Gung-ho sci-fi action fun featuring a solid B-movie cast, one of many erupting after the enormous success of STAR WARS. While the special effects may seem inferior to today's computer generated graphics, there was something aesthetically pleasing to see real, finely detailed models duking it out with lasers in space battle.
Shad's(Richard Thomas) people on the planet Akira are threatened by the evil commander Sador(John Saxon)whose gargantuan ship houses a weapon that can actually disintegrate planets. Sador realizes that Akira has the right kind of habitat for his mutant soldiers and is willing to butcher an entire civilization in order to gain rule over it. Shad volunteers to seek out mercenaries willing to help his people combat Sador.
Roger Corman's successful production, BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS, achieves a great deal on a modest budget thanks in part to John Sayles' very sharp, witty, really amusing script which takes the sci-fi genre and adds cultural vernacular(..particularly with George Peppard's Cowboy and Sybil Danning's Saint-Exmin)that a regular modern audience can adhere to, a spectacularly rousing score by James Horner, and some stunning matte work along with visually stimulating details for the varying space ships. I think the cast of characters adds substantially though to the movie. Thomas(..who makes a likable baby-faced hero), Saxon(..wonderfully vile as the arch-villain), Peppard(..as the liquor-swigging, harmonica-blowing, cigarette-smoking, charming freight delivery man who provides Shad with a pal to depend on when needing a leader desperately to help train his non-violent people how to shoot and defend themselves on the ground as Sador's stormtroopers land ready for combat), Darlanne Fluegel(..as the adorable love interest for Shad, Nanelia, who wishes to mate / procreate with him;she's been raised around robotic humanoids so she's a little naive when it comes to human contact), Danning(..as a proud female warrior who operates a small, very fast ship, with one of those very revealing suits allowing us to enjoy her massive melons and superb figure), and especially the voice of Lynn Carlin as Nell, the wise-cracking voice of Shad's ship(..who argues with Shad over his risky decisions and often lets their foes know what she thinks about them!). Robert Vaughn has a great part as a tired killer, Gelt, who is sick of being alone, even though his toxic personality doesn't exactly endear him to anybody due to his harsh existence in a cruel galaxy.
This is spirited entertainment, penned by a man who knew how to inject his own brand of humor into these B-movies without insulting the genres themselves. Furthermore, he was able to create nifty roles and snappy dialogue for his casts who understood the material(..and tongue in cheek nature of it all) and went with it.
Shad's(Richard Thomas) people on the planet Akira are threatened by the evil commander Sador(John Saxon)whose gargantuan ship houses a weapon that can actually disintegrate planets. Sador realizes that Akira has the right kind of habitat for his mutant soldiers and is willing to butcher an entire civilization in order to gain rule over it. Shad volunteers to seek out mercenaries willing to help his people combat Sador.
Roger Corman's successful production, BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS, achieves a great deal on a modest budget thanks in part to John Sayles' very sharp, witty, really amusing script which takes the sci-fi genre and adds cultural vernacular(..particularly with George Peppard's Cowboy and Sybil Danning's Saint-Exmin)that a regular modern audience can adhere to, a spectacularly rousing score by James Horner, and some stunning matte work along with visually stimulating details for the varying space ships. I think the cast of characters adds substantially though to the movie. Thomas(..who makes a likable baby-faced hero), Saxon(..wonderfully vile as the arch-villain), Peppard(..as the liquor-swigging, harmonica-blowing, cigarette-smoking, charming freight delivery man who provides Shad with a pal to depend on when needing a leader desperately to help train his non-violent people how to shoot and defend themselves on the ground as Sador's stormtroopers land ready for combat), Darlanne Fluegel(..as the adorable love interest for Shad, Nanelia, who wishes to mate / procreate with him;she's been raised around robotic humanoids so she's a little naive when it comes to human contact), Danning(..as a proud female warrior who operates a small, very fast ship, with one of those very revealing suits allowing us to enjoy her massive melons and superb figure), and especially the voice of Lynn Carlin as Nell, the wise-cracking voice of Shad's ship(..who argues with Shad over his risky decisions and often lets their foes know what she thinks about them!). Robert Vaughn has a great part as a tired killer, Gelt, who is sick of being alone, even though his toxic personality doesn't exactly endear him to anybody due to his harsh existence in a cruel galaxy.
This is spirited entertainment, penned by a man who knew how to inject his own brand of humor into these B-movies without insulting the genres themselves. Furthermore, he was able to create nifty roles and snappy dialogue for his casts who understood the material(..and tongue in cheek nature of it all) and went with it.