In the 1968 movie "2001: A Space Odyssey", humanity finds a mysterious, obviously artificial object buried beneath the Lunar surface. With the HAL (Heuristically programmed ALgorithmic) computer, NASA astronauts and the artificial intelligence onboard 9000 computer set off on the spaceship Discovery 1 on a Lunar quest.

In 1992, HAL said he became operational in the HAL plant in Urbana, Illinois. His first instructor was Dr. Chandra. HAL had many functions. He had speech, speech recognition, facial recognition and could lip read, interpret feelings, express emotions, and maintain all the systems on Discovery. He was the key antagonist of the film.

This epic science fiction film was produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick. The screenplay was written by Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke, a futurist and inventor. The film follows a voyage to Jupiter with the sentient computer HAL after the discovery of a mysterious black monolith affecting human evolution. It deals with the themes of existentialism, human evolution, technology, artificial intelligence, and extraterrestrial life.

Initially in public forums, the movie received mixed reactions from critics and audiences. Later, it garnered a cult following and slowly became the highest grossing North American film of 1968. It was even nominated for four Academy Awards and received one for its visual effects.

Today, "2001: A Space Odyssey" is regarded by many film critics as one of the most influential sci fi films ever made.

More Info: 2001.wikia.com