Neon Harbor’s Deja View: Italian Star Wars

The only reason to see the prequels.

Star Wars set off a lot of ripoffs and knockoffs. One I had heard about featured David Hasslehoff. I wasn’t that big into the Baywatch shows but I was a fan of the original Knight Rider and I’m the only person I know who enjoyed Nick Fury: Agent Of SHIELD on it’s own merits. So I wanted to hear more about this. Thanks to TGWTG producer Ed Glaser I’m closer to having that change…with a name to go with.

Glaser recently renamed his “Dark Maze Studios” as “Neon Harbor“. I’m not sure why he changed the name when the content seems to be the same but it’s his studio and his reasons. Fresh starts seem to be happening a lot over at Channel Awesome lately. One of his shows, Deja View, looks at foreign productions inspired by–and sometimes outright ripping off–offerings from Hollywood in the action, superhero, and sci-fi genres. In this installment, posted with his permission, Glaser takes a look at a Star Wars-inspired movie from Italy. Grab your helmet because it’s time for a Starcrash!

http://blip.tv/dark-maze-studios/deja-view-italian-star-wars-6605794

All credit to the creators here. Using model kit bits was how ILM created their ships for the original Star Wars and the backdrop for the space scenes shows what you can do on a small budget with just a little imagination. The fact that so many of the crew and cast stayed on to see this done is also something to praise and if Glaser’s own enthusiasm is any indication it payed off brilliantly. It makes me want to see this even more.

If you want to see Corman’s release of Starcrash, Amazon has the DVD and the Blu-Ray available for sale. I put the DVD on my wish list and I’m sure there will be a review in my future. And don’t forget to click the link in the second paragraph of this article to check out Ed Glaser’s work. He’s a good director himself. He also found and posted another Italian knockoff of Lucas’ epic, Star Odyssey, which he used parts of to create my favorite episode of Ninja: The Mission Force, sci-fi fan that I am.