Battle Beyond the Stars is a Roger Corman-produced science fiction film, directed by Jimmy T. Murakami and released in 1980. The film is notable in that the screenplay was partly written by John Sayles, the score was by James Horner and the special effects were directed by James Cameron. The film was marketed with the tagline "A battle beyond time, beyond space." Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Jimmy Murakami (also known as Teruaki Murakami; born June 5, 1933), in a Japanese animator and director with a long career working in numerous countries. ... Roger Corman. ... Photo of John Sayles by Robert Birnbaum John Thomas Sayles (born September 28, 1950) is an independent American film director and writer who frequently takes a small part in his own and other indie films. ... Richard Thomas (born June 13, 1951) is an American actor, best known as John-Boy on the USA TV series, The Waltons. ... Robert Francis Vaughn (born November 22, 1932) is an American actor noted for stage, film and television work, and best known as suave spy Napoleon Solo in the popular 1960s TV series The Man from U.N.C.L.E., although he continues to be a popular television actor into... George Peppard, Jr. ... 4. ... Darlanne Fluegel is an American actress, born 25 November 1958. ... James Roy Horner (born August 14, 1953) is an American composer of orchestral and film music. ... // New World Communications Company Info •This company no longer exists. ... September 8 is the 251st day of the year (252nd in leap years). ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Roger Corman. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... Jimmy Murakami (also known as Teruaki Murakami; born June 5, 1933), in a Japanese animator and director with a long career working in numerous countries. ... // Events April 30 - The Roger Daltrey film, McVicar, opens in London. ... Photo of John Sayles by Robert Birnbaum John Thomas Sayles (born September 28, 1950) is an independent American film director and writer who frequently takes a small part in his own and other indie films. ... James Roy Horner (born August 14, 1953) is an American composer of orchestral and film music. ... Special effects (abbreviated SPFX or SFX) are used in the film, television, and entertainment industry to create effects that cannot be achieved by normal means, such as depicting travel to other star systems. ... For other persons named James Cameron, see James Cameron (disambiguation). ...

The story is a pastiche of Akira Kurosawa's film Seven Samurai and its western remake, The Magnificent Seven. The farmers of the peaceful planet Akir are threatened by the space tyrant Sador (played by Corman regular John Saxon, carrying the old Eli Wallach role). Richard Thomas (at the time attempting to fashion a film career based on the popularity of his character in The Waltons) plays Shad, who sets out to recruit a band of mercenaries to fight Sador. This band includes Gelt, played by Robert Vaughn in a part that is essentially a reprise of his role in The Magnificent Seven with many of the same lines of dialogue; George Peppard (who was originally considered to play Vin, Steve McQueen's character, in The Magnificent Seven) as a space cowboy; and probably the most memorable character, Saint-Exmin, a member of the alien Valkyrie race played by Sybil Danning. The word pastiche describes a literary or other artistic genre. ... Akira Kurosawa , 23 March 1910—6 September 1998) was a prominent Japanese film director, film producer, and screenwriter. ... For other uses, see Seven Samurai (disambiguation). ... Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: The Magnificent Seven The Magnificent Seven is a 1960 western film directed by John Sturges, essentially an American remake of Shichinin no samurai (Seven Samurai). ... 4. ... Eli Herschel Wallach (born December 7, 1915) is an American film, TV and stage actor. ... Richard Thomas (born June 13, 1951) is an American actor, best known as John-Boy on the USA TV series, The Waltons. ... Cover art for the DVD release of The Waltons first season. ... Robert Francis Vaughn (born November 22, 1932) is an American actor noted for stage, film and television work, and best known as suave spy Napoleon Solo in the popular 1960s TV series The Man from U.N.C.L.E., although he continues to be a popular television actor into... George Peppard, Jr. ... Steve McQueen (March 24, 1930 – November 7, 1980) was an American movie actor, nicknamed The King of Cool. He was one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1960s and 1970s due to a popular anti-hero persona. ... Space Cowboy may refer to: A famous line in the 1973 Steve Miller Band song The Joker; George Peppards character, a space cowboy, in the 1980 film Battle Beyond the Stars; The Jamiroquai music album The Return of the Space Cowboy; The 2000 film Space Cowboys; A fictional villainous... Sybil Danning (born May 24, 1952 in Ried, Austria) is best known for her many outstanding roles in B-movies, science fiction films, and action movies. ...

The film dialogue contains a high level of wit reflecting Sayles' influence. It is also a compedium of the clichés that came to dominate sci-fi films following Star Wars including giant spaceships, "cute" robots, exotic aliens and the finale of a suicidal assault on a space fortress. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Opening logo to the Star Wars films Star Wars is an epic science fantasy saga and fictional universe created by writer/producer/director George Lucas during the late 1970s. ...

Trivia

• At the time of its release, Battle Beyond the Stars was the most expensive film produced by Roger Corman - much of the budget allegedly went toward paying the salaries of George Peppard and Robert Vaughn.
• The Planet Akir and its inhabitants, The Akira, are named in honor of Akira Kurosawa, whose film Seven Samurai was the inspiration for Corman's film.
• Special effects shots from this film were re-used for several other films throughout the 1980's. An example of this can be seen during the movie theater fight scene at the end of Bachelor Party. The space ship models and effects were re-used in the film Space Raiders.

Roger Corman. ... Bachelor Party is a 1984 comedy film starring Tom Hanks, Tawny Kitaen, Adrian Zmed and Deborah Harmon. ... Space Raiders is a 1983 Science fiction film. ...

External links

• Battle Beyond the Stars at the Internet Movie Database
• Battle Beyond the Stars at All Movie Guide