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Bicentennial Man
List Price: Unknown [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
"Bicentennial Man" is an interesting story that took the resources of two major studios to turn into an uninteresting film. It's sort of a scary equation; Robin Williams, after coming through films like "Patch Adams" teaming up with a director like Chris Columbus, who directed films like "Stepmom". It's just a sappy time bomb waiting to happen.
"In the not too distant future", we meet the Martin family. They need a worker around the house, so they hire the Robot Andrew(Robin Williams) to do chores, but of course...he ends up being part of the family, reporting to the father of the family (Sam Neill). Neill is pleased with Andrew's independence and eventually teaches him more human traits.
Years go by, and eventually, the family members begin to grow up and leave the house, leaving only Andrew and the parents of the family behind. This is where the robot realizes that "things change" and, of course, one of the many scenes where sappy music rises up to highlight one of the many emotional moments throughout. As members of the family pass on, he becomes more and more human, but that also causes more and more problems for Andrew that he has to cope with.
It's depressing watching this film because it passes by ideas in order to get a "feel-good" screenplay. There's never really any obstacles; things just happen, and the film is left with the effects of the action, uninteresting as they may be. Attempts at comedy really don't generate laughs. The other most depressing element of the film is Robin Williams, who really has begun to lose sight of what made his "Good Will Hunting" performance so remarkable. Here, his expressive face and smile are lost behind a robot mask for much of the movie, as well.
Don't even get me started on the length of the film. The first hour feels long enough to be a film of its own. Strangely, I didn't hate sitting through this movie. It just passes by, a snappy-looking but essentially empty couple of hours.
The DVD
VIDEO: When Disney actually puts in a good effort on a transfer, they can produce discs with impressive image quality, like "Cradle Will Rock" or "The Insider". They present "Bicentennial Man" in a 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer and for the most part, results are very pleasing. Images are consistently adequate in sharpness, and offering good detail. Colors are rich and warm, never showing any flaws such as bleeding. Flesh tones are pleasing and natural, and black level is good as well.
Flaws are noticable but not terribly distracting. A minor bit of shimmering appears now and again, and there are a handful of tiny marks on the print used. Other than that, this remains a solid image throughout. This could have been a bit stronger, but in general, it's good work from Disney.
.
SOUND: The audio for "Bicentennial Man" is really quite uninteresting. The majority of the film remains simply dialogue-driven. James Horner's musical score is the only element that begins to open up the audio, sounding rich and very well-recorded. There is occasional surround use, but it doesn't leave much of an impression. Dialogue remains strong, sounding clear and easily understood. There are some opportunities where this audio could maybe have been more creative.
MENUS:: No animation, but a slick looking main menu that is otherwise pleasing.
EXTRAS:: There are things that could have been so interesting to include on this DVD, such as comments from the team that had to make up the robot suit or the special effects. Wait, though - it's a Disney DVD. Which means we get a minimal offering of:
Trailer: The film's theatrical trailer.
Featurette: A short promotional featurette with interviews from the cast and crew, who chat about the story and their roles. Nothing out, or above the ordinary. It was neat though, to see a few shots of the production at work, whether filming or working on the suit effects.
Final Thoughts: I didn't really care for the movie, or find anything remarkable about the DVD. If you really found "Bicentennial Man" enjoyable, you'll enjoy this DVD. Otherwise, I'd recommend skipping it.
"Bicentennial Man" is an interesting story that took the resources of two major studios to turn into an uninteresting film. It's sort of a scary equation; Robin Williams, after coming through films like "Patch Adams" teaming up with a director like Chris Columbus, who directed films like "Stepmom". It's just a sappy time bomb waiting to happen.
"In the not too distant future", we meet the Martin family. They need a worker around the house, so they hire the Robot Andrew(Robin Williams) to do chores, but of course...he ends up being part of the family, reporting to the father of the family (Sam Neill). Neill is pleased with Andrew's independence and eventually teaches him more human traits.
Years go by, and eventually, the family members begin to grow up and leave the house, leaving only Andrew and the parents of the family behind. This is where the robot realizes that "things change" and, of course, one of the many scenes where sappy music rises up to highlight one of the many emotional moments throughout. As members of the family pass on, he becomes more and more human, but that also causes more and more problems for Andrew that he has to cope with.
It's depressing watching this film because it passes by ideas in order to get a "feel-good" screenplay. There's never really any obstacles; things just happen, and the film is left with the effects of the action, uninteresting as they may be. Attempts at comedy really don't generate laughs. The other most depressing element of the film is Robin Williams, who really has begun to lose sight of what made his "Good Will Hunting" performance so remarkable. Here, his expressive face and smile are lost behind a robot mask for much of the movie, as well.
Don't even get me started on the length of the film. The first hour feels long enough to be a film of its own. Strangely, I didn't hate sitting through this movie. It just passes by, a snappy-looking but essentially empty couple of hours.
The DVD
VIDEO: When Disney actually puts in a good effort on a transfer, they can produce discs with impressive image quality, like "Cradle Will Rock" or "The Insider". They present "Bicentennial Man" in a 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer and for the most part, results are very pleasing. Images are consistently adequate in sharpness, and offering good detail. Colors are rich and warm, never showing any flaws such as bleeding. Flesh tones are pleasing and natural, and black level is good as well.
Flaws are noticable but not terribly distracting. A minor bit of shimmering appears now and again, and there are a handful of tiny marks on the print used. Other than that, this remains a solid image throughout. This could have been a bit stronger, but in general, it's good work from Disney.
.
SOUND: The audio for "Bicentennial Man" is really quite uninteresting. The majority of the film remains simply dialogue-driven. James Horner's musical score is the only element that begins to open up the audio, sounding rich and very well-recorded. There is occasional surround use, but it doesn't leave much of an impression. Dialogue remains strong, sounding clear and easily understood. There are some opportunities where this audio could maybe have been more creative.
MENUS:: No animation, but a slick looking main menu that is otherwise pleasing.
EXTRAS:: There are things that could have been so interesting to include on this DVD, such as comments from the team that had to make up the robot suit or the special effects. Wait, though - it's a Disney DVD. Which means we get a minimal offering of:
Trailer: The film's theatrical trailer.
Featurette: A short promotional featurette with interviews from the cast and crew, who chat about the story and their roles. Nothing out, or above the ordinary. It was neat though, to see a few shots of the production at work, whether filming or working on the suit effects.
Final Thoughts: I didn't really care for the movie, or find anything remarkable about the DVD. If you really found "Bicentennial Man" enjoyable, you'll enjoy this DVD. Otherwise, I'd recommend skipping it.
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