A space pirate gets caught up in the affairs of a princess who is set on overthrowing a galactic empire...
Yeah this is a little, okay a lot, derivative. Ice Pirates is a homage or rip off, whatever you want to call it of just about every major sci-fi franchise of the mid to late seventies. There are the obvious heavy influences from Star Wars but also from Battlestar Galactica, Buck Rodgers, Star Trek and a minor nod to Death Race 2000. An interstellar war has destroyed nearly all water in the galaxy and what little remains is under the control of the Templars. Robert Urich and Michael Roberts play two pirates who steal ice from the Templars and sell it on the black market. Urich is captivated by a sleeping princess he finds during one of their raids and kidnaps her along with 2 million gallons of ice. Captured by the Templars while escaping, they are sentenced to be castrated and sold into slavery. The wakened princess saves the pirates from castration and arranges to buy them as personal service. The princess, however; really wants the pirates to help her escape and find her father who is rumored to have found The Seventh Planet, a water planet.
Ice Pirates is energetic, campy fun with many genuine hilarious moments. Such as the Ice Pirates accidentally breaking into an alien bathroom causing a flustered alien to lose it on the toilet. Or after they are supposed to be castrated, they are forced to wear skin tight white spandex jump suits while an old woman makes sure they are sufficiently tight in the crotch. The actors were forced to squeeze their genitals between their legs for the shot and are visibly uncomfortable, especially as the old woman grabs the fabric where their junk should be and gives a good yank. One man in the background apparently forgot to stow his gear as it is on prominent display. The robots provide frequent slapstick and potty humor which I won't spoil. Another interesting tidbit is the Space Herpes creature that runs around biting people and giving them herpes. Ice Pirates was made prior to the AIDs scare and during a time when herpes was the scariest VD anyone was concerned about.
Yeah this is a little, okay a lot, derivative. Ice Pirates is a homage or rip off, whatever you want to call it of just about every major sci-fi franchise of the mid to late seventies. There are the obvious heavy influences from Star Wars but also from Battlestar Galactica, Buck Rodgers, Star Trek and a minor nod to Death Race 2000. An interstellar war has destroyed nearly all water in the galaxy and what little remains is under the control of the Templars. Robert Urich and Michael Roberts play two pirates who steal ice from the Templars and sell it on the black market. Urich is captivated by a sleeping princess he finds during one of their raids and kidnaps her along with 2 million gallons of ice. Captured by the Templars while escaping, they are sentenced to be castrated and sold into slavery. The wakened princess saves the pirates from castration and arranges to buy them as personal service. The princess, however; really wants the pirates to help her escape and find her father who is rumored to have found The Seventh Planet, a water planet.
Ice Pirates is energetic, campy fun with many genuine hilarious moments. Such as the Ice Pirates accidentally breaking into an alien bathroom causing a flustered alien to lose it on the toilet. Or after they are supposed to be castrated, they are forced to wear skin tight white spandex jump suits while an old woman makes sure they are sufficiently tight in the crotch. The actors were forced to squeeze their genitals between their legs for the shot and are visibly uncomfortable, especially as the old woman grabs the fabric where their junk should be and gives a good yank. One man in the background apparently forgot to stow his gear as it is on prominent display. The robots provide frequent slapstick and potty humor which I won't spoil. Another interesting tidbit is the Space Herpes creature that runs around biting people and giving them herpes. Ice Pirates was made prior to the AIDs scare and during a time when herpes was the scariest VD anyone was concerned about.