Battle Beyond the Stars (1980)

A young farmer sets out to recruit mercenaries to defend his peaceful planet, which is under threat of invasion by an evil tyrant and his armada.

Director:

Jimmy T. Murakami

Writers:

John Sayles (screenplay), John Sayles (story),

Stars:

Richard Thomas, Robert Vaughn, John Saxon

1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Richard Thomas	...	Shad
Robert Vaughn	...	Gelt
John Saxon	...	Sador
George Peppard	...	Cowboy
Darlanne Fluegel	...	Nanelia
Sybil Danning	...	St. Exmin
Sam Jaffe	...	Dr. Hephaestus
Morgan Woodward	...	Cayman
Earl Boen	...	Nestor 1
John Gowans	...	Nestor 2 (as John Gowens)
Steve Davis	...	Quopeg
Lawrence Steven Meyers	...	Kelvin (as Larry Meyers)
Lara Cody	...	Kelvin
Lynn Carlin	...	Nell (voice)
Jeff Corey	...	Zed

Storyline

A young farmer assembles a band of diverse mercenaries in outer space to defend his peaceful planet from the evil tyrant Sador and his armada of aggressors. Among the mercenaries are Space Cowboy, a spacegoing truck driver from Earth; Gelt, a wealthy but experienced assassin; and Saint-Exmin, a Valkyrie warrior looking to prove herself in battle.

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Plot Keywords:

mercenary | planet | outer space | space travel | space war | 

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Taglines:

A battle beyond time, beyond space.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 November 1980 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

Batalha Além das Estrelas

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

SEK 2,027,999 (Sweden)

Company Credits

Production Co:

New World Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to an interview with star Richard Thomas, the wardrobe department had a difficult time keeping the top of Sybil Danning's costume on and had to resort to using band aids to prevent said top from slipping off.

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Goofs

During Saint Exmin's final battle against Sador a crewmember can be seen on the left-side of the screen (over Sybil Danning's right shoulder). The crewman is visible during the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th cut to her during the battle. The crew person appears to be sitting just behind the wall immediately behind Sybil.

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Quotes

Cowboy: [after seeing Gelt blast a ship] Beautiful. I love to see a pro work!

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Connections

Referenced in Other Voices: Creating 'The Terminator' (2001)

User Reviews

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?