Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7697 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-06-06
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 102 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
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

Special Features
English
Region 2

Synopsis
Set in New York's Lower East Side, this amusing story tells of a group of poor tenants with nothing more than determination to stop the destruction of their building, who are more than delighted when a few friends from outer space drop in to help out...

Customer Reviews

Quality entertainment from start to finish!!
"Batteries not Included" is a strange title for a strange film - when watching at first, you think it's going to be a "Death Wish" type movie perhaps, or a tale of suburban struggle - but as the cover of the film suggests, other forces are at work.
The film's central characters are played by veterans Hume Cronyn (who only recently passed away) and Jessica Tandy, who I'd never realized till recently were married in real life.
The main story itself centres around a block of appartments over a '30s diner, in an area of New York which is being demolished. Developers and their hoodlum associates are trying to force the tenants to leave with bribes - but some are not willing to leave their homes.
The appartments, delapidated and vandalised, appear beyond repair. Yet the tenants want to stay - and are willing to resist all attempts at evicting them. Even with Bulldozers at their door, they resist the seemingly unstoppable onslaught.
It is a beautiful story of hope, faith and belief, whether young or old you will enjoy this film, and certainly I ended the film with tears in my eyes (always a good sign). My daughters (10 & 14) both gave the film 10/10 as well, it appeals to all ages and it's age is not at all apparent when watching it - it's 1.85:1 Anamorphic transfer means it appears much clearer than most films of its age. It is a film not to be missed, and deserved more awards than it actually got.
Don't miss it.

A disarmingly poignant, exceedingly human film
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.

superb
this film effortlessly blends sentimentality with science fiction, to create a heart warming tale of the resurrection of a local community from the ashes, and the rebuilding of their lives with the help of some tiny friends from out of space.