Customer Reviews

Starcrash (Roger Corman Cult Classics)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

Luigi Cozzi's Star Crash (a/k/a The Adventures of Stella Star) is one of my all-time favorite movies. Usually dismissed as a cheap Italian Star Wars knock-off, it's actually much, much more than that: it's a cheap Italian knock-off of all three Flash Gordon serials, Barbarella, hundreds of pulp space operas and comic books, and a half-dozen Ray Harryhausen movies.

It literally has everything: a scantily clad heroine, a comic relief robot, stop-motion monsters, lightsabre duels, space amazons, space troglodytes, a galactic villain with a beer belly, ray guns, ludicrous spaceship miniatures, beach ball planets, blinking Christmas tree light stars, an eclectic international cast that includes Joe Spinell, David Hasselhoff, Marjoe Gortner, Robert Tessier, and an apparently stoned-out-of-his-mind Christopher Plummer... and a marvelous musical score by Academy Award-winning composer John Barry!

I've long lamented that there wasn't a quality, authorized DVD edition of this personal favorite available, and the thought that in a few days I'll have a high-definition, widescreen copy on Blu-Ray is exciting. Ever since I read director Cozzi's article about the origins of and the making of the film in Future magazine (anyone remember that companion mag to Starlog, later known as Future Life?) back in '77, I've been fascinated with the film, and when I finally saw it on VHS with some friends around 1990, I couldn't believe just how much giddy, shameless, stupid fun it was.

There isn't much I don't love about the movie, to be honest. Caroline Munro is gorgeous, the special effects are psychedelic, the characters so ridiculous and earnest... it's pure, rainy Saturday afternoon bliss, and vastly more entertaining than ANY of the Star Wars prequels or the mind-numbingly boring and overrated Avatar.

This film simply lacked "true" space opera common sense and seemed from the outset to be nothing but an awful Star Wars (1977) copy. I was hesitant to go as high as 5 stars but I suppose the basic premise of the film is acceptable enough, it is an enjoyably awful, cheese space film.

I find Starcrash (1978) very stirring and exciting. At its heart, it is a close relative of the klutzy Italian giallo films, a swashbuckling Star epic full of political space color, ridiculous special effects, dumb intrigue, and moral danger in space. Christopher Plummer emerges as a memorable villain, and David Hasselhoff's presence is enough to further increase the mystique of the Hasselhoff cheese legacy. I sense some unbalance in this movie. The script is so bad that it makes Marjoe Gortner and Joe Spinell look lame but Caroline Munro wearing a bikini is hot.

Starcrash (1978) is underrated cheese and more imaginative than most cheese space films ever shot.

Not only does this movie entertain kids of all ages but it holds up well to repeat viewings and earns the right to be called a "cheese space classic".

I remember seeing this movie on many a Saturday afternoon when I was young. Back then I loved it. Today I am fully aware of its shortcomings. That being said I still enjoy it, only this time the "cool" factor has dropped down several notches since I was a kid and the "cheesy" factor has kicked in. This movie might be fun for different reasons than I had before, but it's still fun.

I find it interesting that this movie is being released under the Roger Corman's Cult Classics moniker considering Corman had NOTHING to do with it. It was directed (and written) by Luigi Cozzi. It was originally conceived as a Harryhausen Sinbad type adventure in space rip-off, but then Star Wars came along so Luigi upped the production schedule and added George Lucas' classic on the list of stuff he borrowed from.

Bear in mind this is one of those Italian-made productions and it was obviously trying to capitalize on the success of Star Wars. Starcrash is definitely along the lines of a classic space opera, and when I say that I mean everything including tiny budgets and short production schedules. Star Wars it aint, but if you think about it Starcrash is truer to the genre.

The movie takes ideas from a lot of places. Of course there is the aforementioned Harryhausen ideas when "borrowing" concepts for their stop motion model work. The sword fight with the robots and the giant Amazon robot are direct rip offs of two notable scenes by the master Harryhausen himself. Of course Star Wars got milked too, but not nearly as much as you might think. Most likely the light sabers were ripped off and that villain's name, Zarth Arn, sounds way too close to not be derivative of Star Wars' Vader. The plot kinda sits there and some of the scenes make very little sense. I guess that's okay since the script throws out some major cornball dialog.

