When will A.I. DVD be reviewed on this forum? (1 Viewer)

[Tim RH]

At the front page of the Forum - http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htforum/index.php - under Ron Epstein reviews, it says COMING SOON: "A.I.". Could we have a specific date please?
Thanks.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Tim,

I have no idea, specifically.

All the websites get their review copies

mailed out at the same time. I usually get

beaten by someone else by a day or two because

I am on the East Coast.

I would expect screeners to be mailed out about

3 weeks prior to street date.

 

[Steve O]

What gives with this title?! Right up until last Tuesday, I saw it listed as a 1/29/02 release date. Then I went to my local Best Buy and they said that it was postponed until 3/5/02. This DVD release has been delayed more times than any other movie I can remember!
Does anyone have any information regarding why A.I. keeps getting delayed endlessly? What's the holdup?
:frowning:

 

[Joshua Clinard]

A.I. delayed more than any other film you can remember? You must have a short memory if you've forgotten Back to the Future. Then there's grease. And I don't ever remember hearing that it was supposed to be released this month anyways.

 

[Steve O]

Of course, I've also been waiting for Grease, Back to the Future, and dozens of other eagerly awaited titles for a long time. However, those titles haven't really been delayed -- rather, the studios are just dragging their feet in getting them produced at all (for a variety of reasons, ... I've been following the aforementioned dramas for awhile now). To my knowledge, hard and fast release dates have never been announced for them.
A.I., on the other hand, has been different in the respect that they keep changing the release date right before it is supposed to be released. I've been getting all the way to the store before I find out it's been pulled from the schedule. Even my local Blockbuster had it listed for a Tuesday release on the preceding Saturday (i.e. on the big "Coming Soon" bulletin board). Usually, there is much more warning than that. I can't think of any other title that pulled itself off of the release schedule three times like that (just days prior to an announced date). This makes me believe that it has actually been ready for release for months, but some legal issue is holding it up. I heard that there is some scene related to the World Trade Center -- are they planning to cut some scene or something like that?
I've read about 200+ reviews on this film. Opinion is split right down the middle -- half say it is the best movie (or nearly so) that they ever saw, and the other half say it is the worst. That always intrigues me. I plan to buy it sight-unseen for that reason (sort of like a high-risk, high-reward scenario, ... I end up building a very diverse film collection by purchasing a couple of DVDs per year like that).
Please let me know if anyone has any information regarding why the release of A.I. keeps getting delayed at the last moment.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

It's been set for March 5th for most of the year So pretty much all month.

 

[Joshua Clinard]

That's what I thought, Adam. I don't know about Grease, but I am pretty sure that Back to the Future had specific release dates at one point, and then got pulled. It was one of the first catalogue released announced way back in 1998 when the format was pretty new. I believe it has been delayed at least twice. As far as A.I., March 5th was the only date I ever heard.

 

[Tino]

SteveO
There have been many false rumors about A.I's release date, but as far as I know, there has always been only ONE **Official** release date.
And, btw, it is the BEST film of 2001 in my opinion.

 

[Steve O]

I always put release dates into my PDA when they are announced, but I sometimes miss when the date is changed. I guess I must have missed this change (as did my local Blockbuster, since they had the same date as I did posted on their "Coming Soon" board). As I recall, A.I. was slated for 12/4/01 (I think, ... it was originally sometime in December), then 1/29/02, and now 3/5/02. Oh well, ... obviously, this one was my mistake. I'll be looking forward to seeing it in March.
Tino --
Without spoiling any of the plot for me, what aspects of A.I. did you feel made it the best film of the year, and why do you suppose there is such a divided opinion? This is always interesting to me -- every single one of my favorite movies have been trashed by someone (usually by Roger Ebert or some other internationally renowned critic). There are also films that other people love that I feel are terrible. Different films definitely affect different people in different ways!
I'd really appreciate your feedback on A.I. -- again, ... please be careful not to spoil any of the plot, though. Thanks in advance!

 

[Nelson Au]

Forgive the slightly off-topic comment. But the first Criterion Robocop laserdisc was delayed due to issues with Orion and changing executives responsible for the content releases and other such issues. It had been announced for release. So unlike BTTF and the other films with no release dates stated, I think the Robocop laserdisc might hold the title of the longest delayed release date.

