Product Details

• Actors: Roy Scheider, John Lithgow, Helen Mirren, Bob Balaban, Keir Dullea
• Directors: Peter Hyams
• Writers: Arthur C. Clarke
• Producers: Peter Hyams
• Format: Blu-ray, Color, NTSC
• Language: English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Portuguese
• Subtitles: English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Portuguese, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish
• Region: Region A/1 (Read more about DVD/Blu-ray formats.)
• Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• DVD Release Date: April 7, 2009
• Run Time: 116 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (329 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001993Y1S
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,092 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "2010: The Year We Make Contact [Blu-ray]" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

No director could ever have hoped to repeat the artistic achievement of Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, and nobody knew that better than Peter Hyams, who made this much more conventional film from the first of three sequel novels by Arthur C. Clarke. Whereas Kubrick made a poetic film of mind-expanding ideas and metaphysical mysteries, Hyams shouldn't be blamed for taking a more practical, crowd-pleasing approach. In revealing much of what Kubrick deliberately left unexplained, 2010 lacks the enigmatic awe of its predecessor, but it's still a riveting tale of space exploration and extraterrestrial contact, beginning when a joint American-Soviet mission embarks to determine the cause of failure of the derelict spaceship Discovery. Having arrived at Discovery near the planet Jupiter, the American mission leader (Roy Scheider) and his Russian counterpart (Helen Mirren) must investigate the apparent failure of the ship's infamous onboard computer, HAL 9000, as well as the meaning of countless mysterious black monoliths amassing on Jupiter's surface (an interpretation Kubrick originally left up to his viewers). Meanwhile, Earth is on the brink of nuclear war, and an apparition of astronaut David Bowman (Keir Dullea) appears to repeatedly promise that "something wonderful" is about to happen. --Jeff Shannon

Product Description

A new time, a new odyssey, a new chance to confront enigmas arising from the daring Jupiter mission of 2001. Crew members aboard the Leonov will rendezvous with the still-orbiting Discovery. And their fate will rest on the silicon shoulders of the computer they reawaken, HAL-9000. Based on Arthur C. Clarkes 2001: A Space Odyssey sequel, director Peter Hyams spellbinder nominated for 5 Academy Awards* stars Roy Scheider, John Lithgow, Oscar winner** Helen Mirren, Bob Balaban and Keir Dullea.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

66 of 76 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars "...I Want To Play A Game With You Dr. Floyd...It's Called The Truth..." August 21, 2009

By Mark Barry, Reckless Records, London TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Blu-ray

*** THIS REVIEW IS FOR THE "BLU RAY" VERSION Of "2010..." ***

When MGM began making "2010: The Year We Make Contact" in February 1984, the CD was in its infancy, nothing was digital and portable and the Internet and the global sharing of ideas and images was non-existent. Showing its film age badly - in one particular scene Roy Schreider even talks of information being given to his astronauts on 'cassettes' - on board a Jupiter spaceship mission for God's sake! Even the television monitors were black screens with monosyllabic block lettering on them and nothing else... Why mention all of this, because it has of course - in some places - dated the film very badly...

But - and this is a big but - for its time (finally released in 1985), "2010" was an extraordinary vision and a technological marvel. It provided the moviegoer with a superbly detailed and realistic depiction of future space travel, shots of the majestic Jupiter and its moons Io and Europa that were and still are incredibly accurate. Even the story of the Americans and Russians coming together so as not to annihilate each other was both relevant and damn good - and made for a great end message by Bowman (Keir Dullea - who looked like he hadn't aged a day since 1968's original "2001"). Throw in model makers from the Star Wars Trilogy, Raiders Of The Lost Ark, Poltergeist and Ghostbusters - and the goodies were bound to be on display and they are. Which brings us unfortunately to the bad news...

...this is one of those instances where the enhanced BLU RAY image has only worsened an already hazy print...

You see - once you go from the entirely model-led outside shots (say of outer space) which are clean, beautiful and impressive to look at - into the interior shots and live action on dimly-lit stages - the blurriness and shading act as a direct contrast to the clarity you just saw - it drive you nuts. And because a good 70 to 80% of the movie is 'inside' - the effect of the wonderfully realized and designed interiors is almost completely lost. It's like watching Aliens without the clarity - or Star Wars on blurry videotape. It's as if a heavy filter hangs over every frame - and it makes the BLU RAY picture feel and look very dated.

Don't get me wrong - the picture 'is' lovely in some places - but in the main - it's not - which is a huge disappointment.

The only real extra is a 10-minute 1984 'making of' called "2010; The Odyssey Continues" which is fascinating and contains very brief interviews with all the principals - Roy Scheider as Dr. Floyd, Helen Mirren as the Russian pilot Tanya, John Lithgow as Dr. Curnow, Elya Baskin as the loveable Russian Max, Bob Balaban as Chandra the genius who created Hal-9000 - Discovery's malfunctioning computer (voiced by Douglas Rain). There's interesting stuff too with Richard Edlund the model maker - the make-up people - interior designs - even words from author Arthur C Clarke and director Peter Hyams about the screenwriting process in 1983 when they were prepping for the film.

I really had such high hopes for this BLU RAY release, but unfortunately I'd say hire it first before you buy...

The film was - and still is - excellent - an impressive one even. But this BLU RAY reissue of it is anything but.

It's not "full of stars" folks, it's pushing three.

And what a shame that Roy Scheider is no longer with us...

99 of 120 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The saga continues ... December 20, 1999

By "jalenross"

Format:DVD

What everybody should know about 2010: It is not 2001! Sounds stupid, but it explains about everything. 2010 is the continuation of the storyline of 2001, but it tells the story in a completely different way.

2001 was slow and silent. It was filled with emotions and impressions. 2010 offers the same but combines it with a far more interesting plot. On one hand it tells the story nine years after the Discovery Incident, as a team of russian and american scientists try to find answers and on the other hand it explains the fate of Bowman and HAL 9000 ... and ultimately of mankind.

The movie never gets boring and keeps you guessing until the end. The actors are marvelous. The hangar scene between Floyd (Roy Scheider) and Bowman (Keir Dullea) alone is better than any other scene in 2001. The russian/american conflict may be a bit out of date (! ), but it never spoils the movies true message.

2010 is not better than 2001. It is different. It is the answer to a question and the beginning of a new one. You have to watch this film. And i also recommend the other two (book) sequels from Arthur C. Clarke (2061 and 3001).

102 of 124 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Transfer is not standard DVD resolution February 3, 2002

By "wademasshardt"

Format:DVD

Once again, the stupid people responsible for doing transfers do an inferior transfer. Instead of using the standard DVD resolution of 720x480, they chose instead to use something more like 640x427. Honestly, I don't understand why they decide to do it this way, there should be plenty of room on the DVD, since they put the pan and scan version on the other side of the disc. I've run into a few DVDs like this and it pissed me off every time.