Airlock

[Grabpowa]

@ 02:45 HAL is impressed.

[pacific707]

The only flaw in this scene is that Bowman (Keir Dullea) should have exhaled and expunged all oxygen from his lungs before entering the vacuum of space, instead of taking a deep breath in.

[SuperTennis3]

@pacific707 The way he put his head down, i always thought he did exhale. Its only logical if your going to expose yourself to a vacuum. Otherwise wouldn't the pressure try to escape from your lungs in all directions?

[pacific707]

@SuperTennis3 Indeed Super!! But to a lot of people, myself included, it looked like he was taking "in" a big breath before being thrown into vacuum. If he inhaled, his head would have likely "burst" all over the airlock. If he exhaled, and kept nothing in his lungs, he would have survived the brief time between being in an oxygen-rich atmosphere and being thrown into an oxygen-less environment. I think recent scientific research has determined an absolute time of 20 seconds of survival(?)

[MovieMaster0001]

My question is...why would Dave put on the green helmet in the next scene if he now has oxygen in the ship?

[BunnyJams]

@MovieMaster0001 with a homicidal super computer, take no second chances.

[pacific707]

@MovieMaster0001 The "Green" helmet was the only helmet available to him, presumably on the "Green" colored emergency space suit that was available to astronauts making an emergency entrance into "Discovery" through the airlock.

[pacific707]

@pacific707 Hmm. Something else about discrepencies between the film and the novel. In the book, HAL empties Discovery of ALL oxygen as he tries to thwart Dave from taking the steps to "disconnect" him. I think Kubrick could have spent a little more time focusing on these malevolent aspects of HAL just a little bit more, as did the novel.

[pacific707]

@pacific707 However, showing "Life Support" failing, in such a "beautiful" way (if that can EVEN be an apt description) it makes up for the descriptive way that HAL wreaked havoc on the Discovery in the novel.

[bleesev2]

Please forget my first thing in my aforementioned comment. I did some research on the exposure to space. However, i am still not certain about the second one.

[bleesev2]

2 things.

1. wouldn't his head explode quite quickly due to there being no external pressure on him, the internal pressure would of erupted him.

2. when he was in the airlock, being tossed around by escaping air, wouldn't that still make a sound. The reason sound doesn't travel in a vacuum is because there is no particles to vibrate, but as there is air escaping rapidly, there are particles to vibrate, so when he opens the door at 2:27 Dave should of heard sound. Or at least that's what i think

[gbf15hdb12duke]

The sounds AND the silence make this scene so powerful - the silent turning of the Pod to get into position, the sounds inside the Pod, the silent blast as Bowman comes through the hatch (he's actually falling down toward the camera) and then the blast of air. Beautiful work!

[pacific707]

@gbf15hdb12duke It's an incredibly beautiful scene!

[pacific707]

@pacific707 Not to mention "scary as hell!"

[19adam87]

A lot of sci-fi films would suggest that you freeze and/or explode instantly unprotected in the vacuum of space. This isn't true - although temperatures are close to absolute zero it would take half a minute or so for your blood to boil and vapour in your eyes and tounge to freeze, as there are so few particles in space this process takes time.

Therefore, this scene is scientifically accurate (see NASA's website for questions like this)

[CharlesDickens99]

Can any more scientifically knowledgeable person help me out here? Atmospheric pressure is 14 Ibs per sq inch. The reason your body does not collapse from this is the air is also inside your body, pushing back with the same pressure. If a man went from atmospheric pressure to zero pressure surely he would explode. Isn’t this scene totally unrealistic, he would be killed?

[karlking1995]

@CharlesDickens99 the lack of pressure would cause your blood to boil, have you eve seen oxygen in a vacume it boils. This is because oxygen is is small quantities in your cells and doents have a high enouth volume to exspand in a zero pressureenviroment. Dave survived because he was not exposed for to long but noticable effects such as blood rushing to the skin would have been noticed but not since the room was red and that covered that as well as he was wearing a suit, read next comment ...

[karlking1995]

@CharlesDickens99 that said Dave not having his helmet makes the suit usless its would only protect from UV, RADIATION and what not but i was trying to say that your wouldnt see the skin go red due to the fact hes wearing a suit and we cant she the skin. but i hopes this helps =3

[Nanotech92]

Am a bit lost, when he shoots into the airlock - yes he wud have bin exposed to the vaccum, an he closed the airlock well in time - but wouldnt he have frozen? cos he's still outside of the shuttle when he flys in, dosent matter how close he was, still wud hav bin

[cosmicdingo]

One of the most underrated, heroic sequences in moviemaking.I don't think most peeps understad what a risk Dave is taking.The total lack of sound does kinda reduce the drama somewhat.

