Battle Beyond the Stars 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.0

Battle Beyond the Stars 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Two prior editions of Battle Beyond the Stars (1980) have been reviewed on our site. My colleague Marty Liebman covered Shout! Factory's 2011 BD-25 under the Roger Corman's Cult Classics banner, while I wrote about Shout!'s 2021 SteelBook, which is derived from a 2K scan of the film's interpositive. For our impressions of those releases, please refer to the linked reviews.

Battle Beyond the Stars 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Scream Factory's two-disc "Collector's Edition" is housed with a slipcover featuring identical theatrical poster artwork as what's in the case's sleeve. The film appears in its original theatrical exhibition ratio of 1.85:1. The DI is based on a new 4K scan from the original camera negative. It is presented in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible) on the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray. That disc employs a Minimum Enhancement Layer (MEL).

I don't own Image Entertainment's 1990 1.33:1 LaserDisc of BBtS but read from a trusted source who saw the transfer that the print used was in pretty poor condition. He also reported the presence of bleeding colors and overlapping hues. So for a better comparison of an older transfer, I chose an archival theatrical print that Warner Home Video Germany used for its 2006 DVD. WB opened it up slightly to about 1.78:1 (which is 16x9 anamorphic). I have included ten screen captures from the German SD transfer (which I upscaled to 720p) to compare with the Scream 4K and 1080p Blu-ray. The DVD definitely boasts more source-related artifacts. In the frames that I matched with the Scream transfers, you'll be able to spot them. In a medium close-up of Shad (Richard Thomas) looking up at the skies (Screenshot #16), notice how Warners boosted brightness to try to improve contrast. The Scream has more natural dimness that accords with the source light used and hasn't been boosted in #17. When Shad visits the Nestor clones and examines his gun, the background on the WB disc has an off-white appearance (#18) while the BG on Scream's is pure white (#19). The German transfer reveals a scratch coming down the center of the screen during a laser-gun battle (#24). I couldn't find the identical frame on the Scream 4K but located a similar shot that doesn't have any damage marks. Look at how the bright orange really "pops" on the 4K in capture #34.

At around the 80-minute mark on both Scream's 4K and Blu-ray, I could see light and sometimes faint tramlines enter shots. The tramlines are most visible in motion when you watch the movie on a large screen. I scrutinized the UHD twice on a 4K monitor with different brightness settings and had difficulty pinpointing their exact locations but eventually found them. They're visible, for instance, to the right of Shad when you zoom in on Screenshot #s 11 and 13. You can see them better from the middle right of Nanelia (Darlanne Fluegel) and all the way to the outer edge in an out-of-focus shot in frame grab #12. There's also at least one thin tramline amidst the red lights in #15 and in outer space in a different shot (#14). In addition, when Sador (John Saxon) is interrogating one of the Nestors in capture #s 30-31, photochemical stains of some sort show along the right side.

In spite of these occasional damage markings, I am grading the video on the 4K UHD and 2025 Blu-ray 4.25/5.00 apiece. While these are the same scores I awarded the two BDs of Humanoids from the Deep earlier this year, I believe the transfer for BBtS is superior. For one, it doesn't have the grain management that's apparent on the other release. I am also pleased with the texture on the image.

The UHD sports an average video bitrate of 80.1 Mbps for the feature and an overall bitrate of 90.3 Mbps for the whole disc. Scream's 2025 Blu-ray delivers an MPEG-4 AVC-encoded BD-50, which carries a mean video bitrate of 30000 kbps.

Screenshot #s 1-15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25, 28, 31, 34, 37, & 40 = Scream Factory 2025 4K Ultra HD BD-66 (downscaled to 1080p)
Screenshot #s 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 29, 32, 35, & 38 = Warner Home Video Germany 2006 DVD (upscaled to 720p)
Screenshot #s 27, 30, 33, 36, & 39 = Scream Factory 2025 4K Ultra HD BD-50 (from a 4K restoration)

The 104-minute film contains ten scene selections. Scream doesn't provide any thumbnail shortcuts for the them on the menu or via the popup option. The chapters are only accessible via remote control.

