#Battle Beyond The Stars

[humanoidhistory]

Battle Beyond the Stars, 1980, produced by Roger Corman.

[atomic-chronoscaph]

Morgan Woodward being suited up on the set of Battle Beyond the Stars (1980)

[livinbythewayside98]

My build of the 1/537 Cut-away Original Series USS Enterprise, and a studio scale scratchbuild/kitbashed Battle Beyond The Stars Cowboy’s Freight Hauler

[fancoloredglasses]

Battle Beyond the Stars (Space samurai), part 1

(Thanks to Roger Corman [Official YouTube Page])

[All images are owned by New World Pictures 20th Century Pictures Disney. Please don’t sue me]

One of the most influential films of the 20th century was Akira Kurozawa’s Seven Samurai, a tale of seven Japanese warriors banding together to stop an army from destroying a village. It was retold in the United States as the western known as The Magnificent Seven. In 1980, in yet another attempt to cash in on the popularity of Star Wars, the tale was brought into space by Roger Corman in Battle Beyond the Stars.

The film was extremely low budget (with the majority of the funds going toward the salaries of two of its stars) The film was one of James Cameron’s (who would later go on to direct Terminator 2, Aliens, Titanic, and Avatar) early projects as set designer and model maker (the film’s budget was so low, he used spray painted styrofoam McDonald’s boxes to design spaceship interiors!)

Now, on with the show! If you would like to watch the film, it’s available on Amazon.

We open to a giant warship slowly crawling across the screen in a way that would make Spaceball One proud. We switch to be bridge where the commander, a being known as Sador, is shown his newest plaything.

Hmmm…not much to look at from this distance. Couldn’t they magnify it or something?

Anyway, it is explained that Akir’s people are known as the Akira (a nice nod to Kurosawa) and they are a planet of farmers and are pretty much defenseless except for an ancient orbital weather station.

…err, scratch that. They’re totally defenseless now that they no longer have an ancient orbital weather station.

On the surface, the ship enters the atmosphere.

Though due to framing it doesn’t look that large. In fact, it looks barely tall enough for one of the Akira to be able to stand upright inside. Sador introduces himself (using the bottom of his ship as a monitor) to the Akira as their conqueror. He gives then seven days to consider his offer to surrender to him or else he’ll attack, killing all life on the planet.

He then orders the ship's weapons to fire on the people below as a demonstration! After reminding them of his demands, he leaves for a week to threaten other planets. However, he’s not stupid as he leaves a patrol fighter to make sure they don’t get too uppity.

Later, the Akira leaders hold a pity party as they refuse to stand up to Sador. Then one of their elders (named Zed) suggests a reckless plan.

Well, it couldn’t hurt, except the Akira have no money. Still, maybe whatever mercenaries they find will fight for fighting sake (sure, why not?) But who will take on this fool’s errand?

Allow me to introduce the sacrificial lamb brave volunteer, Shad (played by Richard Thomas, who is best known as John-Boy on The Waltons), who has actually flown the ONE spaceship the Akira have (you’d think they would build at least one more in case anything happened to this one)

Zed instructs Shad to seek out a being known as Dr. Hephaestus, a weapons manufacturer. He then turns control of the ship to Shad, introducing him to the ship’s AI, Nell (I’m just gonna call the ship Nell, since the AI pretty much runs the ship anyway) And they’re off!

(Thanks to Tales From SYL Ranch DARKROOM)

Yay laziness?

 Later, Nell arrives at Dr. Hephaestus’s station. However, there is no response to hails. Despite this, Shad takes Nell in. Shad enters the station proper to discover…

…a woman repairing androids (who seems shocked that Shad isn’t one). This is Nanelia, Dr. Hephaestus’s daughter. Shad asks to see her father, but…

I’m pretty sure he’s looked better.

Dr. Hephaestus refuses to help the Akira, but he has a proposition for Shad.

Dr. Hephaestus orders his androids to detain Shad in one of the guest quarters. Later, Nanelia visits him. Somehow, Shad convinces her to help him leave the station rather than making him stay to be a brood stallion for her.