[endimion17]

@cosmicdingo Reduce? You've got to be kidding. The total lack of sound is claustrophobic and very unnatural, relative to our usual enviroment. The silence is the key here.

[CtrlRm]

Would Dave be able to survive this? I mean he must have just gotten lucky to end up being sucked to the side of the door switch. I see his eyes are shut, so they won't get sucked out.

[thetraceur123]

@CtrlRm Yes he would survive, actually Nasa has done some research on this. You could survive for up to 2 minutes in space unprotected. The vacuum will make your saliva boil and the skin to swell a little bit, and your lungs may explode if you hold your breath. That's one misstake scientific small mistake tey did in this movie. Instead you should exhale all the air, if you do that you could remain councious for about 10-15 seconds and die after 2min if no help is given. But the eye-part, no. x)

[CtrlRm]

@thetraceur123 Fascinating. Thank you a ton!

[thetraceur123]

@CtrlRm No problem! :)

[MovieMaster0001]

Plus, if you look closely, both the pod door and the pod bay door are in the shape of a monolith. That has a significant meaning.

[Behrzad]

@MovieMaster0001

uhhhhhh no it doesn't. it's a rectangle. one of the most widely used shapes in engineering.

[MovieMaster0001]

Wouldn't Dave instantly freeze to death doing this stunt in real life? He's very far away from the nearest heat sourse (the sun), and the temperatures would probably be in the negative degrees celcius.

[thetraceur123]

@MovieMaster0001

Yes it is cold, but in Vacuum heat takes ALOT of time to travel away from a heated object, so he wouldn't feel anything, space itself is temperaturefree.

[grappold]

Of course, if he had followed procedure and taken his helmet when he first got into the pod, he wouldn't have had to risk explosive decompression. And we wouldn't have this great scene from this classic movie.

[george383]

If HAL didn't want Dave to get back in, why didn't HAL just power up the mother ship and drive away?

[pekaje81]

@george383 HAL's motivation was very much the successful completion of his mission. His very literal reason for existence. He had always been capable of doing it without humans on board, and getting rid of them solved the "mental" problems caused by being ordered to lie to the waking crew. But firing up the main motors would screw up all kinds of orbital mechanics calculations, which could make it impossible to complete the mission.

[azynth]

@george383 You don't drive spaceships the way you drive cars. The ship was presumably on an inertial trajectory and pulsing the engines might have meant missing orbital insertion to Jupiter, if there was even the fuel to spare.

[Behrzad]

Also, anyone else ever notice the use of dramatic shadows in this movie? Like there's a high contrast between things in space that are illuminated and things that aren't? It's a very accurate depiction of what things would look like in space, and I think it really shows how good the cinematography is.

[thetraceur123]

@Behrzad Yeah, in space shadows can be pitch black and that is very realistic. They aren't in low earth orbit because of our bright Earth but on the Moon and in deep space they are.

[luvpump1]

would this be possible in reality ? I mean would he have thoes few seconds befor he explodes because of the zero pressure & the cold ?

[seva809]

@luvpump1 check" Human Exposure to Vacuum "in google

[tegrenath]

@luvpump1 Theoretically. You won't explode, but you only have about ten seconds before you pass out and about a minute to live after that. This is about as close to reality as you can get in the movies, although there are probably more adverse aftereffects in real life.

You can't tell if he's doing either, but you're also supposed to exhale, if you hold your breath then the explosive decompression could pretty much make your lungs 'explode.'

[Phygar1]

@luvpump1 Space is actually very good insulator.  You would only lose heat through infrared radiation. The heat would stay in your body because it has nowhere to conduct to.

[Davecm008]

2:45 HAL - "FUCK"

[fairiebee]

One of the few films which I felt paralleled the book in artistic vision and ingenuity. Still one of my absolute favorites and way ahead of its time.

[MaxMSC97]

w w w . geoffreylandis . com / vacuum . html

[Rainbowsixoperator1]

I'm pretty sure if gas rushed at you in a vacuum you would hear it if your ears were exposed to the vacuum. So a near by explosion even with a helmet on would vibrate a bit if the gas came in contact with you after decompressing that rapidly.