Battle Beyond the Stars 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Scream has supplied three audio track options to watch Battle Beyond the Stars with on UHD and Blu-ray (in addition to two archival commentaries): a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Surround remix (2070 kbps, 24-bit), a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo remix (1635 kbps, 24-bit), and a DTS-HD Master Audio Dual Mono track (1612 kbps, 24-bit). Since I focused mainly on the 5.1 track in my review from four years ago, I will discuss the stereo and monaural tracks here. I first listened to the Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono track on Warner Germany's DVD. (Sound was output primarily from my center speaker.) From start to finish, it demonstrates excellent dynamic range. Fidelity and clarity are outstanding. I compared this English track featuring James Horner's brassy score over the main titles with the dubbed German track on the same disc and range is definitely more limited on the latter. The mono mix on the Scream discs is very good. The treble sounds terrific. Spoken words are clear and audible. There are a few times, though, that I feel dynamic range is a bit more limited with some muffled sounds in comparison to the English mono on the German disc. It should be pointed out that Scream's 2.0 Stereo track is an old-fashioned stereo mix sans any matrixed stereo-surround (or mono sounds) coming out of the rear channels. Horner employed a fairly large symphony (a 62-piece orchestra, according to Intrada's expanded soundtrack album from a few years ago) and the 2.0 track does a fine job of dispersing the score to the Front Left and Front Right speakers. Dimensionality and depth are decent.

I viewed BBtS with the optional English SDH switched on and the track gives a very complete transcription of the film's dialogue plus the f/x.

Battle Beyond the Stars 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Scream has produced two new featurettes, which encompass a set of recent interviews that were not included on earlier home video editions. Scream has also culled two vintage, previously unreleased trailers.

DISC ONE: 4K UHD

• Audio Commentary by Writer John Sayles and Producer Roger Corman (2001) – this feature-length track was originally recorded for New Concorde's 2001 DVD of Battle Beyond the Stars. Corman supplies a lot of information about the production. He imparts several anecdotes from the filming and material on the models and sets that were used for both principal and second-unit photography. Sayles delivers some info about his screenplay and conversations he had with director Jimmy T. Murakami. Sayles also shares some of his directorial experiences where appropriate. Corman does too for films he either produced or directed. One annoying tic Sayles exhibits on this track is whenever Corman makes an observation he agrees with, he will respond with "mm-hmm." Sayles does this many times throughout the track. The commentary has some gaps. In English, not subtitled.

• Audio Commentary by Production Manager Gale Anne Hurd (2001) – this solo track by Hurd also appeared on the New Concorde DVD. She spends much of the track discussing the movie's sets and locations. She reminisces about the model shop her future husband James Cameron gave her a tour of before shooting began. Hurd reveals an incredible story about a wounded crew member on the set. Moreover, she gives her viewpoints on the film itself. She compares and contrasts the budget BBtS with modern movies (e.g., what they would cost in dollars ca. 2001). Not only does this commentary have more gaps than the first one, but also more extended periods of silence. In English, not subtitled.

• Audio Commentary by Writer John Sayles and Producer Roger Corman (2001) – this feature-length track was originally recorded for New Concorde's 2001 DVD of Battle Beyond the Stars. Corman supplies a lot of information about the production. He imparts several anecdotes from the filming and material on the models and sets that were used for both principal and second-unit photography. Sayles delivers some info about his screenplay and conversations he had with director Jimmy T. Murakami. Sayles also shares some of his directorial experiences where appropriate. Corman does too for films he either produced or directed. One annoying tic Sayles exhibits on this track is whenever Corman makes an observation he agrees with, he will respond with "mm-hmm." Sayles does this many times throughout the track. The commentary has some gaps. In English, not subtitled.

• Audio Commentary by Production Manager Gale Anne Hurd (2001) – this solo track by Hurd also appeared on the New Concorde DVD. She spends much of the track discussing the movie's sets and locations. She reminisces about the model shop her future husband James Cameron gave her a tour of before shooting began. Hurd reveals an incredible story about a wounded crew member on the set. Moreover, she gives her viewpoints on the film itself. She compares and contrasts the budget BBtS with modern movies (e.g., what they would cost in dollars ca. 2001). Not only does this commentary have more gaps than the first one, but also more extended periods of silence. In English, not subtitled.

