Blu-ray Review HTF BLU-RAY REVIEW: A.I. Artificial Intelligence - Highly Recommended (1 Viewer)

[WinstonCely]

I think a lot of people hate AI just for the fact that Kubrick didn't direct it, and in general (NOT ALL) those who love Kubrick hate Spielberg (even if they wouldn't admit to that). There are a lot of faults with AI, but it's still highly enjoyable and certainly one of Spielberg's better films. Again, in general but not all the negative comments come from people who when they watch the film are only seeing Spielberg's overt sentimentality and refuse to believe that Kubrick would have put anything sentimental in it at all. Ha! Personally, I find the film incredibly bleak, and if it weren't for some of the "Spielberg sentimental" moments, I'd find the film too depressing to watch. I'm looking forward to getting this Blu as well. Thanks for the review!

 

[Bryan Tuck]

Ha! Personally, I find the film incredibly bleak, and if it weren't for some of the "Spielberg sentimental" moments, I'd find the film too depressing to watch. I'm looking forward to getting this Blu as well. Thanks for the review!

I've also always found the film to be fairly depressing, particularly the "happy" ending. And it should be noted that, according to several people associated with the production, Kubrick himself felt the material was better-suited to Spielberg and wanted him to direct it. Kubrick's version would have been fascinating, I'm sure, but I think Spielberg did a pretty terrific job, and I agree that it's one of his better films.

 

[DaveF]

Originally Posted by Neil Middlemiss /forum/thread/310329/htf-blu-ray-review-a-i-artificial-intelligence-highly-recommended#post_3831406



I've also always found the film to be fairly depressing, particularly the "happy" ending.

I'm not sure how you mean "happy"...I may interpret the ending different than most but I find it "happy" in (spoiler)

in that it's a bleak depiction of the terrible result of a childlike love taken to its fullest extent. A mother, constructed from whole-cloth, with no life but to serve and "love" her child for all eternity.

 

[Stephen_J_H]

I always appreciated this review of AI, which got me to watch the film in the first place: http://www.dvdtalk.com/dvdsavant/s427ai.html. Haven't got around to buying this, but probably will eventually.

 

[Paul_Warren]

UK release hits on Monday 18th July finally.....regarding the ending Spielberg is on video record as saying its Kubrick's original ending he chose to film!! So blame Stanley not Steven but I think the ending is perfect & its actually a very downbeat ending anyway......

 

[Neil Middlemiss]

Fans of John Williams' score for this film will be pleased to know that the distinguished La-La Land Records will be releasing a 3-disc expanded edition of the soundtrack in June.


The score is among Williams' finest accomplishments, and that's saying something given all of the extraordinary scores he has delivered. I'll be snapping a copy as soon as it goes live for sale!

 

[Neil Middlemiss]

LLL will be releasing at least 4 scores in June - with A.I. going on sale on June 16. I have the Millennium Vol. 1 from its original pressing, but will be picking up the rest of LLL's June slate!

 

[benbess]

Watched this movie for the first time in several years. As Neil M. writes in his excellent review:

"....Steven Spielberg’s skill behind the camera on this science-fiction spectacle is considerable. The future is at once spectacularly rendered – as in Rouge City – and modestly imagined, as in the home of Henry and Monica - and at each turn, the filmmaker’s craft is on display. The story of David and his journey to become real is never eagerly pursued with dressings of action and visual effects. It is tenderly entered into through the very human experience of loss and love. Spielberg captures the wonder of David – played with genuine restrain and skill by Haley Joel Osment, and explores the tragic turn of innocent playful discovery to the unnerving obliviousness of David to his ‘mother’ expertly....

Jude Law has an interesting turn as a Gigolo Mecha (a sex mecha) name Joe. He perfectly captured the programmed charm and suave but with the slight melancholy of his lot in life just beneath the surface. Jack Angle gives voice to Teddy, an oddly wise toy who’s day has apparently come and gone. The character of Teddy is a symbol of David for Teddy, once a Super Toy, is now old and outdated, and as a result, relegated to the discard pile. Angel imbues Teddy with a genuine richness of character...."

Even though I've seen it a few times before, the twists and turns of the story amazed me yet again. The production design, as with all Spielberg films, is impressive. It's a much better realization of a flooded city than Waterworld imho. Jude Law and Teddy are great: "I am. I was," and "We are in a cage." They are my two favorite characters. I somehow felt more this time what I think is a Freudian element that I found unsettling and creepy. According to box office mojo, AI had a c.$100 million dollar budget, and Spielberg as usual made good use of that with strong work for all of the elements of the film. Once you add to that production budget advertising, studio overhead, etc., it looks like AI more or less broke even....