[MysticDestroyer13]

When you see that shot of HAL at the very end, you KNOW that he knows that he's in trouble.

[thetraceur123]

The use of silence in space makes space so terryfing deadly. You guys should also look into the game Dead Space, a Sci-fi-horror game, you get to be outside of the Miningship quite a few times and your in some parts where there have been an decompression, in all those areas it is silent, you can only hear some muffled sounds coming through your suit. But almost everything is completely silent, very scary.

[moogug]

This film is the best science- fact/fiction film ever made. It is the only one of about two or three films that intelligently addresses the fact that there is no gravity in space. Also, everything designed in the film is completely compatible with current technology. An astonishing achievement for 1968. Even before the first Moon landing. Many films made even years after look dated now. This doesn't. A work of genius.

[theawesome288]

i love the way there are no sounds in the space scenes. it makes the movie a lot more chilling

[StreetFighter2010]

This is probably one of the most realistic "vacuum" scene in science fiction. If you actually research people who have been exposed to space, your head doesn't explode, and you don't die immediately. You are still fully conscious for up to 30 seconds, which was plenty of time for him to close the airlock. Beautifully done. One of my favorite sci-fi movies.

[20carrocks]

This was one of those moments where you just gotta hit the "I Believe" button.  In real life we could not survive ANY open exposure to outer space without a pressurized suit. And there goes Dave with no helmet.

[quesondriac]

I agree. The sounds make the scene. 

[YDDES]

The airlock scene was filmed in a vertical shaft with the camera at the bottom, and Keir Dullea hanging in wires pointing away from the camera. Nice way to simulate weightlessness...

[ArizonaDelRio]

I love the first alarm @ 1:46 ---DO YOU REALLY WANT TO DO THAT?

[KuBi4K]

Does anyone know where I can download the 2 alarm sounds ?

The one at 1:45 (after the 3 buttons pushed) and the one at 2:13 (just before ejection)

Thanks

[kwg06516]

ArizonaDelRio, displays in 2001 were done with rear projection from film and the contents were produced with hand drawn or hand drafted animation. What's most impressive and prescient, if you watch carefully you will see what appear to be working tablet computers casually placed on a table!

[ArizonaDelRio]

I see!

[ArizonaDelRio]

Something else... I notice all the instrament readouts are all on FLAT SCREENS. How could the special effects people come up with such a thing decades before it was possible, or even have the foresight to predict such a thing?

[TK42138]

@ArizonaDelRio

or flat screen tv's on the back of the seats in the Orion shuttle 40 years before airlines did it for real. Brilliant.

[ArizonaDelRio]

True.

[taroninda]

Such good use of silence.

[eedobaba7726]

This scene was foreshadowed by one of my favorite shots.

the wide angle shot of the pod door closing, saying "WARNING: EXPLOSIVE BOLTS"

[ArizonaDelRio]

I'm curious... is Kubrick the only director ever who understood sound doesn't travel in a vacuum?

[hotelmario510]

@ArizonaDelRio Yeah, but, to be fair, can you imagine watching Star Wars and whenever there was an explosion, all you'd hear is '_____________'?

[hotelmario510]

@hotelmario510 And explosion in space that is.

[ArizonaDelRio]

@hotelmario510 Think of all the money they could have saved.

[hotelmario510]

@ArizonaDelRio Good point, give me 5! Come on, don't leave me hanging.

[wolfeh89]

@ArizonaDelRio Firefly and Serenity (Joss Whedon) did a good job of keeping sound out of space. :) The ... last episode, I think, they do quite a bit of spacewalking and space shots with no sound that isn't from within the character's suits.

[Turnback]

@ArizonaDelRio I think the 2003 BSG did a reasonable compromise between space fx and real physics. Most space shots were silent and others featured muted fx. Overall silent space doesn't make for very entertaining space battles. So I think of it as silent in reality, but this is what it would sound like.

[tuell01]

@ArizonaDelRio

Yes, I think he was.

Either that or he didn't give a shit about making Hollywood style filums...

[Doctor699]

@ArizonaDelRio Sound don't travel in space at all unless you have something for it to travel through. Thats what i love about this film!