Can anyone name others?

Nelson

 

[BarryR]

I'll put my two cents in re A.I., a film I think very highly of. I cannot fathom the hatred this film has engendered, since I think it's extremely thought provoking, with endlessly memorable imagery. The fact that it was a collaboration of sorts between Kubrick and Spielberg makes it incredibly interesting a production to begin with, since the film reflects both their sensibilities. Whatever your own take, I hope any new viewer will give the film points for being vastly different and ambitious from the usual multiplex muck.

 

[Tino]

SteveO
In short, without spoilers, I thought AI was one on the best sciece fiction films I have ever seen.
It was a wonderfully acted, directed deeply moving profound tale of life, love, sacrifice, death and redemption.
On the surface it appears to be about one thing, when in reality, it is about another.
IMO, it is a misunderstood masterpiece that some felt should have ended at a certain point which I think would have betrayed everything the film was about.
Thankfully, it doesn't end there and goes on to have one of the best endings
open to many different interpretations. Many will disagree and argue with me on that point, but that it was makes this film unique.
As it is, I think it is nearly perfect and definitely one of Steven Spielbergs best films. I thought about this film constantly for a long time after seeing it and it only got better and better the more I analyzed it. I can think of no higher compliment than it greatly entertains and deeply challenges the mind.
How's that?

 

[Rex Bachmann]

Hasn't a date for Legend been announced and cancelled several times? And what about (groan) The Omega Man?
SteveO wrote:

Opinion is split right down the middle -- half say it is the best movie (or nearly so) that they ever saw, and the other half say it is the worst.

Take it from me, it is NEITHER. It is an extremely technically well-done film. The visuals alone are often FANTASTIC, but some of the plot twists ...
Oh, and Haley Osmont's acting is DEAD-ON. The film would be dead in the water (pun intended!) without that. He DESERVES an Oscar nomination (which he'll probably not get, given the reaction by public and critics to the film).
You might want to check out the thread in the "Movies" section called something like "Movie endings you hated, and why. . ." where there's a---ahem---lively discussion of the film. We try to tag the "spoilers" pretty well, but you might be able to get some of the taste of the disagreement over the film without having it ruined for you.

 

[Steve O]

Tino and Rex (and BarryR too, to whom I am entirely grateful for his incredibly insightful and indispensible feedback :b ) --

Thanks for the feedback! I absolutely love science fiction films, so I'm definitely planning to pick this one up. Although I haven't seen it, the trailers made it seem like a thought-provoking movie -- a little off the beaten track for the genre. Many of the amateur reviews that I read (on Amazon.com) also said that parents will really identify with the emotions that it evokes (I have two young children myself).

Several of the people who didn't like it stated that it ran too long. However, I've seen many sci-fi flicks that are just the opposite. There's so much time required in a fantasy to set up the environment and story, the character development often gets short-changed. I'd prefer a film like this to run longer.

Looking forward to the DVD release. Thanks again!

 

[BarryR]

Hey, am I invisible?

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Yes.

 

[BarryR]

Thanks--now alot of things make more sense!:b

 

[Rex Bachmann]

This one's worth having for any science fiction fan, even if you don't like the plot, or the ending. (I didn't the latter. Too much Spielbergian syrup for me.)
The visuals---in particular, the satisfyingly realistic vistas of a ruined and flooded Manhattan---alone make it worth owning (although they really should be seen on a true big screen at least once---that's how good they are).
The acting is also very good, particularly by the boy actor.
Ebert's rule about a good movie never being too long and a bad one not being short enough applies. This one went along a little too long for me, but I respect every bit of it---even the parts I don't like---except for the sentimentality at the end.

 

[Kevin_Graham]

This article http://www.sci.fi/~phinnweb/links/ci...ubrick/AI.html from 9/5/99 sheds some light on what Kubrick had intended for A.I..

 

[Julian Lalor]

I think the delay in officially announcing this title arose from the vain hope that the film would garner Oscar attention. It probably will, but not in the categories which matter to DreamWorks. Hence, the decision now to release it pre-Oscars.

As for the long wait, well, The Others was released about 2 months later and that was only announced for a May release a week or so back (it's Oscar chances hanging solely on Kidman).