Starcrash : Le Choc des étoiles

In the same vein as Jason of Star Command and Flesh Gordon, Starcrash is a campy, fun throwback to the old serials of the 30s and 40s. It looks, feels, and tastes like an old serial, minus the chapters. Yep, it is a cheesey attempt to cash in on the great sci-fi craze of the late 70s, fueled by the likes of syndicated Star Trek reruns, Logan's Run, Close Encounters, Space: 1999, and ESPECIALLY Star Wars, of course. It is guilty as charged. That said, it is an absoloute low-budget blast. For detractors, here's your first clue that this film is not to be taken seriously: A robot with a long, southern drawl. L the cowardly robot is a riot!

Starcrash shamelessly pilfers elements from Invaders from Mars (1953) (a brief appearance by an alien judicial judge), Ray Harryhausen films (a couple of model animated aliens & robots), and Star Wars (a lightsaber duel), not to mention the old serials.

The whole thing never stops to catch its breath, and neither does the viewer, overwhelmed by alternately cheesey and surprisingly good special fx and generally porn-level acting and dialogue. One minute Stella and L are battling Amazons, the next L is gunning it out with troglodytes, and the next Akton is having a lightsaber duel with those model-animated robots. There are psychadelic images and scenes, almost worthy of the equally bizarre Barbarella. And along the way are allusions to classic sf authors Edmond Hamilton, Murray Leinster, and Ray Bradbury.

For the b-movie or old time serial lover, or someone who doesn't mind some campy lightweight space opera, Starcrash really can't be topped.

Starcrash (1978)

** (out of 4)

Stella Star (Caroline Munro) is asked by The Emperor (Christopher Plummer) to set out and locate his missing son (David Hasselhoff) and along the way she must battle countless robots and other space creatures. This Italian-American co-production was clearly influenced by STAR WARS and I think fans of that film are probably going to hate this simply because it is a rip-off. Those who enjoy silly, campy and over-the-top science fiction will probably get a few kicks out of this thing while people like myself, not crazy over the genre, will probably get a few laughs and of course be thrilled by Munro. STARCRASH is an ultra-cheap movie but I think the cheapness actually works in its favor because you just can't take any of it too serious and this is something that kills a lot of "B" movies. A lot of time "B" movies take themselves so serious that the director never allows the viewer to just sit back and have a good time but director Luigi Cozzi makes sure you don't take anything too serious. I really liked the happy tone that runs throughout the movie and it's clear that they weren't trying to scare, shock or go for crazy action scenes but instead they just delivered a campy story. The special effects really aren't as bad as you'd expect in such a low-budget film. A major plus is the cast, which includes the beautiful Munro. While her acting might not be the greatest she at least fits the role perfectly and there's no doubt that her charm really helps keep the film moving. The highlight of the film would have to be that leather bikini thing she's dressed in for the majority of the running time. Plummer picks up a paycheck appearing in his brief part and the young Hasselhoff is pretty funny in his bit. Hamilton Camp deserves mention for his Southern voice of the robot and we get Joe Spinell as the bad guy. It's interesting to note that Spinell and Munro would go onto appear in MANIAC just two years later. STARCRASH isn't a masterpiece and it's not even a good movie but fans of camp should at least be entertained by it.

It's awful all right - in a hilarious way! This movie is awful in almost every category - special effects, sound, costumes, set, acting and the script - but if you like good cheese, if you can embrace the spirit of Ed Wood and others like him, then you'll LOVE this campy sci-fi disaster. Marjoe Gortner gives one of the truly worst performances I have evr seen - he either is phoning it in or over-acting like crazy - I swear, watch in the beginning - he almost doesnt blink for over ten minutes. Creepy. And for all of those who saw this movie as young lads - I can see why Ms. Munro wouldmake such an impression on you. Woo-wee!! That is some hot leather space bikini they have her in. She was gorgeous and all but my god, some of the "fight" scenes she's in are unintentionally hilarious. Good silly fun!!!

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!

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.