Rating: 
Summary: Classic parody of Star Wars and great extra features
Review: It's great to finally see a classic like Hardware Wars out on DVD in its original form. I remember watching this film many times as a kid when they'd show Hardware Wars between movies on HBO as I was waiting for Smokey and Bandit 3 to come on. I was as engrossed with the Hardware Wars DVD as when I first saw Hardware Wars over 20 years ago -- the timeless special effects and the antics of Artie Deco and 4-Q-2 never get old. In fact, as I kid I was such a big fan of 4-Q-2 that my parents wanted me to stop saying his name in the house. I've been a big fan of the Star Wars films for 25 years and Hardware Wars will always be
the original and ultimate parody even a quarter century later.The best reason to get this DVD are all the exciting Extras thrown in. The "Foreign" version of Hardware Wars is even funnier than the original, and proves once and for all that Darph Nader is impossible to understand in any language. Star Wars collectors will love the interview with Ernie Fosselius, the director of Hardware Wars, where he describes the merchandising behind the film including the highly-coveted coupon for the
Early Bird Kit for the Hardware Wars action figures. I was stunned to see all the lost footage painstakingly restored in the Director's Cut, which is a must for any fan who has seen Hardware Wars many times over. It's a great package packed with many surprises and an essential part of any Star Wars fan's DVD collection.
Rating:
Summary: Hardware Wars is back and better than ever!
Review: Michael Wiese Productions is pleased to announce that Hardware Wars is back and.....everyone is raving about the new edition. "The classic Star Wars parody is back with exciting new computer generated special defects sequences of flying corkscrews and irons" Star Wars Insider "Hardware Wars remains as outrageously funny as ever possibly even more so thanks to more than 20 new special digital defects" Entertainment Today
Rating: 
Summary: Digital effects spoil the fun
Review: My review is specifically about the "Special Edition" of "Hardware Wars." I was thrilled to see a video release of HW, as I have been a fan of the short since its original release (HBO used to show it a lot way back when. I made a tape of it years ago, but lost it). But I was apprehensive when I saw that this version was a digitally enhanced "Special Edition." Sure enough, when the video arrived, it carried a sticker on the case, reading: "Warning: This edition has been created without the approval or consent of Eddie Fossellius." I'm just guessing, but I figured that Fossellius, the director of the original HW, didn't care to have his short film "enhanced," regardless of the satirical intent. The folks who put together this "Special Edition" make a valiant effort to use HW as a way to satirize Luca's digitally enhanced Star Wars Special Edition Trilogy. Unfortunately, the satire doesn't work, and, in some cases, the digital enhancements even spoil the jokes of the original short film. Ironically some of the satire falls flat because the digital effects are too good. In a short that is celebrated for its intentional cheesiness, this is a major error. Another major problem, I think, is one of reference. For a lot of younger viewers, this will be their first exposure to HW, so a lot of the attempted parody of the HW "Special Edition" will be lost on them. I really think it would have helped the humor of the "Special Edition" if the distributors had included the original, untouched version of HW at the beginning of the tape. To be fair, there are a couple of funny original bits before and after the film, but they don't make up for the lost opportunities on the film itself. If you're a fan of HW looking to own a pristine copy of the original film, as I was, you'll probably be less than satisfied, as I was, with this "enhanced" version.
Rating: 
Summary: "You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll kiss three bucks goodbye!"
Review: Not long after George Lucas' original "Star Wars" film took theaters throughout the world by storm in 1977, a very silly 13-minute long parody entitled "Hardware Wars" was filmed in 1978 by writer/director Ernie Fosselius. The parody, designed as a long film trailer, replaces the authentic special effects and models used in "Star Wars" with low-budget replacements, mostly in the form of household appliances. For example, the Lucas' Millenium Falcon in "Hardware Wars" is an electric iron, the Death Star is a waffle iron, an imperial cruiser is an electric mixer, and the squat droid R2-D2 becomes a canister vacuum cleaner called "Artee-Deco". As with Artee-Deco, the other characters from Lucas' "Star Wars" are transformed in "Hardware Wars" as follows: C3PO becomes 4-Q-2 (like the tin-man from the 1939 "The Wizard of Oz"), Han Solo becomes Ham Salad (Bob Knickerbocker), Chewbacca becomes the Muppet-like Chucilla (similar to the "Sesame Street" cookie monster), Princess Leia becomes Princess Anne-Droid (Cindy Furgatch, who wears round rolls on the sides of her head), Luke Skywalker becomes Fluke Starbucker (Scott Mathews), Obi-Wan 'Ben' Kenobi becomes Augie 'Ben' Doggie (Jeff Hale) and Darth Vader becomes Darf Nader, who is impossible to understand due to his welding-style helmet.
