I remember this as a kid, anyone else frightened when the hero was being threatened by the mutant robots who were going to cut away at his body parts and organs with those metal pincers? And by those blood sucking leeches that threatened the hero when he was underground or by the villain throttling one of the women in this film. i wonder if it will ever be released again in the UK on dvd
shareYup, that kind of violence could have only been done in the golden eighties. I highly doubt Starchaser will come to region 2 DVD (it was lucky enough to recieve a US release). Which is a shame because i'm sure a lot of people (kids now grown up) have seen the film in this country.....they just can't remember the name since they watched it as kids. So it becomes that film with the swearing and the grey villain and the whore robot whose bum flips open.
I bought a multi region player and bought the film on region 1. It was great to see the film in a proper widescreen 2.35 transfer.
I saw this way back in the 80s, and I remember it being that movie with the swearing Han Solo-type guy who flew the spaceship that had a backtalking computer. I was quite surprised when I recently found out that this movie was done by none other than Filmation Productions...the same studio that did "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe". I certainly remember the violence of "Starchaser", but I also remember (having seen it recently after buying it on DVD) that while there was a lot of shooting, they robots had typical Stormtrooper/bad guy shooting skills (ie: they couldn't hit the broad side of a barn at point-blank range), and Dag (the Han Solo-type guy) was blowing them away right and left, while Orin (the Luke Skywalker/Jedi-type kid) was hacking them to pieces with his magic lightsaber knockoff. The only humans who suffered any injuries were one unnamed human who was crushed after rocks fell on him, Elan (Orin's first girlfriend) who was choked to death by Zygon, and Dag who suffered a broken leg (Oh yeah, there was also a couple of cookie-cutter idiot minions who got vaporized by their own bomb). There were a few human looking robots who suffered some gruesome deaths, but Filmation made sure you saw a discharge of electricity whenever one was cut in half or blown to pieces. And who doesn't remember Silica, the G-2 Fembot who keeps her personality circuits in her butt? (yes, it was a thinly veiled sex gag...at least in my opinion) Well she was certainly an ass when she first showed up in the movie.
Bah weep granah weep nini bong!Name the movie! share
I loved this movie growing up and I still love it today. Granted I was 12 back in '85, but I recently bought the MGM DVD and still love it. Wasn't really that frightening, although it is kind of screwed to show in a film that was "aimed at family audiences"...then again, PG meant PG in those days (as opposed to the G it stands for today). "Fire and Ice" is another film (probably moreso) that falls into this category.
Surely, it is "Star Wars" any way you slice it, but at least it's entertaining and nicely animated. Anime has grown tiresome, I'd like to see more of this style animation. "Titan A.E." was a nice surprise.
-UJ
P.S. Oh, and that quote is from "Transformers: The Movie", Coastie.
"You learn from the best...and the worst." - Uncle Jay, 9/14/94
Yes, my quote is from Transformers: The Movie. One thing I always wondered about "Starchaser" was why the girl robot's personality circuits were in her butt. Wouldn't her personality circuits serve her better in her brain rather than her butt? I've heard of people who had the personality of an ass, but that girl robot was the first person (real or imagined) with a personality IN her ass.
Bah weep granah weep nini bong!Name the movie! share
Well, having her personality circuits in her ass is one of the main elements that differentiates the film from being strictly an animated kiddie film. "Starchaser" is not a kiddie film. It's an animated science-fiction fantasy film aimed for young adults and beyond. PG rated, just like the "Star Wars" and "Star Trek" films of that time...and other films like "Krull", "Spacehunter", "Metalstorm", etc.
Filmmation tried to do what Bakshi was doing, taking animation partially away from the clutches of kiddom, and target older crowds (older meaning above the age of 10). Films realted to this type of difference in amination would be Bakshi's tamer works..."Wizards", "Lord of the Rings", "Fire and Ice"; Laloux's "Fantastic Planet", "Time Traveler" and "Light Years"...even "Transformers: The Movie" which birthed from a kiddie show and went a little beyond the kiddie barrier for the cinema.
-UJ
"You learn from the best...and the worst." - Uncle Jay, 9/14/94
Well i thought Filmation succeeded at doing an adult animated movie in the vein of "Rock & Rule", "Wizards" and "Fire & Ice" whom at the time they did the successful "He-Man", "She-Ra" and "Ghostbusters" cartoons of the time.
Too bad Lou Schimer didn't produce this one because i think he was busy doing his "Pinocchio and The Emperor of the Night" and "Bravestarr movie" especially the "He-Man and She-Ra" Christmas Special and "Secret of the Sword".
"Some days you just can't get rid of a bomb"-Batman.
I agree with unclejay73; this is not a kids film, clearly intended for older audiences. I myself saw this movie, and I can honestly say that, though it tends to have a few too many parallels to Star Wars, it is a good one, though I would not recommend it for a three-year-old.
To Punish and Enslave.
I never would have thought in a million years that Filmation
were responsible for making this movie.
So this is how liberty dies-with thunderous applause?
Yeah it was violent alright... But it wasn't really a "kids" cartoon. It was more of a teen/young adult adventure. I have loved this move since I saw it as a kid in the eighties. Had it on VHS with Swedish subtitles. You could rent this in almost any video rental store during that time. It was very popular over here appearantly... However I am the only person I know who has seen it... None of my friends in my age has... Disturbing.
shareI was only about 7 when I saw this but I didn't think it was particularly bad.
The cyborg swamp guys were a bit creepy and seedy, yes, but overall it was quite tame. Not particularly gruesome.
I do recall it being fun, though and re-watching the other day certainly made clear how well it still holds up. I agree very much with it being an early teen film.
The Spacehunter Forum:
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Can't say I was every scared of this flick. I found the whole thing to be a real adventure.
shareIt's those edgier elements that make this film so cool and enjoyable.
I'm a totally bitchin' bio writer from Mars!
scared tha HELLLLLLLL out of me !!
My older brother still to this day imitates the sound they make (well the one with the long neck).
"Harry !!...your hands are freezing !"
I was about 8 when this came on First Choice (now the movie network in Canada)... I never saw it again until the dvd came out. Loved it though. Didn't scare me BUT it was INTENSE to me at that age. It was the first animated movie I saw that showed me there was cartoons for an "older audience". Funny, it was one of those movies that I couldn't have named or described in detail if MY LIFE depended on it BEFORE IMDB came along... People are so spoiled nowdays no one remembers back when a movie played on TV - YOU WATCHED it cuz you wouldn't see it again for a while...or taped it on your vcr...lol Movies (and tv specials) were so much more, well special in those days.
80's - best decade EVER.
You Suck...now deal with it.