Bicentennial Man (1999)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Chris Columbus

Writers (WGA):

Isaac Asimov (short story "The Bicentennial Man")
Isaac Asimov (novel) ...

Release Date:

17 December 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Sci-Fi | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

One robot's 200 year journey to become an ordinary man.

Plot:

An android endeavors to become human as he gradually acquires emotions.

Plot Keywords:

Android | Humanity | Robot | Reference To Methuselah | Robot As Pathos

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 6 nominations

Cast

Robin Williams	...	Andrew Martin
Embeth Davidtz	...	Little Miss Amanda Martin / Portia Charney
Sam Neill	...	'Sir' Richard Martin
Oliver Platt	...	Rupert Burns
Kiersten Warren	...	Galatea
Wendy Crewson	...	'Ma'am' Martin
Hallie Kate Eisenberg	...	Little Miss Amanda Martin - Age 7
Lindze Letherman	...	'Miss' Grace Martin - Age 9
Angela Landis	...	'Miss' Grace Martin
John Michael Higgins	...	Bill Feingold - Martin's Lawyer
Bradley Whitford	...	Lloyd Charney
Igor Hiller	...	Lloyd Charney - Age 10
Joe Bellan	...	Robot Delivery Man #1
Brett Wagner	...	Robot Delivery Man #2
Stephen Root	...	Dennis Mansky - Head of NorthAm Robotics

Also Known As:

Andrew Martin (USA) (working title)
Der 200 Jahre Mann (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated PG for language and some sexual content.

Runtime:

132 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Brazil:Livre | South Korea:All | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Chile:14 | France:U | Germany:o.Al. | Hong Kong:IIA | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:PG | Peru:14 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:Btl | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:PG | USA:PG (certificate #37072) | Philippines:G | Finland:S | Iceland:L

Filming Locations:

Alameda, California, USA

Company:

1492 Pictures

Trivia:

Andrew is a NDR-114. This may be a tribute to Stanley Kubrick, who used the number 114 in multiple films (such as A Clockwork Orange (1971) and Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)).

Goofs:

Continuity: Level of beer in glass when Rupert is telling Andrew about being able to taste.

Quotes:

Sir Martin: You're a unique robot, Andrew. I feel a responsibility to help you become - whatever you're able to be.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Troldspejlet: (#40.2)" (2008)

Soundtrack:

If I Only Had a Heart

Some Prose Is Poetry

For Ray Bradbury the masterwork of perfect poignance is Drink Entire: Against the Madness of Crowds. For Isaac Asimov it is Bicentennial Man. Only Asimov could remake Pinocchio as compelling science fiction. So many have tried to create a sweet and funny story of the machine that would be man, but this is it's perfect telling.

Only Robin Williams could play the unlikely hero of this story with perfect comedic timing and perfect emotional pitch. Embeth Davidtz as his leading lady matches his skills at every turn, and Sam Neill turns in one his best performances as the man who first recognized the irreplaceable uniqueness of his mistuned android.

Bicentennial Man is first rate science fiction – without physical conflict, without wars, without new ways to incinerate each other. In the end, it makes you glad to be a messy human. Watching this truly beautiful film is a wonderful way to spend an evening, and a guarantor of better dreams than you've had in many years.