A.I. Artificial Intelligence
Domestic Total Gross: $78,616,689
Distributor: Warner Bros. Release Date: June 29, 2001
Genre: Sci-Fi Runtime: 2 hrs. 25 min.
MPAA Rating: PG-13 Production Budget: $100 million
Domestic: $78,616,689 33.3%
+ Foreign: $157,309,863 66.7%
= Worldwide: $235,926,552

 

[bigshot]

You have the title wrong. It's "Steven Spielberg's Artificial Intelligence". That is my favorite movie title of all time.

 

[Tino]

You have the title wrong. It's "Steven Spielberg's Artificial Intelligence". That is my favorite movie title of all time.

That is NOT the title of the film.

It’s title is as noted above.

A.I. Artificial Intelligence.

None of Steven Spielberg’s films have his name as part of the title.

 

[B-ROLL]

You have the title wrong. It's "Steven Spielberg's Artificial Intelligence". That is my favorite movie title of all time.

UM notsomuch ...

It is "A Steven Spielberg Film" but not part of the title per se ...

I have to admit I really enjoyed this film ... up to about the last hour (on my DVD counter) which was (to me) just a bunch of SFX for the sake of SFX and didn't seem to move the plot along (I fast-forwarded through most of it) IMHO

 

[benbess]

Recent developments seem to make parts of this movie even more relevant. I continue to think that AI is one the best sci fi movies of all time.

In AI we see New York City a couple of hundred feet under water. Could this eventually happen? Yes. If all polar caps melt the sea level will eventually rise about 230 feet:

How would sea level change if all glaciers melted? | U.S. Geological Survey

There is still some uncertainty about the full volume of glaciers and ice caps on Earth, but if all of them were to melt, global sea level would rise approximately 70 meters (approximately 230 feet), flooding every coastal city on the planet. Learn more: USGS Water Science School: Glaciers and...

www.usgs.gov

Even in a worse-case scenario, however, this will probably take about a thousand years. Since most of the movie takes place in the year 2142, this seems to be before there will be a sea level rise of anything close to that. The high-end estimates are that the sea level will rise by about 18 feet or so by 2150. In the past, however, even some pessimistic predictions about sea level rise have underestimated the speed of ice melt due to global warming, perhaps meaning that sea levels could rise as much as 30-40 feet (the height of a 3-story building) by the year of the movie?

The Arctic Is Warming Four Times Faster Than the Rest of the Planet

One study after another is coming to the same conclusion: the Arctic is heating up much faster than earlier research suggested

www.scientificamerican.com

Speaking of androids, in perhaps five years or so Elon Musk says he's going to try and sell you a humanoid robot, which he calls "Optimus." He's said that in the long run he thinks that the business of selling various Optimus models will be even bigger than the business of selling electric cars.

Elon Musk’s New Humanoid Robot Might One Day Buy Your Groceries

For now, though, it simply walks, dances and waves

www.smithsonianmag.com

Part of the AI movie, of course, is about what might happen if androids have feelings for people, as well as for each other. This seems slightly less theoretical since this conversation with Microsoft's new AI chatbot Bing (AKA "Sydney") was published a few days ago. To be clear, these chatbots, of course, do not have consciousness, and they do not have feelings. But they mimic language patterns in ways that might possibly manipulate some people into thinking they have consciousness and feelings.

Bing’s A.I. Chat: ‘I Want to Be Alive. 😈’ (Published 2023)

In a two-hour conversation with our columnist, Microsoft’s new chatbot said it would like to be human, had a desire to be destructive and was in love with the person it was chatting with. Here’s the transcript.

www.nytimes.com

P.S. Here's an image from AI. The real Statue of Liberty is 305 feet tall. I like the image, but I don't think this metal statue would survive for long being even halfway underwater. I think it would topple and rust away long before this.

 

[benbess]

@Adam Lenhardt : By any chance do you have any thoughts on this film?

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

@Adam Lenhardt : By any chance do you have any thoughts on this film?

I do! Though they haven't been available online anywhere for quite a few years. I'm just beginning to start the process of collecting all of my old writings in one place, and you've inspired to get this one back up:
Film Review: A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)