*batteries not included
Encyclopedia
*batteries not included is a 1987 family
-science fiction film
directed by Matthew Robbins
about small extraterrestrial living machines 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 Steven Spielberg
liked the idea so much that he decided to make it a theatrical release.
Many of the film's foreign releases (including at least Finnish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Latin American Spanish) used the title Miracle on 8th Street in reference to the filming location.
. Frank and Faye Riley, an elderly couple who run an apartment building and restaurant in the run-down East Village
neighborhood, come under threat by a nearby property development. The development manager, Mr. Lacey, sends a hoodlum named Carlos and his gang to bribe the couple and their tenants to move out. When the Rileys refuse to move, Carlos vandalizes the cafe.
Things look bleak until the appearance of a pair of living machines (later titled "The Fix-Its" by Faye) descend into the apartment of the Rileys one evening, restoring the cafe. The two extraterrestrial "Fix-Its" then take up residence in the apartment building and give birth to three baby "Fix-Its". Later, the mechanical family recruit countless other "Fix-Its" for repairs after the apartment building is gutted by an arson fire.
The machines sometimes appear to display emotional reactions. Though their origins remain a mystery, they share some features of von Neumann probes; they are apparently independent of external control, and they have the ability to assimilate scrap metal from various sources to replicate and repair themselves. Early in the movie, Frank insists they are spaceships "from a very small planet...very small." However, in one scene, where Mason examines a "Fix-It" with a magnifying glass, he sees what appear to be micromachines flying through or scuttling across it, implying that there are living beings inside it.
The baby robots are called Wheems, Jetsam and Flotsam. They were created by ILM.
began almost a year before. "Since the story called for a solitary building amidst rubble," explained producer Ronald Schwary, "we had to find a vacant lot with burned-out buildings all around it. We finally settled on an actual building on 8th Street between Avenues C and D on New York's Lower East Side
(the building no longer stands, and was probably located on the site of the current Housing Bureau substation, or the building to the east). Production designer Ted Haworth designed a three-sided, four-story tenement
facade and oversaw its construction on a location that covered most of a city block. In the name of authenticity, he brought 50 to 60 truckloads of rubble to cover the once vacant lot. It was so remarkably realistic that the Sanitation Department came by and took away prop garbage one morning, potential customers stopped by to eat in the diner, and the business agent for the Plumber's Local of New York visited, demanding to know why there wasn't a permit down at City Hall for the construction." [info from DVD Production Notes]
The final scene before the end credits has an understanding of construction progress that happens around Riley's Café, without it being affected as tall skyscrapers appear, one at a time, around the tiny building. The new buildings used in the shot near the café are from the World Trade Center
even though they had already existed for some time by 1987. Street traffic is seen moving as well as people walking on a foot bridge, indicating a filmed shot at the Trade Center area but the pointed black skyscrapers appear to be duplicated optically to contrast with the tiny café. What looks to be the U.S. Steel Building at 1 Liberty Plaza, seems to be the first to appear in the final shot. The scene itself is a non-existent location but the shot appears to be on Trinity Place
, facing North with Zuccotti Park
, {formerly Liberty Plaza Park} and the U.S. Steel Building both on the lower right.
A gazebo was donated to the Green Oasis and Gilbert's Garden community garden after production was completed.
Family film
A family film is a film genre that is designed to appeal to a variety of age groups and, thus, families.In December 2005, Steven Spielberg's 1982 film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial came first in a poll of the 100 Greatest Family Films. The genre today generates billions of dollars per annum.Family...
-science fiction film
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
directed by Matthew Robbins
Matthew Robbins (screenwriter)
Matthew Robbins is an American screenwriter, film producer and director. He is good friends with Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Guillermo Del Toro and Walter Murch and has had cameo appearances in THX 1138 and Close Encounters of the Third Kind...
about small extraterrestrial living machines that save an apartment block under threat from property development.
The story was originally intended to be featured in the TV series Amazing Stories
Amazing Stories (TV series)
Amazing Stories is a fantasy, horror, and science fiction television anthology series created by Steven Spielberg. It ran on NBC from 1985 to 1987, and was somewhat erratically screened in Britain by BBC1 and BBC2 - billed in the Radio Times as "Steven Spielberg's Amazing Stories" - with episodes...
, but Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
liked the idea so much that he decided to make it a theatrical release.
Many of the film's foreign releases (including at least Finnish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Latin American Spanish) used the title Miracle on 8th Street in reference to the filming location.
