In 1980, science fiction was hot.
Empire Strikes Back and Alien had rocked the box office. Battlestar Galactica sold a million toys. Since desperate studios needed sci-fi product, they called legendary B-movie maverick Roger Corman, the fastest producer in Hollywood.
At the time, Corman had his own model shop and production company, New World Entertainment, outside the Hollywood system. After a 30-year career, he'd established himself as king of the drive-in with quickie movies like Little Shop of Horrors and Bucket of Blood.
Now Corman -- who had incidentally given directors like Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese their start -- was ready for his biggest undertaking yet, a large budget SF extravaganza that would test the very limits of New World.
The battle begins
A young unknown writer named John Sayles was assigned to churn out a script. His only guidelines: the film had to include lots of aliens and spaceships.
In a few weeks, Sayles pumped out a science fantasy yarn about an innocent planet desperately trying to hire seven space mercenaries to save them from an evil destroyer threatening them with enslavement.
Sounds familiar? Indeed it does. Sayles "borrowed" the storyline from Akira Kurosawa's classic epic, Seven Samurai -- although to indicate that it was not so much theft but homage, he named
his planet Akir (and its people, the Akira). No word on whether the legendary Japanese director appreciated the gesture.
Sayles would parlay the $60,000 he was paid to write the film into his first directorial effort, The Return of the Secaucus Seven. This led to a legendary directing career, including the films Lone Star and Eight Men Out.
Another crew member hired was an ambitious young cameraman -- and former truck driver --interested in filming second-unit space effects,
. He'd go on to fight a few of his own battles beyond the stars down the road as the director of Aliens and The Terminator.
Bang for your buck
With Sayles' script and young Jimmy Cameron filming model effects, full production began. The film was given a big special effects budget and promptly put it to good use.
Cameron also served as co-art director, even helping design and build a variety of ships in a style that could be described as a cross between Star Wars and Barbarella. All effects were filmed live, in-camera, no bluescreens.
Corman rounded up the usual Hollywood ensemble cast, with stars ranging from Robert Vaughn to European erotic action queen Sybil Danning.
A young composer by the name of James Horner was brought on board to supply a dose of John Williams, and although Horner apparently hated his work, it not only launched his career -- it's one of the best epic scores of its era.
Space cowboys
As a broad, hammy adventure, Battle Beyond the Stars is surprisingly light and entertaining, even 20 years later.
Richard Thomas of TV's The Waltons plays Shad, a young adventurer from the planet Akir. Shad takes his family's old spaceship, Nell (a motherly voiced computer), to recruit mercenaries to defend his planet from the evil destroyer Sadir.
Among the various oddball space mercenaries he persuades to assist him are future A-Team leader George Peppard as "Cowboy," a broken-down country-music-humming alcoholic. In a hilarious turn, Peppard hams it up to full effect, bemusedly showing off his utility belt to all he meets even though it's only capable of making a scotch and soda on the rocks.
On the other hand, Robert Vaughn takes his part of the spiritually bankrupt smuggler Geld, quite seriously, effectively reprising his role from The Magnificent Seven (itself a swipe from Seven Samurai). This dissolute performance feels wrong for the film, but he does get a few good one-liners and a nice death scene.
John Saxon, mainly known as the chief baddie in Bruce Lee's Enter The Dragon, goes through the villain paces as Sadir, while the rest of the cast is rounded off by various TV celebs, making this at times feel more like Battle of the Network Stars.
In spite of an air of unoriginality, the film has surprising bounce. The action -- more Flash Gordon than 2001 -- is fast and furious and the set design is quite good.
But although the movie was one of Corman's biggest box office hits, it failed to register in any meaningful way with critics or fans, selling few lunch boxes before quickly being forgotten. Director Jimmy Murakami virtually disappeared, and most of the cast went back to their mediocre TV careers.
Still, there is a delightful innocence and sense of fun to Battle Beyond the Stars that makes it a worthy rental for any sci-fi fan. And I want to get me one of them George Peppard scotch and soda belts.
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