This is a republication of the DVD review of Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report, which has been rereleased in 2026. Since the review sample I was sent is exactly unchanged from the original review I wrote in 2002, I have chosen to post it unchanged since everything I stated then still applies today. Thank you.
Title: Minority Report: Widescreen
Region: One
Genre: Science Fiction Noir
Stars: Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell, Samantha Morton, and Max Von Sydow
Writers: Scott Frank and Jon Cohen
Based Upon The Short Story By: Philip K. Dick
Director: Steven Spielberg
Feature length: 2 hours and 26 minutes
Extras: Minority Report From Story To Screen, Deconstructing Minority Report, The Stunts Of Minority Report, The Digital World Of Minority Report, Minority Report Archives, Final Report
Languages: English DTS Digital 5.1 Theatrical Surround Sound, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, and Dolby Surround Sound and French Language Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Subtitles: English Captions and French and Spanish Language Subtitles
Packaging: Two-Disc Keep Case
Chapter Stops: 24
Sound: DTS Digital 5.1 Theatrical Surround Sound, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, and Dolby Surround Sound
Year of Theatrical Release: 2002/DVD Release: 2002
Theatrical Distributor: DreamWorks Pictures and Twentieth Century Fox
Home Video Distributor: DreamWorks Home Entertainment
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Reviewer: Mark A. Rivera
When I first read about Steven Spielberg directing “Minority Report” I was surprised thought it would be interesting to see how Spielberg would handle the subject matter because the work of Philip K. Dick tends to be very dark and paranoid in tone as it ponders the universal question of what defines a human being. You can find this in every film adaptation of a book or short story written by Philip K. Dick whether it is “Blade Runner” and “Total Recall,” which while cosmetically different deal with the same issue regarding how we are defined by our memories or “Screamers” and “Impostor,” which go farther into asking us what makes us human? Is it in part our ability to commit violence and is that human nature or a learned behavior? There was even a Showtime TV series entitled “Total Recall 2070” that seemed to be inspired more by “Blade Runner” than “Total Recall.” Dimension Home Entertainment released the series pilot “Machine Dreams” on DVD in America while the entire series was released on DVD abroad in Japan.
Not counting the TV series, we now have a fifth live action adaptation of a story by Philip K. Dick and here the essential question is about the theory of predetermination vs. freewill. The film touches upon it though it wisely leaves the answer for the viewer to determine. Tom Cruise is the head of an experimental branch of the Washington DC police force circa 2054. The pre-crime division has successfully kept the nation’s capital nearly murder free with the exception of suicides. The “Pre-Cogs,” three gifted seers held in a meditative state and in seclusion from the outside world, can foresee a homicide sometimes days before it takes place. Once the vision has been witnessed, noted, and authorized to be genuine, the location is mapped out and the pre-perpetrator is apprehended and arrested before the crime takes place. The prisoner is then “Haloed” and place in a coma like state within the Department of Containment for an undetermined length of time.
Despite the success the program has had over the years, it is still quite controversial and with the question of a nationwide launch to go into effect, a Federal Investigator “Colin Farrell” has been sent to ascertain the nature of the project before delivering a recommendation to his superiors. When the possibility of a false pre-crime arrest occurs, the validity of the program and the infallibility of the “Pre-Cogs” are called into question. After a brief investigation, Cruise’s character is identified by the “Pre-Cogs” as a future murderer and thus must fight the system he has been a part of while searching for the only possible evidence that could vindicate him, the enigmatic and secret “Minority Report.”
As a film, this is among the best adaptations of a Philip K. Dick story to have ever been produced and like “A. I. Artificial Intelligence” before it, Steven Spielberg creates a believable world of the future that mixes elements of past with the future to create an interesting environment that is both familiar and different at the same time. Here we are dealing with a date, time, and place that are closer to our own world than the undetermined future time of “A. I. Artificial Intelligence.” So as James Cameron had expressed several years ago when he produced “Strange Days,” the near future can be harder to create than a far off future because the elements can only be so different given the timeframe of the story. If the gadgets are too futuristic, the audience will loose its suspension of disbelief. A clear example of this can be seen in “Impostor” where the domed city looks more like something out of “Star Wars” or “Foundation” than an Earth we can imagine in less than a century from now.
