BARE BONES BOOK REVIEW: CELLULOID WARS: THE MAKING OF BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS by ALLAN HOLZMAN

CELLULOID WARS: THE MAKING OF BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS by ALLAN HOLZMAN

Battle Beyond The Stars is a cult classic Roger Corman production that was made to cash in on the Star Wars sci-fi craze of the 70s and 80s, but is now recognized on it’s own merit. Allan Holzman was an editor on the film and after four decades, has released his journal of the making of this legendary flick that he wrote while the film was in production.

This is a wonderful and fun look at the making of a cult classic by a man whose task it was to put all the fractured pieces together and make a movie out of them. Holzman’s entries detail a very troubled production, populated by a large group of artists and creative people struggling to make it all work, delivering an FX filled epic on a shoestring budget and tight schedule. There are tales of cramped work spaces, unexperienced directors, demanding producers and almost unusable footage. We get Holzman’s account of trying to make an almost impossible release date, with FX work falling dangerously behind and the shots he was getting, an editor’s nightmare to piece together. It’s is a fascinating look at filmmaking, especially from the perspective of the unsung editing process. It’s also a fun look back at how legendary producer Roger Corman made movies back then and a nostalgic look at how some now acclaimed film talents, like James Cameron, John Sayles, James Horner, Gale Anne Hurd and Holzman himself, started out.

If you love movies, Roger Corman films, are a fan of some of today’s most heralded filmmakers, or all of the above, this is a must have book that also features some great bonus interviews with model builders and FX legends Robert and Dennis Skotak and Battle’s costume designer Durinda Wood! Allan Holzman is planning a sequel about his directorial debut on Corman’s Forbidden World and one can’t wait for that after enjoying this delightful book.

-MonsterZero NJ

TOMB OF NOSTALGIA: BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS (1980)

BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS (1980)

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Never one to pass up an opportunity to make a buck on a trend, Roger Corman put this space opera into production with the hopes of capturing a little of the Star Wars lightening in New World Pictures’ bottle. The story finds the inhabitants of the peaceful planet of Akir, under siege from Sador of the Malmori (John Saxon), a ruthless warlord who conquers worlds and uses spare body parts to keep himself young and tyrannical. Not able to defend themselves, village elder Zed (Jeff Corey) sends the rebellious young Shad (Richard Thomas) out to hire mercenaries to defend their planet against the invading army. Can Shad find warriors bad and brave enough to take on Sador and his planet-destroying Hammerhead starship?

As you can tell by the story description, this is more a take on Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai than a retread of George Lucas’ box office titan, though Star Wars rip-off it shamelessly still is. No more obvious than the planet name Akir, which is a tribute to the legendary Japanese director, whose story is being appropriated here. The fun script is by John Sayles (Piranha, The Howling) and it’s directed with a comic book flare by Jimmy T. Murakami, who previously had experience in animation. The film never makes a joke out of the proceedings, but is loaded with humor and plenty of innovative SPFX on a small budget, as designed by James (Terminator, Aliens, Avatar) Cameron. The action is fast and furious, there is a variety of ships to go along with the motley group of mercenaries and it’s all a good time as intended. Sure it’s only got about a fifth of Star Wars’ budget, but the film has loads of heart and the hard work and imagination of everyone that worked on it shows through. The FX can be cheesy and there are a few spots where things slow down a bit, but otherwise it is a cult classic in it’s own right and how can you not like a movie that has a spaceship with a set of boobs…only in a Roger Corman flick, folks!

The cast really make this work especially well. All the actors get the tone and none of them treat the material like a joke, yet still have a good time with their roles. Richard Thomas makes a noble hero as Shad. A young man willing to risk all to save his world and people. Darlanne Fluegel is pretty and resilient as Nanelia, who joins Shad on his quest and becomes his first love interest. John Saxon is simply on target with his portrayal of Sador. He gives him a sense of malice and villainy, yet is careful to never carry him too far into over-the-top territory, so he stays threatening. As our warriors, we have George Peppard as “Space Cowboy” a space trucker caught up in the fight, Robert Vaughn as Gelt, an outlaw on the run, Sybil Danning as the beautiful but arrogant warrior woman Saint-Exmin, Morgan Woodward as the reptilian Cayman, who has a personal grudge against Sador, as well as, a heat communicating duo called The Kelvin and a group of five clones, who act and think as one, called The Nestor. And let’s not forget Sador’s army of patchwork mutants, too. A colorful and diverse group of characters if there ever was.