He tries to convince her to join him, but she refuses. However, after thinking about it, she grabs a station shuttle and goes after him. He offers to meet her near his next stop. I’m calling it now: she’ll be sharing quarters with him by the end of the film.

Let’s check back in with Sador, shall we? It seems that he sent once of his men to order another world (Umateal) to surrender. They sent the man back in a space coffee can. Sador isn’t too happy about this.

Meanwhile near the rendezvous point, Nell and Shad encounter…

(Thanks to Teut Hamer)

[QUICK NOTE: Space Cowboy (no actual name given) is played by George Peppard, who would go on to lead another group of mercenaries on Earth]

After an argument as to just who’s in charge of this mission, Shad and Nell finish off the Jackers.

Shad then talks to Cowboy about signing on.

I’m guessing Shad’s sales pitch needs some work.

Then Nell gets a message from Umateal. Say, isn’t that the world that Sador…uh oh.

Sador vaporizes the planet! Cowboy still isn’t interested, but seeing as his customer was on Umateal…

Shad agrees to take Cowboy’s weapons (since they’re already paid for by a dead guy), but the Akira will need someone to train them how to use them.

Hey, better than nothing! As a way to celebrate their deal, Cowboy offers to show Shad one of his old westerns. I wonder if he has a copy of The Magnificent Seven?

Meanwhile Nanelia is approaching the rendezvous point when…

…a strange light show envelops her ship, rendering her unconscious (I guess she’s epileptic?) Then another ship fires on the lights and they disappear (Wouldn’t an off switch be easier?), then captures her ship.

She awakens hanging by her wrists in a steam room with a creepy alien eyeing her like a side of beef (though if the being eats sentients, she may essentially be one to him)

Err…right.

The Sleestak clone introduces himself as Cayman, and he saved her from the disco lights (that were about to eat her) She appreciates the save and would like to be on her way, but it seems they have other plans for her…

She should’ve taken her chances with the technicolor dream-predator.

Instead, she tries to hire them to help defend Akir, spinning a bullshit story about how much they could be paid for their help. However, he’s not buying what she’s selling.

That gets Cayman’s attention, as he has a laser axe to grind with Sador, so he agrees to help.

Getting back to Shad, Nell feel herself being pulled off course by…

Nell says she can’t pull free, so Shad turns her around and charges right at them! Suddenly he vanishes from Nell’s bridge into…

(Thanks to MΣƬΛ)

Seeing as beggars can’t be choosers, Shad agrees. So now we have either all seven (since this is based off Seven Samurai) or three warriors, depending on how you view Nestor.

In any case, let’s check back with Akir and the lazy fighter pilots (remember them?)

…who are perving on Akira mating rituals. They decide to once again shun their orders and go down and abduct one of the Arkia women! I guess with looks like theirs it’s hard to get a date on Saturday night.

Now that we’ve shown how creepy Sador’s goons can be, let’s get back to Shad and Nell, who have arrived at the planet Nascosto.

However, all Shad can see is a massive storm system covering the planet. Nell explains the civilization is underground due to the weather. Shad finds a place to land and goes searching for a way in.

I think Nell’s data on this planet is a but outdated. However, while Shad is playing with the outdated computers…

Fortunately, whoever it is is a lousy shot. We’ll just say they’re trying to get his attention. Shad quickly explains that he’s looking for mercenaries.

The man (Gelt, played by Robert Vaughn (who played one of The Magnificent Seven)) explains that a coalition of neighboring systems wiped out the rest of the mercenaries, so now there’s just him.

After debating the morals of being a mercenary, Shad makes his offer. Gelt explains he’s very wealthy from his exploits, but he’s made so many enemies he can’t show his face to spend any of it.

With that, Gelt agrees to "a meal and a place to hide", bringing the total to four (I guess we’re calling all of Nestor’s bodies as one mercenary)

As Shad and Nell leave Nascoso, they encounter…

The ship opens fire, but is ineffective. The ship hails Nell.

