Star Wars Wannabes
When Star Wars became a massive hit, everyone jumped on the bandwagon, churning out space opera and sci-films. Some ended being quite good and original (or, at least, different than Star wars). Many were blatant copies. Some fell somewhere in the middle.
For clarity's sake, I'm mostly sticking with space opera films. A lot of sci-fi films were greenlit because of Star Wars; but, many were very different projects, like Alien and Blade Runner.
For clarity's sake, I'm mostly sticking with space opera films. A lot of sci-fi films were greenlit because of Star Wars; but, many were very different projects, like Alien and Blade Runner.
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- DirectorJun FukudaIshirô HondaToshio MasudaStarsKensaku MoritaYûko AsanoRyô IkebeEarth is attacked by alien spacecraft from Venus. But a Japanese scientist has constructed a space craft, the Gohten, with which he may save humanity.Japanese film that was launched because of Star wars; but is more a space remake of the film Atragon.
- CreatorBuck HenryStarsRichard BenjaminTim ThomersonPatricia BarnstableThe misadventures of an outer space garbage collector and his crew.Less a Star Wars wannabe and more of a sci-fi spoof, in general. It parodies Star Trek, Flash Gordon, and many other sci-fi properties, much like Buck Henry's previous work, Get Smart, parodied the spy genre. It didn't last long; but was darn funny, at times.
- DirectorErnie FosseliusStarsFrank RobertsonScott MathewsJeff HaleThis is a short parody of the movie Star Wars.Blatant Star Wars spoof that was a favorite of the midnight movie circuit.
- DirectorLuigi CozziStarsMarjoe GortnerCaroline MunroChristopher PlummerAn outlaw smuggler and her alien companion are recruited by the Emperor of the Galaxy to rescue his son and destroy a secret weapon by the evil Count Zarth Arn.This Italian film jumped on the bandwagon right away, with Marjoe Gortner as the young hero and Caroline Munro as a hottie Han. It's pretty abysmal, though with a certain cheesy charm.
- StarsAlan YoungKeye LukeRonnie SchellA five-member superhero team called G-Force fights to defend Earth and its space colonies from the threat of the planet Spectra.Gatchaman predates Star Wars; but, this Sandy Frank edit added Star Wars elements, like narrator 7-Zark-7, and moving the action into space, by claiming that the adventures took place on other worlds and that Galactor agents were actually the soldiers of an alien planet. To be fair, Sosai X (the Luminous One, here), was supposed to be an alien, who created Berg Katse, by merging a pair of fraternal twins. Frank had new, inferior animation created to add the space element.
- DirectorKinji FukasakuStarsVic MorrowShin'ichi ChibaPhilip CasnoffAn embattled planet, which is on the edge of doom, sends an S.O.S. and an intergalactic team comes to its rescue.Speaking of copyright infringements......
This one at least tries, though it rarely succeeds. It has more in common with some of the earlier Star Wars script drafts (especially the more "Kurosawa" elements) than the finished product. The effects were better than the European knockoffs. - DirectorRichard A. CollaAlan J. LeviStarsRichard HatchDirk BenedictLorne GreeneAfter the destruction of the Twelve Colonies of Mankind, the last major fighter carrier leads a makeshift fugitive fleet on a desperate search for the legendary planet Earth.There was a whole lawsuit about this, since John Dykstra did the effects work and some of the designs were a little too close. However, from a plot standpoint, it was a different animal. Lucas lost in court but ultimately won because BG was too expensive to sustain itself. The pilot got a theatrical release, with some editing (mostly for time).
- CreatorTerry NationStarsMichael KeatingPaul DarrowPeter TuddenhamA group of convicts and outcasts fight a guerrilla war against the totalitarian Terran Federation from a highly advanced alien spaceship.You could easily dismiss this as a Star Wars wannabe; but, that would be grossly underestimating the show. This one was a pretty good mix of the best elements of Star Wars, coupled with other sci-fi and space opera influences. It suffers from a much smaller effects budget; but, not from imagination.
