Electric Dreams (1984)

An artificially intelligent PC and his human owner find themselves in a romantic rivalry over a woman.

Director:

Steve Barron

Writer:

Rusty Lemorande

Stars:

Lenny von Dohlen, Virginia Madsen, Maxwell Caulfield

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lenny von Dohlen	...	Miles Harding
Virginia Madsen	...	Madeline Robistat
Maxwell Caulfield	...	Bill
Bud Cort	...	Edgar (voice)
Don Fellows	...	Mr. Ryley
Alan Polonsky	...	Frank, Co-Worker
Wendy Miller	...	Computer Clerk
Harry Rabinowitz	...	Conductor
Miriam Margolyes	...	Ticket Girl
Holly De Jong	...	Ryley's Receptionist
Stella Maris	...	Woman at Airport
Mary Doran	...	Millie
Diana Choy	...	Check-Out Girl
Jim Steck	...	Removal Man
Gary Pettinger	...	Removal Man

Storyline

Miles buys himself a state-of-the-art computer that starts expressing thoughts and emotions after a having champagne spilled down on him. Things start getting out of hand when both Miles and Edgar, how the computer calls himself, fall in love with Madeline, an attractive neighbour.

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Plot Keywords:

computer | architect | cello | alcatraz | cult film | 

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Taglines:

Meet Edgar. He'll make you sing, make you dance, make you laugh, make you cry, make you jealous, make you nuts.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Music | Romance | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 July 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Amor é Música

Filming Locations:

Alcatraz Island, San Francisco Bay, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Virgin

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the dream musical sequence, Edgar the computer dreams of electric sheep jumping an electric fence, whilst Miles dozes off to sleep. The scene is quite likely inspired by author Philip K. Dick's (1968) science fiction novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" Dick's stories typically focus on the fragile nature of what is real and the construction of personal identity. This is borne out by Miles', "I'm not what I seem to be".

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Goofs

Miles tells Edgar that the phrase "A dream is a wish your heart makes" comes from Sleeping Beauty, and starts to say the date as "nineteen sixty..." Edgar corrects him and says it's from Cinderella, but states the date as 1949. (It's understandable that Miles gets both the movie and the year wrong, but it's less likely for a computer, unless Edgar is going by copyright date rather than release date.)

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Quotes

[Edgar scrubs back and forth across video from Madam Satan]
Edgar revoicing Kay Johnson as Angela Brooks in Madam Satan: You're very handsome.
Edgar: I know.
Edgar revoicing Kay Johnson as Angela Brooks in Madam Satan: It's a nice party, isn't it?
Edgar revoicing Reginald Denny as Bob Brooks in Madam Satan: Yeah.

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Crazy Credits

Dedicated to the memory of the UNIVAC I

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Connections

References Love Connection (1983)

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Soundtracks

"Johnny Too Bad"
Performed by UB40
Composed by Winston Bailey, Derick Crook & Roy Beckford
(c)1968 Woodwater Music Ltd.
Courtesy DEP International/A&M Records, Inc./Virgin Records Ltd.

User Reviews

Don't upset your computer

This movie is rather funny and like some of the other viewers, the main song has stuck with me since the movie was first released. One point this movie tried to make is that there can never be enough montages. Without all the musical montages in this movie, the film would have lasted only thirty-minutes or so. Anyway, if your in the mood for a movie with a strange love triangle that doesn't involve questioning a characters sexuality, watch this.