Richard Thomas

Robert Vaughn

John Saxon

George Peppard

Darlanne Fluegel

Sybil Danning

Sam Jaffe

Jeff Corey

Morgan Woodward

Marta Kristen

Julia Duffy

Earl Boen

John Gowans

Lynn Carlin

Lara Cody

Lawrence Steven Meyers

Eric Morris

Kathy Griffin

Jimmy T. Murakami

Steve Neill

Don Keith Opper

Forrest Chadwick

Karoly Balazs

Karen Kubeck

James Sbardellati

Gale Anne Hurd

Michael Bennett

Sue Dolph

Aaron Lipstadt

Rick Stratton

Sharon Compton

Betsy Magruder

Frank DeMarco

John K. Adams

Gary C. Bourgeois

Steve Rice

David Lewis Yewdall

Francesca Bartoccini

Timaree McCormick

Debra Chiate

Alan Howarth

Tony Randel

James Horner

Ed Carlin

Mary Ann Fisher

Roger Corman

John Sayles

Allan Holzman

Lisa Mionie

Anne Dyer

R.J. Kizer

James Cameron

Daniel Lacambre

Charles William Breen

Durinda Wood

Ron Judkins

Sharon Kirkpatrick

Paul Hodara

John Zabrucky

Gene Hamm

Akira Kurosawa

Shinobu Hashimoto

Hideo Oguni

Science Fiction

Action

Adventure

Battle Beyond the Stars

New World Pictures

United States of America

CinemaSerf

This looks every inch the low budget affair it actually was - but it almost comes off as a fairly engaging sci-fi rip off of the "Magnificent Seven" - complete, even, with Robert Vaughn! "John-Boy" himself, Richard Thomas ("Shad") lives on one of those simple, peaceful, planets threatened by a megalomanic with a big laser cannon (John Saxon) who demands their harvest. "Shad" decides to try and rustle together some mercenaries to defend their home from this evil conqueror and so recruits a disparate band including George Peppard ("Cowboy") and a collection of inter-galactic misfits to help with their cause. Probably most notable for James Horner's score, this is an enjoyable enough sci-fi action adventure with plenty going on and not too much tedious philosophising; the special effects do their job fine, too.

**_Star Trek and Star Wars are met together (on a lower Corman budget)_**

When the planet Akir is threatened by a galactic tyrant (John Saxon), a young man with no experience in warfare (Richard Thomas) ventures into space to enlist the aid of several mercenaries (George Peppard, Robert Vaughn, Morgan Woodward, etc.).

"Battle Beyond the Stars" (1980) meshes the space-oriented science-fiction of Star Trek (the Original Series and the 1979 movie) with the space fantasy of Star Wars for a colorful interplanetary adventure on a Roger Corman budget. The protagonist’s planet is called Akir and the denizens Akira because the basic plot was taken from Akira Kurosawa’s “Seven Samurai” (which, of course, was also the basis for “The Magnificent Seven”).

On the female front, Darlanne Fluegel is noteworthy as Nanelia, the potential mate of our young hero (Thomas). Meanwhile stunning Sybil Danning works well as Saint-Exmin of the Valkyrie warriors, albeit hammy. Julia Duffy can be observed as one of the Akira.

This was one of the first fairly big theatrical films to be scored by James Horner (although he previously did “Humanoids from the Deep” the same year), which paved the way for his notable career (think “Wolfen,” “Star Trek II,” “Star Trek III,” “Cocoon,” “Aliens,” “Field of Dreams,” “Glory” and so on).

Corman’s $2 million budget was mostly spent on the salaries of Peppard and Vaughn, but he had to up his game with the special effects to compete with the new standards set by “Star Wars” (which cost $11 million), “Alien” ($11 million) and “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” ($35 million). Sure, the F/X aren’t as good as those movies, technically speaking, but they’re quite effective (and fun) all things considered, not to mention superior to “Buck Rogers in the 25th Century” (the theatrical movie that was also the pilot for the TV series), which had $3.5 million to work with.

It was very profitable at the box office and deservedly so since it’s all-around entertaining. You could say that it was the low-budget precursor to the Thor and Guardians of the Galaxy flicks of modern times.

It runs 1 hour, 43 minutes and was shot at Corman's own studio in Venice, California, his "renowned lumberyard facility.”

GRADE: B

English

NELL Starship Replica - Build-up Tutorial instructions EP. 2 OF 2

NBC Movie intro Battle Beyond the Stars 1983

BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS (1980) Official Trailer