Too much of everything

Just what I expected

Admirable film.

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

Peter Strauss plays bounty hunter Wolff - a definite Han Solo type - who takes on the job of rescuing three lovely young women who crash landed on a barren planet. There, they were taken captive by the minions of vicious, omnipotent mutant villain Overdog (Michael Ironside). Wolff acquires some initially unwanted companions on his adventure. Washington (Ernie Hudson) is a former associate with whom he butts heads. And Niki (Molly Ringwald) is a feisty teen aged orphan who brags that her tracking skills can lead Wolff to the lair of Overdog and company.Minor but diverting 3-D sci-fi just gets better and better - well, so to speak - as it goes along, throwing everything *and* the kitchen sink at the viewer for the sake of a good time. The sets are the most impressive element. The makeup effects and costumes are also pretty good; get a load of the outfit that Ironside is obliged to wear. The music by old pro composer Elmer Bernstein is suitably rousing. The screenplay itself is nothing special - with overuse of goofy jargon - but director Lamont Johnson ("The Last American Hero", "Lipstick") handles the proceedings capably, if not stylishly.The supporting characters are really more engaging than the leads. Ironside once again proves himself a great movie villain. Andrea Marcovicci is so damn sexy and appealing in her brief screen time that you really miss her once she's written out of the story. Hudson is rock solid as always. Strauss is okay, but his character is rather smug and not terribly likable. He takes a while to grow on you, as does Ringwald, who will probably strike many viewers as being overly whiny.The best bit: Niki being forced by Overdog to run through an incredibly elaborate, extremely lethal maze.Among the "Ghost Busters" connections: Hudson, executive producer Ivan Reitman, Bernstein, and casting director Karen Rea.Seven out of 10.

I'm a big fan of this movie. Not just the cast but also the cheesy 3D FX. I saw this in theaters and thought, wow, this is how all films should be. But why has there not been a blu ray release. I did remember a Leonard Nimony TV special going behind the scenes on this so this would be an ideal DVD extra. Back in the 80's, low-budget sci-fi films such as Battle Beyond the Stars, Ice Pirates, Enemy Mine and The Last Starfighter were everywhere. Enter "Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone" then, and enjoy yet another B movie romp. The plot goes like this. Galaxy-hopping garbage man and all-round regular guy Wolff (Peter Strauss), along with his hot sexbot android companion Chalmers receive a distress signal from a crashed escape pod, which ejected from a destroyed starliner before landing on some rocky, desert planet. Touching down their starship with a view to claiming the reward for the rescue of the three earth girls inside the escape pod, the pair set off across the desert in a rather cool-looking Mad Max type jeep. A fight ensues in which Chalmers is destroyed, so Wolff takes up with a new companion, an orphaned scavenger named Nikki (Molly Ringwald). She guides Wolff through the landscape to the Forbidden Zone, a nightmarish industrial zone of death maze games and other nasties run by former scientist-turned-evil cyborg Overdog (Michael Ironside). The pair, along with sector chief Washington (Ernie Hudson) meet mutants, amazon women and other Mad Max genre locals along the way, and eventually put a plan in place to rescue the ladies.

I am not one to watch a movie, read a book, or for that matter, order the same food at a restaurant more than once. There is so much more out there to be experienced; why repeat anything? But "Spacehunter" is an exception to my rule. I only own 5 movies and "Spacehunter" is one of them. Campy, silly one-liners ("Us loners got to stick together" --- "I'll take that bet") and lots of explosions make it a fun trip worth the time to watch over and over again.To meet the 10 line rule --- In the 20 years I have owned it; I have watched it maybe 5 times and have enjoyed it just as much as the first time. My tape player is dead and I will need to find it on DVD.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to stand in the spot where a movie crew had once worked, making a film? My watching "Spacehunter" led, over a period of about 15 years, to that sense of wonder. Here's the story...Around 1990, I stumbled upon "Spacehunter," possibly while watching TV to kill time. The acting was not especially good and plot elements were goofy. To be diplomatic, I would classify it as "light entertainment." Its only redeeming social value was the presence of actress Andrea Marcovicci, who played Chalmers, the protagonist's android assistant: she was a vision of beauty. Sadly, her part was brief, as she was killed off during a battle near the beginning of the story.That early-on battle scene interested me because it involved a long, sail-powered railcar (I like railroads). The thing was bizarre-looking and reminded me of the movie "Mad Max." Not only was the railcar cool, the desert environment surrounding the scene was fascinating. But in short order the movie faded from my memory.The movie returned to my consciousness in 2004, during my first visit to Moab, Utah. Just north of Moab there is a railroad track that runs parallel to US Highway 191. Upon seeing it I thought of "Spacehunter" right away: the environment looked much like that of the battle scene mentioned above. I figured that the battle scene had been filmed on that track but wasn't sure just where.Later I rented the movie to see the battle scene again and determine just where it had been filmed. Surprise!: the place I saw north of Moab was not the place used in the movie. However, the site of the battle scene was recognizable because I had driven right past it a few times. The scene was filmed at Potash, Utah, which is the site of a potash mine. It is about 20 miles from Moab, at the south end of State Highway 279 (also called Potash Road). In 2006 the mine was owned and operated by Intrepid Potash. It turns out that many (most?) of the exterior scenes of the film were shot on the private property of the mine.With this knowledge I wanted to visit those sites and take pictures that attempted to duplicate camera angles used in the film. Why?---who knows? Armed with numerous poor-quality photos of TV screen shots of the movie, I returned to Moab in late 2006 and visited three places that were used in filming; this required getting permission from the mining company. Standing in those places where movie crews had once worked, I tried to imagine the presence of a lot of people and equipment and sounds like "Action!" and "Cut!" It was great fun. The result is here: http://www.pbase.com/listorama/movie_spacehunter .