Battle Beyond the Stars (1980)

Director:

Jimmy T. Murakami

Writers:

John Sayles (story) &
Anne Dyer (story) ...

Release Date:

13 November 1980 (West Germany)

Genre:

Sci-Fi

Tagline:

A battle beyond time, beyond space.

Plot:

Seven futuristic mercenaries are assembled to defend a helpless farm colony from an evil overlord.

Plot Keywords:

Outer Space | Mercenary | Mad Scientist | Spacecraft | Psychotronic

Awards:

4 nominations

Cast

Richard Thomas	...	Shad
Robert Vaughn	...	Gelt
John Saxon	...	Sador
George Peppard	...	Cowboy
Darlanne Fluegel	...	Nanelia
Sybil Danning	...	Saint-Exmin
Sam Jaffe	...	Dr. Hephaestus
Jeff Corey	...	Zed
Morgan Woodward	...	Cayman
Marta Kristen	...	Lux
Earl Boen	...	Nestor 1
John D. Gowans	...	Nestor 2 (as John Gowens)
Steve Davis	...	Quopeg
Lawrence Steven Meyers	...	Kelvin 1 (as Larry Meyers)
Lara Cody	...	Kelvin 2

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Germany:12 (2005, DVD rating) | Australia:PG | Norway:11 | UK:PG | USA:PG | West Germany:12 | Finland:K-16 (1989) (uncut version) | Finland:K-12 (1980) (cut version)

Company:

New World Pictures

Trivia:

Robert Vaughn plays essentially the same character he played in The Magnificent Seven (1960).

Quotes:

[as Kalo suddenly breaks off their pursuit of Nell and Shad]
Tembo: Why are we slowing down?
Kalo: Orders were to guard the planet.
Tembo: To hell with orders! I want that ship!
Kalo: Remember Bilko? He disobeyed orders, and now Lord Sador's wearing HIS FOOT!
Tembo: Right... Maybe we'd better go back.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Untitled Star Wars Mockumentary (2003)

A GOOD Roger Corman film? Amazing!

Roger Corman was executive producer for this enjoyable and wonderfully campy sci-fi version of `The Magnificent Seven'. It even features Robert Vaughn as the same lost-his-nerve gunslinger he played in the original! John Sayle's script is loaded with fine humor. Director Jimmy T. Murakami obviously knew his film history, since the planet being attacked is called `Kira' -- a tribute to director Akira Kurasowa of `Seven Samurai', the inspiration for the original of this interesting trio of films.

Richard Thomas, star of TV's rustic melodrama `The Waltons', plays the brave young man who leaves his besieged home world to find mercenaries to fight against planet-conquering John Saxon. George Peppard plays `Cowboy', a space-going gunrunner with a Western fixation (another tribute to `Mag 7'). Sybil Danning is a feisty female warrior with a costume that defies description.

The special effects look a bit dated now, but that isn't the film's fault. Sam Jaffe (`The Day the Earth Stood Still') has a great part. Darlene Flugel is the attractive romantic interest for Thomas. James Horner's rousing score is a golden plus. When the movie was first released, sci-fi fans considered it a rip-off because it was released between `Star Wars - A New Hope' and `The Empire Strikes Back' -- tough competition.

Watch this movie as a double feature with `The Magnificent Seven' and you're guaranteed a good time. I've done, and it works just fine . ..

Let me know if it works for you, okay?