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batteries not included (Widescreen) | 
| Director: Matthew Robbins
Actors: Hume Cronyn, Jessica Tandy, Frank Mcrae, Elizabeth Peña, Michael Carmine (ii)
Studio: Universal Studios
Category: DVD
List Price: CDN$ 12.95
Buy New: CDN$ 3.70
You Save: CDN$ 9.25 (71%)
New (11) Used (1) from CDN$ 3.70
Rating:  35 reviews
Sales Rank: 3239
Format: Ntsc, Widescreen
Languages: English (Original Language), French (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled)
Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
DVD Layers: 1
DVD Sides: 1
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.7 x 0.7
MPN: D20520D
ISBN: 0783232047
UPC: 025192052026
EAN: 9780783232041
ASIN: 0783232047
Theatrical Release Date: December 18, 1987
Release Date: June 7, 2005
Availability: Usually ships within 1 - 2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
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From Amazon.com
Quite possibly the nadir of Steven Spielberg's career as a producer, this piece of sentimental junk from 1987 concerns five little spacecraft which arrive on Earth just in time to help out some New Yorkers getting kicked out of a tenement. The script's goo just sticks to the viewer, and the cast looks silly by trying not to be silly. You get the feeling that Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment was pretty much throwing stuff at the wall to see what would hang there, and they came up with this ridiculous thing. --Tom Keogh
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| Customer Reviews: Read 30 more reviews...
A disarmingly poignant, exceedingly human film August 5, 2006
Daniel Jolley (Shelby, North Carolina USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I can't help but believe that *Batteries Not Included would never have been made without the imprimatur of Steven Spielberg stamped upon it. It's a wonderful film, but it couldn't have made for an easy pitch: we've got a group of disparate characters trying to save their run-down building from demolition by your basic big bad developer, and the miracle they all hope for comes in the form of these little alien gizmos -- who not only go around fixing things, they also reproduce. I just don't see a lot of Hollywood studio blowhards jumping up and down in excitement over such a wacky idea. With Spielberg being Spielberg, though, the project was approved, and the end result is a film that delivers a rather amazing amount of heartfelt emotion.
I'm not saying it's Spielberg's best, mind you, not by a long shot, but this little film is disarmingly good. Many a viewer will go in expecting something a little silly, maybe some sort of Gremlins-like story; a half hour into it, that viewer will almost certainly be wondering when the fun is going to start. You can't help but have an almost immediate connection with all of the characters, though. They are surrounded by destruction, as their building is the last one standing in the way of redevelopment by a stereotypically greedy businessman who doesn't care how his goons get the people out -- as long as they get them out. Frank Riley (Hume Cronyn) stands to lose his home and his business -- and he already has the extra burden of looking after his wife Faye (Jessica Tandy), who is constantly confused due to senility and an emotional tragedy from the past. I'll just tell you right now -- that Jessica Tandy is a true actress; her amazing performance here makes her the heart and soul of the film. Frank McRae also contributes in a major way, despite the fact that his character speaks only rarely (and in catch phrases and slogans when he does open his mouth). As for the other two neighbors, you've got a pregnant woman (Elizabeth Pena) waiting for her musician boyfriend to come back for her after his current tour ends, and you also have a young man (Dennis Boutsikaris) struggling to find himself after losing his girlfriend and beginning to question his determination to be an artist.
All of these wonderful characters are essentially doomed, needing a true miracle to save their building from destruction. That miracle comes in the form of strange, miniature UFO-like creatures that excel in fixing things. A little shy at first, the cute little guys eventually warm up to everyone, drawing these former strangers close together in the process. The special effects are good (but not outstanding), making these mysterious creatures a lot of fun to watch -- especially the cute little baby ones. We never learn the origins or true natures of the little gizmos, but they most definitely pump new life into a cast of characters wasting away from worries and fears. Make no mistake -- the little mechanical guys are great, but this story is really all about the human characters rising up from despair to achieve a new lease on life. It is an exceedingly human story, one that will most likely touch your heart in ways you won't expect. That is what makes *Batteries Not Included such a special movie.
 Not Enough Batteries Could Power This Lame Film May 28, 2004
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
Another film produced by Spielberg in the vain of "Disney-esque" family fare (i.e. HARRY AND THE HENDERSONS, GOONIES). "Close Encounters" is shrunk down to cute little "tonka toys". The gimmick in *BATTERIES NOT INCLUDED is that the aliens' spaceships (of various shapes for degree of personality) are the characters. You don't see the aliens inside controlling the flying saucers (just like you couldn't see the truck driver in Spielbergs' DUEL). The plot is as old as an OUR GANG short. An evil landlord is about to evict a diverse group of stereotypical poor residences from his tenement slum and the mini-aliens arrive in time to save the day to fight the landlord and his evil henchmen. The actors are then directed to act bewildered, angry, awe-inspired, laugh, cry, and hug each other, around the special effects-laden-E.T. spaceships...(yaaawwwnnn...zzz...zzz!). The title of this movie should be renamed to *ORIGINALITY NOT INCLUDED...or...*ACTING NOT INCLUDED...or...*DIRECTION NOT INCLUDED...or...*BRAINS NOT INCLUDED..or...!
Belongs in every children's collection March 24, 2004
wiredweird (Earth, or somewhere nearby)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
... whether or not you have kids. It has some moments that might make a four-year-old cling to an adult, but every kid I know likes it. No guns, no bloody fights, no chases, and it still holds their interest.There's plenty here for an adult - "dotty grandma" isn't a completely comic character here. She's not just a tragic figure of senility, either, though she's some of both. Mostly, she's just making her way through each day the best she can, and better than people seem willing to believe. Most of the other characters are similarly on the edge but muddling by well enough, with a little help from their friends. I honestly can't call this a science fiction movie, despite its SF elements. It's sweet (almost sappy) and funny, the poor-but-honest folk win out over the thugs and evil corporations, and they all live happily ever after. Well, for now, at least. If there's ever a list of "most under-rated movies", this one gets my vote. I like it.
Still a good movie February 4, 2004
I used to watch this movie when I was a little girl, over and over again until I wore out the tape. I haven't seen it in a long time, but I resently got it as a birthday gift and I have to say that I still liked it. The acting was well done and I thought that the little alians were adorable. Although it's not my favariot now, I still like it enough to watch it once and a while.
 A sentimental little beauty from Spielberg December 25, 2003
Peggy Vincent (Oakland, CA)
This 1987 little sentimental ditty was utterly irresistible to the public, even as critics panned it as too schmaltzy. It concerns a squadron of little UFOs who arrive on the room of a NY apartment building, one which is about to be razed as soon as the owners can manage to evict the quirky bunch of tenants. The tenants include Hume Cronin and Jessica Tandy (always and forever a winning pair) as well as a guy who plays a mentally (or emotionally - or maybe both) disabled man who speaks only in set phrases from commercials or TV jingles or product tags, such as that of the title: Batteries Not Included. As the tenants band together to save the lives of the little aliens, including a spine-tingling scene in which one gives birth, the aliens come to the rescue of the folks in danger of eviction - and the tenants, previously a disparate bunch, come together to form a community.
Heartwarming. Great family entertainment
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