Book Review: A.I. Artificial Intelligence: From Stanley Kubrick to Steven Spielberg: The Vision Behind the Film

I was a bit surprised when I saw this book, published eight years after A.I. Artificial Intelligence was released. Time seems to stretch out with everything with this movie.

This book looks in depth at the production and also analyses the whole film thoroughly. If you don't already know, the film is inspired by a short story called "Super-Toys Last All Summer Long" written by Brian Aldiss in 1969. In 1976, Stanley Kubrick approached Brian Aldiss, and later with Steven Spielberg in 1984. With authorization from Kubrick before he passed away in 1999, Spielberg manages to finish the film in 2001. What happens during within all those time is all in the book. It's incredibly well researched and put together.

Besides production, there's also an extensive analysis of the film, act by act, with interviews from staff. It explores the philosophy, science and social-biology issues with robotics in the future. There's even an essay written by the director from the Personal Robots Group from MIT Media Lab.

This is one huge book measuring almost 20 inches diagonal, if go you by tv/monitor sizes. The pages are so big that the short story from Brian Aldiss are scanned and reproduced with handwritten notes.

Also included are storyboards and concept sketches from Chris Baker, as well as many photos from the set. It's interesting to see how the concept art evolved into actual sets and the discarded ideas. I didn't know that Rouge City, the one with lots of bright lights, is actually a miniature set. And Teddy, the bear, has more articulation joints than T-Rex from Jurassic Park. There are also extracts from Kubrick’s notebooks but his handwriting is difficult to read.

This is a nice super-sized book looking at the art and making of the film. Recommended for fans of the movie.

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