Bad Movie Logo
"A website to the detriment of good film"
Custom Search
HOMEB-MOVIE REVIEWSREADER REVIEWSFORUMINTERVIEWSUPDATESABOUT
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
Did you miss your activation email?
March 29, 2024, 03:45:05 AM
713389 Posts in 53058 Topics by 7725 Members
Latest Member: wibwao
Badmovies.org Forum  |  Movies  |  Bad Movies  |  Star Wars knock-offs « previous next »
Pages: [1] 2
Author Topic: Star Wars knock-offs  (Read 6653 times)
Alan Smithee
Bad Movie Lover
***

Karma: 0
Posts: 180


« on: May 18, 2006, 02:28:36 PM »

I miss the era of Star Wars clones. That era died off in the 80's.

Message From Space
Star Crash
Battlestar Galactica
Battle Beyond the Stars
The Humanoid
Krull
Starchaser: The Legend of Orin
Last Starfighter
.........
Logged
Scott
Frightening Fanatic of Horrible Cinema
****

Karma: 186
Posts: 5785


Hey, I'm in the situation room ! ! !


WWW
« Reply #1 on: May 18, 2006, 02:31:28 PM »

You also have those Italian titles WAR OF THE PLANETS and WAR OF THE ROBOTS.

Logged

Alan Smithee
Bad Movie Lover
***

Karma: 0
Posts: 180


« Reply #2 on: May 18, 2006, 02:40:02 PM »

I never heard of those films..
I need to check them out!
Logged
Scott
Frightening Fanatic of Horrible Cinema
****

Karma: 186
Posts: 5785


Hey, I'm in the situation room ! ! !


WWW
« Reply #3 on: May 18, 2006, 02:43:09 PM »

Here's some info:

WAR OF THE ROBOTS and WAR OF THE PLANETS
Logged

ulthar
Frightening Fanatic of Horrible Cinema
****

Karma: 368
Posts: 4168


I AM serious, and stop calling me Shirley


WWW
« Reply #4 on: May 18, 2006, 03:16:00 PM »

How is KRULL a Star Wars clone?  Overlap of a few story elements does not a clone make.
Logged

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Professor Hathaway:  I noticed you stopped stuttering.
Bodie:      I've been giving myself shock treatments.
Professor Hathaway: Up the voltage.

--Real Genius
Fearless Freep
Frightening Fanatic of Horrible Cinema
****

Karma: 15
Posts: 2328


« Reply #5 on: May 18, 2006, 08:00:04 PM »


How is KRULL a Star Wars clone? Overlap of a few story elements does not a clone make.


Especally one that, dy design, used so many standardized story elements
Logged

=======================
Going places unmapped, to do things unplanned, to people unsuspecting
Scottie
Bad Movie Lover
***

Karma: 8
Posts: 433



WWW
« Reply #6 on: May 18, 2006, 11:28:24 PM »

Would you consider Laserblast (1978) to be a Star Wars knockoff. Considering this movie's director's apparent love/hate relationship with George Lucas as he references Lucas' career no less than twice, and the similar subject of space, destruction, and a youthful boy finding power. In the movie, the main character destroys a Star Wars sign, and one of the bully/geeks is named Froggy, a direct reference to the geek from [American Graffiti (1973) Terry "The Toad" Fields. I guess after that there's not much else. Just a sad kid getting funky skin after finding a laser gun.
Logged

___<br />Spongebob: What could be better than serving up smiles? <br />Squidward: Being Dead.
Alan Smithee
Bad Movie Lover
***

Karma: 0
Posts: 180


« Reply #7 on: May 19, 2006, 12:18:29 AM »

I see tons of things ripped off from Star Wars in Krull. Tons.
Logged
AndyC
Global Moderator
B-Movie Kraken
****

Karma: 1402
Posts: 11156



« Reply #8 on: May 19, 2006, 06:44:37 AM »

I'm not sure if you can call a movie a clone just for adopting the same visual style. Sure, Star Wars kicked off the whole look of big, heavily detailed starships and such (and I also miss that style), but I can't see a movie being a ripoff if the story is different.

Star Crash is a wholesale ripoff -- a rogue, a wise guy with powers and a lovable robot rescue a prince, attack a villain named "Zarth" at his space fortress and destroy his super weapon. Wow.

But Battle Beyond the Stars is an adaptation of the Seven Samurai, with a lot of story differences.

Battlestar Galactica certainly borrows a good deal, style-wise, but it's really a different story again.