Plot
The film is set in contemporary New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Frank and Faye Riley, an elderly couple who run an apartment building and restaurant in the run-down East Village
East Village, Manhattan
The East Village is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, lying east of Greenwich Village, south of Gramercy and Stuyvesant Town, and north of the Lower East Side...
neighborhood, come under threat by a nearby property development. The development manager, Mr. Lacey, sends a hoodlum named Carlos and his gang to bribe the couple and their tenants to move out. When the Rileys refuse to move, Carlos vandalizes the cafe.
Things look bleak until the appearance of a pair of living machines (later titled "The Fix-Its" by Faye) descend into the apartment of the Rileys one evening, restoring the cafe. The two extraterrestrial "Fix-Its" then take up residence in the apartment building and give birth to three baby "Fix-Its". Later, the mechanical family recruit countless other "Fix-Its" for repairs after the apartment building is gutted by an arson fire.
The machines sometimes appear to display emotional reactions. Though their origins remain a mystery, they share some features of von Neumann probes; they are apparently independent of external control, and they have the ability to assimilate scrap metal from various sources to replicate and repair themselves. Early in the movie, Frank insists they are spaceships "from a very small planet...very small." However, in one scene, where Mason examines a "Fix-It" with a magnifying glass, he sees what appear to be micromachines flying through or scuttling across it, implying that there are living beings inside it.
Cast
- Hume CronynHume CronynHume Blake Cronyn, OC was a Canadian actor of stage and screen, who enjoyed a long career, often appearing professionally alongside his second wife, Jessica Tandy.-Early life:...
as Frank Riley: The owner of Riley's Cafe, as well as the apparent landlord of the attached apartment building. In contrast with his wife, he is a down-to-earth man who seems to be crumbling under the pressure of upholding both his businesses and the delusions of his wife when the story opens. He did not get along well with his deceased son Bobby, contrary to his wife. As the story progresses, he becomes increasingly optimistic, and is the first to call the arrival of the fix-its a miracle.
- Jessica TandyJessica TandyJessie Alice "Jessica" Tandy was an English-American stage and film actress.She first appeared on the London stage in 1926 at the age of 16, playing, among others, Katherine opposite Laurence Olivier's Henry V, and Cordelia opposite John Gielgud's King Lear. She also worked in British films...
as Faye Riley: Frank's wife, who appears to be somewhat senile and living in her own world, in which the car accident that killed her beloved son Bobby never occurred (even going so far as to mistake Carlos for Bobby). However, she lets on in several places that she is not as helpless as her loved ones would believe, as she is the first one to realize the unique ability of the fix-its and demonstrating for everyone (by breaking her husband's pocket watch, which is immediately repaired by the fix-its) and seems to serve as a matchmaker for Mason and Marisa.
- Frank McRaeFrank McRaeFrank McRae is an American actor and former professional football player.McRae was born in Memphis, Tennessee. McRae graduated from Tennessee State University with a double major in drama and history. He was a defensive tackle for the Chicago Bears in the 1967 NFL season.Among his acting roles are...
as Harry Noble: A handymanHandymanA handyman is a person skilled at a wide range of repairs, typically around the home. These tasks include trade skills, repair work, maintenance work, both interior and exterior, and are sometimes described as "odd jobs", "fix-up tasks", and include light plumbing jobs such as fixing a leaky toilet...
, one of the boarders in the building. Formerly known as "The Human Locomotive", Harry was once a professional boxer with a wonderful right hook. When the story opens, he is retired and appears to have suffered brain damage. Since retiring from boxing, Harry appears to accepted a nonviolent philosophy, choosing to hide behind his shower curtain when thugs are after him rather than fight them. The few lines of dialogue he speaks in the movie are jingles from various commercials (because of which, he is notable for phrasing the title of the movie; 'batteries not included'). He appears to have a love of machinery, which comes in handy late in the film as he uses his talent for tinkering to revive a stillborn fix-it. Another example of Harry's quips comes when the fix-its briefly depart the tenement to explore the city, but Harry manages to summon their return with a whistle, which he laughs and comments "don't leave home without it".
- Elizabeth PeñaElizabeth PeñaElizabeth Peña is an American actress and the daughter of a theater-company co-founder, who has also compiled experience as a television director in her own right.-Early life:...
as Marisa Esteval: A pregnant woman who patiently waits for the return of her boyfriend Hector, the father of the child. As the story progresses, she falls in love with artist and fellow boarder Mason (eventually choosing him over the negligent Hector), and appears to identify with both Faye and the female fix-it on a mother-to-mother basis. She is a native Spanish speaker; when Frank fails to communicate with the fix-its in English, he suggests to Marisa why not see if they understand Spanish.
