I know I’m going to start off by sounding like a total shill when I say that Shout! Factory probably puts out my favorite DVD sets. From rarer TV shows like Rhoda through to cartoons like G.I. Joe and The Transformers, they seem to get that right mix of coolness and obscurity.
It is for that reason that I didn’t totally stick my nose up when presented with a review copy of Battle Beyond The Stars, a 1980 theatrical movie from Roger Corman starring The Waltons’ Richard Thomas as Luke Skywalker. Or rather, something Luke Skywalker-ish.
I had heard legends of Corman’s work but never actually had seen any of it. To be honest, I was fearing really cheap and really bad. Surprisingly… I had a lot of fun.
Battle borrows from more than just Star Wars (though the opening shots are a little familiar). It also is an outer-space take on The Magnificent Seven, right up to Robert Vaughn playing a character a lot like the one he played in the latter movie.
Yes, it’s more cheaply produced than Star Wars, and the many special “30th Anniversary” features and commentaries allude to that. But Battle had one thing that ensured that it looks better than a cheap Syfy flick… the Art Director was a fellow named James Cameron. Maybe you’ve heard of him.
Battle Beyond The Stars is by no means a great movie, but it’s entertaining and fun all the way through and that’s really all I ask for. There are some interesting science fiction concepts, and some of them are fairly unique. To be honest, if I had seen this on the shelf I probably would have ignored it; but since I’ve watched it and now know about it, I’m glad I did. It shows a smaller budget can be had for a good “big” movie, and I think especially in 1980 when this movie came out I would have had a lot of fun. And it’s got Hannibal from The A-Team in it… how can you go wrong there?
There’s space battles, a talking computer, and warrior women among the fun in this feature. The only truly bad part, for me, is a sequence that attempts some love/sexual tension between Thomas’ character Shad and someone else. It’s really awkward, but hey, George Lucas can’t write romance either.
(By the way, apparently a lot of Battle’s effects are re-used in a later movie. You can also see parts of it in Bachelor Party and the movie’s score was used in the trailer for Corman’s ill-fated take on The Fantastic Four.)
DVD features are plentiful as they usually are in Shout! releases. There’s even a present-day interview with John-Boy “Shad” Walton himself, Richard Thomas.
You can get Battle Beyond The Stars from Shout! Factory’s website. It’s also available on
Blu-ray though this review is covering the standard edition.
That’s not the only Corman release to come from Shout! in recent times. The Women in Cages Collection – featuring three movies of women behind bars in one way or another – also recently came out, putting three features on two DVD’s for one low price. Pam Grier appears in two of them, which came from Corman and New World Pictures. There’s commentary and a documentary on Big Doll House, the first movie of the set, as well as special features; and then Women In Cages has a trailer and TV spot. Finally, The Big Bird Cage has a trailer, a TV spot, and an audio commentary with director Jack Hill.
I admit I’m much more of a sci-fi or TV person, but I know there are many fans of the genre and of Corman who would probably love this. That collection can be found here: The Women In Cages Collection [Triple Feature]