Krull was more in the vein of the sort of sword-and-sorcery-and-sci-fi quest movies of the time.

And I thought The Last Starfighter was based more on the fantasy of every arcade gamer of the time -- of doing it for real, or at least that the game skills served some useful purpose. It actually differed in style by adopting early CGI. The only similarity, in the end, is that a young man from humble beginnings is hauled off to space to be a galactic hero. That story, whether in space or not, is old, old, old. It could easily have been chosen without any influence from Star Wars.

I'm not as familiar with the others.

I agree that SF movies of the late 70s/early 80s owe a lot to Star Wars stylistically (for that matter, we could add the Alien films and some of their imitators, and the early Star Trek movies) but I just don't see them all being clones. And I do agree with other posters who have noted that what similarities in story there are could be due to the fact that Lucas, by his own admission, engineered his movie to be a classic story by using a lot of elements common to legends from around the world and throughout history. Lucas very skillfully synthesized the stories everybody had been borrowing from as long as there have been stories. Hard to say who is borrowing from him directly.

But I think it's safe to say that Star Crash set out to be a ripoff.
Logged

---------------------
"Join me in the abyss of savings."
ulthar
Frightening Fanatic of Horrible Cinema
****

Karma: 368
Posts: 4168


I AM serious, and stop calling me Shirley


WWW
« Reply #9 on: May 19, 2006, 08:29:23 AM »

I see tons of things ripped off from Star Wars in Krull. Tons.

Okay, be specific.  That's a mighty big claim.  Like Andy, said, Lucas borrowed from classic stories, so is STAR WARS a clone of those stories?

KRULL is not particularly original story, but it borrows much more heavily from other sources besides STAR WARS.  To be a clone, I think you'd pretty much have to copy ONE movie is very specific ways (like those Andy mentioned for STAR CRASH).

Some key story differences (there are, of course, others):

* STAR WARS did not have a cyclops.
* STAR WARS did not have flying horses, giant spiders, etc.
* KRULL did not involve one single dog fight in space.
* KRULL did not involve an organized army of rebels; the group in KRULL was a haphazard mix that formed as they traveled on their journey.
* Colwyn knew he was the son of royalty and had not only the desire, but the duty as well, to rescue Lyssa;  Colwyn and Lyssa already knew each other.  Luke had none of these things.  He got dragged into his quest by Obi Wan's manipulation (Luke could have stayed to continue his uncle's farm, but Obi Wan needed a youngster to get him to Mos Eisley, etc.  There was NO HINT at that time that Luke was Vader's son, even in Obi Wan's character).  Luke wanted off Tatooine, but he initially felt no compulsion to rescue Leia.

Some similarities:

* They both have a special weapon the main character uses (sorta; Luke does not really use the light sabre in STAR WARS, except for practice), just like a WHOLE LOT of other movies.

* They both have an older guy 'guiding' a younger, idealistic guy, just like a WHOLE LOT of other movies.

* They both involve the kidnapping of the male lead's girl to drive the main character's actions, just like a WHOLE LOT of other movies.

Etc.

It seems to me that each of those similarities can be traced at LEAST as far back as Greek Mythology; they were common story elements for over 2000 years before George Lucas was even born.
Logged

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Professor Hathaway:  I noticed you stopped stuttering.
Bodie:      I've been giving myself shock treatments.
Professor Hathaway: Up the voltage.

--Real Genius
Alan Smithee
Bad Movie Lover
***

Karma: 0
Posts: 180


« Reply #10 on: May 19, 2006, 01:03:53 PM »

I dunno dude. It's like that weak argument that Battlestar Galactica (1970's) wasn't ripping off from Star Wars...
Logged
Alan Smithee
Bad Movie Lover
***

Karma: 0
Posts: 180


« Reply #11 on: May 19, 2006, 01:18:57 PM »

That giant Cyclops was another Chewbacca, that magician was R2 and C3PO rolled up in one, that head theif had the attitude of Han Solo, the enemy soldiers were more-or-less Stormtroopers, you have the damsel in distress, the lightsabre- er, Glaive, the wise old guide, the infiltration and destruction of the enemy fortress, the quest, swashbuckling lasergun chivalry, fairytale themes, the destruction of the hero's home and family, the dark and forboding evil leader...

You can try to tie these into classical and mythic themes, but if this movie was released in- say, 1975, you might have a valid argument.

Anyone think that the producers of this film weren't trying to jump on the Star Wars bandwagon, I have news for you..