• NEW A Universe of Possibilities: Becoming James Horner (2025) (22:38, 1080p) – a program about composer James Horner's first film scores, which features new interviews with author/film music historian Jeff Bond, film music historian Daniel Schweiger, James's wife Sara Horner, and composer/conductor David Newman, who doesn't appear on screen. Particularly interesting to hear is the tutelage Horner received from György Ligeti. The group of topics the participants discuss include the score's Blaster Beam effect, its use of dynamics, the influence of Sergei Prokofiev (who's also discussed in the recycled featurette, Shoestring Space Opera), and themes Horner wrote for the various characters. One film music historian examines a riff/variation Horner incorporated in his score inspired by Elmer Bernstein's main theme for The Magnificent Seven (1960). The commentators sometime deliver a scene-specific analysis of the score. I would have liked to hear more about Horner's score for Lady in Red (1979), which is only mentioned, and the composing work he did for AFI films. It was a welcome sight to see Sara Horner interviewed here. I hope to see more of her on Blu-ray featurettes that examine her late husband's scores. All interviewees speak in English, not subtitled.

• NEW Beyond Time and Space: Inside the Sound Effects – Interview with Composer/Sound Effects Creator Alan Howarth (2025) (14:32, 1080p) – sound effects engineer Howarth discusses the sound design work he did for Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) on a Prophet synthesizer. He spends some time unpacking his concept, "space ambiance." He describes his use of a tape recorder for BBtS and the sound track's dropping octaves. (Howarth says he generated organic sounds from the field recordings he made). The sound technician also talks about refreshing the ambiences on the film's main audio track, making loops, and working with mic stands. He explains the "Doppler effect" for spacecrafts in flight. Howarth delves into one cue he wrote for alto saxophone, which was used as source music. In English, not subtitled.

• His Name Was Shad: Interview with Actor Richard Thomas (2011) (15:21, 1080p) – Thomas recalls a meeting he had with Roger Corman's assistant while preparing to act in Battle Beyond the Stars. He also recollects reading John Sayles's script and the lumberyard Corman purchased that ultimately became his studio. Thomas reminisces about working with Jimmy T. Murakami, George Peppard, Robert Vaughn, Darlanne Fluegel, and Sybil Danning. In English, not subtitled.

• Shoestring Space Opera: Building the BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS (2011) (33:33, 1080p) – the longest featurette on disc is an archival retrospective doc on making the film. The interviewees include art department member Alec Gillis, DP of special photographic effects Dennis Skotak, Robert Skotak (special designs/effects creations), editor Allan Holzman, assistant production manager Aaron Lipstadt, assistant art director Alex Hadju, editor of special photographic effects Tony Randel, prosthetic assistant Thom Shouse, and editor R.J. Kizer. All participants speak in English, not subtitled.

• Theatrical Trailers (6:41, upconverted to 1080p) – three trailers for Battle Beyond the Stars. The first appears in open matte and and last two are in anamorphic widescreen. None of the trailers have been restored. (They are littered with film artifacts, with the last one looking the best.)

• Radio Spot (2011) (0:32) – one radio spot for this Corman film. The sound is clear and crisp.

• Still Gallery (2011) (3:05, 1080p) – a slide show depicting 37 snapshots of the actors in BBtS. Most of these comprise publicity photos (which are in B&W and color).

• Poster Gallery (2011) (1:30, 1080p) – a brief slide show displaying various posters of BBtS from US and international markets. There are several lobby cards here as well. The last three stills show the front covers to the soundtrack albums that had been released up through 2011.

• Production Gallery (2011) (5:20, 1080p) – the longest slide show consists of 63 behind-the-scenes images documenting cast and crew making BBtS. A number of stills show the art and makeup departments hard at work. (There are a few pictures of James Cameron.) In addition, there are several concept design sketches of the sets. (Some are architectural-like renderings.) The gallery also showcases models and miniatures that were used for the production.

Battle Beyond the Stars 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Battle Beyond the Stars remains a solid space opus with impressive sets, décor, and laser-gun exchanges. I do feel that some of the battles in outer space become repetitive and drag the story out, though. Scream Factory's 4K UHD Blu-ray + standard Blu-ray combo is a technical upgrade over its SteelBook from a couple years ago. The Dolby Vision/HDR brings out excellent three-dimensional depth during some of the scenes set in outer space. While print damage is occasionally present, I don't feel like it will be a distracting problem for viewers. The digital color grade looks splendid. Scream has produced two recent featurettes on the film's sound design and music, each of which is worth watching. A VERY SOLID RECOMMENDATION.