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Minority Report (2002)
Starring Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell, Max von Sydow, and Tim Blake Nelson. Cinematography by Janusz Kaminski. Edited by Michael Kahn. Produced by Jan De Bont, Bonnie Curtis, Gerald R. Molen, and Walter F. Parkes. Written by Scott Frank and Jon Cohen. Directed by Steven Spielberg.
In the year 2054 murder has been eliminated from the city of Washington D.C. Though the visualizations of three psychics, known as Pre-Cogs, the Justice Department’s Pre-Crime division is able to predict when and where a murder is going to take place and literally prevent it from happening. The would-be killers are then penalized as if they had committed the crime. Chief John Anderton, the leader of the Pre-Crime force, believes the system is perfect. That is, until the system comes after him. The Pre-Cogs have predicted that in less than thirty six hours Anderton will murder a man he has never met. Like all of the men and women he has arrested over the past six years Anderton runs, determined to unravel the mystery that will play out over the next day and a half.
The works of Philip K. Dick have become one of the hottest commodities in Hollywood in the past few years, which is ironic considering the author’s intense dislike of the filmmaking community. He publicly criticized what he considered a “destruction” of his novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? in Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner. He died before it was released, but fans of Dick’s work were very displeased by the film’s tacked on happy ending. They have continued to gripe over the years as more extremely loose adaptations of “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale”, “Second Variety”, and “Imposter” have been presented on screen (Total Recall, Screamers, and Imposter). But in 2002, via the incredible mind of Steven Spielberg, fans rejoiced in what is easily considered the most respectful film version of Dick’s work to date; Minority Report. The film is based on Dick’s short story “The Minority Report” originally published in the January 1956 issue of the magazine Fantastic Universe. The script came to the attention of Tom Cruise while he was shooting Eyes Wide Shut with Stanley Kubrick. He and Spielberg had been trying to work on a film together for years and Cruise felt like this might be the project to finally bring them together. He forwarded the script to Spielberg who was equally excited about the material. Three years later, after multiple trips in and out of the developmental process, Minority Report was ready for production.
Minority Report is visually and aurally designed like a film-noir thriller from the 1940’s. Spielberg requested of his cinematographer Janusz Kaminski to help him create “the ugliest, dirtiest movie I have ever made”. In addition to lighting designed to provide as much contrast as possible, Kaminski desaturated the film’s colors with a bleach by-pass process making the picture grainy and the shadows thick with darkness. The effect works beautifully, giving Minority Report a cold and gritty feeling that perfectly complements the neo-noir story. PS: for all you film buffs out there, keep your eyes open for numerous references to the works of Stanley Kubrick and Alfred Hitchcock.
Budget: $102,000,000
Total US Gross: $132,014,112
Genre: Science Fiction
Runtime: 145 Minutes
US Release Date: 6/21/02
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Awards: Academy Awards: Nominated for best sound editing.
Tagline: Everybody Runs.
Quote: “You see the dilemma, don't you? If you don't kill me, Pre-Cogs were wrong and Pre-Crime is over. If you do kill me, you go away, but it proves the system works. The Pre-Cogs were right. So, what are you going to do now?”
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