Battle Beyond the Stars Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

Battle Beyond the Stars Blu-ray Movie Review

The Force is kinda-sorta-halfheartedly with this "'The Seven Samurai' in space" 'Star Wars' knockoff.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman July 11, 2011

We must avoid becoming, we believe you have a phrase for it, becoming "bored to death."

The best thing about watching -- or trying to watch, more on that later -- Battle Beyond the Stars is that it serves as a reminder of just what a great and groundbreaking movie the original Star Wars really was, and how well it's held up as an all-time classic not only within the realm of Science Fiction films, but throughout all of cinema. Star Wars's influence is nearly unparalleled within the medium; it's the perfect encapsulation of every critical storytelling element, crafted with care and smarts and supported by a quality script and an excellent score. Of course a picture of such a level of success the magnitude of which had rarely before been achieved was all but guaranteed to spawn any number of wannabe knockoffs meant to capitalize on the film's gargantuan and well-deserved praise. Famed B-movie Producer Roger Corman seized the opportunity to cash in on the craze and played a part in the creation of multiple Star Wars knockoffs, delivering perhaps the two best-known amongst the myriad of pretenders: Starcrash and Battle Beyond the Stars (note the running theme of "Star" in the titles). Battle Beyond the Stars lacks the epic goofiness of Starcrash, but considering Battle's abysmal script and terrible pacing, it would seem to be the lesser of the two. However, its superior production values (many thanks to the talents of James Cameron), finer acting, and surprisingly good score allow it to come out on top in the Battle of the Science Fiction Star Wars Rip-Off Clunkers.

"Traveling through hyperspace ain't like dusting crops, boy."

The peaceful planet Akir is suddenly approached by a massive vessel under the command of the evil Sador (John Saxon) who commands the defenseless world to hand over its harvest and submit itself to his control or face the wrath of the galaxy's most powerful weapon, the planet-destroying Stellar Converter. Akir's only warrior, Zed, is too old to embark on the journey for help, so an accomplished but terribly young hero-in-the-making pilot by the name of Shad (Richard Thomas) volunteers to run Sador's one-ship blockade and search the galaxy for mercenaries willing to fight for the measly rewards his people can offer. He manages to escape into the unknown and assembles a makeshift group of allies who agree to battle on Akir's behalf. Amongst them is the virgin Nanelia (Darlanne Fluegel), an Earth cowboy (George Peppard), a collective alien conscience named Nestor, a former assassin named Gelt (Robert Vaughn), the buxom warrior Saint-Exmin (Sybil Danning), and a reptilian alien by the name of Cayman (Morgan Woodward). Can this "magnificent" group of "seven" warriors band together and find the strength and courage to defeat Sador and best even his ultimate weapon of mass destruction?

The most readily-evident defining characteristic of Battle Beyond the Stars is its many blatant Star Wars rip-offs. Beginning with a long tracking shot of the enemy's primary vessel that's easily categorized as a hybrid of the two seen in Star Wars's opening shot -- Leia's Tantive V and the Empire's Star Destroyer -- the film moves along to introduce characters who are clearly meant to represent the likes of Luke Skywalker and Han Solo, the former of whom forms a ragtag, makeshift "Rebel Alliance" to help defeat the "evil empire" from taking over or, worse, destroying his peaceful home planet of Alderaan, er, Akir. The film even goes so far as to have sliding doors that hiss with a sound that's eerily reminiscent of Darth Vader's famous mask-filtered heavy breathing. Still, Battle Beyond the Stars manages to differentiate itself enough that it stands as its own entity, all its numerous winks and nods and homages and mostly blatant rip-offs aside. There are parts of the movie that work extremely well; it's clear that the filmmakers at least put forth the effort to create nice-looking ships and sets, and they did what is nothing short of a bang-up job on some of the alien makeup, considering that this is an otherwise low-rent venture. The score is a great asset; those with an ear for such things and a great familiarity with Science Fiction scores and other music will hear the influences of John Williams's Star Wars score, Jerry Goldsmith's Star Trek music, and other assorted pieces. Still, it works very well as its own entity, no surprise considering that it comes from the mind of the now-legendary James Horner (Glory).

Only when audiences settle into the film and get past the Star Wars knockoff routine will they begin to find the positives the film has to offer but also take note of the picture's true faults that considerably drag it down. Unoriginal elements don't necessarily spell certain death for a film -- few are truly new anymore -- and Battle Beyond the Stars does enjoy some obvious positives, but what does greatly lessen this, and any, film to the depths of great despair is the combination of bad pacing and a miserable script. Unfortunately, both soak up and drown any positives the film has to offer; film's end comes as a great relief, signaling the end of the tedium that's befallen much of the second and third acts. Battle Beyond the Stars becomes unbearably slow due in part to a lack of real death-defying action but primarily thanks to a script that's jumbled, forced, and that tries too hard to have its cake and eat it, too, by soaking up many of the defining Star Wars elements while at the same time trying to differentiate itself from similar Science Fiction films and making a futile attempting to inject a sense of realism over fantasy into the story. The end result is a script that's corny and occasionally borders on parody. Dialogue is stilted and lacks any kind of natural flow or flavor, which further slows the pace and routinely drags the movie down to an almost unbearable level.