[Kamikuru77]

@ArizonaDelRio my dick is the scene

[zoomiefog]

@ArizonaDelRio The only other one is Joss Whedon. Firefly

[pacific707]

@ArizonaDelRio it kind of worked in a film called "Marooned" (late '68, early '69) a good film,and recommended, tho the special effects are horrible. John Sturges, used synthesized sounds, not mechanical sounds for each of the 3 spacecraft represented in the film. 1 was for the American spacescraft who's retro-rockets would not fire (hence "Marooned), another for the American rescue vehicle, another sound used for a Soviet spacecraft that offered additional oxygen to the astronauts dying inside.

[Bolenderable]

What's really dramatic is that the air from the pod blows him way past his goal. Scary as hell, if it were real.

[DeafFret]

NASA has a couple of faqs about surviving in a vacuum. They've actually a couple of accidents - one where a guy lost pressurization in his suit while in a vacuum chamber, another where a guy at high altitude near vacuum lost pressurization in his glove. Bottom line: this is possible, but by god, it would be dangerous.

[19adam87]

I don't know but that's what I read from experiments by the Russians that went wrong.

[19adam87]

I read that you can remain conscious for 25 seconds in space unprotected (and survive for longer)...but by then it already gets very unpleasant. After a few seconds (assuming you've exhaled to equalise the pressure) the vapour on your tounge and eyes will start to boil and you'll bruise.

Even though space is cold it's a vacuum so it takes a long time for your body to get as cold. You don't explode, and the effects are reversable once you get into an atmosphere.

[LTWpwn]

how do you know? ._.

[blindandwatching]

Thats got to hurt. He has only miliseconds to get the door closed before his blood boils.

[firebert123]

actually, your blood wont boil, as skin is airtight...now if you got a big ol GASH that might be different lol

[blindandwatching]

The reason that he could survive was that the airlock is a confined space and there was just enough time for him to hit the close button before the real bad stuff happens.

[firebert123]

the only "bad stuff" that would happen (other than death :P) would be sunburn. you would pass out from oxygen starvation before anything else.

[thexfiles214]

just look at daves perspective, he is in that position and probably thinking that that is the end of him. roughly 10 to 20 seconds in space. possibly my favorite movie

[diegobiker]

One of the best scenes of all science fiction movies. The realism is shocking.

[mutatron]

I love the sounds in this scene. There's that big metal clip he has to pull off to get to the buttons to arm the explosive bolts, which comes off with a satisfying click. Then the buttons themselves, not one or two but three - all nice and metallic with some heavy duty springs behind them. Then there's the deep-voiced alarm that indicates the bolts are ready to be armed. You don't hear an alarm like that every day! And then the final one that says some serious stuff is about to happen!

[RustyCT1]

I love the sounds too. They ARE the scene.

Your descriptions are really good.

[hotelmario510]

@mutatron I would love to go into that tiny set and press all the buttons...

[MitchMaker]

@mutatron know what you mean dude and its true

[Behrzad]

@mutatron

YES I have also always taken a notice of how the use of sounds is so well done in this scene. The whole movie has an excellent soundtrack (not just the music, but the sounds and dialogue as well)

[ph33rbenkthankslol]

@mutatron agree, the sounds are good, or lack thereof (since their in space)

[MitchMaker]

great scene from a great movie but normaly dave should have explode because of the vacuum

[S8M3G]

Check the facts, he wouldn't have. People have been known to survive in outer space for roughly 30 seconds without any permanent damage. Though very dangerous, possible.

[MitchMaker]

really ? hmm thats really interesting

[S8M3G]

yeah look it up online, it's pretty crazy.

[MitchMaker]

thx for information dude

[stev1212]

Yea as long as you make sure you blow all the air out of your lungs before you go into a vacume you can survive for a surprising amount of time

[S8M3G]

well as long as you can survive with the amount of oxygen in your blood stream.

[lewiszim]

I'm guessing a little less because it is also very cold in space.

[firebert123]

it would take longer for the heat to transfer from you to empty space than for you to die. it's not like in an atmosphere where heat can transfer to the gases around you.

[eXcommunicate1979]

Space itself is a vacuum, which is a good insulator.

[eXcommunicate1979]

If by a surprising amount of time you mean less than a minute before unconsciousness and death a few minutes after that. ;) But true - your blood doesn't "boil" or any of that nonsense seen in "Mission to Mars" or other movies. :)

[V3N0M1300]

@eXcommunicate1979 so would you still explode from decompression?

[TK42138]

@V3N0M1300

You would get capillary ruptures similar to bad bruising but in essence human skin, ligaments, connective tissue etc is seriously tough. Certainly no 'Total Recall' type symptoms which is highly entertaining but not scientifically accurate.