MovieChat Forums > *batteries not included (1987) Discussion > What a film this is!!

What a film this is!!

posted 18 years ago by the_wind_cries_mary
8 replies | jump to latest

I'll start off by saying that im a 21 year old heterosexual man.... but I love this film, it was on ITV (England) this sunday, and it must have been the 200th time i'd seen it, and i still cried just as the old gut is putting his wife to bed and they are singing that song (forgot how it goes!)
This fil is well written, well acted and really well shot considering the technology available at the time. considering the basic plot, i think it could have easily been *beep* rubbish, but somehow it works, and is almost beleivable. you become attached to the main characters and relate to their desperate situations, and its just a nice easy going, old fashioned, simple film - all with a happy ending. Cant fail!

[–] hughie522 18 years ago

Oh I know! I first saw this when I was 10, and even though I've seen it like a dozen times it still makes me laugh and cry. It's so underrated, it's just not fair.

[–] ElevenStars 18 years ago

"Just around the corner,
There’s a rainbow in the sky.
So let’s have another cup of coffee
And let’s have another piece o’ pie!"

That part makes me cry too! It's just so beautiful! And the part where he gives her medicine after she was modestly hiding behind the shower curtain. You know that that couple was married in real life, too! Aw!

~ As you wish ~

[–] mlynn-1 18 years ago

Something must be wrong with me. This was one of the worst films I've ever seen. I love movies and in general, find something to like about every movie I see, and I see a lot of movies. I've walked out of 6 movies in my life - Revenge of the Nerds, Body Double, Bedroom Window, Dead Again, Vertical Limit, and this movie. It seemed like I was supposed to like the characters WAY too early, and I really didn't. Obviously, everything written on these boards is opinion, so if I say that this movie was crap (at least the first 30 minutes, which was all I could stand), then that's just my take on it. I feel bad. You guys seemed to really enjoy it. So why bother writing at all? Because I'm curious to get feedback about what it is exactly that people liked about this film. How do you get past the sappy beginning, and what did you find the least bit likeable about the characters?

[–] ElevenStars 18 years ago

aw, how sweet are you? it's ok to not like a film ;) there are plenty out there i couldn't stand. i personally was drawn in by the old couple's relationship... the husband caring for his wife even though she's not all there. and i liked how the artist sort of becomes protective of the pregnant woman. and how they all just kind of stick together. then throw in the cute alien ships and how they help everyone out. i dunno - it's schmaltzy and it's cheesy and has lame effects compared to what we have now, but in all honesty, i'll take a movie that promotes hope and unity over any "well-done" special effects hateful movie extravagganza.

i think there is a serious shortage of the human spirit in movies these days and i like to go back and watch old ones like Batteries Not Included to imagine that there is a chance that people will come together and work together.

so, "hi my name is eleven_stars and i like sappy movies."

:)

~~"Ah, curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!"~~

[–] fenderstratamxn723696 18 years ago

mlynn.....how can you hate a movie and walk out after 30 minutes of watching it? Ridiculous.

I dont mind it when people say they dislike a film because its not there cup of tea...but you only watched half an hour.....you dont even know what the film entails if thats the case.

WATCH IT ALL before you make comments.

I seen this film when it first came out when I was 8. I loved it then and I love it now. Its an absolutely awesome film.

[–] cogency1 18 years ago

I agree. You simply must view an entire movie, despite what you may think at the beginning, as it usually spends the first half just introducing the characters and plot. That's what draws you in. Maybe the person who wrote the negative review should consider watching it on DVD and giving it another chance. The story may be a little out there, but the basic tenets of what the story is trying to say is very universal. Hope springs eternal. Just when you think all is lost, something unearthly comes to the rescue. It could be an allegorical statement by using spaceships in this case, but miracles do happen.

[–] JustinWarren 18 years ago

*batteries not included is one of my all-time favorite films from my childhood. To find it in Wal-Mart's bargain bin the other day both excited me and saddened me greatly. A film this good deserves a better DVD release! It doesn't deserve a bargain bin, bare-bones dvd! Oh....oh well. That's life, I guess.

I still got the chance to show it to my fiance, and watch it again years later, rediscovering how beautiful it is, all while someone very special next to me discovered it for the first time. I love this film!

[–] snagletooth 10 years ago

"really well shot considering the technology available at the time"

Yes, 1986 was the dark ages.......

Practical effects (stop motion/puppetry/animatronics) probably won't get a lot better than this movie's examples for a good while, and CGI, especially when it's nearly the entirety of the effects, is still not up to snuff for a lot of us older types. At the time you were writing your post, "The Polar Express" was state-of-the-art CGI and it looked creepy as hell to a lot of people.