Battle Beyond the Stars: A Pulpy Science Fiction Classic

Battle Beyond the Stars was released in North America on September 8th, 1980.

Battle Beyond the Stars is a science fiction film from 1980 starring Richard Thomas, George Peppard, Robert Vaughn, and Sybil Danning. It is loosely based on Akira Kurosawa’s classic film the Seven Samurai. It was produced by Roger Corman and directed by first-timer Jimmy Murakami. Corman also directed some scenes, even though he is not credited. James Horner provided the stellar musical score.

John Saxon as Sador

The movie has been compared to the original Star Wars and it is easy to see why. A young man, Thomas as Shad, stuck on the peaceful planet Akir is sent on a mission when an evil overlord named Sador, played well by John Saxon, arrives and announces his plans to conquer the planet in seven days. To show us how evil he is, he kills a number of random citizens and reveals that his “solar converter” is capable of destroying the entire planet.

In the aftermath of the chaos and destruction, the community elders decide to send Shad across the galaxy to recruit mercenaries to defend the planet. To aid him, they give him the planet’s sole ship, a sentient craft named Nell. In this generic science fiction film, Nell, voiced by Oscar nominated actress Lynn Carlin, is one of the few outstanding performances and gives the movie some of its humor. With the exception of Carlin and Robert Vaughn, the acting overall is one dimensional at best. George Peppard and John Saxon’s talents are wasted in underwritten roles and nearly everyone seems to sleepwalk through the movie.

Members of the clone collective known as Nestor.

The film was made on a shoestring budget, A Corman specialty. It has been reported that most of the budget went towards acquiring actors Thomas and Vaughn. Even though the sets are gorgeous, thanks to a young James Cameron getting his first big break providing production design and art direction, the rest of the movie suffers. The special effects are, at times, effective, and other times, beyond confusing. It is difficult, especially in the space battle scenes, to tell who is firing at whom and where the dazzling ships are in relation to one another. What should be the best part of a science fiction film becomes some of the worst and really takes away from the tension built into the (paper-thin) story.

The Earthling known as Cowboy (Peppard) and Shad (Thomas) negotiate an arms deal.

Despite its shortcomings, the film has achieved cult status as a B movie classic (another Corman specialty). The actors are charming and do their best with what they are given. At the time, it was Corman’s most profitable and there were rumors that James Cameron was trying to work on a remake. It would be interesting to see what this pulpy space opera could be with a more capable director. BBtS may be a Star Wars clone, but it is one of the better ones.



MJ Krey is a Communications Major at Lakeland College and avoids confrontation at all costs. Let him know how you feel about that on his Twitter feed at @mjkrey .