*batteries not included

*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 French, German... more

*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 French, German, Italian and Portuguese) used the title Miracle on 8th Street. The film is set in contemporary New York City. 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 ... less