Production values are abysmal in this film. The spaceship models look like they are various household items glued together with parts of model kits (including the plastic frames you pull the parts off of). The stop motion animations are extremely choppy. The laser effects... well they are kinda cool, but definitely dated. Everything about the special effects scream college film project.

The acting varies from good to hammy. Caroline Monroe is known for doing roles like this one and she pulls it off just like she always does. Christopher Plummer... man that guy can make the worst lines ever written sound noble and poignant. That's exactly what he did here. David Hasselhoff is in this one as well and he doesn't do a bad job if you can get around the eye makeup.

Now this movie has gotten the DVD treatment before and now Corman is releasing it on his Cult Classics collection as both Blu-Ray and DVD. That's about all the information that has been released so far. No news on whether or not this will be a remastered edition. No word on what features and extras will be included. Best I can do is let you know what's out there, and so far the best model to go on is the Collector's Edition DVD.

The Collector's Edition actually had 5.1 DTS audio, however the caveat to that is it's a 5.1 digital master of a monophonic movie. Take that however you like, but the CE audio wasn't all that amazing. Will this Bly-Ray do anything to improve that? The Collector's Edition also has some interesting features such as a making of documentary that I think came from a television program that was released in Italy way back then. It also has a documentary/interview with director Luigi Cozzi. Will this Blu-Ray have any of this stuff and/or more? I'll update this review as I learn more.

I know I make it all sound pretty bad, but when you put it all together the movie does have its charm. Cheesy charm and some authentic movie charm as well. I'm surprised Mystery Science Theater 3K didn't do a number on this movie. Watch it with some friends and you will all have a great time poking at it. For you classic space opera fans this movie is a hoot as well. Especially if you are very forgiving of all the limitations I mentioned. Definitely worth a look for any science fiction fan with an open mind.

A piddly 3 stars as average rating? C'mon Basic Instinct 2 has the same rating (at least as I'm writing this), and it's nowhere near as fun (or any fun at all, actually)! I don't know that I have anything to really add to the reviews that tout this as extremely entertaining camp; I can tell you that I only became aware of this film in September 2010 when it came out on DVD and Blu-ray. I read the reviews from the DVD reviewing sites and decided that, being a lover of science fiction and of campy movies, I would love it. So I bought it sight unseen and have become completely obsessed by it. A framed poster is now in my living room, I check ebay periodically for other Starcrash merchandise, and have seen it numerous times. Now, I'm not saying that everyone will love it in the (possibly maniacal) way I do, but I will say there's a very good chance those who enjoy science fiction and cheesy movies will at least like it. And there are numerous positives to a film that I may be making sound completely disposable: the score by John Barry is frequently beautiful, the often colorful cinematography looks great (especially on the Blu-ray) and it has David Hasselhoff! You can't lose...

Very bad special effects, bad script, bad hair, A very pretty Caroline Munro in a bikini for most of the movie, and pre-big David Hasselhoff.
What's not to love about this movie

We laughed so hard at this film our ribs hurt. We stopped the move twice so everyone could quiet down from laughing and wiping the tears away. This is the funniest, serious space opera movie anyone at the party had ever seen. On the accompanying "Special Features" disk you'll see how proud the animators are of their Gumby-like animation and their macaroni, milk carton and gold spray painted spaceships. StarCrash is far funnier than Barbarella, The Crawling Eye and This Island Earth combined. Highly recommended for any campy film party!

First of all , anything with Marjoe in it is OK with me. I am a big fan. 2nd. anything with Carolyn Monroe is ok with me. So the two of them together? YES. This is so cheesy, just the way I like 'em. The story, well doesn't really matter. It does not make much sense anyway. You dont watch films like this for a good plot. You watch it for the cheesy factor. Cheesy effects, monsters, bimbos. What more is there? But yes, there is . David Hasselhoff, at his most horrible. One of the worst actors ever. And he does not let you down in this.

