Short Circuit (1986)

Director:

John Badham

Writers:

S.S. Wilson (written by) &
Brent Maddock (written by)

Release Date:

9 May 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Family | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Something wonderful has happened... Number Five is alive!

Plot:

Number 5 of a group of experimental robots in a lab is electrocuted, suddenly becomes intelligent, and escapes.

Plot Keywords:

Robot | Military | Lightning | Mistaken For Alien | Three Stooges Spoof

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Ally Sheedy	...	Stephanie Speck
Steve Guttenberg	...	Newton Crosby
Fisher Stevens	...	Ben Jabituya
Austin Pendleton	...	Howard Marner
G.W. Bailey	...	Skroeder
Brian McNamara	...	Frank
Tim Blaney	...	Number 5 (voice)
Marvin J. McIntyre	...	Duke
John Garber	...	Otis
Penny Santon	...	Mrs. Cepeda
Vernon Weddle	...	General Washburne
Barbara Tarbuck	...	Senator Mills
Tom Lawrence	...	Howard Marner's Aide
Fred Slyter	...	Norman
Billy Ray Sharkey	...	Zack
Robert Krantz	...	Reporter
Jan Speck	...	Reporter
Marguerite Happy	...	Barmaid
Howard Krick	...	Farmer
Marjorie Card Hughes	...	Farmer's Wife
Herb Smith	...	Gate Guard
Jack Thompson	...	Party Guest
William Striglos	...	Party Guest
Mary Reckley	...	Party Guest
Lisa McLean	...	Party Guest
Eleanor C. Heutschy	...	Party Guest

Directed by
John Badham

Writing credits
S.S. Wilson		(written by) &
Brent Maddock		(written by)

Produced by
Gregg Champion	....	producer
Mark Damon	....	executive producer
David Foster	....	producer
Gary Foster	....	associate producer
Dana Satler Hankins	....	associate producer
John W. Hyde	....	executive producer
Dennis E. Jones	....	co-producer (as Dennis Jones)
Lawrence Turman	....	producer

Original Music by
David Shire

Cinematography by
Nick McLean

Film Editing by
Frank Morriss

Casting by
Jane Feinberg
Mike Fenton
Judy Taylor

Production Design by
Dianne Wager

Art Direction by
Dianne Wager

Set Decoration by
Garrett Lewis

Makeup Department
Damon Grill	....	hair stylist
Tom Lucas	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Steve Perry	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Gregg Champion	....	second unit director
Bryan Denegal	....	second assistant director
Jerry Ziesmer	....	first assistant director

Art Department
John Alvin	....	poster artist
Gregg H. Bilson	....	property master
Stan Cockerell	....	assistant property master
Michael Dunn	....	assistant property master
Joseph C. Fama	....	construction foreman
Jack Johnson	....	illustrator
Martin A. Kline	....	storyboard artist
Michael Muscarella	....	construction coordinator
Tom Southwell	....	production illustrator
Donald B. Woodruff	....	assistant art director
Mark Woods	....	lead man

Sound Department
Wayne Artman	....	sound re-recording mixer
Tom Beckert	....	sound re-recording mixer
Milton C. Burrow	....	supervising sound editor
Richard Burrow	....	sound editor
Scott Burrow	....	sound editor
Willie D. Burton	....	sound mixer
Tom E. Dahl	....	sound re-recording mixer
Robert W. Harris	....	utility sound
David M. Horton	....	sound editor (as D. Michael Horton)
Marvin E. Lewis	....	boom operator
Kelly L. Manger	....	assistant sound editor
William L. Manger	....	supervising sound editor
Richard Oswald	....	sound editor
Frank Serafine	....	sound designer
Greg Orloff	....	foley mixer (uncredited)
John Roesch	....	foley artist (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Eric Allard	....	robotics special effects supervisor
Tony Allard	....	cost controller: Robotics Shop (as George 'Tony' Allard)
Philip Bartko	....	robotics leadman
Gary D. Bierend	....	special robotics technician
Mike Edmonson	....	special effects foreman
Scott Forbes	....	special effects foreman
Chuck Gaspar	....	special effects coordinator
Jeff Jarvis	....	special effects supervisor
Larry Keys	....	special electrical effects (as Larry 'Big Mo' Keys)
Mark Noel	....	special effects
Tom Pahk	....	special effects foreman
Christopher S. Ross	....	robotic special effects: design interpretation (as Chris Ross)
Jeffrey A. Wischnack	....	special effects technician
Mark Yuricich	....	special robotics technician
Gary Zink	....	special effects (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
James Balsam	....	motion control camera operator
Chris Casady	....	special visual effects
Dennis Dorney	....	special visual effects
Michael Ferriter	....	special visual effects
Rocco Gioffre	....	matte artist
Rocco Gioffre	....	special visual effects
Robert Hall	....	special visual effects
Philip Harrison	....	visual consultant
Lesley Mallgrave	....	visual effects coordinator
Nina Salerno	....	special visual effects
Keith Shartle	....	special visual effects
Hoyt Yeatman	....	special visual effects

