I saw this movie when I was a kid.
For some reason it was televised often back then. Probably because it flopped in theaters and they needed to recoup some of the cash they put into it.
Robert Zemekis co-wrote and directed it and Steven Spielberg executive produced it. In order to bankroll the movie Spielberg had an agreement with Universal Pictures that if Zemekis was doing a crap job that he would step in and direct it. Spielberg was already SPIELBERG having already directed such hit films like Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
It was Zemekis’ directorial debut. Zemekis went on to direct Back to the Future, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and Forrest Gump, among others. He’s a big deal.
I remember being so fond of the film in my youth that I will probably hate it when I see it as an adult.