Les mercenaires de l'espace

Roger Corman is a very well known producer - to any film afficionado that is. He made a lot of low budget movies and he also helped a lot of now very well established directors. The art director here? James Cameron ... just to name one person. And he is a very important one. This may be some peoples favorite over Star Wars - but it had nowhere near the budget. So while this also has some fine actors in it and it does try to have an original story (though does lean in to steal/borrow from foreign cultures and other things), it will depend on your suspension of disbelief. This is not a great movie, but it can be a fun one (especially with some of the characters and some of the dialog - like the tasting of hot dog to name one). Bits and pieces and quite funny overall, if you let it.

Good variation on the Star Wars franchise, made in the aftermath of the first movie of the series, this Corman production - one of his finest - is almost a remake of the Magnificent Seven, but it is well-made on a limited budget, full of great ideas about the different alien races, with good characterization and several fine lines for the various protagonists. Fun, fun, fun

I really enjoy these types of films. When they work it's because of their sheer flamboyance. They aren't afraid to steal from any source, EVERYTHING goes into the pot as long as it's got sparkle, splash, and action. This particular film works real well and I absolutely fell for it when I heard a phrase of music lifted directly from "Alexander Nevsky". It's pure, simple (repeat, simple) fun. The producers of "Battlefield Earth" could have learned something about making entertaining SF movies from repeated viewings of "Battle Beyond the Stars."

John Boy from the Waltons goes out and recruits mercenaries to help fight off an evil space warlord. Among those he gets to help are the A-Team's Hannibal, the bad guy from Superman III, and Stirba the werewolf bitch. It's a fun cast. Roger Corman's sci-fi remake of Seven Samurai/Magnificent Seven is also the best Star Wars knockoff of the many that came out in the late '70s and early '80s. While many have called this movie cheap-looking, it's actually fairly impressive for a Corman production. He would reuse these sets and some footage for future crappier low-budgeters. This is a fun sci-fi adventure movie that should entertain you if you don't take it all so seriously.

Of all the post "Star Wars" films, this one is decidedly the best of its ilk. The dependable storyline, stalwart acting and sometimes humorous special effects (LOVE the female-designed spaceship!) all make for an entertaining film. For all the flak it has received (even getting a "Dog of the Week" label from Siskel and Ebert upon its initial release), it has for all intents and purposes kept itself in the memories of all who have seen it and is most definitely a fantasy that is worthy of seeing again and again.