STAR CRASH
US, 1979, 94 minutes, Colour.
Marjoe Gortner, Christopher Plummer, Caroline Munro, David Hasselhof.
Directed by Luigi Cozzi.
Yet another derivative of Star Wars. These derivatives abounded at the end of the seventies, The Humanoid, The Shape of Things to Come. Even the 1979 James Bond film Moonraker followed the same pattern. This Canadian production is comic strip material. However, its special effects are better than some of the more cheaply produced Italian and American films. Marjoe Gortner is the star - not such a convincing hero. He contrasts very strongly with the guest appearance of Christopher Plummer as the good emperor of the galaxy. Entertaining material in its way using the quickly established conventions of the intergalactic warfare film
1. The popularity of the Star Wars derivatives in the late seventies? The impact of Star Wars, intergalactic warfare, heroism, good and evil on the cosmic scale?
2. The perennial appeal of science fiction, of space and its exploration, living in space, spaceware, good and evil and their confrontations?
3. The Canadian production and its values, its emphasis on special effects, the presentation of space, technology, robots? The mythical worlds explored?
4. The impact of the opening, the voyage, the difficulty of the red rays and the destruction of the expedition? The information given about the good and evil kingdoms in the galaxies? The establishment of the basic conventions and audience expectations?
5. The hero and heroine - their role as smugglers in space, their skill, capacity for moving their vehicles rapidly, their being caught, tried, the sequences of slavery with the overtones of the Roman Empire etc.? The irony of slavery in technological factories? The melodramatics of the rescue?
6. The evil empire, the emperor and his control, his secret weapons, hiding weapons in the galaxies? His henchmen, the traitor and his leading the hero and heroine on etc.? The easily seen evil and audience response to it?
7. The contrast with the good emperor - Christopher Plummer's style and presence? His audience. commissioning the hero and heroine, his search for his lost son, his arrival at the end, his putting all things right, his final assurances of peace? The inevitability of victory of good?
8. The importance of the tests: the Amazons and the overtones of those legends, the cave monsters? The range of climates - especially the snow? The themes of endurance by the hero and heroine?
9. The robot and his origins, his human characteristics, his conversation, his friendship, his helping the heroine in the snow? The inevitability of the presence of the entertaining robot?
10. The hero and his being a smuggler, skills, relationship with the heroine, his special powers, his not dying, his search, his heroism in rescuing the emperor’s son, his disappearance for another time? His weaponry and his skills?
11. The prince and his discovery, the sabotaging of the bad emperor's centre, the rescue, the confronting of dangers? His father arriving and the possibility of the destruction of the good empire?
12. The importance of the themes of dangers, rescues? Peace and hopes?
13. At what level was the film pitched? For what audience? How successful in what it set out to do?