- StarsMakio InoueAkira KamiyaNoriko OharaIn 2977, mankind has space colonies, machines do all the work and everyone just wants to have fun. When deadly plant-based aliens that look like women attack the Earth in order to colonize it, only one rogue captain can stop them.Adaptation of the manga series, of the same name, created by Leiji Matsumoto. This is grand space opera, in the style of Star Wars and EE Smith's Lensmen Saga, which was highly influential upon Star Wars. It's got more depth than Star Wars (the first movie, anyway); but, it doesn't take much to see where the idea of a space pirate hero came from. However, space pirates were nothing new, in space opera.
- StarsEddie AllenMichael BertoliniAmy Howard WilsonIn the year 2199, a starship must make a dangerous voyage to the distant planet Iscandar and back to save Earth from an alien invasion.Technically, this is Space Battleship Yamato; but, in this English version, things are tweaked to give it more of a Star Wars appeal. They are different animals; but, Star Wars paved the way for this (as did Captain Harlock). Also from Leiji Matsumoto.
- DirectorRintarôStarsMasako NozawaMasako IkedaYôko AsagamiThe adventures of a brave young boy who travels from planet to planet in a determined quest to avenge his mother's death.Leiji Matsumoto's third space opera series. This guy really dug this stuff and he did quite well with it.
- DirectorGeorge McCowanStarsJack PalanceCarol LynleyBarry MorseSome time in the future, man has set up colonies on the Moon, when Earth becomes uninhabitable. A madman decides to destroy the Moon colonies with his robots and automated ships, and only three people and their robot can stop him.This is truly awful! These guys took the HG Wells novel, jettisoned everything, except the name Cabal, and proceeded to create a complete copyright infringement; but, one that tanked so badly that Lucas didn't care (and, he didn't exactly come up with things on his own, anyway). This came and went so fast it gave you whiplash.
- DirectorGary NelsonStarsMaximilian SchellAnthony PerkinsRobert ForsterA research vessel finds a missing ship, commanded by a mysterious scientist, on the edge of a black hole.This was Disney's attempt at cashing in on Star Wars, though it has just as much, if not more, in common with Star Trek. However, it had to have robots and a Darth Vader-looking evil henchman/robot Maximillian.
- DirectorDaniel HallerStarsGil GerardErin GrayPamela HensleyA 20th century astronaut emerges out of 500 years of suspended animation into a future time where Earth is threatened by alien invaders.Buck got a greenlight for a tv series, thanks to Star Wars. It also got a theatrical run because sci-fi movies were hot, so why just waste this on tv, with the budget it had? On the whole, it's a pretty good film, though the effects weren't quite in the same league as Star Wars. It gets points for being different enough from Star Wars to stand on its own.
- DirectorJimmy T. MurakamiRoger CormanStarsGeorge PeppardRobert VaughnRichard ThomasA farm boy recruits a band of outlaws to save the planet Akir from forces that threaten to wipe them out from the face of the universe. A battle stretching beyond the stars begins here.Now, this one actually did a pretty good job of aping Star Wars, on a much smaller budget. Basically, it's The Magnificent Seven (or, more correctly, The Seven Samurai) in space, with John Boy Walton as the hero. Roger Corman got a pretty good bang for his buck, thanks to a lot of young talent, like John Sayles, James Cameron, and Gale Ann Hurd.
- DirectorMike HodgesStarsSam J. JonesMelody AndersonMax von SydowA football player and his friends travel to the planet Mongo and find themselves fighting the tyranny of Ming the Merciless to save Earth.This is probably a questionable entry. It doesn't try to emulate Star Wars; it's just that Star Wars stole so much from Flash Gordon. That said, nobody was interested in doing a Flash Gordon film until Star Wars came along (even though the rights were already sold, when Lucas inquired).
- DirectorWilliam SachsStarsStephen MachtAvery SchreiberJ.D. HintonIn the 31st century, sexy blonde android Galaxina helms the crew of a space cruiser on a mission to find the Blue Star, a mystical gem that holds unlimited power.This is a largely forgettable Star Wars spoof, if not for the murder of star Dorothy Stratten. It also swipes/spoofs Star Trek and Barbarella.
- DirectorHoward R. CohenStarsVince EdwardsDavid MendenhallPatsy PeaseA futuristic, sensitive tale of adventure and confrontation when a 10 year old boy is accidentally kidnapped by a spaceship filled with a motley crew of space pirates.Another Corman quickie that reused footage from Battle Beyond the Stars.
