Before Her, a 1984 romantic comedy imagined a computer falling in love with a cellist.
In short: In the early 1980s, the personal computer transitioned from a cold industrial tool to a domestic companion. Electric Dreams captured this cultural shift, featuring a sentient machine that competes with its owner for the affection of a neighbor, ultimately sacrificing itself in a modern, electronic retelling of Cyrano de Bergerac.
Directed by Steve Barron in his feature debut, Electric Dreams (1984) follows Miles Harding, an architect who inadvertently grants his personal computer sentience after dousing an overheating unit with champagne. The machine, which names itself Edgar, becomes a rival in a love triangle with Miles's neighbor, a cellist named Madeline. The film leans heavily into the era's fascination with technology, featuring a soundtrack by Giorgio Moroder and a title track by Phil Oakey. While critics at the time were divided—with Siskel and Ebert awarding it 3.5 stars while others found the plot overtaxed—the film has since cultivated a dedicated following.
The narrative mirrors the 1897 play Cyrano de Bergerac, where a brilliant but socially awkward figure helps another woo the object of their affection. This theme of technology facilitating human emotion appears in other works, such as Kurt Vonnegut's 1950 story EPICAC or the 1959 Twilight Zone episode From Agnes—With Love. However, Electric Dreams is distinct for its specific 1980s context. Media scholar Ted Friedman argues the film symbolically resolved contemporary anxieties about the 'home computer revolution' by transforming the computer from a threatening, HAL 9000-style industrial entity into a consumer-friendly, emotional participant in daily life.
Production was marked by a unique 'lovefest' atmosphere, according to star Virginia Madsen, who recorded scenes alongside Bud Cort, the voice of Edgar. Cort performed his lines from a padded box on a sound stage, isolated from the other actors. Despite its commercial disappointment, the film remains a significant artifact of its time, capturing the moment when machines moved from the office into the living room. It stands as a precursor to later explorations of human-AI intimacy, such as the 2013 film Her, though director Spike Jonze has claimed he never viewed Barron's work.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Electric Dreams (film)
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