Exmin wants to join up, but Shad is too annoyed to accept (what’s that saying about beggars and choosers?) I have a feeling this won’t be the last we see of her.

Having ditched Exmin, Shad contacts Cowboy to let him know that the others are coming in. I guess if you count Shad and Nanelia that’s six. Where’s the seventh?

After introductions are made…

I knew Exmin wouldn’t give up so easily.

(much to Shad’s chagrin)

Now we have our seven! On to Akir!

WILL this band of seven defeat Sador?

CAN they save Akir?

DOES Cowboy have a copy of The Magnificent Seven?

These questions and more will be answered in the exciting conclusion!

[science70]

Earl Boen, John Gowans, et al., Battle Beyond the Stars (USA, 1980 dir: Jimmy T. Murakami).

[awidevastdominion]

[randomdeinonychus]

A random selection of Roger Corman posters.

Rest in Peace to an absolute legend.

[gameraboy2]

Sue Dolf and Durinda Rice Wood adjusting a costume on Battle Beyond the Stars (1980)

[half-eaten-deodorant]

Zest Fest over here

[spockeye-fierce]

[victusinveritas]

"No ending is beautiful."

"You've never seen a Valkyrie go down."

-Battle Beyond the Stars

[vintage1981]

Happy Birthday Sybil Danning!

Tall, leggy, buxom and statuesque 5'7" blonde beauty Sybil Danning reigns supreme as one of the sexiest, most dynamic and commanding actresses to achieve cult B-movie queen status. She was born Sybille Johanna Danninger in Wels, Austria, the daughter of a US Army major father and an Austrian mother. She grew up on army bases in such places as New Jersey, Maryland and Sacramento, California. Sybil attended Etontown's Star of the Sea Catholic School. At age 14 she worked for her uncle as a dental assistant. Two years later she moved to Vienna, Austria, and worked for a dental supply company. She then relocated to Salzburg and worked as an assistant to a top oral surgeon.

Danning then enrolled in the Buchner School of Cosmetology in Salzburg and received a diploma in facial treatment, decorative make-up, manicure and body massage. She soon began doing fashion shows and photo layouts. Danning made her film debut as Lorelei in Komm nur, mein liebstes Vögelein (1968).

She next portrayed Kriemhild in The Long Swift Sword of Siegfried (1972). Sybil studied for three years with noted Munich drama coach Anne-Marie Hanschke. Sybil made memorable appearances in such mainstream features as Bluebeard (1972), The Three Musketeers (1973), Crossed Swords (1977) and The Concorde Airport '79 (1979).

She also continued to act in such enjoyably lowbrow exploitation items as Naughty Nymphs (1972), Loves of a French Pussycat (1972), and Cat in the Cage (1978). Danning was especially excellent and impressive as the fierce Valkyrie warrior Saint-Exmin in the science-fiction cult classic Battle Beyond the Stars (1980). 

Other notable roles are tough prison inmate Ericka in the babes-behind-bars classic Chained Heat (1983), a formidable female swordfighter in The Seven Magnificent Gladiators (1983), wicked werewolf queen Stirba in Howling II: Your Sister Is a Werewolf (1985), a cunning femme fatale English professor in They're Playing with Fire (1984), the Queen of the Moon in the hilarious Amazon Women on the Moon (1987), the strict Warden Sutter in the amusing chicks-in-chains parody Reform School Girls (1986), an alien queen in The Phantom Empire (1988) and a rugged lady bounty hunter in L.A. Bounty (1989).

[vdo1980]

Roger Corman passed May 9th , & for his eulogy they just re-used footage from Battle Beyond the Stars :P

RIP ❤️🎥🎬

[fancoloredglasses]

Battle Beyond the Stars (Space samurai), conclusion

(Thanks to Roger Corman [Official YouTube Page])

PREVIOUSLY ON...

