“A Religious Experience For Atheists”

That’s how Joe Clark describes 2001: A Space Odyssey. I can buy that. I’ve seen the film, oh, dozens of times, but it still manages to give me goosebumps. But where I would disagree with Joe is where he claims that it is "an index of a generation gap among cinéastes, since the group that considers 2001 the finest motion picture of the 20th century simply will never get along with the group that recapitulates tired arguments for the consensus choice, Citizen Kane".

 

Tosh. They are both brilliant works of art. I would find it difficult to have to choose between them. I am reminded of the old joke about the Jewish mother who presents her beloved son with two ties for his birthday. He dutifully appears at his birthday party wearing one of them. "So", she says, "you didn’t like the other one, then?"