Unfortunately, neither the actors nor director Jimmy T. Murakami demonstrate enough skill to mask the miserable script, which in their defense is probably the single most challenging hurdle to overcome in making a movie work. Richard Thomas just doesn't exude much charisma as the film's leading man; he's certainly no whiny Mark Hamill-as-Luke Skywalker, but his character arc is relatively flat and his transition from incapable wannabe warrior to defender of his home world isn't exactly the stuff of character development legend. Robert Vaughn and John Saxon bring a bit of gravitas to the film and often carry it when nothing else can. Vaughn is a bit underused, but Saxon manages to milk his scenes for all their worth, playing the part as the evil overlord -- sans much in the way of real motivation -- with an edgy and psychotic but at the same time reserved flair, making the character all the more chillingly evil. He plays his part with far more control than what audiences saw in the over-the-top effort of Joe Spinell's ridiculously boisterous and excessively cartoonish villain in Starcrash. The remainder of the cast plays things neutrally. Of note is that the female characters are present pretty much as two extremes of some lonely stereotyped Science Fiction fanboy's daydreams, one a big-chested warrior and the other a shy and sheltered girl who knows nothing of sex but is of course eager to learn with the fresh-faced nobody who becomes an intergalactic hero by film's end. It's all terribly unoriginal, and it borders on the unwatchable. Best to wash this down with the real deal when the credits roll.

Battle Beyond the Stars Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Shout! Factory's done a wonderful job in bringing Battle Beyond the Stars to Blu-ray. This 1080p, 1.78:1-framed transfer is a knockout given the age and production level of the film. Sure there's an occasional sprinkling of dirt, a few lingering scratches, some background noise, and a few bouts of background blocking and banding, but this is nevertheless a steady, stable, and altogether handsome transfer when analyzed against others of its kind. Details are crisp and well-defined throughout, revealing pleasant facial and clothing textures, not to mention bringing all of the many well-constructed and intricately-detailed sets and models to life. Colors are neutral and pleasing to the eye, never appearing either too faded or overly pronounced. Blacks and flesh tones are also rock-solid throughout. A moderate layer of grain covers the image and lends to it a nicely filmic appearance. It's doubtful Shout! Factory could have done a much better job than this, and fans of the film should be ecstatic considering the results.

Battle Beyond the Stars Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Almost equally impressive is Battle Beyond the Stars's DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Unfortunately, it seems always just ever-so-slightly lacking in absolute clarity. The music plays as if it's stifled just enough to notice, straining to really burst forth and let out all it has, somehow held back against its will and unable to offer the absolute fullest and richest presentation possible. It's not enough to really harm the presentation, but listeners may find themselves subconsciously willing James Horner's music to really explode forth in all its glory. This applies to most all music and effects, but the track is nevertheless quite pleasant and fulfilling, anyway. Sound effects enjoy fine spacing and fair clarity; the surrounds carry plenty of the action and while the nature of the film, its age, and the straining soundtrack don't lend to an all-out immersive listen, the track is still plenty enjoyable as ships and laser blasts and other effects emanate from every corner of the soundstage and traverse it with relative ease. Rounded into form by faultless dialogue reproduction, Shout! Factory's lossless soundtrack proves quite capable and should please longtime fans.

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

Battle Beyond the Stars zooms onto Blu-ray with a quality array of extras, headlined by a pair of audio commentary tracks, one of which features famed Producer Roger Corman. These extras do a fine job of making the movie look and sound better than it really is; no doubt many will want to re-visit it after digging through this fine selection of supplements.

• Audio Commentary: Writer John Sayles and Producer Roger Corman deliver a wide-ranging commentary that, as always seems the case with Corman behind the microphone, proves quite insightful and highly entertaining. The two discuss the picture's roots as an outer space version of The Magnificent Seven and The Seven Samurai, the makeup of the various characters who appear in the film, the picture's budget and limitations, the early works of James Cameron and James Horner, filmmaking techniques, the performances and availability of the cast, the picture's lasting legacy, and plenty more. This is a must-listen commentary.
• Audio Commentary: Assistant Production Manager Gale Ann Hurd discusses the picture's aim at generating a Star Wars look on a non Star Wars budget, her role in the making of the movie, the then- and future work of the cast and crew, specifics and challenges of the shoot, and much more. She also shares various behind-the-scenes insights and anecdotal stories from the shoot. She allows some gaps to emerge in her commentary and this isn't the most engaging listen out there, but completists will want to check it out.
• The Man Who Would Be Shad (1080p, 15:21): Actor Richard Thomas reflects on his work in Battle Beyond the Stars in this all-new interview.
• Space Opera on a Shoestring (1080p, 33:33): A quality retrospective that examines the challenges of making Battle Beyond the Stars both during the shoot and in post-production. The piece features contributions from Aaron Lipstadt, Alec Gillis, Alex Hadju, Allan Holzman, R.J. Kizer, Robert and Dennis Skotak, Thom Shouse, and Tony Randel.
• Battle Beyond the Stars Trailer (1080p, 2:33).
• Radio Spot (1080p, 0:32).
• Still Gallery (1080p, 3:05).
• Production Photos (1080p, 5:20).
• Posters (1080p, 1:30).

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

Battle Beyond the Stars gives a noble effort to recreate on a shoestring budget the magic of Star Wars, but all of the positives -- notably quality production values and a great score -- are for naught thanks to an outright miserable script that sucks every last bit of life out of the film. This movie is dreadfully slow and the plot is painfully dragged out to the point that the film teeters on the brink of "unwatchable." It's not even "so-bad-its-good" like its brother-in-arms Starcrash, either, but from a purely technical perspective, Battle Beyond the Stars gets the nod as the superior picture. Both make for fine -- necessary, even -- watches for the ardent Star Wars and Science Fiction fans; just don't expect much. The picture might be subpar, but Shout! Factory's Blu-ray is anything but. Sporting a good lossless soundtrack, a nearly pristine 1080p transfer, and a nice array of extras, this release comes recommended to Science Fiction completists.