Press Release Shout Factory Press Release: Battle Beyond The Stars (1980) (Blu-ray) Steelbook Edition (1 Viewer)

[Ronald Epstein]

Shad (Richard Thomas) must scour the cosmos to recruit mercenaries from different planets and cultures in order to save his peaceful home planet from the threat of the evil tyrant Sador (John Saxon), who's bent on dominating and enslaving the entire universe. Joining this "magnificent seven" of mercenaries are the deadly Gelt (Robert Vaughn), carefree Cowboy (George Peppard) and the sexy Valkyrie Saint-Exmin (Sybil Danning).

The film benefits greatly from some extremely talented people behind the scenes that went on to bigger things: Academy Award®–winning director* James Cameron (The Terminator, Aliens), Academy Award®–winning composer** James Horner (Titanic, Avatar), screenwriter John Sayles (Lone Star, Piranha) and producer Gale Anne Hurd (The Terminator, Hulk) all participated in this "visually inventive and intermittently involving intergalactic shoot-'em-up" (The Onion A.V. Club)!

*1997: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Film Editing, Titanic

**1997: Best Original Song, Best Original Dramatic Score, Titanic

Bonus Features

NEW 2K Scan Of The Interpositive
Audio Commentary By Writer John Sayles And Producer Roger Corman
Audio Commentary By Production Manager Gale Anne Hurd
"The Man Who Would Be Shad" – Interview With Actor Richard Thomas
"Space Opera On A Shoestring" – Comprehensive Look At Technical Challenges And Post Production
Theatrical Trailer
TV Spots
Radio Spots
Poster And Still Gallery

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[Dave Mack]

I remember seeing this in the theater back when it came out. Still have a soft spot for it.

 

[Sam Favate]

It's among my favorite Corman films. It's very inventive and makes better use of a small budget than most films would.

 

[JoeStemme]

Roger Corman's Star Wars cash-in was his most expensive production. It's elevated by John Sayles' script which is essentially: Seven Samurai In Space. The cast has some interesting names including John Saxon, Robert Vaughn, George Peppard, Richard Thomas, Sam Jaffe, Jeff Corey, Marta Kristen, Julia Duffy and Sybil Danning as a warrior queen (her ample bustline caused nervous network execs to crop the frame when it first aired on TV!).

James Cameron was one of the Art Directors with Bill Paxton assisting him! James Horner contributes one of his earliest scores. The film didn't do a lot at the box office and Corman went back to lower budget quickies, but he got his “money's worth” by recycling some of the sets, special effects and music on later films. It has become something of a cult favorite, too.

 

[Thomas T]

I'm interested in this title but I don't get this fascination with "steelbooks"!

 

[dpippel]

I'm interested in this title but I don't get this fascination with "steelbooks"!

It's not too hard to understand, really. There's a certain percentage of physical media consumers who like special packaging and are willing to pay extra for it. It's enough of a market to make producing them profitable, so they exist.

 

[Worth]

I get steelbooks more than I get slipcovers.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I get steelbooks more than I get slipcovers.

That slipcovers became desirable collectibles creating their own market was a total accident. The original intended purpose was to reduce shrinkage at retail displays for hot new titles - removing the slipcover was an additional obstacle towards quickly removing the disk from the case, meant to combat what at the time was a mini epidemic of retail thieves slicing open the shrink wrap along the spine and quickly slipping out the disc.

 

[Bryan Tuck]

I'm interested in this title but I don't get this fascination with "steelbooks"!

I can usually take or leave steelbooks, but in this particular case, the movie itself got a new remaster.

 

[Konstantinos]

Although I'm not a huge fan of the film, I haven't bought it yet, in the hope that it will receive a 4K release.