Starcrash (1979)Aka: Scontri stellari oltre la terza dimensione, Female Space Invaders, Stella Star, The Adventures of Stella Star
Directed By: Luigi Cozzi
Written By: Luigi Cozzi & Nat Wachsberger
Cast:
Marjoe Gortner as Akton
Caroline Munro as Stella Star
Christopher Plummer as The Emperor
David Hasselhoff as Simon
Robert Tessier as Thor
Joe Spinell as Count Zarth Arn
Nadia Cassini as Corelia, Queen of the Amazons
Judd Hamilton as Elle/Jiakta
Hamilton Camp as Voice of Elle
Salvatore Baccaro as Neanderthal Man
Runtime: USA:92 Minutes / Italy:94 Minutes
Country: Italy
Language: English / Italian
Color: Color (Technicolor)
Sound: Dolby
Released: March 9, 1979
Starcrash is Star Wars, Jason and the Argonauts, Barbarella and pretty much any fantasy film made after 1900 thrown in a blender. In fact I would dare any fan to find anything in Starcrash that is not "borrowed" from another film. To put it simply the film may very well be the king of the copycats. The films creators wanting to cash in on the popularity of Star Wars so badly that they felt compelled to clone it in detail.
In a galaxy of neon colored stars, two would be space pirates, Stella Star and Arkton, are forced into a quest to find a secret weapon that could destroy the ruling galactic empire. Of course there is the evil Count Zarth Arn who uses his forces to thwart the two as they search for it. Thrown into the mix are a tribe of Amazons and a missing prince who was believed dead, but turns out to be very much alive. All mixed in together with over the top laser fights and girls running around in as little clothes as possible. Hardly the kind of film that would be considered "original."
What is most compelling about this intergalactic mess of a film is its credible cast. Caroline Munro plays the films heroine Stella Star the sexy half of the space pirate duo. Munro tries her best to belt out lines with as much emotion as she can muster. There she is acting her little heart out while delivering cliche lines straight out of 1930s afternoon serials. The fact that she runs around most of the film in as little clothes as possible can only distract the viewer for so long before they realize that they are engrossed in a less than stellar movie.
No you are not dreaming, Prince Simon is indeed played by a young David Hasselhoff. His part in the film comes near the end and acting is limited. Lets face it unless he is driving around in a supped up Trans Am or running down a beach....shutter, he isn't worth watching.
Christopher Plummer does an excellent job as The Emperor for what he has to work with. How such a good actor got cast in this stew is one for Ripley.
A review of this film would not be complete without mention of the low budget special effects this one showcases. It becomes very obvious early on that someone had a lot of model kits lying around and a lot of time to glue every piece to a model space ship. This worked for Star Wars, but looked just plain silly in Starcrash. Stop motion genius Ray Harryhausin must have lost his lunch when he saw many of his wonderful creations ripped off in such a cheesy manor. Again this is the only movie I have ever seen with bright neon colored stars. Who knew deep space looked so much like Las Vegas?
Star Crash is truly only worth watching to oogle the sexy Munro and laugh at the sight of Hasselhoff's REO Speedwagon hair style.
Buy Female Space Invaders (Starcrash) on DVD (If you dare) Female Space Invaders Buy used from: $4.25
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Scontri Stellari Oltre la Terza Dimensione (literally translated to Stellar Crash Beyond the Third Dimension) was an Italian 1979 science fiction film, which was also released under the English title Starcrash. The screen play was written by Luigi Cozzi (pen name Lewis Coates) and Nat Wachsberger, and Luigi Cozzi directed the film. The cast included Marjoe Gortner, Caroline Munro, Robert Tessier, Christopher Plummer, David Hasselhoff, Joe Spinell and Hamilton Camp.
It was filmed in Technicolor with Dolby sound, and has a runtime of 94 minutes. The US release is 92 minutes, and received an MPAA rating of PG. The movie is generally regarded by critics as a campy "B" film with cheap special effects and a weak, derivative plot that some people find unintentionally humorous. It appeared a couple of years after Star Wars: A New Hope and tries to re-mix the same elements, but without much success. It has been compared to Plan 9 from Outer Space.
The lead in this film is the sexy smuggler Stella Star (Munro) accompanied by her sidekick Akton (Marjoe Gortner). They are being pursued by the Chief of the Galactic Police, Thor (Tessier) and the police robot Elle (Camp). After they are captured and sentenced to hard labor (with Star retaining her sexy garb in the prison camp for some reason), the galactic emperor (Plummer) commutes their sentences in return for their aid in tracking down a missing ship.
The ship in question was seeking the hideout of the bad guy, Count Zarth Arn (Spinell), who has developed a secret super-weapon. The vessel was also carrying the emperor's only son. Stella and companions set out on their search, traveling to several planets including a world of Amazons, an ice planet where they are betrayed by Thor, and a world of Neanderthals where they discover a lifeboat from the lost ship. On the last Stella is rescued by Simon (Hasselhoff) the Emperor's son. At the planet's core is Zarth Arn's secret base.
Much mayhem ensues. The emperor is defeated by Zarth, but Stella and the robot Elle manage to destroy the evil Count in his base. Stella and Simon fall in love and the film ends.
Hello,
In November 1977 I visited the Crown Jewel of the Italian Cinema,Cinecitta Studios outside Rome. Business Director Alberto Sciaretta guided me around the huge sets. The Star Crash movie was just then being made in the huge indoor Soundstage. "Hello, I am Stella Star," said Caroline Munro as she greeted me. (I have to admit she was very pretty!)The Star Crash movie was one of the first science fantasy movies to come out of the Western Spaghetti period. The Saloon bar, the Western lokk-alike city was still there to be seen in 1977. And, not to forget, it was the year when Federico Fellini made his film "Rome". The huge set of this movie was standing on the Cinecitta propery.
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