Directed by: Peter Hyams
Starring: Helen Mirren, John Lithgow, Roy Scheider, Bob Balaban
Revealing mistake: When the Russian pod is launched, a wide shot shows the Monolith at top/right with Jupiter in the background and both the Leonov and Discovery at bottom/right with the pod nearby. Just before this shot ends, all three spacecraft vanish, leaving only Jupiter and the Monolith for a very short but obvious moment. (01:04:35)
Factual error: While the Leonov has a centrifugal section to simulate gravity, the ship's bridge is not part of it (evidenced by the stationary views outside its portholes). Yet in various scenes, including the one when Floyd rushes in to discuss his plan to return to Earth sooner with Tanya, gravity seems quite evident. Floyd marches across the compartment onto the raised pilot area's floor, then steps down from it, his foot landing audibly. Tanya's open jacket also hangs down normally as she moves about. Yet when Floyd demonstrates his plan using two pens, they float in mid air. (01:26:50)
HAL-9000: What is going to happen?
Dave: Something wonderful.
HAL-9000: I'm afraid.
Dave: Don't be. We'll be together.
HAL-9000: Where will we be?
Dave: Where I am now.
Trivia: While it's well-known the voice of HAL in "2001: A Space Odyssey" is Canadian actor Douglas Rain, who returned to reprise his role in this film, it's less known that the voice of SAL is credited to "Olga Mallsnerd" which is a false name used by none other than Candice Bergen. (00:14:05)
Question: One thing that always confused me is why was it necessary to jettison Discovery after it was used as a booster rocket? Why couldn't they just keep it attached to the Leonov as they made their escape?
Answer: They needed to lighten their load, to make it go faster. In Back to the Future Part III, after hijacking the train, the Doc and Marty unhooked the passenger cars to lighten the load.
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Answer: If they didn't, any further manoeuvring would require much more fuel. They would be moving the mass of two ships.