Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Space Truckers Blu-ray Movie Review

Square pigs in a round hole.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III July 31, 2024

Never heard of Space Truckers? Join the club. This subversive 1996 British sci-fi comedy was directed by the singular Stuart Gordon (best known for Re-Animator and also as the co-writer of Honey, I Shrunk The Kids) but never released theatrically in the US. Would it have set the American box office on fire? Probably not... but both The Fifth Element and Starship Troopers made their mark just one year later, so anything's possible. And while Space Truckers isn't as good as either of those films, it's still a fun, entertaining, and creative venture that deserved a wider audience.

Set in the year 2196, our story follows independent space trucker John Canyon (Dennis Hopper), who's established a reputation as a person who'll get your cargo there... eventually. After delivering a shipment of square pigs to an angry customer who tries to bilk him out of the quoted price (George "Norm from Cheers" Wendt), Canyon is later involved in his accidental death at a nearby diner. He leaves in a hurry with two passengers: young waitress Cindy (Debi Mazar), who agrees to marry him in exchange for passage back to Earth; and Mike (Stephen Dorff), a rookie trucker working for a larger company. Canyon's also got a shipment of what appear to be sex dolls, which the recipient is paying good money for. They're quickly nabbed by the pirate ship Regalia and its horribly disfigured Captain Macanudo (Charles Dance), who takes a special interest in one particular crew member... and, of course, Canyon's cargo.

Fueled by a surprisingly solid script, Space Truckers gets decent mileage out of its premise and the cast is up to the challenge. Hopper is great in the lead role and Charles Dance likewise understands the film's goofy but occasionally serious tone, which sporadically detours into full-on satire and even action/horror at several points. Stephen Dorff and Debi Mazar do what they can with limited characters, which attempt to subvert clichés but mostly exist to wear very little clothing. Yet the anything-goes atmosphere -- which extends to the film's playful score and scattershot production design, both of which pull more than their own weight -- are what fuel most of the fun here, not to mention a handful of clever little sci-fi inventions and satirical touches that build its unique world in relatively short order. Unless you're a total stick in the mud, I'd imagine that most new viewers will find Space Truckers to be quite a bit more worthwhile than its unavoidably odd title suggests. Long story short: this is a minor gem, but a gem nonetheless.

If you're wondering why I'm just now getting to this 2022 release, it's because Shout Factory originally limited Space Truckers to a mere 1,500 copies but, after it eventually sold out and third-party prices inflated quickly, they put 1,000 more copies into circulation just a few weeks ago. I'm assuming they'll be gone for real in the near future... so unless another boutique label announces their own Blu-ray or 4K edition soon, fans on the fence may want to finally jump on this one. It's available exclusively from Shout Factory's website and is still in stock as of this review.

Space Truckers Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

While Shout Factory's 1080p/SDR transfer of Space Truckers is far from a definitive effort for unavoidable reasons I'll get to in the next sentence, this Blu-ray at least offers a watchable picture under the circumstances. The main problem: it's sourced from an older master that's obviously been zoomed in to a certain degree -- maybe 15-20% -- and this was also true of a 2018 Blu-ray edition released by the UK-based label Second Sight back in 2018. This might not sound like a huge deal, but it makes an already tightly-framed 2.35:1 film that much more claustrophobic at times, not to mention that it creates occasionally awkward compositions for close-ups, credits, and even the main title. Is this a deal-breaker? Not exactly... but given the fact that Shout Factory put another 1,000 copies back in circulation after the first 1,500 sold out, it only bolsters the need for a ground-up restoration from another boutique label. Arrow, perhaps?

Beyond that obvious issue, this isn't a bad effort by any means. Occasional print damage and grain-scrubbed optical shots aside, there are regular moments of clarity and even impressive fine detail on some of the set designs and props, while as a whole the image seems largely stable and even film-like in many respects. But seamless it ain't: wires and strings are clearly visible in many shots and other special effects are similarly dated (enough so that portions of Space Truckers make it look like a relic from much earlier than 1996), but the film's playful B-movie tone gives it a partial pass in the visual department. As-is, this is an imperfect but still decent effort on home video.

Space Truckers Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio is likely a direct port of Second Sight's 2.0 PCM track, which supports the film's original stereo mix decently enough. Quality-wise, there are a few appreciated touches here but some of the dialogue sounds more than a little hollow or slightly muffled. It never renders conversations unintelligible, but some viewers will want to make use of the optional English (SDH) subtitles included just in case. Much like the visuals, it's decent enough under the circumstances but I'd bet a more refined presentation could be squeezed out of the source elements.

Space Truckers Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a keepcase with poster-themed cover art and an interior print. The extras are somewhat limited (no Stuart Gordon commentary?), but they slightly advance upon Second Sight's 2018 Blu-ray.

• NEW! Interview with Actor Barbara Crampton (7:48) - This recent interview with "Carol", which looks to have been recorded using a few Instagram filters (she almost looks younger than her character in the film), is a short but sweet piece that finds her discussing her earlier work with director Stuart Gordon, traveling out to the set for a few days and, most importantly, being lucky enough to work it into her soap opera schedule.

• Interview with Director Stuart Gordon (22:51) - The first of three video interviews originally produced for Second Sight's 2018 Blu-ray, this enjoyable piece features the singular director in good spirits as he discusses the genesis of Space Truckers' story, assembling the cast and stories from the set, working with returning crew members, the special effects and early CGI, personal regrets, a horse named after the film, and more.

• Interview with Composer Colin Towns (12:30) - The prolific British film and TV composer talks briefly about his life, work, and creative process, from writing individual character and mood themes to final mixing.

• Interview with Art Director Simon Lamont (8:25) - Lamont takes us on a quick tour of his life and career, which began with A View to a Kill and was a partial result of his family's experience in the industry. The audio is quite bad and seems to be encoded in Dolby 2.0 surround, but he mostly gets his points across.

• NEW! Trailer (1:20) - This waxy-looking but extremely dramatic 1.33:1 trailer, narrated by Peter "Optimus Prime" Cullen, plays up the film's action and seems to have been created for a home video release.

Space Truckers Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Space Truckers isn't top-tier sci-fi but it's still pretty damn enjoyable, a scrappy and light-hearted film with several good ideas and even a few great ones. Its low budget regularly "breaks the illusion" but also adds plenty of charm, so just know what you're getting into here -- I mean, it's called Space Truckers -- and you'll have fun. Shout Factory's site-exclusive Blu-ray isn't much better than Second Sight's 2018 Blu-ray due to A/V reasons covered above... but it's still a decently well-rounded disc despite these (unavoidable?) caveats. Recommended to the right crowd.