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Battle Beyond the Stars

Battle Beyond the Stars

List Price: $19.98
Your Price: $17.98
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Big names B movie
Review: James Cameron - design, James Horner - music, John Sayles - screenplay. Big names behind the camera! One commentary is done by John Sayles AND Roger Corman - that alone is worth the admission price though Gale Ann Hurd's commentary is also great. Only quibble is no Closed Captioning. Schlock, but affectionately remembered schlock.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: more stars than you think...
Review: James Cameron, Gale Ann Hurd , James Horner names sound familar. Well they all did work on a little film called ALIENS. Get Roger Corman to throw in John Sayles a brilliant independent filmaker and script doctor and you have a pretty talented crew. Just released to DVD, this low budget space epic capitalized on the STAR WARS craze of the late 70's...with effects that were used in numerous other Roger Corman productions, this film actually had some quality....Its basically the magnificent 7 in space with Robert Vaughn recreating the same role he played in the original. Lots of fun, this will bring back good memories for those who saw it the first time around. The features really add a lot...Lots of commentary....Roger Corman is worth listing to. Known as perhaps the greatest low budget filmaker of all time (just check his list of credits produced over 300 films and directed another 50)...his book "How I Made a Hundred Movies in Hollywood (And Never Lost a Dime)" is classic.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Battle Of The Network Stars
Review: John Saxon (The Bold Ones) is the one-armed villain Sador, bent on conquering every planet in the galaxy. Richard Thomas (The Waltons) is Shad, whose peace loving world is about to become Sador's next conquest. Shad decides it's better to fight than submit, and flies away in search of mercenaries for his cause. He first enlists the aid of computer expert Darlanne Fluegel (Project: Alien), who later becomes his love interest. Along the way he meets and recruits the Hans Solo wannabe Cowboy, played by George Peppard (The A Team), along with the ultimate mercenary Gelt, played by Robert Vaughn (The Man From U.N.C.L.E.). At first he declines the aid of Saint-Exmin, played by Sybil Danning (Amazon Women On The Moon), but her persistence pays off and she is welcomed to join them.

My main problem with this movie is the casting of Richard Thomas in the lead role. He plays the young innocent who abhors violence well, but his transformation into a vengeful warrior is totally unconvincing. John Saxon chews so much scenery he must have gotten indigestion. On the other hand, George Peppard is so laid back that he practically sleepwalks through the movie. Robert Vaughn plays the heartless mercenary to perfection. Sybil Danning is both sexy and menacing, and fills out her Valkyrie-like costumes very well. Darlanne Fluegel portrays a very sympathetic character and compliments Richard Thomas well. The outcome between the rag-tag collection of mercenaries versus the overwhelming forces of evil is never in doubt. This action-packed movie, though predictable, is very entertaining.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Battle Of The Network Stars
Review: John Saxon (The Bold Ones) is the one-armed villain Sador, bent on conquering every planet in the galaxy. Richard Thomas (The Waltons) is Shad, whose peace loving world is about to become Sador's next conquest. Shad decides it's better to fight than submit, and flies away in search of mercenaries for his cause. He first enlists the aid of computer expert Darlanne Fluegel (Project: Alien), who later becomes his love interest. Along the way he meets and recruits the Hans Solo wannabe Cowboy, played by George Peppard (The A Team), along with the ultimate mercenary Gelt, played by Robert Vaughn (The Man From U.N.C.L.E.). At first he declines the aid of Saint-Exmin, played by Sybil Danning (Amazon Women On The Moon), but her persistence pays off and she is welcomed to join them.

My main problem with this movie is the casting of Richard Thomas in the lead role. He plays the young innocent who abhors violence well, but his transformation into a vengeful warrior is totally unconvincing. John Saxon chews so much scenery he must have gotten indigestion. On the other hand, George Peppard is so laid back that he practically sleepwalks through the movie. Robert Vaughn plays the heartless mercenary to perfection. Sybil Danning is both sexy and menacing, and fills out her Valkyrie-like costumes very well. Darlanne Fluegel portrays a very sympathetic character and compliments Richard Thomas well. The outcome between the rag-tag collection of mercenaries versus the overwhelming forces of evil is never in doubt. This action-packed movie, though predictable, is very entertaining.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: AN EXAMPLE OF GENUINE CLASSIC CAMP!
Review: Jumping on the "Star Wars" bandwagon, Roger Cormen crafted this "epic" tale of a young "Jedi"...whoops, wrong film...star pilot trying to defeat the tyrannical ruler of an invading species. Featuring a cast of former "hunks" (George Peppard, Robert Vaughn, and John Saxon), an "ageless" TV favorite (star Richard Thomas), venerable character actors (Jeff Corey and Sam Jaffe), and the well-endowed B-movie queen Sybil Danning, the movie is just a load of witty fun, compliments to writer John Sayles.

Of course, the special effects pale in comparison to Lucas's film, but that's part of the appeal.

It's eons away from a "best of" list but it shows what one can do with a little cash and a ton of ingenuity.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great B-Picture, Corman's best,, Jim Cameron's first
Review: ok, maybe not his first, I think "Galaxy of Terror" was Jim Cameron's first, but certainly an early effort. You can see his touch though in the quality of the designs and the lighting. BBTS was not a great film, but it was a good one. It was not original, but it was fun. I've been thinking of this flick for awhile now, and am very glad to see it will be exported to the dvd format. ...

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Dream Come True...
Review: One of the reasons I bought a DVD player was because, miracle of miracles, "Battle Beyond the Stars" came out on DVD. I'm happy to say this is what "Battle" fans (you know who you are) have been waiting for all these years.

The picture has probably never looked better, even when it was new: digital sound, gorgeous color, widescreen presentation. Add in the theatrical trailers and fascinating commentary from Roger Corman and John Sayles and Gale Anne Hurd, and you've got yourself a winner.

There are not enough stars to show how much I love this DVD, the return of one of my absolute favorite movies of all time!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Seven Samurai in space
Review: Roger Corman's biggest budget financed film (although still small by industry standards). A strong cast, decent script and a level of humor (including a female spaceship with breasts) blend into a very nice whole. This is not Oscar material, but it does have its merits.

The Akira of the planet Akir (nice plug), are a pacifistic society. They have just been targeted by an interstellar warlord. Their only hope is to hire mercenaries, but they have no money.

The rest of the film is closer to The Magnificent Seven that Akira Kurosawa's original, but it works. If you know either film, you will have some idea of how the rest goes.

This new DVD has some trailers and two different commentaries. There is also a huge still gallery accessible by playing a trivia game.

A fun little film. I am glad it has made it to DVD.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Seven Samurai in space
Review: Roger Corman's biggest budget financed film (although still small by industry standards). A strong cast, decent script and a level of humor (including a female spaceship with breasts) blend into a very nice whole. This is not Oscar material, but it does have its merits.

The Akira of the planet Akir (nice plug), are a pacifistic society. They have just been targeted by an interstellar warlord. Their only hope is to hire mercenaries, but they have no money.

The rest of the film is closer to The Magnificent Seven that Akira Kurosawa's original, but it works. If you know either film, you will have some idea of how the rest goes.

This new DVD has some trailers and two different commentaries. There is also a huge still gallery accessible by playing a trivia game.

A fun little film. I am glad it has made it to DVD.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: A VERY low stoop
Review: The big name characters must have needed a quick buck. This is one of the worst SciFi movies I've ever seen. The lighting is horrible, the dialog stilted, the story worn out. One star is too much. Don't waste even the postage.


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