A cult classic in itself, this is a fun low budget space epic with loads of heart. Sure, the sets are cheesy, as are some of the SPFX, the dialogue corny and the pacing a little erratic, but this movie is a lot of fun. The cast all get the material and give it their all. The imagination of James Cameron and his FX crew is up on screen and it has one of James Horner’s best scores. A Roger Corman cult classic that may have been inspired by George Lucas’ surprise blockbuster, but has earned an identity and place in B-movie history all it’s own.

-MonsterZero NJ

Rated 3 (out of 4) Sadors.

 

 

 

 

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TOMB OF NOSTALGIA: SPACE RAIDERS (1983)

SPACE RAIDERS (1983)

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Actually saw this fun little Roger Corman flick in a theater back in 1983. It’s a slight departure for Corman as it was more kid friendly in tone and came with a PG rating. It tells the tale of a young boy named Peter (David Mendenhall), who while playing in the warehouse of his father’s company, gets caught in the middle of a firefight between security and a band of pirates. Peter hides in the very cargo ship the pirates wind up stealing and now is trapped with them as they flee. He slowly endears himself to the band of thieves as he and they are pursued by both bounty hunters and a massive robot warship.

While basically void of the usual blood and boobs that Corman’s flicks were notorious for, this flick does have his thriftiness, as it’s effects are basically recycled from Corman classics like Battle Beyond The Stars, Galaxy Of Terror, Forbidden World and Android. The James Horner score is lifted from Battle Beyond the Stars and Humanoids From The Deep as well. Written and directed by Howard R. Cohen, the film makes the most of it’s minuscule budget and what it can’t accomplish with modest action and recycled battle scenes, it does with heart. Despite not being big on action and having seen a lot of the space battles before in the film’s mentioned, the movie is harmless and fun in spite of it’s economical approach, in a time where big budget space adventures were becoming common. It’s loaded with charm, as were most of Corman’s flicks, even if it couldn’t possibly compete with the same year’s Return Of The Jedi.

The cast also give this a bit of spunk, too. Mendenhall is cute and likable as the wide-eyed Peter who is having the time of his life with a crew of pirates. While on the subject, the likable band of rogues is captained by Vince Edwards as Hawk. Edwards, who was doctor Ben Casey on TV from 1961 to 1966, plays the ex-soldier with a heart of gold with the appropriate grit and grizzle. He is joined by soap stars Thom Christopher and Patsy Pease as Flightplan and Amanda respectively, with Drew Snyder and future Ghoulies director Luca Bercovici rounding out the crew. B-Movie icon Dick Miller also appears. Everybody takes the material seriously enough to make it work, but appear to be having fun.

This is not a great movie by any lengths, but it has a charm and heart and that makes it fun despite the low budget limitations. You have to give Corman credit for getting another movie out of SPFX, sets and music from past productions and having his filmmakers show some restraint to deliver a more kid friendly flick. One of the last of Corman’s New World Pictures productions before he sold it.

-MonsterZero NJ

Rated 3 (out of 4) recycled spaceships from Battle Beyond The Stars.

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FAREWELL AND R.I.P. JAMES HORNER!

James Horner 1953-2015

Very sad news! Mega film composer James Horner died yesterday, in the crash of his private plane, at the age of 61. Horner got his start working for Roger Corman scoring films like Battle Beyond The Stars and Humanoids from the Deep and broke big when hired to create the soundtrack to Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan. He went on to a prolific career of composing classic scores for some classic films such as Titanic, Braveheart and Avatar. He will be greatly missed, as will his talent! He was one of my favorites!

-MonsterZero NJ

Sources: internet