1 | [[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hardware_wars.png]] |
2 | |
3 | ->''"You'll laugh, you'll cry; You'll kiss three bucks goodbye."'' |
4 | -->-- '''Tagline''' |
5 | |
6 | In 1977 a little movie called ''[[Film/ANewHope Star Wars]]'' was released. Seven months later came an unlikely follow-up. |
7 | |
8 | ''Hardware Wars'' was released in 1978, and was written and directed by Ernie Fosselius. It is a ShortFilm parody of ''A New Hope'', expressed as [[RealTrailerFakeMovie a movie trailer]]. It's not just a low budget, straightforward spoof, though -- the underlying gimmick is that all of the spaceships and even some of the characters have been replaced by household appliances and tools: the [=R2D2=] {{Expy}} is a canister vacuum, the ''Millennium Falcon'' is represented by a steam iron, Star Destroyers are flying toasters and hand-cranked egg beaters, even Stormtroopers have turned into "Steam Troopers", and more. The silliness simply must be seen to be believed. |
9 | |
10 | Creator/GeorgeLucas is apparently on record saying that ''Hardware Wars'' is his favorite ''Franchise/StarWars'' parody. ''Film/TheLastJedi'' director Creator/RianJohnson liked it enough to slip an homage into the film. |
11 | ---- |
12 | !!This film provides examples of: |
13 | * AffectionateParody: Of ''Film/ANewHope''. It was so popular, even Creator/GeorgeLucas said on an interview that it was his favorite Star Wars parody. |
14 | * AsideGlance: Augie Ben Doggie gives us one after the particularly awful (intentionally so) special effect of simulating a light saber with a flashlight in stage fog. |
15 | * {{Catchphrase}}: Fluke Starbucker's "Golly!" and "Jeepers!". |
16 | * CoolShades: 4-Q2 is wearing a pair in the trash compactor scene. |
17 | * CreatorCameo: Ernie Fosselius is the guy giving the mission briefing at the end. |
18 | * DisneyAcidSequence: The funky special effects when Ham Salad makes his ship go into "Dyna-space". We're treated to about a minute of weird kaleidoscopic imagery and strange noises. |
19 | * ExpospeakGag: The lengthy explanation of what must be done to take out the Death Star-{{Expy}}. When it's met with "huh?" the man sums it up as: Pull the plug. |
20 | * FanserviceExtra: Gratuitous to the extreme. A picture of a naked woman lying down appears out of nowhere during the "Blow Up The Death Star-Expy" exposition. |
21 | * {{Flanderization}}: For RuleOfFunny....The Luke {{Expy}} is even more dorky, whiny, naive and goofy and he talks like a 50's sitcom kid (see the GoshDangItToHeck entry). |
22 | * FunnyBackgroundEvent: During a scene on the Desert Planet, in the background can be briefly seen [[spoiler:a woman in a bathing suit, picking up her beach towel and walking away]]. |
23 | |
24 | * GoshDangItToHeck: Fluke's reaction on being given the flashlight is "Gosh! Wow-''ee''! Jeepers, golly willickers!" |
25 | * HeroicSacrifice: lampooned:[[note]]{{Pun}} on {{Lampshaded}}.[[/note]] |
26 | -->'''All:''' Hurry, Augie, come on, run for the ship!\ |
27 | '''Augie:''' [[spoiler:Nah, you go on without me, I'll be alright]].\ |
28 | '''All:''' ''(SarcasmMode)'' [[spoiler: Oh fine, a martyr. Sure, see ya later, martyr]]! |
29 | * HongKongDub: Even though it's an American film, the dubbing of the dialogue doesn't quite match the movement of the character's mouths. Likely deliberate, see the SpecialEffectFailure example below. |
30 | * LogoJoke: [[Creator/TwentiethCenturyFox 20th Century Foss]] and "ZZZ: The audience is tired of logos" for the THX logo in the 1997 special edition. |
31 | * MayTheFarceBeWithYou: The last lines in the film. Given that it came out shortly after the real ''Star Wars'', it's probably safe to call it the TropeMaker. |
32 | * MediumAwareness: This exchange. |
33 | -->'''Fluke Starbucker:''' Get us outta here! |
34 | -->'''Ham Salad:''' Relax, kid. It's only a movie. |
35 | * MythologyGag: The Country music house band in the Mos Eisley-{{Expy}} bar is singing a song about the ''actual'' Obi-Wan Kenobi. |
36 | -->'''Singer:''' ''Oh I'm prrroooouuuud to be ol' Obi-Wan...Kenobi!...." |
37 | * NoAnimalsWereHarmed: Or killed, for that matter. |
38 | * NoEnding: The film is presented as a movie trailer, so they never actually get around to the ending. |
