(after Akira Kurosawa Shinobu Hashimoto Battle Beyond the Stars is a 1980 American space opera film produced by Roger Corman, directed by Jimmy T. Murakami,[5] and starring Richard Thomas, Robert Vaughn,[6][7] George Peppard, John Saxon,[8][9][10] Sybil Danning[11] and Darlanne Fluegel.
[12] Inspired by the Americanized edit under Corman's lead; Battle Beyond the Sun (1962) of Soviet film Nebo Zovyot (1959), it was intended as a futuristic "Magnificent Seven (itself a western version of Seven Samurai) in outer space",[13] the screenplay was written by John Sayles with the score by James Horner and special effects designed by filmmaker James Cameron.
[5] The film was theatrically released by Corman's New World Pictures and was a moderate box office success, despite receiving mixed reviews from critics.
Shad encounters Cowboy, a freighter-pilot from Earth who is ambushed by Space Jackers while delivering a shipment of laser-handguns to the planet Umateal.
They arrive at Umateal too late to stop the destruction of the planet by Sador's flagship, the Hammerhead, which is equipped with a Stellar Converter.
Startled and enraged by the mention of the man who destroyed his homeworld long ago, Cayman joins their cause for the promise of Sador's head.
[14] Back on Akir, Shad's sister Mol is captured by Malmori pilots Kalo and Tembo, with the intent to rape her.
Many of Sador's troops are killed, and their Sonic Tank is destroyed; however, many Akira die as well, including Zed.
Although Sador's aerospace forces are wiped out, Hammerhead picks off all the remaining mercenaries with laser battery-fire and nuclear missiles.
[15][2] Much of the budget allegedly went toward paying the salaries of George Peppard and Robert Vaughn, since both of screenwriter Sayles' previous films were low-budget productions.
[16] To save on costs, the film was produced in Corman's own studio, his "renowned lumberyard facility" in Venice, California.
Up-and-coming screenwriter John Sayles had already written the Corman-produced The Lady in Red and Piranha, the latter of which was both a financial and critical success.
[18] However, he was replaced by Jimmy T. Murakami, a veteran animator who had previously been an uncredited co-director on Corman's Humanoids from the Deep.
[20] Corman initially hired James Cameron as a model maker for his studio after being impressed with his short film Xenogenesis.
His hard work paid off, as the special effects were one aspect of the film highly received by both fans and critics, opening the door for his later successes.
He had previously worked on Roger Corman's Humanoids from the Deep and The Lady in Red, and the producer brought him back for Battle Beyond the Stars.
Several fans have noted similarities between these scores and those for later films, such as Krull and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
Horner was to go on to become a regular collaborator with James Cameron, eventually winning an Academy Award for Best Original Score for Titanic.
[29] Prior to production, a Hollywood trade paper announced that John Wayne would star in the film, under the direction of Ingmar Bergman.
Cameron's special effects were praised as being impressive, considering the film's low budget, and helped to open the door for his future success.
[41] Battle Amongst the Stars is a four-part miniseries that tells the story of how Zed began his adventures from the planet Akir with Nell.