Battle Beyond the Stars (1980)

User Rating:

4.9/10   

Director:

Jimmy T. Murakami

Writers:

Anne Dyer (story)
John Sayles (screenplay)

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 of the Lambda Zone
Marta Kristen	...	Lux
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Earl Boen	...	Nestor 1
Larry Broyles	...	Tembo
Ansley Carlin	...	Wok
Daniel Carlin	...	Pez
Lynn Carlin	...	Nell (voice)
Dick Carlos	...	Yago
Doug Carlsson	...	Pez
Dallas Clarke	...	Askew
Lara Cody	...	Kelvin2
Brian Coventry
Rick Davidson
Steve Davis	...	Quepeg
Julia Duffy	...	Mol
Kerry Frank
John Gowan	...	Nestor 2
Ron Henschel
Tom Henschel	...	Talking Android
Terrence E. McNally	...	Gar
Lawrence Steven Meyers	...	Kelvin
Eric Morris	...	Feh
Robert Peace	...	Kalo
Rob Reece
Gary D. Robbins
Ron Ross	...	Dab
Whitney Rydbeck	...	Saunders
Steve Says	...	Quopeg
Kimberly Sommer	...	Kintwarna
Galen Thompson	...	Wok
Dan Vincent

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:

The main body of the Hephastus space station was made from a plastic terrarium salvaged from a garbage dumpster

Quotes:

[as "Hammerhead," Sador's dreadnaught, is approaching Akir]
Yago: This is Akir, a planet of stone with a single green spot.
Sador: Let's see it. What about their forms?
Yago: Comparable with ours. They have a solar technology. No known defense capacity.
Sador: Interesting. Let's check that...
[to Shad and the other Akira]
Sador: ...
[shouts]
Sador: Hear me, beings of Akir. I am Sador of the Malmori. I have come with my forces to conquer you. If you resist, I will crush you. I possess a stellar converter, the most powerful weapon in the universe. You cannot resist me. I want your planet to be my colony. Your harvest comes in seven risings of your red giant. I shall return then, and you will accept me as your master. If you do not submit, your planet and all life on it will be burned to ash...
[shouts]
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in Bachelor Party (1984)

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."