2001: A Space Odyssey Book vs. Movie

So my girlfriend hasn't seen The Godfather and I poke fun at her a lot for it. Ya know, feigning immense disbelief and incredulity that she hasn't seen such a classic film.

I in turn though haven't seen the movie 2001 and said film is not only a classic, but a fundamental part of her childhood.

More recently though she read the book by Mr. Clarke and went on at length about how, even though the movie was still good, the book was so much better on account of it dealing with HAL better and giving him more depth. I recall reading similar views back when i first started posting on some sci-fi boards. I remember it distinctly because 2001 is one of those things you hear so much praise for that when someone says it's not that great, you stop and go "huh?"and that is true for even people who haven't seen it.

Well I decided to finally read the book so I can talk to her about it. And whilst I embark on this endeavor, I hoped to get your guys thoughts as well.

Which do you prefer and why?

Never read the book, but it wouldn't surprise me that it would flesh things out a bit more. The book was written at the same time the movie was being made, and published a little after it's release, and the movie definitely had a very "show don't tell," way of telling the story. There's very little dialogue through out so there's not much explaining the background of a lot of things. But I also think it wasn't really something that the film needed to be honest.

Ah, I need to read the book! I cannot comment on it or compare the two, to my dismay.

The film is... something else. I like it quite a bit, and I think that HAL is one of the best sci-fi villains of all time. It's been some time since I watched it, but I'd like to see it again because I think that as with many Kubick films, the more you watch them, the more little Kubrick-esque details you notice sprinkled throughout them.

I think that it is considered a science fiction classic because of how far ahead of its time the film was, and I think that it rightfully belongs in many of the Top [Whatever Number] Films lists.