The peaceful planet Akir is being threatened by a warlord known as Sador, who demands unconditional surrender when he returns in one week or he'll raze the planet and kill its population. He leaves behind a single fighter to prevent escape. (the pilots of said fighter prove to be lazy, as they let Our Hero leave the planet, but also pervy as they kidnapped a woman from the planet to have fun with)

One lone youth embarks on a quest to recruit mercenaries (with zero budget to hire them)

Shad (played by Richard Thomas, who is best known for playing John-Boy Walton) In his journey with his ship manned by an AI named Nell (I've been calling the ship Nell as well, since she technically is the ship), he has recruited six others

android technician (and potential Love Interest) named Nanelia

An arms dealer known only as Space Cowboy (played by George Peppard, best known for playing Col. John "Hannibal" Smith), who donated his arms shipment after Sador killed his customer along with their planet, Umateal (since the weapons were paid for already) and for some reason offered to help set up the ground defense.

A scavenger known as Cayman, who has a vendetta against Sador and drags his crew with him.

Five beings (or "facets") that are part of a hive mind known as Nestor. Nestor volunteered the facets because it was bored and wanted the experience.

A mercenary known as Gelt (played by Robert Vaughn, who was part of the cast of the Western version of this story (The Magnificent Seven)), who asked for payment in the form of "a meal and a place to hide" (as there was no civilized world he could show his face and not have it shot off)

And finally, St. Exmin, an initiate of a warrior race known as the Valkiri. She is on a pilgrimage to prove her worth in battle so she can return to her people. (Shad wasn't too happy about accepting her help, but beggars can't be choosers.

That catches us up. Now, on to the exciting conclusion. If you would like to watch the film, it's available on Amazon.

Now we have our seven! On to Akir!

Speaking of Akir, let’s check out those lazy pervy pilots that were supposed to be watching the planet.

NOW they pay attention to their duty!

…so now we can add “cowardly” to their description. The woman they kidnap takes that moment to rush the control room and try to seize control. This is enough of a distraction for Gelt to destroy them. Thank you, nameless woman. Your sacrifice will…to be honest, no one even knew she was on board so it will go unnoticed.

With the token guard defeated, the team land on Akir. The Akira are hidden when they arrive (no doubt due in part to the lazy pervy cowards) but when they emerge, they give the warriors a warm reception.

The warriors convene for a strategy session.

(That’s the beam that disintegrated Umateal)

Nanelia explains that when the Stellar Converter is deployed, Sador’s ship will be vulnerable. Normally his fighters would wipe out any resistance first, so they’ll need to destroy the fighters first (gee, I wonder why no one else had thought of that!)

On the ground, Cowboy directs the Akira to build defenses against the inevitable ground assault (after all, why destroy Akir if Sador’s forces can wipe out their people instead?)

Meanwhile, Sador is making his return to claim his prize (think he’ll be upset about his lost pilots?)

Nice to know he thinks so highly of his men.

Back on Akir, the warriors enjoy a bit of calm before all hell breaks loose.

Well, let’s fade away from that bit of awkward flirting between Shad and Nanelia and see how the others are doing.

(Thanks to Kahm)

Wow, standards have fallen over the centuries! We barely acknowledge hot dogs as “food” these days, let alone “meat”!

All too soon, Sador returns. Let’s hope the Akira and their warriors are ready! Cowboy says his goodbyes (remember, he was just there to prep the ground defense, not actually fight. Though I’m pretty sure he’ll be back.) However…

Looks like Cowboy is in this fight whether he wants to be or not!

Exmin is the first to engage Sador (go figure: her ship is the fastest and she’s just itching for a good fight!) She leads the drones away…right into the others, who start to make short work of them.

Sador then decides to get more involved in the battle by launching nukes. One locks onto Nell, and the explosion would likely take her out if they shot it down!

Shad manages to pilot Nell toward Sador’s engines, veering off suddenly so the missile hits Sador’s ship. Not bad, kid!

Unfortunately, Sador’s guns manage to hit Gelt’s ship!

Gelt’s ship crashes onto Akir, taking him out of the fight (I’m going to assume he died in the crash, but it’s not specified)

Elsewhere on the surface, the ground assault has begun. Fortunately, Cowboy was forced to stay on Akir so now he’s coordinating the defense.

