Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone (1983)

User Rating:

4.7/10   

Director:

Lamont Johnson

Writers:

Stewart Harding (story) and
Jean LaFleur (story) ...

Release Date:

20 May 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Journey with Wolff and Niki, an interstellar adventurer and young rebel. On a mission to rescue three stranded women from a planet no one has warned them about. Because no one has ever returned.

Plot:

Three women made an emergency landing on a planet plagued with a fatal disease, but are captured by dictator Overdog...

Plot Keywords:

Dictator | Beautiful Woman | Sleeping Bag | Electrocution | Water

Cast

Peter Strauss	...	Wolff
Molly Ringwald	...	Niki
Ernie Hudson	...	Washington
Andrea Marcovicci	...	Chalmers
Michael Ironside	...	Overdog
Beeson Carroll	...	Grandman Patterson
Hrant Alianak	...	Chemist
Deborah Pratt	...	Meagan
Aleisa Shirley	...	Reena
Cali Timmins	...	Nova
Paul Boretski	...	Jarrett
Patrick Rowe	...	Duster
Reggie Bennett	...	Barracuda Leader

Also Known As:

Adventures in the Creep Zone
Road Gangs
Spacehunter (USA) (DVD box title)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

Canada | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | USA:PG (#27017) | UK:15 (video rating) (1986) (uncut) | UK:PG (original rating) (cut) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-12 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Moab, Utah, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

While it was common for 3-D movies to also be released simultaneously in flat versions, the two versions of this movie were shown at different ratios. 3-D prints were projected at 2.35:1, while flat prints were only 1.85:1. Thus, the flat widescreen DVD version from Columbia TriStar is correctly presented at 1.85:1 and not 2.35:1, as erroneously listed on the DVD case.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: A member of the crew is visible at the bottom right of the screen when Wolfs ship is seen for the first time, just before he gets the rescue mission message.

Quotes:

Wolff: What the hell are you?
Nicki: What do you think I am, you scrawny earthbag? I'm a woman!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Step Brothers (2008)

Like Gold To A 12-Year-Old

Back when I was 12, renting this movie was like popping in the end-all be-all of science fiction, especially since I didn't get to see it at the theater! The credits were funky, the heroic Elmer Bernstein score was sweeping, the dialogue was amusing and the plot was something every 12-year-old boy only wishes he could take part in. After all, what could be more fun than taking your android companion on a simple mission to retrieve 3 female survivors from a destroyed outer space pleasure cruise ship who land on a planet nobody is supposed to go anywhere near? I was game!

As Wolfe, the man motivated to rescue the three maidens for some big time "megacredits", Peter Strauss is fantastically watchable. I don't know what it is about him as an actor, but he does try to bring some sense and sensibility to a pretty generic role. Joining this little adventure is Niki, played by a very young Molly Ringwald. Sure, she's annoying and a pain-in-Wolfe's rear end, but who else could you see playing her from that time period? One of the cast members of "The Facts Of Life"? Also included in the cast is Andrea Marcovicci (too bad her part wasn't a bit longer), Ernie Hudson (who always manages to bring some intensity to his roles whether in a good or "not so good" film) and Michael Ironside as Overdog (the opposite of "Underdog"?), the baddie.

Yes, the film consists of a whole lotta cheese; the dialogue borders on laughable (especially by the dwellers on the planet), the special effects don't quite live up to expectations and the plot revolves around a bunch of set pieces that don't seem to make for a consistent story.

Still, you know what? This movie holds a very special place in my heart. Let's face it, folks, they don't make them like this anymore. There's no fart jokes, no nudity, no sex and very little language. What's more, Peter Strauss gets some very funny moments! Upon finally rescuing the three screaming women from Overdog, a frustrated Wolfe shouts at them "Will you PLEASE shut up? I'm trying to rescue you!"

Haven't we all had a moment when we've wanted to say this very same thing?

8 out of 10