Batteries Not Included (film)
| *Batteries Not Included | |
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Theatrical release poster by Drew Struzan
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| Directed by | Matthew Robbins |
| Produced by |
Kathleen Kennedy Frank Marshall Ronald L. Schwary |
| Screenplay by |
Brad Bird Matthew Robbins Brent Maddock S.S. Wilson |
| Story by | Mick Garris |
| Starring | |
| Music by | James Horner |
| Cinematography | John McPherson |
| Edited by | Cynthia Scheider |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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107 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $25 million |
| Box office | $65.1 million |
Batteries Not Included (stylized as *batteries not included) is a 1987 American family-comic science fiction film directed by Matthew Robbins about small extraterrestrial living space ships that save an apartment block under threat from property development. The story was originally intended to be featured in the TV series Amazing Stories, but executive producer Steven Spielberg liked the idea so much that he decided to make it a theatrical release. It is also notable for being the feature film screenwriting debut of Brad Bird, who was one of the writers and producers of the movie. Many of the film's foreign releases used the title Miracle on 8th Street.
Frank and Faye Riley (Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy), an elderly couple who run an apartment building and café in the run-down East Village neighborhood, come under threat by a nearby property development. The development manager, Lacey, sends a hoodlum named Carlos and his gang of thugs to bribe the couple and their tenants to move out. When the tenants resist, Carlos and his thugs punch through artist Mason Baylor's (Dennis Boutsikaris) door, intimidate pregnant single mother Marisa Esteval (Elizabeth Peña) and break retired boxer Harry Noble's (Frank McRae) jar of tiles. After Frank Riley refuses to move, Carlos vandalizes the café.
This assault convinces three of the tenants to move out. Mason's girlfriend, Pamela is tired of living in an old, depressing building with a guy whose art career is going nowhere. She dumps Mason, packs up and before leaving, advises Mason to quit being an artist and get a steady job. The Rileys' friends, Muriel and Sid Hogensin take Lacey's bribe and decide to move to a nice retirement home in New Jersey. Frank feels a little betrayed by the Hogensins for taking Lacey's bribe but they explain that the building and the area it's in just doesn't feel like home anymore. They advise Frank that maybe he and Faye should do the same and come live with them at the retirement home. With the assault and Faye's dementia growing, Frank contemplates giving in.
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Wikipedia