[Richard W. Haines]

There's no question the set design and imagery is impressive but they are on all Kubrick films.
I read the book as a teen and it was later required reading in high school. The only novel that had a glossary for the slang at the end. I had purchased
a tie book on the movie which contained stills from it and the screenplay but I was too
young to see it on it's original release (X rated, later R). I caught up with it in revival cinemas in the seventies while I was at NYU film school. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. The combination of classical music was great as it was in "2001", the cinematography was excellent and Malcolm McDowall was well cast. The bizarre clothing and hairstyles anticipated the punk rock movement
of the eighties. But am I the only person who thinks the other performances are way over the top hammy if not bad? The opposite of the deadpan, stiff acting in "Space Odyssey" (but which
worked within the context of the narrative). I don't think the overacting worked in this
film.