A.i. Artificial Intelligence: From Stanley Kubrick to Steven Spielberg: the Vision Behind the Film

by Cynthia L. Breazeal (Editor), Jan Harlan (Editor), Jane M. Struthers (Editor)

Reveals how the project originated and how it was brought to fruition through the efforts of two great movie directors. Film is the medium of the modern age, and in this spectacular, large-format publication, one of the pinnacles of contemporary moviemaking is celebrated. A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) was a collaboration between two cinematic Stanley Kubrick and Steven Spielberg. Here, the directors’ combined visions and sensibilities are presented along with the work of their remarkably talented colleagues―above all, Chris Baker, the film’s conceptual artist.

At the heart of the book are Baker’s drawings, many never before seen. Commissioned by Kubrick and used in Spielberg’s eventual production designs, the drawings display Baker’s imagination and rare technical skill. Accompanying the drawings are extracts from Kubrick’s notebooks, stills from the finished film, and photographs of behind-the-scenes action, highlighting the use of pioneering special effects, animatronic work, and the “virtual studio.” 300 color, 100 b&w illustrations

Genres: Film

159 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2009

Reviews

[Edward ott · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you liked AI , Stanley Kubrick, Steven Spielberg or robots you will love this book

[Parka · Rating 5 out of 5]

(More pictures at parkablogs.com)

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.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful book. Gave me a much greater appreciation for the movie that previously I would have given only an "OK" to. Went back to rent the DVD and really enjoyed the movie much more. The character of Teddy and Gigolo Joe became much more interesting and critical to the whole story. As an aside, now that I looked at the movie much closer it was quite amusing to hear Teddy growling several times when he is annoyed. Indeed in many ways Teddy and Gigolo Joe, while essentially slaves, are better human beings than the new “David” and his need to be loved by his mother. As would be expected of a story Kubrick toyed with for decades and Spielberg admirably tried to execute this movie tries to tackle a lot of the most fundamental questions of what it means to be human. The art work in the book is wonderful and also makes clearer that the original vision is quite dark and was slightly changed (to avoid getting an R- rating) and that even the seemingly ending happily is not as actually as happy as it appears. The stories fundamental vision suggests humans and our own need for love and happiness have a very dark side.

[Skyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful coffee table book with exquisite artwork from the preproduction phase of the film Artificial Intelligence (A.I.). I really loved how the book showed the joint vision between Spielberg and Kubrick and the coming together of the two. I wish it would've provided a bit more production information regarding the filming of A.I., as I feel this is the only thing the book was really lacking. This would make a great companion coffee table book to go along side The Stanley Kubrick Archives published by Taschen Books.

[Filippo Ulivieri · Rating 4 out of 5]

A splendid book with extremely insightful essays by Jane M Struthers. Chris Baker's drawings are magnificent and the contributions by Brian Aldiss, Ian Watson and Sara Maitland help to understand the process of creating this complex film. Several pages of notes penned by Kubrick are a fantastic plus.

[Pepe Córdoba escamilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Libro de gran formato, imprescindible para los seguidores de la película.