- DirectorNick CastleStarsLance GuestRobert PrestonKay E. KuterHigh schooler Alex Rogan conquers the Starfighter video game, only to find out it was just a test, and is transported to another planet. He has been recruited to join a team of the best starfighters to defend their world from the attack.I hesitate to call this an outright knockoff; but, there are quite a few similarities in the plot. It also borrows from King Arthur, the Music Man, and EE Smith and the Lensmen, which factor into Star Wars.
- DirectorDavid LynchStarsKyle MacLachlanVirginia MadsenFrancesca AnnisA Duke's son leads desert warriors against the galactic emperor and his father's evil nemesis to free their desert world from the emperor's rule.Dune had been in development for years, as a film (most famously by Alejandro Jodorowsky); but, Star Wars (which ripped off a lot of it) helped get it to the screen. Much of its similarity to Star Wars is based on the elements that Lucas borrowed; however, the execution of the story by Lynch, as it departs from the novel, bears more of a resemblance to Star Wars than the source material.
- DirectorShûichi HirokawaYoshiaki KawajiriStarsToshio FurukawaMami KoyamaChikao ÔtsukaA farmboy stumbles upon the Lens, an artifact which grants him fantastic powers and contains vital information that may allow the Galactic Fleet to defeat the evil Boskone Empire.This one is a bit unique. Star Wars swiped heavily from EE "Doc" Smith's Lensmen series of books, especially the first book (published), The Galactic Patrol. In that novel, newly commissioned Lensman, Kim Kinnison, is assigned to a ship whose very intent is to draw the Boskone pirates into battle, to obtain data about their advanced ships. The Boskone board the Galactic Patrol ship by cutting their way inside, from space, while wearing "space armor" (pressure suits), and a battle ensues inside the Patrol ship. Kinnison ejects in a lifeboat, with a wire recording of the details of the Boskone ship, crash-landing on an alien planet. He meets up with another Lensman, and they work to reach their lines, to deliver the data. Sound familiar? Well, that's not quite the plot here. Instead, a Lensman crashes on the planet where Kim is residing and is mortally wounded. He passes on his lens to Kim, who then goes off to get to the Galactic Patrol, with a robot at his side, and a space captain, who was a friend of Kim's father. It's got some cool (for the time) computer animation; but, the story is a little slow, at times.
The Lensmen Saga also influenced the Green Lantern Corps, at DC Comics; but, the plot here is a swipe of the origin of Hal Jordan, as Green Lantern, rather than the other way around. - DirectorStewart RaffillStarsRobert UrichMary CrosbyMichael D. RobertsIn a distant future scarce of water, space pirates get caught after stealing ice from a spaceship. They are sold to a princess looking for her dad. He might have found a planet abundant with water.This space opera comedy swiped not only from Star Wars; but, also Alien. It's a decent little film, apart from the segments with Bruce Villanch (which really slows down the film and which are as unfunny as can be).
- CreatorCarl MacekStarsSteve KramerTom WynerRobert AxelrodAn alien spaceship crash lands on Earth and the technology and secrets she bears lead Earth into three destructive interplanetary wars.I'm (again) using the English catch all series to cover these three separate Japanes series (Super Dimension Fortress Macross, Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross, and Galatic Climber MOSPEADA), which deals with an attack by an alien invader. Many of the character elements are similar to Star Wars, though there are other sci-fi influences, as well.
- DirectorSteven HahnStarsJoe ColliganCarmen ArgenzianoNoelle NorthSet on the subterranean Mine-World, a band of human worker are treated like slaves under the power of the evil overlord Zygon until one, Orin, unearths the hilt of a mythical sword that only he can master. Escaping the planet, he runs into the rogue smuggler Dagg and a pair of helpful droids and the princess, who all team up to return to the Mine-World with a plan to defeat Zygon and free Orin's enslaved people.Very much in the Star Wars/King Arthur vein. It's a mixed bag, but ambitious, for an animated feature.
- DirectorMel BrooksStarsMel BrooksJohn CandyRick MoranisA star-pilot for hire and his trusty sidekick must come to the rescue of a princess and save Planet Druidia from the clutches of the evil Spaceballs.Okay, this is an outright parody; but, you can't have a parody unless you have the original to spoof. It's kind of uneven; but, the Dark Helmet stuff is pretty darn funny, which makes up for the weaker jokes.