Posted Fri May 6, 2011 at 10:00 AM PDT by Tom Landy
The out-of-this-world Roger Corman Cult Classic coming to Blu-ray this July has been fully detailed.
As previously reported, Shout Factory says 'Battle Beyond the Stars' is planned for Blu-ray on July 12.
A long time ago, in a studio far far away (actually 1980 in Venice, Calif.), Roger Corman gathered together a fledgling team of filmmakers to make one of the best low-budget science fiction films of all time, 'Battle Beyond the Stars,' a space opera that managed to playfully borrow from 'Star Wars and 'The Magnificent Seven, to come up with an enduring cult classic.
Long out of print, 'Battle Beyond the Stars' has been meticulously restored with a new anamorphic widescreen transfer (1.85:1) from the internegative, boasting a new 5.1 DTS Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray, and featuring a galaxy of extras, including commentary by writer John Sayles and Roger Corman; a new interview with actor Richard Thomas; a behind-the-scenes technical featurette and much more.
"This was the most expensive production I had financed. I always liked science fiction, and my idea was to do something of the feeling of Star Wars. What I came up with was The Seven Samurai in Outer Space." -- Roger Corman
Corman brought together some extremely talented people -- who went on to bigger and better things -- to make 'Battle Beyond the Stars.' John Sayles ('Eight Men Out,' 'Lone Star') wrote the script, his third for Corman after 'Piranha' and 'The Lady in Red;' James Cameron, who went on, of course, to be king of the world with 'Titanic' and then king of the universe with 'Avatar,' handled the art direction and special effects; Academy Award®–winning composer James Horner ('Titanic,' 'Avatar') wrote the score, which he recycled two years later for 'Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.' Also on hand as production manager was Gale Anne Hurd, who went on to produce 'The Terminator' with Cameron as well as 'The Incredible Hulk' and AMC's 'The Walking Dead.'
Special Note: Fans who pre-order Roger Corman’s Cult Classics: Battle Beyond the Stars 30th Anniversary Special Edition from ShoutFactoryStore.com will receive an iron-on of the original Battle Beyond the Stars theatrical key art as a gift-with-purchase.
Suggested list price for the Blu-ray is $26.97.
You can find the latest specs for 'Battle Beyond the Stars' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under July 12.
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