Battle of the Stars (1977) Battaglie negli spazi stellari (original title)

Director:

Alfonso Brescia

Writers:

Alfonso Brescia
Aldo Crudo
(more)

Genre:

Sci-Fi

Plot:

A spaceship investigates an out-of-control planet and discovers a computer that controls an underground civilization.

Plot Keywords:

Computer | Planet | Spaceship | Cosmic Love | Alien

Cast

John Richardson	...	Mike Hamilton
Yanti Somer	...	Diana Greene
Gaetano Balestrieri	...	Vassilov
Nicolas Barthe	...	Connolly
Massimo Bonetti
Aldo Canti	...	Frank Bimble
Omero Capanna
Romeo Costantini
Massimo De Cecco
Daniele Dublino
Giuseppe Fortis
Manfred Freyberger
Marco Gelardini
Enrico Gozzo
Vassili Karis	...	Svensson
Raffaele Muraglia
Lucio Rosato
Fabio Roscioli
Detlev Weinert
Gisela Hahn
Malisa Longo
West Buchanan
Walter Maestosi	...	Irk
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Arduino Sacco	...	Narrator (voice)

Directed by
Alfonso Brescia		(as Al Bradley)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Alfonso Brescia		(as Al Bradley)
Aldo Crudo		(as Al Crydo)
Massimo Lo Jacono
Giacomo Mazzocchi

Produced by
Luigi Alessi	....	producer (as Louis Aless)
Doro Vlado Hreljanovic	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Marcello Giombini

Cinematography by
Silvio Fraschetti		(as S. Fraschetti)

Film Editing by
Larry Marinelli		(as Lawrence Marinelli)
Carlo Reali		(as Charles Really)

Production Design by
Adriana Bellone
Mimmo Scavia

Set Decoration by
Adriana Bellone
Mimmo Scavia

Costume Design by
Elena De Curtis

Makeup Department
Raul Ranieri	....	makeup artist (as Raoul Ranieri)

Production Management
Luigi Alessi	....	general manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Massimo Carocci	....	assistant director (as Max Carr)

Art Department
Salvatore Siciliano	....	constructor

Special Effects by
Aldo Frollini	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Roberto Calabró	....	still photographer

Other crew
A. Belly	....	choreographer
Mimmo Scavia	....	choreographer (as M. Scavia)

Production Companies

• Nais Film

Distributors

• Brentwood Home Video (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Lions Gate Films Home Entertainment
• Paragon Video Productions (1983) (USA) (VHS)
• Reel Media International (2004) (USA) (video)
• Reel Media International (2007) (USA) (all media)
• Ventura Distribution (2002) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

"Battaglie negli spazi stellari" - Italy (original title)
"War in Space" - USA

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sci-fi violence

Runtime:

USA:95 min | USA:89 min (DVD)

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:PG-13

Company:

Nais Film

Quotes:

2XL:I control the lives and the brains of all the inhabitants here! I keep them alive as I see fit, just as a shepherd controls the sheep, and then, at any moment, sheers the sheep!

Aimless, absurd, but funny as hell and harmless

I am tempted to mention the fact that The Film "Mission to Mars", directed by Brian DePalma, bears a strong similarity to this film.... there, I've mentioned it! One of the most remarkable things about this film is the fact that "Star Wars: A New Hope" came out in the same year. Despite the title, this film bears no resemblance whatsoever to Star Wars. However, I should note that its own title is completely unrelated to the film as well. There is no war, really. But films without plots are hard to name, so c'est la vie.

This film stars a lot of good looking actors (both male and female), though they are all too thin, just like the script, and the special effects. The technology depicted in the film is reminiscent of the first Star Trek series or even Lost in Space. The special effects are variable. Some are actually fairly decent miniature shots, but then there are a few cardboard cut-out sequences reminiscent of some of Terry Gilliam's animations in Mont Python's Flying Circus. The behavior of the actors is sometimes inexplicable, but the dialog is so bad that you hardly even notice. For example, every time the entire crew of the spaceship is about to die (and this happens a lot), they all stand up and cheers and hug each other when they survive. various subplots are developed and then abandoned (just as well IMO) and, towards the end, it almost seems as if we are going to get a coherent story-line. Maybe they ran out of film? This film is a hoot. I recommend it highly for bad film buffs and MST3K fans. MST3K probably avoided this because it was a too-easy target.