Ridiculous, laughable, shockingly bad, and yet, oddly compelling - it's shiny and twinkles, it's like Christmas in widescreen! Vibrant and violent, a spacey and spaced out cartoon, the pacing is wild and mercifully quick. The 92 minutes just race along. So it can hardly be considered torture.
The spacecraft are clearly models plucked straight from a box; obviously, they spared no expense (although one has to wonder which side of a buck the budget was on). The dialog barely wastes a word in its own defense, the acting is nominal...Marjoe Gortner got top billing, his name above the title, for pity sake! Thank goodness a real thespian (Christopher Plummer) popped in to lend the piece an air of credibility...well, okay, not so much. But at least he was well paid for what little he did!
Eyeliner all around (rock stars in space?), why didn't this one win an Oscar for best make-up? (Because half the time they misapplied the green on Robert Tessier's puss.) As for the shape of the head on the robot Elle....on purpose or sheer accident? And why did he sound like something out of a bad western? This movie owed a lot more to the old Flash Gordon serial than Star Wars. That it plucked scenes and elements from a lot of Sci-fi flicks, like gathering nuts in May, is too obvious to ignore but so what? It's not really plagiarism if you screw it up. Not a movie you'd want to take to court and compare scene for scene.
Joe Spinell as the arch villain...why do villains always cackle? David Hasselhoff before he got all wet. Caroline Munro more than likely asked if that one plastic bag outfit made her look fat...oh, yes. Marjoe Gortner, all teeth and nose, put up a good fight but you can't make an actor out of a sow's ear.
Still, for sheer audacity, there's something indefinable that makes this film watchable, a collector's item, something to trot out and enjoy when you're feeling blue. How bad can life be if there's something like this that's so honestly worse?
It's a keeper!

In 1977, Star Wars was a critical and commercial hit! It made movies fun again! In the 1970's, sci-fi movies were dark, violent, downbeat, low budget, and nightmarish! Filmmakers were trying to maximize any sci-fi project that they had the rights to. Luigi Cozzi's Starcrash(1979) was one of the Star Wars clones. The Emperor(Christopher Plummer) forces sexy smuggler Stella Star(Caroline Munro) to find his son. Our heroes also have to battle the megalomaniacal Zarth Arn(Joe Spinell). The film is so bad, it's good. It has a sense of fun and adventure that the overrated Battlestar Galactica remake lacked. An Amazon Queen yells, "I'LL HAVE MY REVENGE!" and we'll never find out what she wants revenge for. The robot police officer Elle has a "Southern" accent looped over him! It's like that scene in Sleeper(1973) where Jackie Mason's voice is looped over a robot sales clerk! Akton(Marjoe Gortner) claims that three space fighters are attacking their ship and only one can be seen in the VFX shots!
British starlet Caroline Munro plays smuggler Stella Star and American English is looped over her accent. Munro played a sensual femme fatale in the James Bond movie The Spy Who Loved Me(1977). Speaking of James Bond, the late John Barry composed the music score for Starcrash. It gives heart and soul to a film packed with 1970's cheese! A young David Hasselhoff(Knight Rider, Baywatch) plays Prince Simon. We get to see Marjoe Gortner engage in a light saber duel with two stop motion robots! In one scene, Stella Star almost freezes to death on a planet covered in snow. I wonder if George Lucas got even by having the Rebels hide on the ice planet Hoth in The Empire Strikes Back(1980)? I like the scene where a capsule smashes through a space station window and the room doesn't depressurize! Starcrash is a flawed movie, but it's fun to watch with a case of beer!

YES, Starcrash is cheesy. This is lovingly splashed all over the DVD cover. If you didn't get that it's gratuitously wacky--or if you hate fun--then don't read any further.

Okay, still here? Good, because Starcrash has a lot to offer in the way of entertainment. I'd like to think of this film as a cousin to some of the Ray Harryhausen films that pack in a ton of special effects into a Saturday Matinee-styled film.

I'd even go so far as to say the story is disjointed, but hilariously so. And while campy, it takes itself seriously (for the most part) in a way that gives it an endearing quality. If you're a fan of Mystery Science Theater 3000, you're going to LOVE this movie.

This movie just looks like it was a blast to make for the cast and filmmakers, and that's easily apparent. The DVD extras on disk two (non-Blu Ray edition) include interviews with cast and crew that confirm as much--as well as the fact that they were "in on the joke".

Starcrash has more in common with the 1980 Flash Gordon, Barbarella, or even Spaghetti Westerns from the 70s, than Star Wars. If that's what you're expecting, look elsewhere.

But if you want to laugh and cheer on the good guys, then you can't do much better than Starcrash!