Lijiang Prefecture

Yunnan Province

China

June 5, 2014

Hello,

Does anyone remember the insufferable strains of The Blue Danube Waltz from a movie released in 1969?

In his epic movie 2001: A Space Odyssey, the director Stanley Kubrickused that Johann Strauss tune as a backdrop to the flight of the space ship Discovery as it hurtled towards Jupiter.

That shot of the Discovery out in dark space lingered on the screen for what seemed like an endless light year.  Why use such a technique?  Would it alienate the moviegoer?  Didn’t we all squirm in our seats and feel impatient and uncomfortable?