Unless you've been alive for about a half a century it's hard to imagine what life was like pre Star Wars and the impact that it had on cinema. Sure, there was some award winning Sci-fi flicks like 2001: A Space Odyssey and Planet of the Apes that got lots of critical attention and if you were a true Sci-Fi fanatic you knew about Silent Running, The Day the Earth Stood Still and Forbidden Planet but most Sci-fi fare was little on intellect and large on rubber monster suits.
After Star Wars though, Hollywood tried desperately to cash in on the Space Opera craze and as a result we got movies like Battle Beyond the Stars.
If you read the description and think it sounds familiar that's because it is. It's a remake of the Magnificent Seven which is in itself a remake of Seven Samurai and even Pixar's A Bug's Life which would come almost two decades later used this same plot. If you think it's odd to take a "Western" story and apply it to a Sci-fi movie, its not as crazy as you would think. Some of the scenes from Star Wars was inspired from several War and Western genre movies, most notably the scene when Luke rides up onto his farm and see's that its been attacked and burned down was taken almost shot by shot from the movie "The Searchers" so it shouldn't be much of a surprise that a classic western film was used as an inspiration for a Science Fiction movie.
This film has gained itself a bit of a cult following and its not hard to understand why. Most of the main characters were well known actors in their day. Richard Thomas was on the popular TV show The Waltons, Robert Vaughn was himself a well known actor, even playing the exact same role in Battle Beyond the Stars as he did in the 1960's Magnificent Seven while John Saxon was a teenage heartthrob in the 50's and George Peppard was in several well known movies in the 60's and was about to hit it big on the popular TV show The A-Team playing the team leader Hannibal Smith. Of course not all of the actors were as well known, or as good, some of the acting is subpar, but in some ways that actually helps play into its "cult movie" status.
As an avid Sci-fi fan and even as a growing Western fan, I can say that I'm glad I watched it on Roku the other day. Attempts to watch it in the past has always resulted in interruptions for some odd reason, including during my youth in the mid to late 80s when it was shown on Cinemax, so seeing it available with VOD made it much easier to ensure that I could watch it all the way through this time.
This movie is going to have a very niche audience, mostly those who like to watch Science Fiction where there's space battles and those who have a taste for low budget cult status films, the special effects are okay but haven't aged well but that all plays into the well earned cult film status. If you are one of those individuals then grab a bowl of popcorn, fill up a giant cup with soda, kick back in the recliner and enjoy the movie. If you're a fan of any of the actors then you'll likely enjoy it, their acting is just as good here as you would find in previous or later movies. If you're interested in watching a remake of Seven Samurai or The Magnificent Seven, forget it. Watch A Bug's Life instead, you'll enjoy it more.
After Star Wars though, Hollywood tried desperately to cash in on the Space Opera craze and as a result we got movies like Battle Beyond the Stars.
If you read the description and think it sounds familiar that's because it is. It's a remake of the Magnificent Seven which is in itself a remake of Seven Samurai and even Pixar's A Bug's Life which would come almost two decades later used this same plot. If you think it's odd to take a "Western" story and apply it to a Sci-fi movie, its not as crazy as you would think. Some of the scenes from Star Wars was inspired from several War and Western genre movies, most notably the scene when Luke rides up onto his farm and see's that its been attacked and burned down was taken almost shot by shot from the movie "The Searchers" so it shouldn't be much of a surprise that a classic western film was used as an inspiration for a Science Fiction movie.
This film has gained itself a bit of a cult following and its not hard to understand why. Most of the main characters were well known actors in their day. Richard Thomas was on the popular TV show The Waltons, Robert Vaughn was himself a well known actor, even playing the exact same role in Battle Beyond the Stars as he did in the 1960's Magnificent Seven while John Saxon was a teenage heartthrob in the 50's and George Peppard was in several well known movies in the 60's and was about to hit it big on the popular TV show The A-Team playing the team leader Hannibal Smith. Of course not all of the actors were as well known, or as good, some of the acting is subpar, but in some ways that actually helps play into its "cult movie" status.
As an avid Sci-fi fan and even as a growing Western fan, I can say that I'm glad I watched it on Roku the other day. Attempts to watch it in the past has always resulted in interruptions for some odd reason, including during my youth in the mid to late 80s when it was shown on Cinemax, so seeing it available with VOD made it much easier to ensure that I could watch it all the way through this time.
This movie is going to have a very niche audience, mostly those who like to watch Science Fiction where there's space battles and those who have a taste for low budget cult status films, the special effects are okay but haven't aged well but that all plays into the well earned cult film status. If you are one of those individuals then grab a bowl of popcorn, fill up a giant cup with soda, kick back in the recliner and enjoy the movie. If you're a fan of any of the actors then you'll likely enjoy it, their acting is just as good here as you would find in previous or later movies. If you're interested in watching a remake of Seven Samurai or The Magnificent Seven, forget it. Watch A Bug's Life instead, you'll enjoy it more.