Starcrash: Ataque interstelar

When "Star Crash" appeared in the U.S., my local newspaper's film critic noted: "...You have to be suspicious of a movie that literally sneaks into town...". That remark left me curious, but not curious enough; after just one week "Star Crash" had left town as quietly as it had come in. Why would any movie get so little push from its' distributor, I wondered? Could it really be that bad? It took me years to find out. Some dozen or so years later, a friend of mine told me he had a copy...well, I couldn't pass this up. After seeing it, I decided that the critics were right--and wrong. Such a hoot! Caroline Munro definitely set the mood in her almost-not-there "space-kini" and high-heeled boots, with Marjoe Gortner pulling backup as 2nd banana. Cheesy special FX, a painfully earnest performance by Christopher Plummer (you can practically see him wondering if his paycheck will clear the bank when he's finished), and a surprisingly good score ( hey, it's John Barry, what did you expect?)make this a pleasant surprise, as long as you're not expecting anything on par with E.E. "Doc" Smith, etc. A small note: I got to meet Ms. Munro at an SF convention back in '82, and I totally agree with Harlan Ellison...she was so gorgeous in person that "they had to ugly her down, so that the cameras wouldn't melt during filming!"....Though I forgot to ask her if it was true that only copy of the shooting script had been stolen by members of Italy's Red Brigade terrorists and held for ransom! Ah, rumors...anyway, try and catch it for free and you won't feel cheated.

I've been a fan of this movie for many years,a friend who used to work in a video shop told me of it,he said it was just like Star Wars ! He was both right and wrong in the same breath.It is a Star Wars inspired movie,but also borrows heavily from Barbarella,Flash Gordon etc... As to it being as good as the original...no way ! It is however better than the 2 prequels and was probably the same price for the whole movie as their catering costs ! If you've not seen it...do so now !

Starcrash is a movie that gets its name from... the very last few minutes of the film, where the name is casually dropped in a conversation, never to be uttered again or its origin explained. The entire plot is Caroline Munro running around in a bathing suit and having completely inappropriate facial expressions. The rest is chaos: a villain taken straight from children's stories, a benevolent emperor played by Christopher Plummer and his son: David Hasselhoff, a mysterious companion who is basically the Deus ex Machina needed to resolve some scenes and a robot with an American South accent that gleefully declares his chauvinism, regardless of him not having a nation or a gender. The acting is so bad it's hilarious, the effects are so special that psychiatric wards come to mind. All in all, ridiculous at all levels.

Some people say it is a ripoff of Star Wars, but I don't see it. There is no story to talk of. The only commonality seems to be a lightsaber that ... just is, with no explanation. I would like to say that Caroline is so sexy that watching the movie is worth it, but really, if you are not drunk out of your mind you can't possibly enjoy this film at its true potential. Just saying.

This cheap "Star Wars" ripoff presents some of the worst and most ridiculous special effects ever made. It also delivers dumb dialogue that will make you laugh yourself into the next dimension. And, above all, the cast includes Marjoe Gortner, Caroline Munro (wearing a bikini on every planet), David Hasselhoff, Christopher Plummer and the great late Joe Spinell. Everybody is outrageously overacting (except for Plummer, who is outrageously underacting). But the movie never becomes boring, there is always happening something more or less stupid, so you'll always be entertained. "Starcrash" is a real party tape that can be enjoyed best with mates and enough beer, chips and popcorn. Don't miss this utterly cheesy movie: It's so dumb that you have to love it!

This is probably one of the best/worse movies I've ever seen, and I've been so much looking forward to its official release on DVD... Well at last that's it! Starcrash is available on DVD Region 2 in France! I certainly pray for a French dub option, as it makes the movie even more cheesy than it is! I'm certainly looking forward to seeing it again, as my VHS copy is so used now that it's not correctly read by my VCR. I wonder if it's going to be released in other countries. However, Starcrash is still brilliant... Just to see Christopher Plummer wondering during the whole movie what he's doing and why he accepted the part, know about his fantastic power as the Emperor of the Universe, to stop time for five minutes only, and see David Hasselhoff in one of his first movies ever... Of course, seeing the wonderful Carolin Munroe in a Barbarella-like part is also great fun!