It all depends on the technology and how good of a reason the writer can create for the world of the future to exist in the selected or undetermined time frame. Like any other genre, rules are established and then adhered to so while it is unlikely that the majority of extraterrestrial life in the galaxy is humanoid like in “Star Trek,” an excuse such as an early bipedal species seeded many worlds over four billion years ago is given as the reason why the majority of the aliens do not look too different from ourselves. Of course this example is more fantasy, but even fantasy must adhere to the rules it sets. While it is improbable, but not impossible that “First Contact” will be with a race that looks much like us as in both “Star Trek” and “Babylon 5,” if in the universe set up it is plausibly explained and adhered to then people will be more likely to accept it.
Now provided that we do not wipe ourselves out or are wiped out in the next 50 years, the odds are that computer and organic technology whether it be the “Pre-Cogs” and genetically engineered plants or magnetic cars and virtual realty based holographic suites is plausible if only for the fact that the rate in which technology has developed, particularly with computers, has doubled and quadrupled exponentially. So as is noted on one of the featurettes that is included on disc two, Philip K. Dick was concerned about technology encroaching on humanity and I find that this is a definite theme in all of the works that have been produced, but the universal theme ultimately transcends the technology and asks sociological questions about being human. There are as yet unproduced works of Philip K. Dick where technology is not necessarily the issue. Hopefully we will see them produced some time too.
DreamWorks Home Entertainment is releasing “Minority Report” on DVD-Video in both an anamorphic widescreen (2.39:1) aspect ratio as well as a panned and scanned (1.33:1) aspect ratio with identical extra features on the second disc. Both DVD sets are priced to sell though I am sure they can be rented as well. A panned and scanned VHS version priced to rent, but with no extra features will street day and date with the DVD. The reason why I mention this is in part because I requested and received both the widescreen DVD set and the panned and scanned VHS tape to review so I could create a more collective analysis of the film and incorporated it like I did for “A.I. Artificial Intelligence” into the actual DVD review itself.
I prefer widescreen to panned and scanned films and I prefer DVD and no longer review VHS, except for select exceptions such as “Minority Report” because I find the framing of certain shots in both aspect ratios can greatly alter the perception of how one views the film. On the VHS tape we are closer to Tom Cruise’s character and depending on the screen you have at home, his image could appear larger on your TV or monitor than the widescreen composition. So I actually screened the tape first since I saw the film on the big screen this past summer. On the tape the cold atmosphere that is intensified through the cinematography of Janusz Kaminski puts the focus and attention more on Tom Cruise and the immediate world he interacts with while the widescreen version creates a more distant reality where we empathize with the protagonist from more of a spectator’s perspective as opposed to the more personal feelings we develop for the protagonist on the (1.33:1) version. So with films like “Minority Report” and “A.I. Artificial Intelligence” the framing does create two different understandings of the feature and the characters with the panned and scanned version being perhaps more psychological in nature and the widescreen version showing a more sociological perspective, in particular a person’s plight and separation from the stark environment he or she lives in from a God’s eye point of view.
So that is why I screened the widescreen DVD set and panned and scanned videotape. To get the technical specs on the tape all rounded up so I can cover the DVD in more detail, the picture quality of the tape is quite good considering the limitations of NTSC VHS and features a good English Hi-Fi Stereo Soundtrack with optional English Closed Captions for the hearing impaired. The tape case was sturdy and came within a standard, but glossy cardboard slipcase. There were no advertisements before or after the feature, which I found refreshing, but there are no extra features at all on the tape. For a rental, it is fine and while I suggest you buy the widescreen DVD, renting the panned and scanned tape or DVD for comparison is not a bad idea if the perspective created by the different presentation styles intrigues you.
