Director Steven Spielberg's A.I.: Artificial Intelligence was not only a box-office disappointment, it also did something that his previous films have rarely or never done -- it alienated the audience and divided the critics. Perhaps with the release of the film onto DVD, Spielberg's misunderstood science fiction fairy tale will find a more receptive audience. Dreamworks Home Entertainment has released the film as a two-disc special edition, in either its preferred letterboxed version (1.85:1 enhanced) or in a pan-and-scan format. The image on the letterboxed version is excellent throughout. The soft smoky interiors of the first part of the film have a nice auburn glow to them, which nicely contrasts the sultry colors that take over for the second part. There is no evidence of color bleeding or flaring up and the image is consistently balanced. Many scenes, which are filmed purposefully dark, still manage to keep a richness and depth that is difficult to replicate outside of a movie theater. The disc also comes equipped with various soundtrack options, including an English language 5.1 track, 2.0 Dolby Surround, and a 5.1 DTS option. The first two tracks are vigorous and active, though always keeping the dialogue clear. The first disc contains the film itself and a short ten-minute documentary on the making and origins of the film. But it's with the second disc that one finds a plethora of supplemental material. The disc contains numerous mini-documentaries on all stages of A.I.'s production, from its initial planning stage with Stanley Kubrick to its final release. There are some nice interviews with actors Jude Law, Haley Joel Osment, and others. Also of interest are the interviews with the storyboard artists, production designers, and the many special effects technicians from Stan Winston's factory of wonders and Lucasfilm's ILM studio. The disc also contains a couple of theatrical trailers, a multitude of storyboard sketches, production photographs, some interesting interviews with sound designer Gary Rydstrom and composer John Williams, and much more.

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One thing that can be said about Warner Bros.' DVD library is that it's consistent; their discs rarely contain more than filmographies and a theatrical trailer or two. Fortunately, there are exceptions to that rule, and apparently someone within the studio saw fit to make John Boorman's epic retelling of the Arthurian legend one of those exceptions. The major addition here comes in the form of a commentary track by director Boorman, whose monologue is refreshingly insightful at a time when many commentaries are used up with friendly yet ultimately meaningless banter. Also featured are, as usual, the theatrical trailer, scene selections, and a cast and crew section that curiously contains only information on Boorman himself. Fans of the film who have until now only seen it on VHS will be amazed at the clarity of the audio mix. The soundtrack has been remixed into a digital 5.1 presentation that makes the best of its limited source material and manages to separate nicely. There is a prominent bass track which was certainly not present in previous incarnations of the film and which adds a great deal of weight and authenticity to the many elaborate battle scenes. The film has never looked so good; almost every instance of film grain has been removed and the colors, particularly the flesh tones, are well balanced. The picture is presented in a non-anamorphic letterboxed format at 1.85:1. Overall, Boorman's insightful commentary alone, not to mention the outstanding audio and video quality, makes this disc well worth owning.