Bicentennial Man (1999)
Director: Chris Columbus
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
Williams dons a robot suit for this sentimental sci-fi family epic based on the writings of Isaac Asimov. It's 2005, and 'Sir' (Neill) has just taken delivery of Andrew, a chromium butler-cum-nanny, with ideas above his station. When Andrew displays simple human emotions, Sir teaches him all about the human condition, thus setting off a chain of events spanning 200 years: Andrew goes on a pilgrimage, only to return decades later to find that his former charge Little Miss (Davidtz) is now an ancient and grandmother of Portia (Davidtz again). Love, it appears, is in the air, encouraging Andrew to change from automaton to a human. Cue a fully fleshed Williams and sermonising about anthropomorphism, immortality, euthanasia, etc.Author: DA
Cast & crew
Director: Chris Columbus
Producer: Wolfgang Petersen, Gail Katz, Neal Miller, Laurence Mark, Chris Columbus, Mark Radcliffe, Michael Barnathan
Cast: Robin Williams, Sam Neill, Embeth Davidtz, Oliver Platt, Wendy Crewson, Hallie Kate Eisenberg, Stephen Root, Lynne Thigpen full cast
Genre(s): Science Fiction
Duration: 131 mins
Most popular on this site
Features
To the letter
Forty years later, Costa-Gavras's Z still brims with fury.
Mind over matter
David Cronenberg reflects on a most bizarre body: his own corpus of work.
Fool's gold
Can an Oscar win lead to a cursed career? Here are five stories of postaward professional meltdowns.
We are the championed
Terrorists and teens abound in this year's "Film Comment Selects."
A history of violence
Matteo Garrone's kaleidoscopic Gomorrah wallops you with Italy's crime crisis.
True romantic
James Gray exchanges urban amorality for amour in Two Lovers.
Playing in the dark
MoMA salutes pianist Stuart Oderman's 50 years as the one-man sound of silents.
Junk bonds
Cast and crew recall the making of the classic NYC drug drama The Panic in Needle Park.



What do you think?
Post your review now