Kubrick was American, but the film was made at Shepperton in England.

I agree with Jason that the middle segment of the film is deliberately banal. To me, it is a reprise of the prehumans gathering around the monolith, examining something they cannot possibly understand. The great joke was having everyone gather in front of it to have their picture taken.

And, yes, it helps to see (as I've said elsewhere) it in Cinerama. Watching it on a television screen really doesn't help.

I always felt the film had to be judged as completely separate from the novelization, since Kubrick and Clarke had, um, differing views of the human species. Consider 'Paths of Glory', 'The Shining' or 'A Clockwork Orange'. When the Star Child appears in the final scene and looks out at the audience, for all I know it is thinking, "You're next."

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