BUT…

To fully understand the truth of my statement, you must be aware of some things:

1/. The effects were done by Gene Warren Jnr himself and Fantasy II Film Effects. Who are they? What else have they done?
Gremlins, The Terminator, Critters, Aliens, Bat*21, The Abyss, Tremors, Terminator 2: Judgement Day, Point Break, Last Action Hero, True Lies, Vampire In Brooklyn, Johnny Mnemonic, Mortal Kombat, Strange Days, The 6th Day, Scream 2 and 3, Star Trek: Enterprise, Underworld 1 and 2, Hellboy, Resident Evil, The Punisher, Outlander and The Expendables, to name but a few…. I think they know what they’re doing!!

2/. A vast majority of the effects shown used techniques that had never been done before, but more importantly were designed to work in 3-D. If you’re commenting on the effects, having seen them in the 2-D print, then watch the 3-D version first.

The only thing missing was acknowledgement of Michael Ironside’s portrayal of Overdog. Frankly, as I get to know your movie tastes, I’m pretty sure I could get you to spill state secrets by simply showing you Ironsides entire catalog of movies. If there’s a movie with Ironsides and Bryan Dennehy *both* in it, it might cause death to the average viewer. I hope this movie does not exist. I’m not (necessarily) knocking the talents of these two actors, but they sure do show up in a boatload of awful movies.

I kind of want to watch this movie again just to torture myself, but then I like shlocky movies. After all, I’ve seen Mega Shark v. Giant Octopus and had a right good time.

Classic example:
“Are you trying to tell me a seven year old kid has cracked the government supercode??!!”.

Anyone watching the film already knows this, so why does the character have to ask it again? Similarly, things are made so obvious that people are not encouraged to pay proper attention any more.

This was one of those films that did the opposite – The details were there. You just had to pay attention. It went against the norms again with it’s use of 3D – Rather than be a gimmick where everything jumps off the screen, Spacehunter was one of teh first to use it properly as an atmospheric background effect, like Surround Sound. It failed, because people thought it should be gimmicky and even now, with things like Avatar, people are still expecting gimmicks.

Certainly there are some ‘lame’ aspects to Spacehunter. That’s part of it’s appeal. But when you look at the cast and crew involved and see the calibre of people who created this, see what else they’ve all done… It’s kinda hard to blame the lameness on them.

I don’t really see this as much more than a film intended for kids up to about 18. Certainly it seems to appeal most to those who saw it between the ages of 10 and about 16 and it’s a darn sight better than Ice Pirates!!

Pete Strauss – Here, he’s known for the Peter Strauss Ranch, for Rich Man Poor Man, Masada and The Jericho Mile, numerous roles as a hunky guy in a suit, or for his endorsement of Miracle Gro products. I think most people over 25 know who he is. He’s on the same level as Ed Harris and Michael Clarke Duncan.

Certainly not a major star like Tom Cruise, I agree, but I’m surprised that he’s not a household name in his native US.

Firstly thank you for reading the blog. Second, thank you in particular for the last three paragraphs of your comment in which you detail some of the production history of the project. It does seem to explain a lot of what’s wrong with the film, and I think even you will agree there is an awful lot wrong here. A lack of a clear, definitive creative direction always results in a messy film that is littered with some good ideas that ultimately find themselves buried.

My point about Peter Strauss in my earlier posts was that while he may be a big name in other countries (as you say he is in the UK), he certainly is not in the United States. Not today anyway.

Thank you for your thoughts and please continue to read the blog. Really surprising to see so much reaction to my review of a film that I didn’t know existed before I started this project.

But it’s neither the kindest, nor the most well-informed either.

Firstly, Peter Strauss is definitely a somebody. I’m from the UK and even here, he’s a household name.

I am not the kind of person who enjoys the camp factor of a bad movie either, but I do see the merits in this film.

Cardborad spaceships? Have you no depth perception? That is clearly a large model. And how could you miss the whole dialogue about how the planet was hit by disease that infected their domestic food supplies? How much more of an explanation is needed, there?

The ‘land pirates’ are using a concept vehicle which was actually a serious real-life consideration at one point late in the 1970s. The Sail Train was an early idea to make use of alternative energy sources. The film makers took that concept and tried it out as a fictional representation. No more insane than the idea of a hoverboard or an engine powered by garbage (which is also featured in Spacehunter, BTW).

The dialogue – Every reviewer hammers this. Brainworking, trust-words, spewered, Scavs (short for Scavengers, in case you didn’t realise)… Sounds silly, right? But look at how language has changed. How many cultures and subcultures use silly terms and idiotic talk? Noting the fact that Wolff actually criticises Niki several times for her stupid ‘Space Hillbilly’ vernacular, I’d say that’s pretty realistic when you look at how people really are.

How did this film get a green-light?
Because the original screenplay had a lot of promise.

How did this film end up in the Top 50 at the box office for the year?
Because despite the elements that are indeed cheesy and the disastrous interference from studio execs, it is still a bloody good film. Some things you actually have to pay attention to see – This, then, is not a film for the mindless idiots who watch the Dukes Of Hazzard… and then have to have it explained to them.

Some background:

Spacehunter was released on May 20, 1983.
This was one of the bad choices made by the Studio Execs (SEs). In fact, the release date had been set before production had even gotten started. The substandard 3D was a late decision by the SEs and accounted for a large percentage of the budget. Further dooming the film, the SEs had a large amount of the character development scenes cut and replaced with hastily shot action test sequences. The director had already been replaced once and after seeing the final cut most of the principal cast stormed out in outrage, along with some of the crew.

Both directors were indeed doing their damnest to make a very good film here, yet because of money-hungry studio men who (like critics) think they know more about making movies than the people who actually make them, films like this will always be doomed and we shall instead be stuck with exceedingly high budget trite garbage like Avatar.

Credit where due, there is plenty of evidence to suggest this film is quite a gem compared to it’s contemporaries. Not every film will be a massive Gone With The Wind blockbuster but neither will every film deserve to be so slated. The fact that Spacehunter is still being reviewed and is still being sold tells me that it was far better than people realise.