History Film / Starcrash

* ShoutOut:

In the late '70s, Italian director Luigi Cozzi attempted to capitalize on the success of ''[[Film/ANewHope Star Wars]]'' by [[FollowTheLeader creating a space movie]] with B-movie faves Creator/CarolineMunro and Marjoe Gortner, plus Creator/ChristopherPlummer and a then-unknown Creator/DavidHasselhoff. The result? ''STARCRASH!''

* BoobsOfSteel: Stella Star, a certified ActionGirl with a large bust size thanks to being played by Creator/CarolineMunro.

* GreenLanternRing: The sine waves that Akton can make hover over his hand seem to be able to do anything from allowing him to see into the future to acting as an emergency microwave oven.

* TooDumbToLive: The film begins with the crew of one of Count Zarth Arn's ships being killed off, by the defenses of the Count's own secret planet. It's never made clear why they were even there in the first place.

* ArtisticLicenseSpace: In the film's universe there is apparently air (or at least some kind of gas or something) in space, as in one scene numerous glass windows on a spaceship get shattered but none of the people in the room get sucked out or suffocate.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/starcrash1978.jpg]]

In the late '70s, Italian director Luigi Cozzi attempted to capitalize on the success of ''[[Film/ANewHope Star Wars]]'' by [[FollowTheLeader creating a space movie]] with B-movie faves Creator/CarolineMunro and Marjoe Gortner, plus Creator/ChristopherPlummer and a then-unknown David Hasselhoff. The result? ''STARCRASH!''

The evil Count Zarth Arn is threatening to take over the galaxy with the most powerful weapon in the galaxy. The Emperor's son has gone missing after this weapon destroyed his spaceship, and smugglers Akton and Stella Star must find him and destroy the weapon.

''Starcrash'' (original title ''Scontri stellari oltre la terza dimensione''[[labelnote:translation]]literally "stellar clashes beyond the third dimension"[[/labelnote]]) is a [[SoBadItsGood hilariously bad]] movie, made better by the hilariously artificial-sounding translation. Many believe it to be even worse than that. It's a really, really, really badly done movie, so watch at your own peril.

* CoversAlwaysLie: Many of the posters make Elle look like a looming DarthVaderClone, when he's actually one of the heroes.

* DarthVaderClone: Subverted. The posters make the robotic Elle seem like this, but in the film itself, he's a comic sidekick. And while Count Zarth Arn has a (somewhat) similar name, the only real characteristic he shares with the Trope Namer is his cape.

* ArtisticLicenseAstronomy: In the film's universe there is apparently air (or at least some kind of gas or something) in space, as in one scene numerous glass windows on a spaceship get shattered but none of the people in the room get sucked out or suffocate.

* RealityEnsues: What did they THINK was going to happen when they sent eight [[SpaceMarine space marines]] to fight an entire fortress full of enemy soldiers?

* LargeHam: Zarth Arn.

* DeathIsCheap: At least if you're a robot. Elle is smashed and fixed twice. The first time he's shot in the chest by space amazons, but turns out to be NotQuiteDead. The second time he's literally smashed into pieces by cavemen before bursting into a shower of sparks and smoke and yet there's somehow enough of him left for the Emperor to rebuild him.
* DeepSouth: The robot Elle speaks with a Texan accent.
* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: Stella's name means "Star Star".

* EvilOverlord: Zarth Arn the evil Count. He's said to rule half of the galaxy and be the Emperor's sole rival.

* FaceHeelTurn / TheMole: It's unclear which of these [[spoiler: Thor]] is, as they don't clarify whether he'd always been a traitor or if he had just recently gone over to working for Zarth Arn.

* GenderBlenderName: "Elle" (pronounced like the letter L) is not usually a name for a male character, let alone a male coded robot.
* GenreBusting: Aside from ''Star Wars'' the movie's primary influences seem to be SwordAndSandal flicks, particularly ''Film/JasonAndTheArgonauts''. Director Luigi Cozzi specifically referred to the film as "science fantasy instead of science fiction."

* NewPowersAsThePlotDemands: Tons. Akton is presented as merely being Stella's friend and navigator until his battle with Thor, when his eyes flash and he suddenly gains super strength and an immunity to lasers. Later he gets a lightsaber out of nowhere, and then reveals himself to be an immortal energy being. Seriously. The Emperor's flagship having the ability to selectively stop time is another big one.

* OrcusOnHisThrone: Zarth Arn's means of taking over the galaxy is a weapon so large it had to be hidden inside a planet. The weapon only seems to be able to attack things right next to the planet, which has no means of propulsion. Zarth Arn has nothing to do but walk around his spaceship talking about how he will rule the galaxy by sunset.
* RammingAlwaysWorks: The titular "Starcrash" involves piloting a mobile city into an enemy ship. Considering that everyone present knows exactly what the Emperor means after he utters the vague phrase "starcrash" it seems that this is a common strategy.

* SlowLaser: The ray guns in this film do some weird things. Usually they just create a burst of fire and put a hole through people. When used on the amazons they made them [[DisintegratorRay disintegrate]]. They also cause a door to explode at one point.

* TimeStandsStill: The Imperial flagship has the power to stop time using a green beam.
* TitleDrop: At the end of the film, the Emperor suggests this maneuver to defeat Zarth Arn.

* WorthyOpponent: Before the movie began, Elle was a member of the SpacePolice assigned to tracking down the smugglers Stella and Akton. Stella admits later on that while she found Elle's determination infuriating at the time it's also his best trait.

* CurbstompBattle: The climax of the movie, but not in the way you'd think. The Imperial forces get their asses thoroughly kicked. How thoroughly? The extended ship-launching sequence that precedes the battle actually lasts several times longer than the battle itself.
* DarthVaderClone: Subverted. The posters make the robotic Elle seem like this, but in the film itself, he's a comic sidekick.

* FrickinLaserBeams: The ray guns in this film do some weird things. Usually they just create a burst of fire and put a hole through people. When used on the amazons they made them [[DisintegratorRay disintegrate]]. They also cause a door to explode at one point.

In the late '70s, Italian director Luigi Cozzi attempted to capitalize on the success of ''[[Film/ANewHope Star Wars]]'' by [[FollowTheLeader creating a space movie]] with B-movie faves Caroline Munro and Marjoe Gortner, plus Creator/ChristopherPlummer and a then-unknown David Hasselhoff. The result? ''STARCRASH!''