Star Crash [Blu-ray]

Director: Luigi Cozzi, Lewis Coates Luigi Cozzi

Overview

Italian schlock-master Luigi Cozzi (billed as Lewis Coates here) directed this low-budget Star Wars rip-off in 1978, right when the sci-fi craze was hitting audiences on a world-wide scale. The story begins familiarly enough, with a huge spaceship tracking through an extremely colorful space scene while under attack by some kind of unknown and deadly force resembling a lava lamp. Being no match for the '60s acid-flashback rays, they manage to jettison a few escape pods just before being blown to kingdom come. Fast forward now to the other end of the galaxy, where we find the best smugglers in town -- gorgeous Stella Star (Caroline Munro) and space-pimp Akton (Marjoe Gortner) -- outrunning a band of cops on their tail. Eventually, they're caught, taken into custody, and sentenced to intense Labor Camps, where Stella is forced to wear a skimpy Barbarella-like outfit by the extreme, merciless guards. A break-out ensues, and in the intense laser shoot-out, Stella manages to escape, only to be captured again by the semi-green-skinned Thor (Robert Tessier) and his annoying southern-drawled robot, Elle (voiced by genre veteran Hamilton Camp). Brought in front of the Emperor of the Galaxy (Christopher Plummer) and reunited with Akton, the sexy duo find themselves suddenly in charge of finding Prince Simon (David Hasselhoff). Thus begins the heroes' amazing adventure through space and time as they search for Hasselhoff and end up fighting Amazons, Cavemen, and the Evil Count Zarth Arn (Joe Spinell) along the way.

Product Details

Release Date:	09/14/2010
UPC:	0826663116595
Original Release:	1978
Rating:	PG
Source:	Shout Factory
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo]
Language:	English
Time:	1:32:00
Sales rank:	488

Special Features

Audio Commentary by Writer and Starcrash Expert Stephen Romano; ; A Look at the Film's Special Effects with Special Effects Director Armando Valcauda including unused Footage, Rare Photos, Original Drawings ; ; New Interview With Writer/Director Luigi Cozzi (aka Lewis Coates); New Interview with Actress Caroline Munro discussing her time as Stella Star and a look at her career; ; Extensive Stills Galleries including Footage with Commentary; ; Deleted and Extended Scenes; Theatrical Trailer; Theatrical Trailer with Commentaries by Eli Roth and Joe Dante, Courtesy of Trailersfromhell.com; ; 12-Page Booklet With Liner Notes by Stephen Romano; ; The Original Script (DVD-ROM)

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Marjoe Gortner	Akton
Caroline Munro	Stella Star
Christopher Plummer	The Emperor
David Hasselhoff	Simon
Robert Tessier	Thor
Joe Spinell	Count Zarth Arn
Nadia Cassini	Queen of the Amazon
Judd Hamilton	Elle
Hamilton Camp	Elle
John Barry	Composer

Technical Credits

Luigi Cozzi

Nat Wachsberger

Luigi Cozzi	Director,Screenwriter
Germano Natali	Special Effects
Armando Valcauda	Special Effects
Matteo Verzini	Special Effects
Nat Wachsberger	Producer,Producer,Screenwriter
Lewis Coates	Director

Editorial Reviews

Star Crash is what all Star Wars rip-off fans have been searching for: Everything one loves about Lucas's epic is here, except multiply that by a hundred, and make it extremely cheap! Lightsabers, space battles, and even a whiny, nervous sidekick robot (with a Texan accent!) are all here -- right alongside some of the best perms, egg-carton model work, and the worst that 1978 Italian special effects had to offer! As a precursor to the glossy and surreal productions of his later Lou Ferrigno Hercules movies, director Luigi Cozzi fills each frame with as many garish colors as humanly possible. Creating a virtual assault on all the senses through super-sexy costumes, space-age sets, and extreme sound effects, Cozzi fills the frame with enough eye candy so that as little attention can be payed to the barely comprehensible plot that his gorgeous leads all work their way though -- and what thespians they are! Look up "charisma" in the B-movie handbook and sure enough, one would find Marjoe Gortner! With every appearance, his fiery eyes and pearly white teeth light up the screen as he chews up every terrible line of babble with enough gusto to kill a large elephant. And how about that dialogue? Endless cheesy lines are spewed out in scene after scene of this magnificently charming film. In fact, the dialogue and dubbing are so over-the-top in Star Crash, it's amazing that Luigi Cozzi managed to convince real-deal actor Christopher Plummer to even be in this flick! And just what is he doing here anyway? Hard to say, but it's just another reason that this terrible sci-fi opera is so great. Look out for TV hunk David Hasselhoff in an early role as he battles two stop-motion robots with his trusty lightsaber and feathered hair.