39 | * ObiWanMoment: Spoofed. Augie Doggie stays to fight Darph Nader, and the rest of the cast sarcastically call him a martyr as they leave. |
40 | * OpeningMonologue: "Meanwhile . . . in another part of the galaxy . . . later that same day." |
41 | * PublicDomainSoundtrack: Music/RichardWagner's ''Ride of the Valkyries'' accompanies pretty much the entirety of the film. It's surprisingly appropriate. |
42 | * PunnyName: Let's see... [[ArtDeco Artie Deco,]] [[LargeHam Ham Salad,]] Anne Droid, 4Q-2, Darph Nader, and let's not forget Chewchilla the [[Series/SesameStreet Wookiee Monster]]. Not to mention the name of the Bar Band: Slim Chance and Derange Riders. In a meta-example, the film studio is credited as "[=20th=] Century Foss". |
43 | * RealTrailerFakeMovie: ''Hardware Wars'' is presented as a trailer. |
44 | * ShoutOut: |
45 | ** One of the droids says "[[Creator/LaurelAndHardy Here's another fine mess you've gotten us into]]". |
46 | ** The C3-PO {{Expy}} looks like the Tin Man from ''Film/TheWizardOfOz''. |
47 | ** The Chewbacca {{Expy}} is an utterly adorable brown Cookie Monster from ''Series/SesameStreet''.[[note]]Ernie Fosselius created 20 original animated short subjects for Sesame Street.[[/note]] |
48 | ** The Obi-Wan {{Expy}} is named after Augie Doggie from Creator/HannaBarbera's ''WesternAnimation/QuickDrawMcGraw''. |
49 | ** The hologram with Princess Anne Droid's message comes out of Artie-Deco's vacuum-cleaner hose in a similar manner to Jeannie in ''Series/IDreamOfJeannie''. |
50 | ** Ham Salad angrily replies to Anne Droid with a Creator/SteveMartin catchphrase (see WellExcuseMePrincess). |
51 | ** The lounge singer's "I'm Proud to Be Old Obi-Wan Kenobi" is a parody of Music/MerleHaggard's "Okie From Muskogee". |
52 | ** The "S Raw Rats 77" graffiti is "Star Wars" spelled backwards with its initial release year. |
53 | ** At one point Anne Droid says to Darph Nader "You talkin' to me?" a'la Creator/RobertDeNiro in ''Film/TaxiDriver''. |
54 | * SpecialEffectFailure: Invoked as part of the overall StylisticSuck: |
55 | ** They '''wanted''' you to see the strings on the models, and used more lighting on the strings to this end. |
56 | ** They '''wanted''' you to see the flashlight as a flashlight, and the beam as its light scattered off fog. |
57 | ** Anne-Droid's hairstyle consists of ''literal'' giant cinnamon buns on the sides of her head (which Chewchilla The Wookie-Monster eats at one point with much gusto! ''OMMM NOMNOMNOM....'').[[note]]In what seems like either an homage or a coincidence, Cookie Monster's own ''Star Wars'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-LfQCPJJkY parody]] has a gag in which ''he'' tries to eat the princess' hair (Oreo-like cookies).[[/note]] |
58 | * StylisticSuck: The whole damn thing. Planet [[spoiler:Basketball]], for starters, is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin. |
59 | * {{Tagline}}: "You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll kiss 3 bucks goodbye", and "May the Farce Be With You". |
60 | * TakeThat: |
61 | ** The Darth Vader {{Expy}} is called [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Nader "Darph]][[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unsafe_at_Any_Speed Nader"]]. |
62 | ** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vDZ_3tqUUk 1997 "Special Edition"]] with more special effects, in response to the revamped 20th anniversary re-releases with extended scenes added to the original trilogy installment. |
63 | * TheUnintelligible: Darph Nader. |
64 | -->'''Darph Nader:''' [unintelligible]\ |
65 | '''Anne Droid:''' I don't understand what you're saying!\ |
66 | '''Darph Nader:''' [unintelligible]\ |
67 | '''Anne Droid:''' What? I can't understand you! [[Film/TaxiDriver Are you talking to me?]] |
68 | |
69 | -->'''Darph Nader:''' [unintelligible]\ |
70 | '''Augie Doggie:''' What ''is'' he saying, can anyone understand? |
71 | * VisualPun: The "Tractor Beam." |
72 | * WellExcuseMePrincess: Almost word for word....and a ShoutOut to Creator/SteveMartin. |
73 | -->'''Anne-Droid:''' "You'll get us all killed!" |
74 | -->'''Ham Salad:''' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zANvYB93u2g "Well, EXCUUUUUUUUSE....ME!"]] |
75 | ---- |
76 |
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