Battle Beyond the Stars

Dir: Jimmy T. Murakami

1980

*****

Based on the Seven Samurai, which was later remade into The Magnificent Seven, Roger Corman's Battle Beyond the Stars is a continuation of a timeless story and the 'Seven' legacy. From Ancient Japan, to the Wild West and into space, there is a uniquely pleasing progression to Akira Kurosawa's story that seems to highlight the trends of the time each is set. 1980 saw the huge increase in popularity of the sci-fi genre, largely thanks to 1977's Star Wars. Corman had wanted to make a space-opera for some time and once more hired a young John Sayles (The Brother From Another Planet) to write the script. Corman's film, although loved by a huge cult fan-base, are often mocked for their slap-dash approach but Battle Beyond the Stars was by far the most ambitious film of his at this point. It's really good too (many disagree), but when you look at the cast, the amazing characters, the fact that Sayles wrote it, that a young James Cameron was responsible for the special effects and the great James Horner wrote and performed the score, it really isn't surprising. At the time, a Hollywood trade paper reported that John Wayne was set to star and the film would be directed by Ingmar Bergman, either it was a joke by the editor or a stunt by Corman's publicist (both could be true), it's clear that Corman was something of a joke in the industry, something he would always take with a pinch of salt but also very unfair. The film's spaceship was made out of old McDonalds packaging it's true but it also looked great (so much so Corman reused it several times in later films) and it is all part of the charm anyway. It always seemed fitting to bring the story into the future and I can't fault the story at all. Okay, so it's not quite as great as the originals but I love it just as much. One thing I would argue to the death is that the seven in question are far more interesting in this version than the previous two film. Once more a civilization of farmers (called the Akir - named after Kurosawa) seek the help of mercenaries to defeat an evil raider who regularly pillages their home planet. The lead raider is played by the brilliant John Saxon and a young Richard Thomas ('Goodnight John-Boy') plays a young pilot who goes in search of brave warriors to help save his planet from being turned into a star unless demands are met. With the help of his talking spaceship, he encounters Doctor Hephaestus, a robot specialist on life support and his daughter Nanelia. When the Doctor tried to force him to mate with his daughter, he escapes with Nanelia in tow. He then meets Space Cowboy played by the charismatic George Peppard. Peppard was almost cast in The Magnificent Seven, so this was his way of playing the part that got away. Robert Vaughn plays an assassin on the run, pretty much exactly the same character he plays in The Magnificent Seven but with way more lines and a much better script. They are joined by a race of clones that share a group consciousness named Nestor who agree to join them but only for entertainment purposes and not for payment. On their way back to the planet they meet and recruit Saint Exmin of the Valkyrie Warriors (played by the scantily clad Sybil Danning) and a reptilian slaver named Cayman (of all things) played by Morgan Woodward. Sure it's a little dated and it has its faults but I'm extremely fond of it. It's a Roger Corman classic, perfection is in the imperfections and I'll be totally honest here, I'd watch it over Star Wars any day of the week and as a child, I did!