If Ed Wood Jr. had been alive in the late 1970s, he probably would have directed “StarCrash,” which has just arrived on DVD and Blu-ray from Shout! Factory.
The spaghetti space western was released by Roger Corman’s New World Pictures in the spring of 1979 and became such a commercial hit for the company that the iconoclastic producer decided to make his own space opera, “Battle Beyond the Stars.”
Like Wood’s deliciously dreadful classics of the 1950s, including “Bride of the Monster” and “Plan 9 from Outer Space,” the low-budget “StarCrash” has developed a cult following. And if you love truly bad films, “StarCrash” is your ticket to nirvana. In fact, “StarCrash” historian Stephen Romano, who provides two commentary tracks for the movie, as well as commentary on behind-the-scenes footage, confesses that even though he’s seen it some 500 times, he still sees something different each time. (It occurs to us that Romano might need to get out more often.)
Though “StarCrash” was made because of the international success of 1977′s “Star Wars,” it’s not just a rip-off of the George Lucas fantasy classic — writer/director Luigi Cozzi, (who uses the pen name Lewis Coates for the film) steals from a lot more than just “Star Wars.”
A huge fan of special effects innovator Ray Harryhausen’s stop-motion animation, Cozzi pays homage to Harryhausen several times in the film, especially with the sword-swinging silver robots that recall the skeleton warriors in “Jason and the Argonauts.”
Caroline Munro of “The Spy Who Loved Me” fame plays the brave, bikini-clad warrior Stella Star (the film was even called “The Adventures of Stella Star” in several countries) who is traveling through space with a curly-haired, alien sidekick named Akton (former child evangelist Marjoe Gortner) who possess mysterious powers. They are pulled into adventure by a request for help from the benevolent Emperor (yes, that is Christopher Plummer, although if you asked him at the Oscars ceremony last year he might have denied it). The Emperor is worried about the vile Count Zarth Arn (Joe Spinell) who covets the throne. Also on board for the adventure: A very young David Hasselhoff, wearing more eye makeup than Lady Gaga and teased mane of hair. He plays Simon, the Emperor’s son, who is the only survivor of Arn’s assault on the Emperor’s space ship; Robert Tessier as Thor, a green-faced, duplicitous officer of the Galactic Police; and Hamilton Camp as Elle, a sort of Texas cowboy robot cop who comes to Stella and Akton’s aid. The biggest star in the film, really, is that bikini worn by Munro throughout the film, even those scenes where she’s working in a hard-labor camp after an arrest.
Though the film is certainly colorful, the brittle visual effects look like they were picked up at a 99 Cent Store. Those effects, though, are still better than the dialogue. Plummer, who spent less than two days on the shoot, somehow manages to keep his dignity while uttering some overcooked lines such as these: “Well, it’s done. It’s happened. The stars are clear. The planets shine. We’ve won. Oh, some dark force, no doubt, will show it’s face once more. The wheel will always turn. But now, it’s calm. And for a little time, at least we can rest.” We hope the check didn’t bounce. The only thing that’s not unintentionally funny about the film? There’s a stellar score by John Barry.
The two-disc special edition is filled with fun extras including a new lengthy, interview with Cozzi, who now works at Rome’s Profondo Rosso, the store and museum that was foudned in 1979 by legendary Italian horror film director Dario Argento. There are two commentaries from Romano, one on the making of the movie and its importance in 1970s fantastic cinema and a second, scene-by-scene commentary. There’s also behind-the-scenes image gallery; a promotional art gallery; trailer commentary by Joe Dante (who actually cut the trailer back in 1979); and Trailers from Hell commentary with Eli Roth. The second disc features an interview with Munro, a ton of deleted and alternate scenes, the making of the special effects (with artist Armando Valcauda) and the original screenplay with illustrated with the original storyboards.
– Susan King
RECENT AND RELATED
Boris Karloff, a monster talent remembered
“Exorcist” still possesses a scary power
Romero on zombies: “It’s the gift that keeps on giving”
“Phantasm,” the 30-year reunion interview
‘Bride of Frankenstein,’ an electric moment in horror
‘Jaws’ took a bite out of film history 35 years ago
Comments
Print
Read Later
Thanks for letting everyone know about this. "Starcrash" is truly up there with "Plan 9" as one of the worst (and funniest) films ever made. I regret to say I saw it in the theater when it was first released. My friends and I literally spent days afterward counting the number of "Star Wars" ripoffs, along with those from other films! If you're in the mood for gloriously bad spectacle, I can't recommend this movie enough!