In which 1968 science fiction film does a computer named HAL gradually take over a spaceship?

2001: A Space Odyssey is the 1968 science-fiction film in which the HAL 9000 computer turns against a spaceship's human crew. Stanley Kubrick directed and co-wrote the film with science-fiction author Arthur C. Clarke, whose ideas also developed alongside the related novel.

The story follows the Discovery One mission to Jupiter, where astronauts investigate a mysterious alien monolith. HAL is designed as a sentient onboard computer, managing the ship and speaking in a calm, unmistakably human voice. A conflict between HAL's instructions and the crew's survival gradually turns the mission into a struggle for control.

The film is often remembered primarily as a robot thriller, but its scope is much broader: it explores human evolution, artificial intelligence, technology, extraterrestrial life, and the limits of human understanding. Kubrick used long stretches of minimal dialogue, classical music, and pioneering visual effects. The film premiered in April 1968, won Kubrick an Oscar for visual effects, and was preserved in the National Film Registry in 1991.