Solarbabies (1986)

In a post-apocalyptic future ruled by the military, a group of renegade teenage orphans find a legendary orb, Bohdai, that can supposedly bring the rain back to dried up Earth.

Director:

Alan Johnson

Writers:

Walon Green (screenplay), D.A. Metrov (screenplay) (as Douglas Anthony Metrov)

Stars:

Richard Jordan, Jami Gertz, Jason Patric

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Richard Jordan	...	Grock
Jami Gertz	...	Terra
Jason Patric	...	Jason
Lukas Haas	...	Daniel
James Le Gros	...	Metron
Claude Brooks	...	Rabbit
Peter DeLuise	...	Tug
Peter Kowanko	...	Gavial (as Pete Kowanko)
Adrian Pasdar	...	Darstar
Sarah Douglas	...	Shandray
Charles Durning	...	The Warden
Frank Converse	...	Greentree
Terrence Mann	...	Ivor
Alexei Sayle	...	Malice
Bruce Payne	...	Dogger

Storyline

In a future, water has disappeared from the Earth, anda group of teenagers, who are livie at an orphanage, run by the despotic rulers of the new Earth, and find an orb of special powerr. They escape from the orphanage and try to cross the wasteland looking for a place they can live free as the stormtroopers search for them and the orb.

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Plot Keywords:

post apocalypse | orb | wasteland | future | orphanage | 

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Taglines:

Spectacular science-fiction/adventure on blazing skates!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 November 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

Solarbabies

Filming Locations:

Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Tucson, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$1,579,260

Company Credits

Production Co:

Brooksfilms, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The hand melting scene was borrowed from Dune (1984) which also starred Richard Jordan (Grock).

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Goofs

When the group gets to Aqua Bunker through some water pipes, there is already lots of roller skate tracks on the dusty ground from previous takes.

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Quotes

Grock: [after the skateball game/attempted Earth Police-bust] Scorpions. You've had special treatment, favors, and training by experts from my maiming squads. Do you deny that...?
Gavial: No, Strictor Grock.
Grock: Yet you just allowed yourselves to be TRASHED, by left-brain rollers using homemade gear.
Gavial: Strictor, if we just had...
Grock: *Cut your breath*, before you betray your putrid thinking!

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Connections

References Dune (1984)

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Soundtracks

Love Will Set You Free
Written by Smokey Robinson and Ivory Stone
Performed by Smokey Robinson
Courtesy of Motown Records/Taj Mahal Music

User Reviews

Its problems go beyond its awful title

"Solarbabies" apparently wasn't given much of a theatrical release by MGM. After seeing the movie, I can understand why they apparently decided to cut their losses. To be fair, the outdoor locations are pretty eye-catching (the movie was shot in Spain), and the sets look like some serious money and time was spent on their construction. But aside from those things, there's not much more praiseworthy to bring up. The movie is really confusing at times, with several plot points brought up so suddenly in the narrative that I'm pretty confident I'm correct in thinking the movie was severely cut in the editing room, taking away the introduction and explanation to these plot points. Despite this editing, there are still plenty of ridiculous things to be found in the movie, like the youths getting around in this post-apocalypse world on roller-skates. But most of these ridiculous things are just mildly amusing, not insane enough to make this worth seeing on a camp level. Will anyone like it? Well, I have an idea that (very young) kids - especially kids who have not seem many better fantasy movies - might get some enjoyment out of it, but I'm sure they'll still question a lot of the movie's incoherent moments.