A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)

A highly advanced robotic boy longs to become "real" so that he can regain the love of his human mother.

Director:

Steven Spielberg

Writers:

Brian Aldiss (short story "Supertoys Last All Summer Long"), Ian Watson (screen story)

Stars:

Haley Joel Osment, Jude Law, Frances O'Connor

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 17 wins & 68 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Haley Joel Osment	...	David
Frances O'Connor	...	Monica Swinton
Sam Robards	...	Henry Swinton
Jake Thomas	...	Martin Swinton
Jude Law	...	Gigolo Joe
William Hurt	...	Prof. Hobby
Ken Leung	...	Syatyoo-Sama
Clark Gregg	...	Supernerd
Kevin Sussman	...	Supernerd
Tom Gallop	...	Supernerd
Eugene Osment	...	Supernerd
April Grace	...	Female Colleague
Matt Winston	...	Executive
Sabrina Grdevich	...	Sheila
Theo Greenly	...	Todd

Storyline

In the not-so-far future the polar ice caps have melted and the resulting rise of the ocean waters has drowned all the coastal cities of the world. Withdrawn to the interior of the continents, the human race keeps advancing, reaching the point of creating realistic robots (called mechas) to serve them. One of the mecha-producing companies builds David, an artificial kid which is the first to have real feelings, especially a never-ending love for his "mother", Monica. Monica is the woman who adopted him as a substitute for her real son, who remains in cryo-stasis, stricken by an incurable disease. David is living happily with Monica and her husband, but when their real son returns home after a cure is discovered, his life changes dramatically.

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Plot Keywords:

boy | future | fairy | robot | fairy tale | 

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Taglines:

This summer, discover the next step in evolution.

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some sexual content and violent images

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 June 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

A.I.: Artificial Intelligence

Filming Locations:

Guerneville, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$100,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$29,352,630, 1 July 2001, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$78,616,689, 23 September 2001

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$235,927,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., DreamWorks, Amblin Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

146 min

Sound Mix:

DTS-ES Dolby Digital EX SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Real-life amputees played some of the robots with missing limbs.

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Goofs

The Statue of Liberty is seen submerged up to the bottom of her torch. She is made out of copper, and since this movie takes place many years in the future, copper would not last that long underwater.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: [narrating, with ocean waves crashing together] Those were the years after the ice caps had melted... because of the greenhouse gases, and the oceans had risen drown so many cities... along all the shorelines of the world. Amsterdam, Venice, New York - Forever lost. Millions of people were displaced. Climates became chaotic. Hundreds of millions of people starved in poorer countries. Elsewhere a high degree of prosperity survived... when most governments in the developed world... ...

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Crazy Credits

For Stanley Kubrick.

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Alternate Versions

For the U.S. theatrical release, the Warner Bros. logo appeared before the Dreamworks logo at the beginning of the film, and the poster credits said, "Warner Bros. and Dreamworks Pictures present." Since the U.S. version's home video/DVD rights are owned by Dreamworks, the Dreamworks logo at the beginning of the movie appears before the Warner Bros. logo, and the back of the box's cover art says, "Dreamworks Pictures and Warner Bros. present."

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Connections

Referenced in SpongeBob SquarePants: The Two Faces of Squidward/SpongeHenge (2007)

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Soundtracks

What About Us
Written by Al Jourgensen, Paul Barker, Max Brody and Ty Coon (as Deborah Coon)
Produced by Al Jourgensen and Paul Barker with Robert Ezrin (as Bob Ezrin)
Performed by Ministry

User Reviews

Spielberg's cinematic tribute to Kubrick

It is fitting that A.I., Steven Spielberg's monument on film to Stanley Kubrick, is a shoe-in for Best Picture in 2001. A.I. is cinematically beautiful, and tells a wrenching emotional story of a child's quest for maternal love.

In A.I., Spielberg masterfully adopts Kubrick's hard, bare-essentials style of direction, letting the photography tell the story, rather than the dialogue. This style allowed Kubrick to develop an enormous scope of ideas, stories and emotions in his movies. But it often left casual movie goers behind. He had difficulty finding the right treatment for A.I. so he handed the project to Spielberg before Kubrick's death last year.

Spielberg textures A.I. with obvious dollops of his own soft-as-whipped-cream touch. It is Spielberg's great skill that blends the two styles together with mesmerizing results. This blend allows the emotional story of a young robotic boy to come to life, and Kubrick fans will be able to enjoy one last film made by the master -- with the respectful help of another great artist.

The Kubrickian style demands the very best from actors, who must appear unapologetically real, and must, in long sequences with no dialogue, convey strong feelings and emotions. The A.I cast, especially lead actor Haley Joel Osment, meet every measure of the demands. Despite his youth, Osment will surely receive a nomination for Best Actor.

A.I. will rank high among the best movies ever made, but viewers should come prepared for an intense emotional and intellectual work-out. If you want to take in a quick flick to escape life for a couple of hours, this is not your movie. If you want to explore the cinematic depth of a master artist like Spielberg, A.I. will take you places you've never been before.