Steven Spielberg‘s filmography has inspired plenty of debate over the years, and Discourse Dayis no exception. Most viewers feel that Disclosure Day is a prime example of Spielberg at his best, particularly because its story about two strangers connected through encounters with an alien race touches on the themes of empathy that run throughout much of his work. Others feel that it’s a lesser version of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, or that it lacks the bite of his adaptation of War of the Worlds. Whatever your stance on Disclosure Day is, it’s sparked interest in Spielberg’s other science fiction movies, with the best one celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.
That movie is A.I.: Artificial Intelligence. Based on the short story “Supertoys Last All Summer Long” by Brian Aldiss, A.I. chronicles the life of David (Haley Joel Osment), a “mecha,” or mechanical being, designed to fulfill certain functions in human society. In David’s case, he is programmed to act as a surrogate son for the Swinton family as their son, Martin, is currently undergoing treatment for a rare disease he’s contracted. David bonds with the Swintons, but when Martin awakens, they abandon him, sending him on a quest to discover his origins. What follows is a compellingly crafted science-fiction fable about identity and family, with a classic Spielberg touch.
Steven Spielberg Made ‘A.I.: Artificial Intelligence’ To Honor Stanley Kubrick
Haley Joel Osment as David in ‘A.I. Artificial Intelligence’Image via Warner Bros.
Ironically, Steven Spielberg wasn’t originally meant to make A.I.: Artificial Intelligence. That honor went to Stanley Kubrick, who spent years developing the movie but ran into multiple issues. Chief among them was his feeling that visual effects hadn’t caught up to his vision, not to mention creative clashes with Aldiss over the direction the movie was taking. Eventually, Kubrick reached out to Spielberg in 1985 to ask him to direct the movie, as he felt Spielberg’s sensibilities were a better fit for A.I. Producer Jan Harlan recalled exactly how the meeting went during an interview with IGN:
“Stanley showed Steven 650 drawings which he had, and the script and the story, everything. Stanley said, ‘Look, why don’t you direct it and I’ll produce it.’ Steven was almost in shock.”
Following Kubrick’s death in 1999, Spielberg was once again approached by Harlan and Kubrick’s widow, Christiane, to direct A.I.: Artifical Intelligence. This time, he accepted, even stepping away from an offer to direct Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Ironically, directing A.I. would impact another science fiction movie that Spielberg intended to make. He developed Minority Report before deciding to fast track A.I., moving the former project to 2002. The result was two critically acclaimed and commercially successful science fiction movies within two years, which feels like something only a filmmaker of Spielberg’s caliber could pull off.
Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars
Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you’d actually make it out of alive.
💊The Matrix
🔥Mad Max
🌧️Blade Runner
🏜️Dune
🚀Star Wars
01
You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one.
02
In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.
03
What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.
04
How do you deal with authority you don’t trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.
05
Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn’t just tactical — it’s physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.
06
Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.
07
Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they’re actually made of.
08
What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.
Your Fate Has Been Calculated You’d Survive In…
Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.
The Resistance, Zion
The Matrix
You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You’re a systems thinker who can’t help but notice the seams in things.
You’re drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
You’d find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines’ worst nightmare.
You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
The Matrix built an airtight prison. You’d be the one probing the walls for the door.
The Wasteland
Mad Max
The wasteland doesn’t reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That’s you.
You don’t need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you’re good at all three.
You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.
Los Angeles, 2049
Blade Runner
You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.
You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
You’re not a hero. But you’re not lost, either.
In Blade Runner’s world, that distinction is everything.
Arrakis
Dune
Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.
Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they’re survival tools.
You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You’d learn its logic and earn its respect.
In time, you wouldn’t just survive Arrakis — you’d begin to reshape it.
A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Star Wars
The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn’t have it any other way.
You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
You’d gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire’s grip can be broken.
You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn’t something you’re capable of.
In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.
25 Years Later, ‘A.I.: Artificial Intelligence’ Remains One of Steven Spielberg’s Best Movies
Upon its release, A.I.: Artificial Intelligence received a similar treatment to Disclosure Day. Some felt that Spielberg had crafted a beautiful story within the sci-fi genre, while others felt like his sensibilities didn’t mix with Kubrick’s. Time has been far kinder to this movie than expected, as its story of a machine trying to find its humanity is laced with enough raw emotion to crack even the hardest of hearts. It doesn’t hurt that A.I. has arguably one of the best ensemble casts in a Spielberg movie; in addition to Haley Joel Osment’s incredible performance as David, Jude Lawis a scene stealer as the mecha escort “Gigolo Joe” while Frances O’Connor gets some of the heaviest material with her role as David’s “mother” Monica.
Perhaps the aspect of A.I.: Artifical Intelligence that’s aged the best is its ending, where David encounters an evolved form of mecha and gets to spend one last day with Monica. While many felt this ending was too saccharine even for Spielberg, Ian Watson, who crafted the screen story for A.I., said that it was spot on with what he and Kubrick conceived: “The final 20 minutes are pretty close to what I wrote for Stanley, and what Stanley wanted, faithfully filmed by Spielberg without added schmaltz”. In the same way that David bridges the gap between machines and humanity, A.I.‘s ending bridges the storytelling sensibilities of Kubrick and Spielberg.
Steven Spielberg has crafted many masterpieces in his lifetime, but A.I.: Artificial Intelligence might be one of his most underrated. Now that it’s available to stream on Pluto TV, fans and newcomers to Spielberg’s work can finally witness A.I for themselves.
