Shout! Factory Details BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS Blu-ray/DVD Release

A few weeks ago we posted news that Shout! Factory were planning to release Battle Beyond the Stars on Blu-ray as part of their Roger Corman Cult Classics collection, and today's mail brought me details.  Among the goodies included are a commentary track with writer John Sayles and producer Roger Corman, and a couple of featurettes that sound really cool. All in all a worthy package for the greatest Star Wars rip-off in a crowded field.

Details follow:

THIS SUMMER, GET READY TO EMBARK ON AN ELECTRIFYING SPACE ADVENTURE WITH ROGER CORMAN'S SCIENCE FICTION CLASSIC IN HIGH-DEF FOR THE FIRST TIME!

SHOUT! FACTORY PRESENTS
BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS

Starring Richard Thomas, Robert Vaughn, George Peppard, John Saxon, Darlanne Fluegel, and Sybil Danning

30th ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION BLU-RAY™ and DVD LANDING ON HOME ENTERTAINMENT SHELVES JULY 12 FROM SHOUT! FACTORY

Digitally Restored and Presented in Anamorphic Widescreen

Revealing Bonus Content and More!

A Battle Beyond Time ... Beyond Space

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. Roger Corman's Cult Classics: Battle Beyond the Stars  30th Anniversary Special Edition is a must-have for fans of Roger Corman, science fiction enthusiasts and collectors -- available July 12, 2011 on Blu-ray ($26.97) and DVD ($19.93) from Shout! Factory, in association with New Horizons Picture Corporation. Pre-order now on Amazon.com and major retailers.

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.

"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.

What's a small, peace loving planet to do when they're threatened with destruction by a group of malevolent mutants headed up by the most despicable villain? Why they enlist a sweet young boy to travel the galaxy in search of mercenaries to fend off the tyrant.

When the evil Sador the Conqueror (John Saxon) and his hideous Malmori army threaten the peaceful planet of Akir, the inhabitants, known as the Akira (in reference to Seven Samurai director Akira Kurosawa) sends young Shad (Richard Thomas of The Waltons) on an intergalactic journey to hire mercenaries to defend the planet. Piloting a sarcastic pre-LEXX talking female spaceship (with breasts!), Shad assembles a fleet of seven spaceships to fend off the bad guys.

There's love interest Nanelia (Darlanne Fluegel), whose spaceship houses a sophisticated computer to help the cause; a scotch-drinking space cowboy from Earth (George Peppard of The A-Team); Gelt, an outlaw with a bounty on his head, played by Robert Vaughn in a role similar to the character Lee he played in The Magnificent Seven; the reptilian Cayman (Morgan Woodward), who has his own score to settle with Sador; Saint-Exmin of the Valkyrie (the voluptuous Sybil Danning), whose motto, "Live fast, fight well and have a beautiful ending" carries her into action; five clones with a collective consciousness known as the Nestor; and a pair of aliens who communicate by emanating heat from their bodies. The "magnificent seven" mercenary ships -- headed up by Shad and Nell -- travel back to Akir for the final conflict.

The cast of Battle Beyond the Stars also included Marta Kristen (Judy Robinson of TV's  Lost in Space), Jeff Corey as the wise old Zed the Corsair, Sam Jaffe as Nanelia's father, and a very young Julia Duffy (Newhart and Designing Women).

Made on a reported budget of $2 million, the film opened in late 1980 and quickly made back its investment. The film grossed $1.7 million on opening weekend alone. And the spectacular space battles and explosions were used over and over again in future Corman productions.

Details and extra content are below.