2001: A Space Odyssey

A Space Odyssey has very different music than any other film we have seen thus far. The music and almost more importantly the lack of music create a completely different feel for the movie. To start of with, the movie opening title/credits start off with a musical cue that is now used in many other movies/shows. It is what I will call the Space theme. It uses drum beats and horns specifically for parts of the theme, but also uses a full orchestra. It is a grand sounding, adventurous, and slightly eerie theme. However, there is no underscoring in the Dawn of Man section (only background sounds and noise, like the wind are present) until the monolith from the earth arises. However, it is not like any other music we have heard before. He really has no melody or harmony, but is more of a howling, eerie sound. When this "music" is played, all the other sounds from the scene disappear and only the music can be heard. For example, the viewer does not hear the apes screeching anymore. When the scene changes, there is abrupt silence.

The theme from the opening title is heard again when the ape starts playing with the animal skeleton and learns to make a weapon/tool out of it. Could it possibly be a leitmotif to represent progressiveness/advancement or destruction? Or is it just underscoring to represent a significant moment in the movie?

Music is prevalent again when they show the earth/space, and space craft traveling in space. This time the music is pre-existing music. It is a famous classical piece (however, I cannot think of the name of it at the moment). The music is very harmonious and melodious, and is played with a full orchestra. It does not seem to really match what is going on in the movie, but seems to be there as filler for the lack of action happening. In the movie, music seems to adds some excitement, or movement, to the movie when there is really no action prepelling the movie forward. The classical piece is heard again, also where their are unimportant scenes showing space travel. The scene is long, and the music fills up the whole scenic view. Again, there is no talking or no other noice while the music is played. The music stops where ever people need to talk.

When another spacecraft flys over the planet, a new eerie hum is heard; it sounds like it could be from a therimin. The music then stops once the camera shows the inside of the craft and when people start talking. The eerie music helps create the mood of space and the emptiness, eeriness, and loniness of space. And unlike music we have heard in other movies, the music is more like an eerie wail; it is not "pretty" sounding, but more annoying and haunting. However, in a later scene, when the monolith appears, the same eerie howling theme from the apes saw the monolith is present.

Another theme is heard when the "Jupiter Mission" is shown. This theme is more melodious than the eerie howling, but is still dark, eerie, and creates the feeling of outer space.
Another theme is really not music but heaving breathing and an constant, unchanging noice. It is used whenever the man leaves the space station to fix the radio. However, when the computer "revolts" and sends the man drifiting into space, there is just eerie silence, and no noice at all. However, the breathing theme reappears when the other man takes the computer apart. At this time, we also heard diagetic music; the computer singing "Daisy".

During the "Jupiter" section of the movie, when there is the weird, crazy colored, crazy visual scenes, there is another theme. This theme is also eerie and echo-ishy with a lack of harmony, just like most of the other themes.

The movie ends with the "Space" theme from the beginging, and the ending credits plays the same classical piece from the movie.