Nosediving at the box office after a mixed critical reaction, A.I. Artificial Intelligence appeared at first to be a failed experiment. The film -- divided into three acts, with each act itself bisected into two distinct parts with contrasting emotions -- seems to promise an epic story with a stunning finale. But then unexpectedly the film continues on to another ending. And another. And another. Much has been written about where the true "Kubrick ending" lies, and whether ensuing scenes -- which seem to undermine all that has been achieved to that point -- were originally intended by Kubrick or concocted by Spielberg. It is seldom acknowledged in these discussions, however, that similarly infuriating final acts or scenes appear in nearly all of Kubrick’s films from 2001 onward -- and yet, years later, the scene's true meaning has become so crucial to the film that it is impossible to imagine the film without it. And therein, perhaps, lies Spielberg's real Kubrickean achievement in A.I.

The script was written by Spielberg based (we are told) on a years-long collaboration with the late Kubrick, for whom Ian Watson crafted a screenplay rooted in the 1969 Brian Aldiss short story "Supertoys Last All Summer Long."

The first act of the film is heavily influenced by Pinocchio, as little David -- the mechanical simulacrum who yearns to be a real boy -- is brought into a family as an emotional replacement (or pet) for their own son who lies in a coma. The Jiminy Cricket companion/conscience is represented by the teddy bear Teddy, a "supertoy" previously owned by the couple's son. When the son comes out of his coma and returns home, David's place in his "mother's" heart is lost (it is no coincidence that one of the first scenes of David is through the heart-shaped hole of a woman-shaped gold ornament), and he comes to believe that the way to make her love him again is to become a real boy -- and for that, he must find the "Blue Fairy."

The second act is an amalgam of Grimm's tales (the abandoned child, the dark forest, the motorcycle wolves) and The Wizard Of Oz (note that the characters travel to "Rouge City" -- the contrasting color to the "Emerald City" -- in search of a wizard who might be able to help).

Lesser movies have used the "quest" as the basis for their entire plot, but in this complicated film it serves only as one part in a knitted narrative that becomes increasingly expansive (and daring) as it progresses. The third act -- well, the less said about it the better. It is this act that became the focus of critics' ire, as it seems to unintentially explain too much, and then go on to destroy much of the vision that came before (not unlike Sydney Pollack's final scene in Eyes Wide Shut). Another common complaint is that it seems to append an inappropriately "happy ending" to the story -- but that may be a mistaken impression, as there is a discomfort (and perhaps horror) that remains long after the finale.

The result of all this is a fairy tale whose images are perhaps more terrifying to adults than to children; but we should caution parents that the film is by no means aimed at children, and that is due more to the ideas presented than because of the more typical reasons of language, sex, or violence.

Stylistically the film is pure Spielberg, with little in evidence of Kubrick's symmetric compositions or his habit of editing dialog scenes so that the viewpoint switches only when a character has finished talking, although Spielberg somehow retains the distance that such editing produces. Yes, there are images that are clearly Kubrick's (most of his films are represented in homage by at least one scene in A.I.; for instance, there is a shot of Osment's character at the dinner table which is shot from above, through a ringlike ceiling lamp, in a scene that exactly mimics the shot of the peace table in Dr. Strangelove), but it is mostly in the ideas where Kubrick's ghost is most clearly felt. The concept of multiple layers of meaning has been sorely missing from Spielberg's previous repertoire, and it may well be their presence here which gives the film an un-Spielberg feeling despite the childhood sensibility, the cinematography, and the John Williams score.

Although there is some truth to the critical belief that Kubrick's career had been one that declined from daring precision to hollow perfectionism, one wonders what form this film would have taken had Kubrick lived to see it through himself. It will remain unanswered, however, like so many of the questions brought up in A.I.

Film Synopsis: Sometime in the future of the 21st century, mankind depends upon robots with artificial intelligence for a variety of everyday functions in order to maintain a comfortable way of life. One of these boy robots (Haley Joel Osment) undertakes an emotional journey toward becoming something more than a machine.

Technical

Video:	Widescreen 1.85:1 (Anamorphic)
Audio:	ENGLISH: Dolby Digital 5.1 [CC] ENGLISH: Dolby Digital Surround [CC] ENGLISH: DTS 5.1 [CC] FRENCH: Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles:	French, Spanish, Closed Captions
Chapters:	32

The widescreen edition of the film (a fullscreen version is also available) is presented in a 1.81:1 aspect ratio, with anamorphic enhancement for 16:9 TVs. The transfer is extraordinarily clean and detailed, and in many scenes comes close to appearing in HD. Colors are accurately reproduced, from the somewhat muted and naturalistic tones in the first and third acts to the garish neons of the second act. For those who worry about such things, yes, the World Trade Center does appear.

The audio is similarly well-presented. Like the video, the soundscape is more subdued in the first act; but with the second act, the subwoofer and rear channels kick in for a demo-quality performance. The third act -- in true third-act manner -- combines the quieter presentation of the first act with the dimensionality of the second. Throughout the film, the John Williams score -- an unusual score for him, incidentally -- never drowns out the dialog or audio detail.

Supplements

• Acting A.I.
• A Portrait of David (9:04)
• A Portrait of Gigolo Joe (5:57)
• Designing A.I.
• A.I.: From Drawings to Sets (7:24)
• Dressing A.I. (5:26)
• Lighting A.I. (4:21)
• Special Effects (7:43)
• Robots of A.I. (13:40)
• Special Visual Effects and Animation: ILM
• An Overview (5:09)
• The Robots (3:22)
• The Miniatures (4:15)
• The New York City Sequence: Shot Progression (2:49)
• Animating A.I. (8:03)
• The Sound and Music of A.I.
• Sound Design (6:44)
• The Music (5:47)
• Closing: Steven Spielberg: Our Responsibility to Artificial Intelligence (2:24)
• A.I. Archives
• Trailers
• Theatrical Trailer 1 (1:46)
• Theatrical Trailer 2 (2:15)
• Storyboards
• Joe's Goodbye
• David's Leap
• David and the Blue Fairy
• Chris Baker's Portfolio
• Teddy
• Cryogenic
• Flesh Fair
• Rouge City and Dr. Know
• Theme Park Village
• Excavation and Robots
• David Sees His Mom Again
• Production Design Portfolio
• The Swinton's Home
• Cryogenic
• Flesh Fair
• Rouge City
• The Amphibicopter
• Cybertronic
• Theme Park Village
• Ships of the Future
• Excavation and Robots
• ILM Portfolio
• Robots
• Rouge City
• New York
• Theme Park Village Drawings
• Underwater Sequence
• Excavation
• Portrait Gallery Photographs by David James
• Steven Spielberg Behind the Scenes: Photographs by David James
• Cast
• Haley Joel Osment
• Jude Law
• Frances O'Connor
• Sam Robards
• Filmmakers
• Steven Spielberg - Director/Writer/Producer
• Kathleen Kennedy - Producer
• Bonnie Curtis - Producer
• Walter F. Parkes - Executive Producer
• Jan Harlan - Executive Producer
• Michael Kahn - Editor
• Janusz Kiminski - Cinematographer
• John Williams - Composer
• Rick Carter - Production Designer
• Bob Ringwood - Costume Designer
• Stan Winston - Special Robotic Effects
• Michael Lantieri - Special Effects Supervisor
• Production Notes