Spaceballs (1987)

A rogue star pilot and his trusty sidekick must come to the rescue of a Princess and save the galaxy from a ruthless race of beings known as Spaceballs.

Director:

Mel Brooks

Writers:

Mel Brooks, Thomas Meehan

Stars:

Mel Brooks, John Candy, Rick Moranis

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mel Brooks	...	President Skroob / Yogurt
John Candy	...	Barf
Rick Moranis	...	Dark Helmet
Bill Pullman	...	Lone Starr
Daphne Zuniga	...	Princess Vespa
Dick Van Patten	...	King Roland
George Wyner	...	Colonel Sandurz
Michael Winslow	...	Radar Technician
Joan Rivers	...	Dot Matrix (voice)
Lorene Yarnell Jansson	...	Dot Matrix (as Lorene Yarnell)
John Hurt	...	John Hurt
Sal Viscuso	...	Radio Operator
Ronny Graham	...	Minister
Jim J. Bullock	...	Prince Valium (as JM J. Bullock)
Leslie Bevis	...	Commanderette Zircon

Storyline

After squandering the fresh air in the distant planet Spaceball, the good-for-nothing President Skroob orders the arch-villain henchman, Dark Helmet, to abduct the adjacent planet Druidia's Princess Vespa to strong-arm her father, King Roland, to provide them with the code to the planet's atmosphere. Under those circumstances, the seasoned mercenary, Lone Starr, and his trusty half-human, half canine sidekick, Barf, will attempt to save the princess in distress, while at the same time, the ruthless loan shark, Pizza the Hut is after them. But in the end, only he who can harness the mystical and mighty force known only as "The Schwartz", will be able to save the day.

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Plot Keywords:

parody | star wars spoof | sci fi spoof | winnebago | rescue | 

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Taglines:

May The Farce Be With You.

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 June 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

Planet Moron

Filming Locations:

St. Matthew's Episcopal Church, Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$22,700,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,600,000, 28 June 1987

Gross USA:

$38,119,483

Company Credits

Production Co:

Brooksfilms,Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

"The Schwartz" is more than just a replacement (and near rhyming) title for The Force. Schwartz is the name of Mel's legal representative for the film. This gave the phrase "May the Schwartz be with you" far more significance to the entire production, than just a catchphrase for the film itself.

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Goofs

In various scenes when Vespa and Dot Matrix are in the Mercedes, you can see the blue screen reflecting off Dot's casing.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Radio Operator: Colonel Sandurz!
Colonel Sandurz: What is it, Sergeant Ricco?
Radio Operator: You told me to let you know the moment Planet Druidia was in sight, sir.
Colonel Sandurz: So?
Radio Operator: Planet Druidia's in sight, sir.
Colonel Sandurz: You're really a Spaceball. You know that, don't you?
Radio Operator: Thanks, sir.

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Crazy Credits

In the style of the "Star Wars" movies, there are no opening credits, only the title followed by a crawl.

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Alternate Versions

In a CBS airing (and likely all US airings), every instance of the word "asshole" in the famous "how many assholes have we got on this ship?" scene is replaced by "moron".

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Connections

Spoofs Star Trek (1966)

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Soundtracks

Colonel Bogey March
Performed by Kenneth Alford
(uncredited)

User Reviews

So Lone Star, I see your Schartz is as big as mine........

Spaceballs is one of the funniest movies ever. In the tradition of Airplane it spoofs nearly all modern SciFi including: Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, Return Of The Jedi, Alien, Star Trek, and Planet Of The Apes. Mel Brook's has had some funny movies but this takes the cake. Rick Moranis is inarguably his second best role after Strange Brew. John Candy has one of his better performances. Bill Pullman (a long way from Independence Day) is the central character Lone Star, a combination Luke Skywalker and Han Solo. Sight gags and classic memorable lines are present here from beginning to end. Just looking at Dark Helmet is enough to induce laughter. Spaceballs is a truly great film. Let's see how well you handle it!