Electric Dreams (film): Difference between revisions

Electric Dreams
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Steve Barron
Written by	Rusty Lemorande
Produced by	Larry DeWaay Rusty Lemorande Richard Branson
Starring	Lenny Von Dohlen Virginia Madsen Maxwell Caulfield Bud Cort
Cinematography	Alex Thomson
Edited by	Peter Honess
Music by	Giorgio Moroder Jeff Lynne
Production company	Virgin Films
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date	July 20, 1984 (1984-07-20)
Running time	112 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$3,500,000
Box office	$2,467,664

Electric Dreams is a 1984 British-American science fiction romantic comedy-drama film set in San Francisco, California, that depicts a love triangle between a man, a woman, and a home computer. It stars Lenny Von Dohlen, Virginia Madsen, and the voice of Bud Cort and was directed by Steve Barron. It was the first film released by the Virgin Films production company.

The film's credits dedicate it to the memory of UNIVAC I.

Plot

The story opens with Miles Harding, an architect who envisions a brick shaped like a jigsaw puzzle piece that could enable buildings to withstand earthquakes. Seeking a way to get organized, he buys a home computer (made by the fictitious Pinecone Computers) to help him develop his ideas. Although he is initially unsure that he will even be able to correctly operate the computer, he later buys numerous extra gadgets that were not necessary for his work, such as switches to control household appliances like the blender, a speech synthesizer, and a microphone. The computer addresses Miles as "Moles", because Miles mistyped his name during the initial set-up. When Miles attempts to download data from a mainframe computer at work, the computer begins to overheat. In a state of panic, Miles pours a nearby bottle of champagne over the machine, which then becomes sentient.

The remainder of the film deals with a love triangle between Miles, his computer (who later identifies his own name as "Edgar"), and Miles' neighbor, an attractive cellist named Madeline. Upon hearing her practicing a piece from Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach on her cello through an air vent connecting both apartments, Edgar promptly elaborates a parallel variation of the piece, leading to an improvised duet. Believing it was Miles who had engaged her in the duet, Madeline begins to fall in love with him in spite of her ongoing relationship with fellow musician Bill.

At Miles' request, Edgar composes a piece of music for Madeline. When their mutual love becomes evident, however, Edgar responds with jealousy, canceling Miles' credit cards and registering him as an "armed and dangerous" criminal. Miles shoves the computer and tries to unplug it, getting an electric shock. Then the computer retaliates by harassing him with household electronics.

Eventually, Edgar accepts Madeline and Miles' love for each other, and appears to commit suicide by sending a large electric current through his acoustic coupler, around the world, and back to himself. In the final scene, a pop song written by Edgar (who has somehow survived his apparent destruction) as a tribute to Miles and Madeline, plays on radio stations across California.

Cast

• Lenny Von Dohlen as Miles Harding
• Virginia Madsen as Madeline Robistat
• Maxwell Caulfield as Bill
• Bud Cort as Voice of Edgar
• Don Fellows as Mr. Ryley
• Miriam Margolyes as Ticket girl
• Giorgio Moroder as Record producer

Production

Steve Barron had made over a hundred music videos and would routinely send them to his mother for comment. One he did for Hayzee Fantazee she particularly liked; she was doing continuity on Yentl, co-produced by Rusty Lemorande and showed it to him. He had just finished his own script and was looking for a director; he ended up offering Barron the directing job on Electric Dreams.

Shooting took place in San Francisco.

Virginia Madsen later recalled she "was very spoiled on that movie, because it was such a lovefest that I now believe that every movie should be like that... I had a mad, crazy crush on Lenny Von Dohlen. God, we were so… we were head-over-heels for each other. Nothing happened, and at this point, I admit it: I wanted it to happen.... He’s still one of my best friends."

"The fact that there's so much music has to do with the success of Flashdance," Barron admitted during filming. "This film isn't Flashdance 2. Flashdnace worked because of the dancing. It didn't have a story. Electric Dreams does."

Music

Main article: Electric Dreams (soundtrack)

The soundtrack features music from prominent popular musicians of the time, being among the movies of this generation that actively explored the commercial link between a movie and its soundtrack. The soundtrack album Electric Dreams was re-issued on CD in 1998.

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 43% ("Rotten") based on 14 reviews.

It received a generally negative review in The New York Times, which said that the film failed to "blend and balance its ingredients properly," and that it lost plot elements and taxed credibility.

Home media

Electric Dreams was released in 1984 (VHS) and again in 1991 (VHS), but has not been manufactured since the mid-1990s. MGM Home Video released a Laserdisc in America in 1985, and Warner Bros. released a Video CD version for the Singapore market in 2001, but both are out of print. The film was released to Region 2 DVD on April 6, 2009, however the initial Virgin Films animated logo and opening lines of 'Electric Dreams' sung by P.P. Arnold were removed (20 seconds). It has never been released on Blu-ray and there is only one publicly rentable print of the original 35mm film available, as shown at the Prince Charles Cinema in London on 9 August 2012 and previously in Birmingham and Indonesia.

Legacy

Fans of Electric Dreams have noted the similarities between the film and Spike Jonze's Her. But when asked about it, Jonze claimed not to have seen the former film.

See also

• Her (film)

External links

• Electric Dreams at IMDb
• Electric Dreams at Box Office Mojo
• Electric Dreams at Rotten Tomatoes
• Electric Dreams at SiskelandEbert.org