2001: A Space Odyssey - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1996 Reissue) [Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered, Soundtrack]

Various Artists (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 29, 1996)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered, Soundtrack
• Label: Word Entertainment
• ASIN: B0000033WB
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #29,788 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Excerpt (as used in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey)

2. Opening (as used in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey)

3. Excerpt (as used in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey)

4. Excerpt [Excerpt]

5. [Excerpt]

6. Adagio (as used in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey)

7. Jupiter and Beyond: Excerpts from Requiem / Atmospheres / Adventures (a

8. Also Sprach Zarathustra (Theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey) - Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra

9. An der schönen, blauen Donau (On the Beautiful, Blue Danube), waltz for or

10. Also Sprach Zarathustra (Theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey) - Sudwesfunk Orchestra

11. Lux aeterna, for 16 unaccompanied voices

12. Aventures, for 3 voices & 7 instruments [Unaltered]

13. Hal 9000 dialog montage

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This commemorative reissue of music from 2001: A Space Odyssey combines the Also sprach Zarathustra theme, various Johann and Richard Strauss segments, and a ballet suite by Aram Khachaturian--all of which prove how much Stanley Kubrick's film attempts to avoid the soundtrack clichés of most science-fiction movies. Instead of the expected sci-fi effects, there is a more ironic application of music that would be otherwise incongruous to the celestial settings. Here, "The Blue Danube" complements scenes involving weightlessness and descending spacecraft, while Gyorgy Ligeti's creepy "monolith" music connotes Armageddon more than interplanetary exploration. The tracks play as they had appeared on the original soundtrack release back in the '60s, but there is also previously unreleased supplemental material and a dialogue montage entitled "HAL 9000." --Joseph Lanza

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

74 of 81 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Why cant they get it right? (2.5 stars), July 14, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: 2001: A Space Odyssey - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1996 Reissue) (Audio CD)

Why cant they release a proper soundtrack this film? Almost every version I've owned has chopped the Blue Danube into 2 or 3 tracks, and they never get the full Star Gate sequencing right, always edited! This cd boasts "Music as it appears in the film", but the whole Star Gate sequence was incorrectly done. It jumped too quickly from Requiem to Atmospheres. In the film, the chorus reached its highest pitch as Bowman entered the Star Gate. On this cd, they dont come anywhere near this vocal climax. There is a good couple of minutes of music missing, specifically the segment when Bowman first goes into the Star Gate and the light show begins is edited out. The best version of this soundtrack was the 1990 CBS Special Products release which had the Blue Danube as one track, and the Star Gate sequence would have been perfectly done except that it didnt include "Adventures" (the dissonant music playing while Bowman is in the white room at the end.)Im so disappointed, you'd think with all the technology they have now, they could just record the Star Gate music sequence directly from the film so that it is done right! When they fix the Star Gate sequence, and put the complete Blue Danube back into one track I'll be happy. For now, I'll live with my cassette version on which I combined the 2 soundtracks to REALLY sound like the film! The 2.5 stars are 1 for the incredible music itself, 1 for the liner notes and for the inclusion of Adventures (finally!) on the soundtrack. Last 1/2 star for the sound clips and extra tracks, which were cool but really unnecessary. But, overall I am VERY annoyed with this package, because I have seen this film hundreds of times and this is NOT the music "as it appears in the film." Slightly false advertising. I just want justice done to this incredible soundtrack for once!!!!

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A visually striking but musically botched job., July 1, 1999

By 

James M. Shertzer (Winston-Salem, NC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 2001: A Space Odyssey - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1996 Reissue) (Audio CD)

Those patiently waiting for the definitive version of Kubrick's landmark "2001" soundtrack were sadly disappointed when this beautifully packaged but seriously flawed attempt was released. Far better than the sonically sorry snippets on the original MGM disc (which substituted a Karl Bohm/Berlin Philharmonic recording for the Herbert von Karajan/Vienna Philharmonic recording of "Zarathustra" owing, apparently, to contractual problems), this is sonically superior and is more complete. But the producers and writers have been very careless; some music cues are totally botched, most lamentably in the so-called complete "Jupiter and Beyond the Infinite" sequence. Here Ligeti's "Atmospheres" starts several minutes before it should. Anyone even on casual terms with the film will notice the blunder. Notes aren't always correct either; the supplemental performance of the bogus "Zarathustra" from MGM disc, for example, is credited to the ensemble that performed "Atmospheres." Also, the lengthy dialogue tracks aren't helpful to anyone with a copy of the film and seem out of place here. How so much care could have been taken in some areas in the production of this disc and so little exercised in others is dumbfounding. One can only hope future editions will correct the flaws. Until then, to be totally satisfied, fanatics will have to get CDs of all the original performances heard here and mix them into their own definitive version of the "2001" soundtrack.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hear the Chill of Deep Space, May 23, 2000

By 

Kevin Alphonso (Canton, Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 2001: A Space Odyssey - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1996 Reissue) (Audio CD)

When "2001: A Space Odyssey", the movie, was being made, an original score was commissioned. It was never used, and the film is now unthinkable with one.

This score has so much going for it -- triumphant overtures ("Also Sprach Zarathustra"), gentle waltzes ("The Blue Danube"), and some chilling score ("Lux Aeterna") -- all of which make for an enjoyable and unique listening experience.

Seeing the film first might work, but you wouldn't have to; this soundtrack is brilliant and well-assembled -- if nothing else, the great Stanley Kubrick had an excellent ear for good music.