Originally Posted by Chula Vista

Kubrick was the first one to show space travel as it really is. The reality of the shuttle docking with the space station is that it would be an extremely slow and delicate process set in the absolute vacuum silence of space.

Him adding the Blue Danube to augment it was brilliant.

I saw 2001 on the large screen about a year ago with a packed house of all ages. During that scene you could hear a pin drop in the theater. It was equal parts beautiful and mesmerizing.