Battle Beyond the Stars

When an evil tyrant threatens a peaceful planet with dictatorial rule, what are its pacifist inhabitants supposed to do? Well, first thing they do is apparently rip off the plot of Akira Kurosawa's 'Seven Samurai' and then fill the screen with a laser-light show that seems far too extravagant for such a low-budget feature. One of the short docs about the production, which is included on this Blu-ray release, calls this a "Space Opera on a Shoestring." Unfortunately, there's more shoestring in this Roger Corman cult classic than space opera, a clear reference to the producer's attempt to suck the 'Star Wars' craze completely dry.

On the other hand, director Jimmy Murakami, the talented artist of such animated favorites as 'When the Wind Blows' and 'The Snowman,' does an extraordinary job with the limited resources. 'Battle Beyond the Stars' is actually well-made and decently paced given its origins and purpose, often feeling like an overly-ambitious made-for-TV movie. There are even some moments of inspired filmmaking, like the evil emperor's massive ship flying menacingly through space. But they're ultimately fleeting touches to a recycled storyline in a purely made-for-profit production on a small sum of money, which at the time was greatly expensive for Corman.

This western in outer space was written — or should I say revised for the post-'Star Wars' era of filmmaking — by John Sayles, who later went on to have good success as an independent filmmaker. He makes no bones about what his script is doing, seeming very much like a humorous pastiche in several areas. He even names the planet Akir so that characters residing there can call themselves Akiras, a blatant wink-wink elbow-nudge to the legendary Japanese director. We also see elements of 'The Magnificent Seven' lingering about, especially when we have Robert Vaughn quite literally reprising his role from that John Sturges classic.

Here, Sayles has his Akira hero, Shad (Richard Thomas), scour the universe for a posse of outlaws to fight against his people's new oppressor, Sador (John Saxon). If you notice any similarities between Shad and Luke Skywalker, don't worry, it's not a coincidence. Both are young, innocent farm boys from a dry desert planet. It's a role that would have been even funnier had Corman put out more money to hire Mark Hamill. As for Saxon's malevolent despot, there's no relation to Darth Vader. But like all evildoers, he comes with some type of physical deformity, namely a nasty birthmark across his face and a rotting arm that's never explained.

After all that scouring, Shad returns with a strange collection of mercenaries to which even the Akiras seem too afraid to say hello. We have genetically-cloned, three-eyed telepathic aliens and a lizard-like humanoid named Cayman (Morgan Woodward) from the Lambda Lambda Lambdas. Just kidding; his full name is Cayman from the Lambda Zone, and he's joined by twins with high temperatures conveniently named Kelvin and some dude who could be easily mistaken for Conan's long-lost brother. George Peppard makes an absolutely winning appearance as a cowboy space trucker, followed by Vaughn's on-the-run assassin. Along the way, Shad even picks up a girlfriend in Darlanne Fluegel.

Despite this large assortment of personalities, there was one role I simply could not take my eyes off of. And that is the Viking-inspired warrior Saint-Exmin (Sybil Danning), whose tantalizingly scanty outfits quickly become a distraction to male viewers. Even worse, the underside of Shad's spaceship looks like a cross between a scrotum and a pair of breasts (complete with nipples). One thought keep coursing through my head: What was James Cameron thinking when he designed this? And one final thing. Why do many of these movies make the future look a lot like the 1970s with permed hair and thick mustaches on men? I'm not seriously looking for answers to these questions, but it's what makes 'Battle Beyond the Stars' an entertaining and funny watch — an ambitious production, badly made.

The Blu-ray: Vital Disc Stats

Shout! Factory brings 'Battle Beyond the Stars' to Blu-ray as a 30th Anniversary Edition under the Roger Corman's Cult Classics line. The Region A locked, BD25 disc comes in the standard blue keepcase and goes straight to the normal menu selection with full-motion clips and music.