- Dennis BoutsikarisDennis BoutsikarisDennis Boutsikaris is an American two-time Obie-Award winning character actor. He is a Broadway Actor and frequent television guest star and leading man in made-for-TV movies...
as Mason Baylor: A model of the starving artist. Mason at the beginning of the film is left by his girlfriend, who has grown tired of his appreciation of the decaying apartment. As the story progresses, he falls in love with Marisa, who appreciates his art, and he eventually gets the building noticed by a restoration society at the end of the film after a previous attempt failed (ironically, after the entire tenement had burned to the ground and was rebuilt by the fix-its, who briefly return to their homeworld and recruit a multitude of fix-its to return to NYC to help). Mason appears to be a problem drinker, and is prone to mood swings.
- Michael CarmineMichael CarmineMichael Carmine was an American actor.Born in Brooklyn New York to Puerto Rican Parents, he graduated from the High School of the Performing Arts at the age of sixteen, and went on to study his craft at the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia...
as Carlos: The leader of Lacey's thugs. Carlos is an ambitious young man who believes he will move on to bigger and better things if he succeeds in getting Frank and his boarders to move out. When he attempts to attack the fix-its, he gets shown they have a self-defense system by using his aluminum bat as a conductor, resulting in him being fried and retreating from the tenement with an electrically shocked hairdo. Though a thug, Carlos has serious compunctions against arson and murder, and shows his nobler side by rescuing Faye as the apartment building burns near the end of the movie. Ironically, Carlos' attempt to get Faye out of the burning building by feeding into Faye's delusions that he is her son and wants to take her and "good old Dad" to dinner, snaps Faye out of her delusion and she realizes he is not Bobby. He is no longer working for Lacey by the end of the film, and makes an effort to send a bouquet of flowers to Faye.
The baby robots are called Wheems, Jetsam and Flotsam. They were created by ILM.
Production
Principal photography started in New York in August 1986, but location scoutingLocation scouting
Location scouting is a vital process in the pre-production stage of filmmaking and commercial photography. Once scriptwriters, producers or directors have decided what general kind of scenery they require for the various parts of their work that is shot outside of the studio, the search for a...
began almost a year before. "Since the story called for a solitary building amidst rubble," explained producer Ronald Schwary, "we had to find a vacant lot with burned-out buildings all around it. We finally settled on an actual building on 8th Street between Avenues C and D on New York's Lower East Side
Lower East Side
The Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street....
(the building no longer stands, and was probably located on the site of the current Housing Bureau substation, or the building to the east). Production designer Ted Haworth designed a three-sided, four-story tenement
Tenement
A tenement is, in most English-speaking areas, a substandard multi-family dwelling, usually old, occupied by the poor.-History:Originally the term tenement referred to tenancy and therefore to any rented accommodation...
facade and oversaw its construction on a location that covered most of a city block. In the name of authenticity, he brought 50 to 60 truckloads of rubble to cover the once vacant lot. It was so remarkably realistic that the Sanitation Department came by and took away prop garbage one morning, potential customers stopped by to eat in the diner, and the business agent for the Plumber's Local of New York visited, demanding to know why there wasn't a permit down at City Hall for the construction." [info from DVD Production Notes]
The final scene before the end credits has an understanding of construction progress that happens around Riley's Café, without it being affected as tall skyscrapers appear, one at a time, around the tiny building. The new buildings used in the shot near the café are from the World Trade Center
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
even though they had already existed for some time by 1987. Street traffic is seen moving as well as people walking on a foot bridge, indicating a filmed shot at the Trade Center area but the pointed black skyscrapers appear to be duplicated optically to contrast with the tiny café. What looks to be the U.S. Steel Building at 1 Liberty Plaza, seems to be the first to appear in the final shot. The scene itself is a non-existent location but the shot appears to be on Trinity Place
Trinity Place
Trinity Place is a north-south thoroughfare in Lower Manhattan in New York City. It passes the rear of Trinity Church, a historic gothic-style cathedral on Broadway at Wall Street...
, facing North with Zuccotti Park
Zuccotti Park
Zuccotti Park, formerly called Liberty Plaza Park, is a publicly accessible park in Lower Manhattan, New York City. It is a controlled by Brookfield Properties. The park was created in 1968 by Pittsburgh-based United States Steel, after the property owners negotiated its creation with city...
, {formerly Liberty Plaza Park} and the U.S. Steel Building both on the lower right.
A gazebo was donated to the Green Oasis and Gilbert's Garden community garden after production was completed.