Stunts
Christine Anne Baur	....	stunts
Brad Bovee	....	stunts
Danny Costa	....	stunts
Vince Deadrick Sr.	....	stunts
Bob Drake	....	stunts
James W. Gavin	....	stunt pilot
Clifford Happy	....	stunts
Marguerite Happy	....	stunts
Bob Harris	....	stunts (as Robert W. Harris)
Eddie Hice	....	stunts (as Ed Hice)
Freddie Hice	....	stunts
Loren Janes	....	stunts
Robert Jauregui	....	stunts
Tony Jefferson	....	stunts
Sasha Jenson	....	stunts
Ben Scott	....	stunts
John-Clay Scott	....	stunts
Walter Scott	....	stunt coordinator
Walter Scott	....	stunts
R.L. Tolbert	....	stunts
Ted White	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Stephen E. Bridge	....	camera operator
Colin J. Campbell	....	gaffer
Michael A. Chavez	....	first assistant camera
Richmond G. Cogswell	....	video assist operator
Dick Colean	....	camera operator: second unit
John J. Connor	....	director of photography: second unit
Donald L. Hartley	....	dolly grip
George Llerena	....	second assistant camera
Johnny London Jr.	....	grip
Tom D. May	....	second grip
Bruce McBroom	....	still photographer
Ken Nishino	....	first assistant camera: second unit
Michael D. O'Shea	....	camera operator
Bill Roe	....	first assistant camera
Bill Rustic	....	grip
Robert Samuels	....	second assistant camera: second unit
Joseph Staton	....	second assistant camera
Michael 'Dutch' Van Woert	....	best boy
Bill Young	....	key grip (as William C. Young)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Barry Francis Delaney	....	costumer: men
Mary E. Vogt	....	costumer: women

Editorial Department
Andy Greenberg	....	apprentice editor
Kevin Stitt	....	assistant film editor
David Tweet	....	apprentice film editor

Music Department
Marcella Detroit	....	composer: song "Come And Follow Me" (as Marcy Levy)
Jack Hayes	....	orchestrator
Joel McNeely	....	orchestrator
Timothy R. Sexton	....	executive in charge of music
David Tweet	....	assistant music editor
Dan Wallin	....	score mixer
Stan Witt	....	music editor

Other crew
Eric Allard	....	robots engineer
Tim Blaney	....	puppeteer
Wayne Fitzgerald	....	title designer
Jan Garner	....	production accountant
Mary Cay Hollander	....	production coordinator
Mark Indig	....	location manager
Robert Jason	....	special electrical effects (as Bob Jason)
Solomon J. LeFlore	....	production financing
Syd Mead	....	consultant
Syd Mead	....	robots designer
Walter Nichols	....	special electrical effects
David Oliver	....	title designer
H. Bud Otto	....	script supervisor
Rico Topazio	....	puppeteer
Tony Urbano	....	animatronic performance supervisor
Tony Urbano	....	puppeteer
Sandra Vaughan	....	production staff
Karl A. Wickman	....	helicopter pilot
Pat Brymer	....	puppeteer: robots (uncredited)
Melissa J.L. Smith	....	sales and marketing coordinator (uncredited)

Production Companies

• David Foster Productions
• Producers Sales Organization (PSO)
• TriStar Pictures