Clearly, not everyone who watches "Hardware Wars" finds it funny; but for most sci-fi aficionados, it's totally priceless! One of my favorite scenes is the equivalent of the demonstration of how powerful the Death Star is: instead of blowing up the planet of Alderan, it blows up the planet of Basketball (a literal basketball). Equally ridiculous and funny is the intentionally bad and sometimes melodramatic acting. Of course, you don't want to miss the exciting special effects of "dyna-space", as presented in "Hardware Wars". Consequently, for being a completely hilarious spoof of "Star Wars" filmed on a meager budget of $8,000, I rate "Hardware Wars" with 4 out of 5 stars. It is interesting to note that Ernie Fosselius provided some voice work and some other miscellaneous work in Lucas' 1983 film "Star Wars VI: The Return of the Jedi". Clearly, George Lucas was not upset with Fosselius' parody.
Rating:
Summary: So much better than the VHS
Review: OK - so I am a huge enough Hardware Wars fanatic that I own both the video and the DVD. For those of you that have seen this on video, the DVD is WAY better. First of all, Ernie Fossellius has the funniest director commentary I have ever heard. He doesn't even arrive until 5 minutes into it! It's the best. There's also a cute Antiques Roadshow spoof and a lot of other extras, including "foreign language" editions of the film. It comes out to over an hour of stuff - and it is so much better than the VHS - I definitely recommend this one for anyone who likes Star Wars spoofs.
Rating:
Summary: Why? WHY???
Review: Ok folks, Quiz Time: Question number 1: Take the most succesfull and one of the funniest short films ever made and add lots of new computer graphics. What is the result? Is it A: Better, B:The samee or C: Worse. The shocking answer for Hardware Wars is "C" all the way. Now Let me say this right off the bat, this is not a bad movie, in fact, its a wonderfull movie. It is increadibly funny, entertaining, but all too short. The Title of this review is to attract your attention to the new "Special Defects" which were "Created withought the consut of Ernie Fosselus" The basic idea is to take a wonderfull short and enhance it through new footage. Sadley, the result is not very good. The new computer graphics are pretty poor, by todays standards, they just look compleatly out of place, and they dont really enhance the film at all (Although the THX and Fox Logo spoofs work really well) If they wanted to enhance the film, they should have added the origianal 20 minutes of cut footage (Which is unfortunitly not in this version) But dont get me wrong, Hardware wars is still a wonderfull film to watch. The acting is wonderfull, the narrator does an excellent job of narrating the entire thing. And who can forget the antics of everybodys favorite, Chewchilla, the Wookie monster? If you never have seen this classic go ahead and buy it anyway, you dont know what you are missing. If you have already seen it however, this version dosent really add anything new. Lets just hope they make a 3rd version that has the 20 minutes of cut footage added on. The Good: Its Hardware Wars, Imensley entertaining, wonderfull box art, increadibly funny The bad: new Special deffects are not really good, not much diffrent from the origianal And the Ugly: The 20 minutes of cut footage isint in this, too short
Rating:
Summary: synaptic ambrosia
Review: Ok, that's probbly a bit of an overstatement but this really is very funny considering when it came out.
Rating:
Summary: You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll kiss nine bucks goodbye.
Review: Still as fresh and exciting as it was ten years ago. Now if I can just find Pork Lips Now.
Rating:
Summary: Even funnier now
Review: The first time I saw Hardware Wars was in college a couple of years after its release on video. Thinking back, I don't remember laughing as much as I did at that grainy video. Since those experiences are seldom as funny later in life, I watched the DVD with a little trepidation but found that I laughed as much, if not more. Ernie Fosselius and Michael Wiese managed to add just the right elements to make this DVD a bit more contemporary by adding the director's cut and commentary while, at the same time, retaining the corny charm of the original production. The artistic value of Hardware Wars is not in its glitzy, hi-tech effects but rather, in the fact that the effects are intentionally low tech. If you think about it, a toaster hanging from an obvious fishing line and being attacked by an iron really shouldn't be that funny, but the contrast to the slick, hi-tech Star Wars is precisely what makes it so funny. And yes, "you'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll kiss three bucks goodby!" When you add to that the other clips and the Antiques Sideshow, the result is a great DVD for lovers of parody.
Rating:
Summary: Parody Master
Review: The hysterical Hardware Wars is finally out on DVD. HW has earned its niche among parody classics and is not only a riotous little 20 minute short but a staple in low budget film production classes, which is where a lot of the film's cult status is derived from and resides. With the DVD, not only do we get a chance to revisit the original parody (4Q2, Cinnamon-Bun Head, Ballistic Toast, et al) that Ernie F. did in 1978, but there is a lot of additional material showcasing the Fosselius wit. Antique Sideshow is a dead-on parody that is very funny but makes a statement about the confluence of ignorance and greed at the same time. The Director's Commentary is also hysterical, as is the Creature Feature which parodies taking a film out on the talk-show circuit and actually IS based on taking HW out on the talk show circuit, albeit the public access circuit. I'd love to see Ernie, Micael Wiese and crew take on some other, contemporary overblown and overbudgeted targets to parody -- like just about any film that Hollywood churns out at $100 million a pop these days -- not so much the crafty films like Spider Man or Men In Black (actually parodies themselves!) but any number of overblown, overhyped, overwrought and overpriced features.
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