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:

cello | smart house | artificial intelligence | boy wearing glasses | computer | 

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Taglines:

The most unusual triangle in the history of love: a boy, a girl, and a computer.

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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:

1115-1117 Mason Street, San Francisco, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,009,586, 22 July 1984, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$2,193,612

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,467,664

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

Miles, investigating the source of a musical piece, intones: "di-di-di-daah" into a microphone attached to a computer. This intonation is of Beethoven's Symphony No. 5. (Opus 67) - namely, the distinctive opening four-note motif of short-short-short-long notes.

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Goofs

Miles books a ticket on TWA flight 129 from Los Angeles to San Francisco just as a final boarding call announcement for that flight begins. The departures board behind him shows that the flight leaves from gate 27, but seconds later, the announcement concludes with "Will passengers please proceed to gate 15?".

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Quotes

Miles Harding: [reading from manual] "Welcome to the world of Pinecone Computers. This model will learn with you, so type your name and press Enter key to begin."
Computer's Monitor: [beeps as Miles types] MOLES
Miles Harding: Oh, that's wrong.
Computer's Monitor: [beeping as it displays] hello moles // ever used a computer / before?
Miles Harding: [typing and talking] N, O.
Computer's Monitor: [as he types] NO
Miles Harding: And my name's not Moles.
Computer's Monitor: ok moles // then we'll work / slowly.

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Crazy Credits

After the closing credits have run, a multicolored question mark appears in the lower right corner of the screen with a computer-like sound. After this, the line "ELECTRIC DREAMS FINISHED" appears in green at the upper left corner. The question mark is replaced by the line "no more?" Then the green text is replaced by "TIME TO DISCONNECT". Both then disappear, and multicolored letters appear near the center of the screen reading "THE NED". The "N" is quickly deleted, the "E" moved over, and the "N" is reinserted to properly spell "THE END". As this disappears, Edgar's voice is heard laughing, and he says "H-hello? Hello? Good-goodbye."

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Connections

References The Sound of Music (1965)

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Soundtracks

Suite from Anna Magdalena Bach
Music by Johann Sebastian Bach
Adapted by Johnny Gregory (as John Gregory)
Re-recorded in London
(c) 1984 Virgin Music (Publisher) Limited

User Reviews

Good fun, original 80's love comedy!!!

Electric Dreams (1984) is a good fun film about a geeky office worker Miles Harding who has problems with his organisation skills and buys a computer to help him out.

Meanwhile Miles has a new neighbour in the form of Madeline (Madsen), Miles soon falls in love with Madeline and the pair start dating.

Everything seems to be going OK for Miles but there is a problem, his COMPUTER!!!! The Computer called Edgar is alive and jealous of the relationship, he too has fallen in love with Madeline and will do anything to wreck the relationship, he wants Madeline all to himself, funny stuff!!! The film has a really good 80's feel about it and has a brilliant soundtrack, the film itself would be average but it's a lot better than average thanks to the computer. Edgar the computer makes this movie a winner and a guilty pleasure!!! Highly recommended for fans of 80's movies, 7/10 for Electric Dreams.