With his leadership, this planet of pacifists who’ve never fired a weapon before somehow manage to hold off a platoon of well-trained soldiers. Maybe they can force Sador’s forces to leave the planet and never return!

(Thanks to somecallmetank)

Yeah, that’s what I expected.

The sonic tank sends high frequency, high decibel waves toward the defenders, forcing them to fall back (didn’t Cowboy bring noise-cancelling headphones?)

Two of Cayman’s crew volunteer to deal with the tank.

Hey, it’s better than nothing.

The Kelvins’ psychic abilities disable the tank and take out its escort troops. I doubt that trick will work twice, but at least it bought the defenders some time to regroup.

…or just charge right back in.

Out in space, Nell receives word that Zed (remember him? Has fallen in battle. This sobers Shad up and he returns to the surface to help with the wounded.

Later, Exmin returns to brag about her exploits.

(not sure why the director decided to shoot Exmin’s butt for this scene, but it sure was a choice)

Shad tells Exmin in no uncertain terms that he could care less about “glory in battle”. He just wants his people to be safe.

He then continues tending to the wounded and finds…

Well, at least now we know Gelt survived the crash, but not for much longer. When he dies, Shad demands a full meal be buried with Gelt, to honor their agreement: a meal and a place to hide (you can't get more hidden than six feet under)

Meanwhile, Nestor has a plan.

Since they are all Nestor, that facet would essentially be a spy. Not a bad plan, since the facets are more or less disposable. Let’s check in with that facet…

(Thanks to Lost Gems & Stinkers)

(I don’t know about that. You gave Sador a new nickname: Lefty)

Shad loses hope, but Exmin and Nestor refuse to give up. As he prepares to take Nell up for Round Two (what has Sador been doing while everyone has been cooling their heels on the surface? You’d think he’d just pull out his Stellar Converter and vaporize Akir)…

Awwwww…they get to die together!

And up in space…

Lefty Sador finally gets off his keister and gets serious. Unfortunately, his fighters aren’t any more effective than they were earlier.

However, even incompetents get lucky every now and then as Nestor’s ship takes a hit and is destroyed. Ah well, at least the hive mind will have a hell of a memory?

Finally, Sador has had enough and prepares to fire the Stellar Converter.

Exmin sees her opening and swoops in for the kill!

…well, into the Stellar Converter, anyway. That’s three warriors down.

With the Stellar Converter taken out, Sador sounds the retreat.

Meanwhile, Cowboy has decided to join the fight (Why? Sador’s limping away) and Cayman engages Sador, determined to destroy him.

Then Cowboy engages, but Sador can’t be bothered with him and just launches nukes at him.

The explosion knocks Cowboy’s ship out of control and he crashes back into Akir. Now what was the point of that? That’s four down.

And what of Cayman?

…make that five down, with just Shad and Nanelia remaining (together in one target. Convenient!) Fortunately, Sador decides to withdraw since his Stellar Converter is gone.

Shad isn’t wrong, so he sets Nell on an intercept course. Unfortunately, Sador launches nukes that damage Nell enough that her memory fails.

As Sador brings Nell aboard, he and his men take the time to celebrate their victory. However...

(Thanks to Bloopotronica)

And with that sentiment, the credits roll. We don’t even get a celebration on Akir. They just…roll credits.

[science70]

George Peppard as Cowboy, Battle Beyond the Stars (USA, 1980 dir: Jimmy T. Murakami).

[freetheshit-outofyou]

Battle Beyond the Stars (1980), then off to bed.

I love this old cheesy flick; it is one of my truly guilty pleasures.

I mean what's not to love, its Seven Samurai (1954) in space. Thus, by extension it is The Magnificent Seven (1960) in space.

To make that even cooler, Robert Vaughn plays "Lee" in The Magnificent Seven, he plays "Gelt" in Battle Beyond the Stars. Gelt, is his exact character from The Magnificent Seven just in space.