_**Inscrutable space science-fiction as cinematic art**_ The discovery of an ancient extraterrestrial monolith on the Moon leads to a mission to Jupiter, but the astronauts have unexpected complications with their vessel’s onboard computer, HAL 9000. William Sylvester plays an official of US Astronautics in the first hour while Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood play the two functioning astronauts in the second half. Created by Stanley Kubrick (director/writer) and Arthur C. Clarke (writer), "2001: A Space Odyssey" (1968) is an artistic sci-fi film about human evolution, advanced technology, ...