A member of the Ghostbusters, a busy TV ghoul and a teen comedy icon meet and are flung through a wild mix of Star Wars, Mad Max and archetypal Western iconography: this is Spacehunters’, which unfortunately hit theaters . cast got a big boost in popularity.
As a result, he was quite a disillusionment at the box office and built up his sincere fanbase on videocassette alone, appreciating his creativity, which borders on “Flash Gordon” madness. In 2021, the film celebrated its German HD premiere exclusively in the Plaion Pictures store, the exclusivity was recently lifted: Since the end of May 2023, “Spacehunter” is available as a regular Blu-ray in a stylish sample book.
“Spacehunter”: genre confusion in space
It’s the early 22nd century: space travelers Nova (Cali Timmins), Reena (Aleisa Shirley) and Meagan (Deborah Pratt) crash-land and are promptly captured by barbarians. They serve the villainous overdog (Michael Ironside), who makes the already inhospitable planet even more unpleasant. Fortunately, bounty hunter Wolff (Peter Strauss) hears the trio’s cry for help and rushes to his aid. He is assisted by the nomad Niki (Molly Ringwald) and the soldier Washington (Ernie Hudson).
“Spacehunter” was released in US cinemas in May 1983, a year before Molly Ringwald’s career took off as the star of several teen comedies such as “Breakfast Club”. And also a year before Ernie Hudson would hit the box office as a member of the Ghostbusters. Michael Ironside, on the other hand, was already a villain in numerous TV series at the time, but he had yet to earn his status as a cult villain – for example, with appearances in the harder sci-fi movies “Total Recall” and “Starship”. Troops”.
Like the “Spacehunter” cast, his genre mix wouldn’t become more widely known until later: Director Lamont Johnson brings Mad Max-style end-of-the-world action, diverse costumes and heroic poses inspired by old-school westerns, and Star Wars scientific fantasy. While Johnson didn’t invent the Space Western, he did anticipate some of its most popular genres, such as the classic anime series Cowboy Bebop, Joss Whedon’s short-lived geek crowd favorite Firefly, and the Disney+ hit The Mandalorian.
Even in “Spacehunter’s” small, if sworn, fan base, you’re likely to find few voices that would place the movie above these ranges in quality. But it’s also become difficult to find movie fans who would agree with executive producer Ivan Reitman. The designated “space fighter” in 2015 in an interview with the industry portal looking back on his career as “terrible”.