Hal 9000

If Stanley Kubrick were still alive, he would have turned 83 on July 26. His 2001 A Space Odyssey is the most famous SF film in the history of cinema. You've certainly watched it, but you surely don't know why the unforgettable HAL 9000 on-board computer sings the Daisy Bell song in the Kubrick movie?

A Space Odyssey 2001 - a visionary masterpiece by Stanley Kubrick from 1968, in which the astronaut, Dave Bowman, while traveling to Jupiter, after the on-board computer crashes, is forced to turn it off (kill it properly) forever. When Bowman disconnects HALA 9000 - the famous red eye - in the last moments of his existence, he begins to sing a characteristic song ...

HAL 9000 sings about Daisy Bell - where does this song come from?

This song that HAL 9000 sings is Daisy Bell , written in 1892. Its author is Harry Dacre. But how did Kubrick come up with the idea to use this piece in his movie?

HAL 9000 as IBM 7094

It turns out that in 1961 the IBM 7094 computer was created, which would be the first singing computer, and the sound it made was the Daisy Bell melody. It seems that this event was inspired by Kubrick, putting words from Daisy Bell into the mouth of the on-board computer in the 2001 Space Odyssey.

HAL or IBM

And it is all the more certain that the name of the on-board computer from the 2001 Space Odyssey (HAL) was derived from the name of the IBM company. In the alphabet, the letters H, A, L are the letters preceding the letters I, B, M. This is not a coincidence, but a pattern confirming the origin of the idea from Daisy Bell.

Commentary - HAL 9000 - a computer that died like a human ...

The idea of ​​introducing Daisy Bell was brilliant. The sequence where Bowman disconnects HAL is one of the saddest scenes in the history of cinema. Despite the fact that we are on the side of man, we really feel sorry for this machine. The HAL 9000 is the real spirit in the machine . The sadly hummed song makes us see the almost human death of the machine on the screen. One of the saddest dying scenes in the history of cinema gained its power thanks to the skillful use of the melody and lyrics of the Daisy Bell song ... By the way, all Kubrick fans should be reminded that the Clockwork Orange recently turned 40 - on this occasion, Kubrick's jubilee Blu-ray movie set has appeared on the market.

Arthur C. Clarke. A Space Odyssey 2001 - review

When the Rebis Publishing House was starting its Time Machine series , the sensational story of Arthur C. Clarke , The End of Childhood , in which the author shows the contact of humanity with an alien civilization, was the first thing. However, we had to wait a long time to get Clarke 's most recognizable novel - 2001's A Space Odyssey - in this series . The popularity of this story is due primarily to Kubrick's cult film of the same title. The plot of both of these stories is almost identical. It begins in the savannahs of Africa at the dawn of mankind. A mysterious monolith appears there, which significantly influences the development of contemporary creatures. In the twentieth century, a similar monolith is discovered on the moon. It emits a signal into space. The fate of the mysterious signal is decided by the crew of the Discovery spacecraft. They are moving towards the rings of Saturn. However, the crew is not fully aware of the specific purpose of the mission. Only the intelligent on-board computer, the HAL 9000, has all the data. The problem begins when it comes to the conclusion that the crew may interfere with the achievement of the main goal of the mission. A Space Odyssey 2001 is an epic tale of humanity's eternal thirst. It is divided into several parts. The beginning is a description of aliens' elevation of ape-men to the rank of primates. Then we jump to 2001 and the discovery of an enigmatic artifact on the moon and a journey towards the unknown. The most interesting, however, is the story of Bowman's fight with the murderous computer. And, of course, the finale, i.e. Bowman's journey through the mysterious gate and meeting with intelligent beings. It's safe to say that Clarke 's work is a science fiction classic. It is of course debatable to what extent Kubrick's film contributed to the book's success. However, this does not change the fact that the story is a masterpiece in itself. You can pick on form or style. However, it cannot be denied the momentum and phenomenon that everyone should face.