you have 'Also sprak whatisname?' "
3. The Thematic Aspect -- to be sure, the idea that human evolution was/has been/still is directed from an advanced alien source is not new, and it wasn't new in 1968. Still, the
handling of this theme in the film was new and original at the time, and for many people who were not sci-fi fans, "2001" was their first exposure to the idea, which was a startling one at the time (if you think "Fundies" are bad today.....
).
Anyway, I hope I have been able to offer some perspective on this subject from the point of view of someone who has past the half-century mark. I think I'll go and watch my laserdisc of the film......