The anamorphic (2.39:1) widescreen presentation on disc one of the DVD set is amazing to behold with a clarity that enhances, but never betrays the films distinct look. The English DTS Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtrack kicks some serious butt with a full use of all five channels and the subwoofer to create an experience that might make you feel as if the pre-crime cops were just about to bust in your home. The English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtrack is also quite aggressive in nature and a French Language Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtrack as well as an English Dolby Surround Soundtrack is encoded onto the DVD as well. Additional options include English Captions for the hearing impaired and French and Spanish Language Subtitles. The extra features on disc two feature optional French and Spanish Language Subtitles as well.
Disc two contains of bonus features, which are identical and exclusive to only the widescreen and panned and scanned DVD sets. The DVD was produced by Mark Rowan, whose credits include the previous DVD releases of “Shrek” and “Almost Famous: The Bootleg Edition.” The special features were produced by Laurent Bouzereau, who has worked on previous Spielberg related releases such as “A.I. Artificial Intelligence” and “Close Encounters Of The Third Kind: The Collector’s Edition.” The bonus material was shot on High Definition Video and Mr. Spielberg oversaw even the most intricate details from approving final color of the film’s transfer to bringing in some special effects experts from the film to develop the disc’s distinctive menus to replicate a signature scene from the film. The interactive menus on both discs are fully animated with full motion scene selections and are easy to navigate.
The featurettes are essentially parts of a larger whole beginning with “Minority Report: From Story To Screen,” which is made up of “The Story/The Debate” (9:35), which features interviews with Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg discussing in part how the script bought them together and the nature of the film’s premise. The second part “The Players” (9:26) focuses on the character roles of the film and how they drive the story in a noir like fashion.
The next section is entitled “Deconstructing Minority Report,” which includes “The World Of Minority Report – An Introduction” (9:20), which explores the challenge of creating this science fiction noir, an examination of the “Pre-Crime and Pre-Cogs” (8:20), “The Spyder Sequence” (5:23), creating the “Precognitive Visions” (4:51), and the “Vehicles Of The Future” (5:10). “The Stunts Of Minority Report” covers “The Maglev Escape Sequence” (2:58), “Hover Pack Chase” (3:00), and “Car Factory” (2:47) sequences with behind-the-scenes footage with Cruise and his stunt double, who has been working with the actor for some time and how he has developed a method of shorthand, but detailed training to work with Cruise in doing his own stunts when possible or when Cruise chooses to do so. It is actually quite informative and not a fluffy public relations piece.
“The Digital World Of Minority Report” gives viewers a look at the various elements put together at Industrial Light And Magic that include the introductory “ILM & Minority Report” (4:31), “Holograms” (3:09), “Hall Of Containment” (3:09), “Maglev” (3:12), “Hovercraft And Hoverpacks” (3:08), and the “Cyber Parlor” (1:55). The documentary concludes with some closing words from Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise in “Final Report” (3:57), which features the credits for this multiple featurettes that as a whole compose this look at the making of the film.
Within the “Archives” section are production concepts for “Pre-Crime Department,” “Hover Ship,” “Hall Of Containment,” “Spyders,” “Pre-Cogs,” and “Building Architecture.” Storyboard sequences for “Maglev chase” (2:08), “Alley Chase” (3:36), and “Car Factory” (3:19) are included as well. Three theatrical trailers in anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) aspect ratios and with full English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtracks are also presented along with a trailer for the “Minority Report” video game from Activision (1:37).
Cast and filmmaker bios and detailed production notes wrap up the extra features on disc two. There is also an insert with liner notes within the DVD keep case. “Minority Report: Widescreen” will debut on DVD-Video on Tuesday, December 17, 2002 from DreamWorks Home Entertainment.
© Copyright 2002 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
