Four years after the tragic death of their children in a car accident, Dr. Chris Nielsen (Robin Williams) is estranged from his wife, Annie (Annabella Sciora), a painter who finds solace in deep and mystical expressionist landscapes. When flustered Annie calls him for support, he rushes out to help and is killed in a road accident. His ghost is greeted by an old mentor, Albert (Cuba Gooding Jr.), who leads him in Ghost-of-Christmas-Past-style to Annie's side. But when Chris realizes that his adherence to the corporeal world is torture to himself and the living Annie, he breaks free of his Earthly bonds and dives into the visual smorgasbord that is the afterlife. There he splashes though clouds and gobs of technicolor paint in breathtaking landscapes suggested to him by Annie's paintings. From there, to grandiose Romanesque cities of flying children, Chris and his old dog are met by a gorgeous stewardess, who reveals herself as a nearly forgotten face from his past. As Chris reconciles with his children in a world where imagination is his palette, in the real world Annie becomes sicker and sicker, and finally enters the afterlife herself. Due to the myriad rules of the Other Side, she is unable to join Chris or her children, and Chris begins a fight for his future with his soul mate.
DVD Features:
Region 1
Snap Case
Single Side - Dual Layer
Anamorphic Widescreen - 2.35
Letterbox - 2.35
Audio:
Dolby Digital 5.1 - English
Dolby Surround - English
Additional Release Material:
Making Of
Alternate Ending
Featurette: About the Visual Effects
Trailers: Original Theatrical Trailer
Audio Commentary: Vincent Ward - Director
Interactive Features:
Scene Access
Interactive Menus
Text/Photo Galleries:
Production Notes
Photo Galleries
Biographies & Filmographies - Cast & Crew
DVD-ROM Features:
Desktop Images
Wallpaper
Art Director
Tom Voth:
Director of Photography
Eduardo Serra: Director of Photography
Production Designer
Eugenio Zanetti:
Source Writer
Richard Matheson: Sci-Fi Author/Screenwriter
Special Effects
Roy Arbogast: Special Effects
Visual Effects Supervisor
Joel Hynek: Visual Effects Supervisor, STEALTH (2005)
Costume Designer
Yvonne Blake: Costume Designer
Review 1:
"...One of the most elaborate metaphysical love stories ever tackled by Hollywood..."
Source: New York Times
p.E10 10/07/1998
Review 2:
"...Dazzling visuals..."
Source: Rolling Stone
p.80 10/28/1998
Review 3:
"...Williams plays the heartstrings like a maestro, as he did so well in such films as GOOD WILL HUNTING and THE FISHER KING..."
Source: Box Office
p.49 12/01/1998
Review 4:
"...WHAT DREAMS MAY COME may be the closest that American movies have come to the somber grandiloquence of Krysztof Kieslowski's BLUE..."
Source: Entertainment Weekly
pp.50-54 10/09/1998