What's more, George Lucas took these mythic and classic themes and made them seem original, Krull is just a slightly different spin (albeit cliched) on the  formula that has been come to known as the Star Wars formula.
Logged
Alan Smithee
Bad Movie Lover
***

Karma: 0
Posts: 180


« Reply #12 on: May 19, 2006, 01:22:50 PM »

Uh, I don't know how you can say that these aforementioned movies don't owe a lot to Star Wars. Let's put it this way, while some of them aren't a note-for-note remake of Star Wars, if it wasn't for Lucas, I'll bet you a dollar to a donut that these movies wouldn't exsist..
Logged
ulthar
Frightening Fanatic of Horrible Cinema
****

Karma: 368
Posts: 4168


I AM serious, and stop calling me Shirley


WWW
« Reply #13 on: May 19, 2006, 02:43:02 PM »

Bzzzzzt, you lose.  Be saying if the SAME movie was made prior to SW release it is not a SW clone (and I note here, again, that you said CLONE, which implies more similarity than the LEAP that cyclops=Chewie, etc), you defeat your own arguement.  How can that SAME movie be a clone, just because it was release after?  It was either based on SW or not.  It was either based on older ideas or not.

The story elements are the story elements.  Basically, what you are trying to assert is that SW reset the clock, and made ALL subsequent use of time-honored, familiar story elements and plot devices STAR WARS rip-offs, rather than McBeth rips, or Hamlet rips, or Hercules rips, or etc etc ad nauseum.  

What about The Land That Time Forgot?  Was that a SW rip-off?  Hmmm, Tyler was kinda like Han Solo in that one, and the Germans were like Stormtroopers.  Oh yeah, and the dinosaurs at the end were symbolic of rebellion as a natural force pre-ordained to crush the empire (ie, the Germans thought they were all-powerful, until the meet the might of the thunder lizards).

Oh wait, TLTTF came out BEFORE SW, so I guess my reaching analysis fails.

IMO, as was pointed out above by others, SW was NOT in any way, shape or form a NEW story.  Even setting those story ideas in space was not new.  What made SW new was the fx and the technical elements of the film.  The look and feel are what set it apart.  (Part of the reason SW was popular with the KIDS of 1977, and less so adults at the time, is because to kids the story did seem new; to the adults of the time, it was old stuff they'd read about 30 years ago in school, back when education meant something).
Logged

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Professor Hathaway:  I noticed you stopped stuttering.
Bodie:      I've been giving myself shock treatments.
Professor Hathaway: Up the voltage.

--Real Genius
Alan Smithee
Bad Movie Lover
***

Karma: 0
Posts: 180


« Reply #14 on: May 19, 2006, 03:38:26 PM »

I lose?! Is this some kind of contest?
I'm saying it wouldn't be a clone of Star Wars if it came out before Star Wars. Star Wars would be a clone of Krull if it came after.
Nice try..
Logged
Pages: [1] 2
Badmovies.org Forum  |  Movies  |  Bad Movies  |  Star Wars knock-offs « previous next »
    Jump to:  


    RSS Feed Subscribe Subscribe by RSS
    Email Subscribe Subscribe by Email


    Popular Articles
    How To Find A Bad Movie

    The Champions of Justice

    Plan 9 from Outer Space

    Manos, The Hands of Fate

    Podcast: Todd the Convenience Store Clerk

    Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!

    Dragonball: The Magic Begins

    Cool As Ice

    The Educational Archives: Driver's Ed

    Godzilla vs. Monster Zero

    Do you have a zombie plan?

    FROM THE BADMOVIES.ORG ARCHIVES
    ImageThe Giant Claw - Slime drop

    Earth is visited by a GIANT ANTIMATTER SPACE BUZZARD! Gawk at the amazingly bad bird puppet, or chuckle over the silly dialog. This is one of the greatest b-movies ever made.

    Lesson Learned:
    • Osmosis: os·mo·sis (oz-mo'sis, os-) n., 1. When a bird eats something.

    Subscribe to Badmovies.org and get updates by email:

    HOME B-Movie Reviews Reader Reviews Forum Interviews TV Shows Advertising Information Sideshows Links Contact

    Badmovies.org is owned and operated by Andrew Borntreger. All original content is © 1998 - 2014 by its respective author(s). Image, video, and audio files are used in accordance with the Fair Use Law, and are property of the film copyright holders. You may freely link to any page (.html or .php) on this website, but reproduction in any other form must be authorized by the copyright holder.