MovieChat Forums > 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) Discussion > Why do the ships fly so slowly?

Why do the ships fly so slowly?

posted 5 years ago by mmmnoodlesoup (54)
47 replies | jump to latest

Why do the ships fly so slowly? Is this a plot hole? Or is there a reason for them to be moving so glacially?

I would have thought that if they'd been planning on going to Jupiter, they'd have to travel a bit faster relative to the stationary camera to get there within a reasonable time frame.

EDIT: Through some great points raised by others, I have reached the following assumptions:
- It cannot a plot hole because the speed of the spaceship does not relate to the plot
- The most likely explanation for the low speed of the spaceship relative to the camera is that the camera is also moving, just slightly slower than the ship. So essentially, the ship is overtaking the camera.
Let me know if you have any other interpretations!

[–] Sabrina (52) 5 years ago

Sometimes when you see an airplane, and it looks like it's flying slowly even not moving. It's about many factors, but the truth is the plane is travelling much faster. It's all about reference and distance

[–] pazuzu9 (400) 5 years ago

I was just watching this again and got the feeling that the camera was moving with the Discovery, but just slightly slower.

In any case, it looks much nicer than having the ship whoosh by the camera. Like at the start of Star Trek TOS, you see the Enterprise speeding by during the credits...

[–] liscarkat (18919) 5 years ago

If the camera filming the spacecraft was stationary, the spacecraft would flash past so fast it would be difficult to even get a glimpse of it. But the camera is travelling along at or near the speed of the spacecraft, so the speed of the spacecraft relative to the camera is slow. It's the same thing we see in real life when we watch video of actual spacecraft in orbit. They're moving at many thousands of miles per hour, yet they appear to be slowly floating along.

[–] [deleted] 3 years ago

This movie, ironically, was not made for a 21st century audience. That may be its only flaw.

[–] Owlwise (1536) 3 years ago

I'm afraid you're right. Audiences back then were assumed to be reasonably intelligent people with actual attention spans & didn't need to be spoon-fed.