Starcrach (1978)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 1978
	Director: Luigi Cozzi, as Lewis Coates
	Actors: Marjoe Gortner, Caroline Munro (The Spy who loved me, Maniac), Christopher Plummer (Up, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Sound of Music), Joe Spinel (Maniac), David Hasselhoff (Baywatch TV-series, Piranha 3DD)
	Country: I, USA
	Genre: SF
	Conditions of visioning: 15.08.2014, DVD, 11" computer screen
Synopsis: The evil Zarth Arn (Spinnel) threatens the galaxy controlled by the Emperor (Plummer) with an ultimate weapon. A couple of bandits (Gortner & Munro) are put in chare of finding the weapon and the lost son of the Emperor (Hasselhof).
Review: Starcrash was quickly produced after the immense success of the first Star Wars movie, trying to benefit from the renewed popularity of Space Operas. It is now known in the world of the cheapest B-movies co-produced by Italy and the USA. The story is not especially bad as it follows the classical themes of Science Fiction, but it is poorly told with an overuse of cheap special effects, repetitive annoying sound effects and bad actors. Caroline Munro may be an eye candy in her tight and short outfit, she can't seriously play. The haircuts and the music are also dating too much the movie to the period in which it was produced. Every time I watch such movie, I realize the genius in Star Wars, and how simple things could make the difference: better actors, mythology, symphonic music, original sound effects and innovative visual effects. In Starcrash only Christopher Plummer manages to show his talent, even if it is funny to watch Joe Spinel and his crazy eyes inherited from Maniac, or a young David Hasselhof. The movie is anyway OK to watch for the sake of cinema History, and because there are actually many things quickly going on, reducing the level of boredom. I had failed watching the movie on my Home cinema 1.5 years ago but this time I found it fitted better a viewing on computer screen onboard a train.
Rating: 2 /10