Distributors

• TriStar Pictures (1986) (USA) (theatrical)
• Aquarius TV (2005) (Greece) (DVD)
• CBS / Fox Video (1987) (Greece) (VHS)
• CBS/Fox Video (1987) (Belgium) (VHS)
• CBS/Fox Video (1986) (UK) (VHS)
• CBS/Fox (1987) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Cinema Club (2004) (UK) (DVD)
• Dutch FilmWorks (DFW) (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Encore Entertainment (1997) (UK) (video) (laserdisc)
• Fox Video (1996) (USA) (VHS)
• Image Entertainment (2000) (USA) (DVD) (special edition)
• Image Entertainment (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Manga Films (2005) (Spain) (DVD)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1988) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Splendid Film (2003) (Germany) (DVD)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (19??) (Netherlands) (VHS)

Special Effects

• Dream Quest Images

Other Companies

• BT Industrial Supply  expendables
• For Stars Catering  catering
• Varèse Sarabande  score album released by (limited edition)
• Video Image  display graphics
• Video Image  video displays

Also Known As:

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Chile:TE | Finland:S | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | UK:PG | USA:PG | West Germany:6 | Iceland:L | Portugal:M/6

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Company:

David Foster Productions

Trivia:

When this movie was released to Blu-Ray, it was remastered in 1080i high definition, but Blu-Ray quality is usually thought of as having full 1080p resolution.

Goofs:

Continuity: When trying to locate Johnny 5 on the computer right after he escapes, the man in the blue lab coat standing behind Newton is never shown reflected in the monitor.

Quotes:

Stephanie Speck:[about the SAINT robots] So - what are these guys used for, anyway?
Ben Jabituya:It's top-secret crap.
Stephanie Speck:That's what I figured.

Movie Connections:

References Rocky (1976)

Soundtrack:

Come And Follow Me

A rarity among family-oriented films...

There have been many films that claim they can entertain audiences of all ages. Indeed, this seems to be the most profitable kind of film to make, with the family-oriented often translating to the lowest common denominator. There is a rare kind of film in this oversaturated market, however. Namely, the film that claims it can entertain an audience in almost any age bracket, and really can deliver on this promise. I know how this sounds, so bear with me a moment.

Short Circuit is, at heart, a comedy about what happens when a robot designed to replace a special forces soldier is struck by lightning, and starts to believe he is a living entity. Much of the rest of the film revolves around either Number 5's attempts to evade capture by the people who made him, or his attempts to convince the people he meets of the truly wonderful thing that has happened to him. Ally Sheedy and Steve Guttenberg provide an excellent support cast that does a first rate job of interacting with the character. This was one of the first films to show human actors engaging in conversation with what was essentially a full-scale puppet, and it remains one of the best. With brilliant voice acting by Tim Blaney, Number 5 seems more human than some of the other actors in the film, especially G.W. Bailey. They must have had a special on Police Academy alumni that year.

Speaking of Police Academy, the "let's rip the front seats out and sit in the back" joke gets a couple of references here. In fact, a few old classics get a good reference in this effort. Interestingly enough, the Three Stooges short that is shown and imitated in a couple of sequences is called Woman Haters. Go figure. The one weakness of the film is that it seems primarily constructed around a few puppeteering or special effects sequences. The use of the laser beams here seems very dated by modern standards, and the computers would look unbelievable if I hadn't personally seen the computers that were available to the public and business around this year.

Sadly, they do not make films like this anymore. In this day and age, where every film has to be made as expensively as possible, and even films aimed at children seem segmented, nobody seems willing to consider that the adults in the audience might need to be entertained, too. Which is a real pity. Films like Short Circuit have the ability to appeal to this viewer even more now that he is twenty-something years old than was the case when he was eight years old. I doubt that anyone who turns twenty-six in 2020 is going to same the same about the Pokemon or other such mind-numbing single-digit-age-only crap that is being churned out.

I gave Short Circuit an eight out of ten. It is starting to show its age, but as a relic of the mid-1980s, it also shows that there were people asking questions about the advancement of technology. Indeed, on the basis of films like Short Circuit, I am almost willing to regard the 1980s as the last bastion of creativity in the mainstream film industry. Give it a look expecting a film about more than money, and you may be pleasantly surprised.