Battle Beyond the Stars (1980)

User Rating:

5.0/10   

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:

Most of the model shots were reused Space Raiders (1983).

Quotes:

["Hammerhead" returns to Akir but cannot find Kalo and Tembo]
Sador: Could we POSSIBLY be out of range?
Yago: Not at all, Sir. Something must be wrong...
Sador: [disgusted] What's WRONG is that I have an army full of GENETIC MISTAKES! Why can't my minions be sophisticated or intelligent, like... well, like ME?
Yago: Well, you can't expect ALL of us to measure up to YOU, Sir.
Sador: Oh, don't flatter me!... Those two probably slammed their ship into an asteriod or something.
Yago: Or they MAY have been shot down.
Sador: Shot down? How? Akir has nothing to put in the air!
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Superior Firepower: The Making of 'Aliens' (2003) (V)

When Battlefield Earth is released on video, watch it back to back with this film.

I really enjoy these types of films. When they work it's because of their sheer flamboyance. They aren't afraid to steal from any source, EVERYTHING goes into the pot as long as it's got sparkle, splash, and action. This particular film works real well and I absolutely fell for it when I heard a phrase of music lifted directly from "Alexander Nevsky". It's pure, simple (repeat, simple) fun. The producers of "Battlefield Earth" could have learned something about making entertaining SF movies from repeated viewings of "Battle Beyond the Stars."