ROBIN WILLIAMS SAM NEILL OLIVER PLATT
and ANGELA LANDIS
star in
A film by Chris Columbus
BICENTENNIAL MAN
From the Director of "Mrs. Doubtfire"
VHS - PAL - LIKE NEW - Played by staff only - Video Dealer Preview - PG-rated - Time Coded on Screen - 126-minutes - Colour - 1999-release - Small box
** NOTE: The dealer preview tape has a cropped back corner of sleeve - bottom, left hand corner - as shown - done by Columbia TriStar to protect Dealer Preview tape - no impact on VHS play **
This film follows the 'life' and times of the lead character, an android who is purchased as a household robot programmed to perform menial tasks.
Within a few days the Martin family realizes that they don't have an ordinary droid as Andrew begins to experience emotions and creative thought.
In a story that spans two centuries, Andrew learns the intricacies of humanity while trying to stop those who created him from destroying him.
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.