Way back in 1978, if you somehow STILL didn’t see Star Wars even when the film got its big re-release (or was still running in some theaters), this was another one of those “replacement” flicks you may have gotten taken to instead (or had to settle for if it was running at a theater nearby the one where Star Wars was playing). Famed Japanese director Kinji Fukusaku (Battle Royale) whipped up a first-rate “B” movie that yes, takes a lot of inspiration from George Lucas’ space opera, but also adds bits from anime and Japanese samurai flicks plus a few other things and the result is an instant cult classic (well, in my book). The effects team did some pretty amazing things in the model shots that give many of them a more kinetic look than what ILM did earlier, but the tradeoff is the acting in the latter film sticks to everyone mugging it up for the camera in their own ways…

Despite an international cast made up of unknowns and a few “stars” most likely deemed acceptable by Toho to US audiences (Vic Morrow and Sonny Chiba) the film didn’t exactly blow away critics nor from what I recall win big at the box office. I recall a few friends going to see it on a Saturday and in school that Monday, raking the film over the coals while debating whether or not they thought it was any good. Interestingly enough, in 1983 Sega took the special effects from some scenes and reused them in its equally cheesy laser disc arcade game, Astron Belt. The game came to the US licensed through Bally Midway and is remembered for being one of the first laser disc games to hit arcades. I recall spending way too much money on this back in the day for what was a pretty simple shooter when all was said and done, but for back then, it sure LOOKED spectacular:

As for the film, for YEARS, the only way to catch this around here was when it ran on cable TV or through rental quality VHS tapes (some of which weren’t quite legal), so MANY thanks to Shout Factory for getting this one out. And at a decent price point, at that. $16.98 is a fine deal for this one if you snap it up directly from the SF web site, so go do that now if you remember this old gem and want to relive the experience without sitting in a smelly old cinema munching fistfuls of stale jujube-laced popcorn and wondering why the floor is so damned sticky. Of course, the chances of this one being given a pristine HD cleanup and restoration are slim to none, but I’d send a few bucks to a Kickstarter for some of these campy classics if someone ever started one up.