Starcrash

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Starcrash
Theatrical poster
Directed by	Luigi Cozzi
Produced by	Nat Wachsberger Patrick Wachsberger
Written by	Luigi Cozzi
Starring	Marjoe Gortner Caroline Munro Robert Tessier Christopher Plummer David Hasselhoff Joe Spinell Hamilton Camp
Music by	John Barry
Cinematography	Paul Beeson Roberto D'Ettorre Piazzoli
Editing by	Sergio Montanari
Distributed by	New World Pictures (USA)
Release date(s)	January 1979 (Italy)
Running time	94 min.
Country	USA / Italy
Language	English / Italian
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Starcrash (original Italian title Scontri stellari oltre la terza dimensione, literally "stellar crash beyond the third dimension") is an Italian 1979 science fiction film, which was also released under the English title of The Adventures of Stella Star (in the US). The screenplay was written by Luigi Cozzi (pen name Lewis Coates) and Nat Wachsberger, and Cozzi also directed the film. The cast included Marjoe Gortner, Caroline Munro, Robert Tessier, Christopher Plummer, David Hasselhoff, Joe Spinell and Hamilton Camp.

It was filmed in Technicolor with Dolby sound, and has a runtime of 94 minutes. The US release is 92 minutes, and received an MPAA rating of PG. The movie is generally regarded by critics as a campy B film with cheap special effects and a weak, derivative plot that some people find unintentionally humorous. It appeared a couple of years after Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope and tries to re-mix the same elements, but without much success. [1][2][3] It has been compared to Plan 9 from Outer Space. [4]

[edit] Plot

The lead in this film is the sexy smuggler Stella Star (Munro) accompanied by her sidekick Akton (Gortner). They are being pursued by the Chief of the Galactic Police, Thor (Tessier) and the police robot Elle (Camp). After they are captured and sentenced to hard labor (with Star for some reason retaining her sexy garb in the prison camp), the galactic emperor (Plummer) commutes their sentences in return for their aid in tracking down a missing ship.

The ship in question was seeking the hideout of the bad guy, Count Zarth Arn (Spinell), who has developed a secret super-weapon. The vessel was also carrying the emperor's only son. Stella and companions set out on their search, traveling to several planets, including a world of Amazons, an ice planet where they are betrayed by Thor, and a world of Neanderthals where they discover a lifeboat from the lost ship. On the last, Stella is rescued by Simon (Hasselhoff), the Emperor's son. At the planet's core is Zarth Arn's secret base.

Much mayhem ensues. The emperor is defeated by Zarth, but Stella and the robot Elle manage to destroy the evil Count in his base. Stella and Simon fall in love and the film ends.