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History Trivia / Lifeforce1985

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* DisownedAdaptation: After its release, Creator/ColinWilson recalled that author Creator/JohnFowles regarded the film adaptation of Fowles' own novel ''Literature/TheMagus'' as the worst film adaptation of a novel ever. Wilson told Fowles there was now a worse one, the film adaptation of ''Space Vampires''.

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* DisownedAdaptation: After its release, Creator/ColinWilson recalled that author Creator/JohnFowles regarded the film adaptation of Fowles' own novel ''Literature/TheMagus'' as the worst film adaptation of a novel ever. Wilson told Fowles there was now a worse one, the film adaptation of ''Space ''The Space Vampires''.
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* Michael Gothard was very close to being cast as Col. Colin Caine, and was eager to play the part after being relegated to smaller roles throughout his career. However, the role was given to Firth and Gothard was given Bukovsky. According to friends and family of Gothard, losing out on the part put Gothard into a deep depression.

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* ** Michael Gothard was very close to being cast as Col. Colin Caine, and was eager to play the part after being relegated to smaller roles throughout his career. However, the role was given to Firth and Gothard was given Bukovsky. According to friends and family of Gothard, losing out on the part put Gothard into a deep depression.
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* ActingForTwo: Creator/PeterFirth actually has two roles in the film. He also plays a voice of a security guard on a phone.
* ActorInspiredElement:
** Creator/PatrickStewart shot one of his scenes as scripted with the dialogue line "He’s been bad". He pulled Creator/TobeHooper aside and whispered that maybe saying "He’s been naughty" would be better. Hooper agreed, and that's the version they went with for the film.
** The scene where The Space Girl is speaking from inside a possessed Dr. Armstrong uses a verbal cadence and cuts between Stewart and Creator/MathildaMay to show their connection. They had struggled as to how to make that clear until Stewart came up with the cadence idea and went off with May to practice.
** Part of the reason May got the role of the vampire was because, in addition to being comfortable with the nudity, May had trained as a ballerina, which allowed her to move in ways that made the vampire more creepy.
* AwesomeDearBoy:
** Music/HenryMancini had agreed to do the film, based on the original concept of a fifteen-minute essentially dialogue-free opening sequence, involving the discovery and exploration of the alien spacecraft, and the moving of the three aliens back to the Churchill, for which he composed a tonal "space ballet".
** Creator/SteveRailsback signed on because he was eager to be in a science fiction film.
* BoxOfficeBomb: The film cost $25 million to make and Cannon expected it to be a blockbuster. Final box office gross: $11 million.
* CastTheRunnerUp:
** Before being cast as Dr. Armstrong, Creator/PatrickStewart was considered for Dr Leonard Bukovsky, Sir Percy Heseltine, Col. Colin Caine, Kelly and Lamson.
** Frank Finlay was considered for Dr. Armstrong, Bukovsky and Sir Percy before being cast as Dr. Hans Fallada.
** Michael Gothard was considered for Col. Caine before being cast as Bukovsky.
** Creator/PeterFirth was considered for Roger Derebridge before being cast as Col. Caine.
** Nicholas Ball was considered for Col. Caine, Kelly and Lamson before being cast as Derebridge.
** John Hallam was considered for Bukovsky, Derebridge, Col. Caine and Kelly before being cast as Lamson.
* CreatorBacklash: Creator/PatrickStewart describes the movie as "the nadir of his career" and, as stated above, took the job solely because he was in need of some cash. He did say, however, that Hooper was his favorite director to work with.
* CreatorKiller:
** This film, along with the other two Creator/TobeHooper did for Creator/TheCannonGroup, ''Film/InvadersFromMars1986'' and ''Film/TheTexasChainsawMassacre2'', were arguably the last big-budget movies he would ever work on, sticking to TV shows and smaller movie projects in the later years of his career.
** It is also one of multiple examples of the hubris of Creator/TheCannonGroup -- while they finally had some critical success with ''Film/RunawayTrain'', which came out the same year. Their over-confidence in ''Lifeforce'' and other films that became box office bombs led the movie studio down a road to ruin, eventually closing up shop nine years later in 1995.
* DeletedRole:
** Brian Carroll, who plays one of the Churchill crew, was killed in a road accident, while the film was in post-production. In editing, most of his role ended up being cut, plus all of his lines were cut. In the end, his role in the film was reduced to being an extra.
** Most of Nicholas Ball's performance ended up on the cutting room floor, according to an interview he gave on ''Wogan'' in 1985.
** Despite being credited on the 101 minute cut, the following actors were deleted from this cut of the film: John Woodnutt, John Forbes-Robertson, and Russell Sommers. Plus Carl Rigg has all his lines removed from this version.
* DevelopmentHell: At some point, two TV series were announced based on the property: one by Ringleader Studio in 2013 and based on the book and another by Chiller TV in 2015 and based on the film. So far, both projects have failed to materialize.
* DisownedAdaptation: After its release, Creator/ColinWilson recalled that author Creator/JohnFowles regarded the film adaptation of Fowles' own novel ''Literature/TheMagus'' as the worst film adaptation of a novel ever. Wilson told Fowles there was now a worse one, the film adaptation of ''Space Vampires''.
* ExecutiveMeddling:
** Creator/TobeHooper initially wanted to make ''Lifeforce'' a much sillier movie titled ''The Space Vampires'', the same name as the book on which it is based. The execs forced him to make the story more serious, and switch to the present title.
** When Creator/TristarPictures picked up the film for domestic distribution, they cut 15 minutes from the film and had some of Music/HenryMancini's score replaced with work by Music/MichaelKamen. Due to the cuts, the US version is rather confusing at times. The original cut is included on the 2014 [=Blu-Ray=] release from Shout! Factory.
** The execs, particularly Creator/TheCannonGroup co-owner Menahen Golan, also demanded for more shots of Creator/MathildaMay to be included in the movie.
* MoneyDearBoy: Creator/PatrickStewart admits that the only reason he agreed to be in this movie was to pay for repairs to a bay window at his house.
* PlayingAgainstType: Creator/SteveRailsback got the role of Colonel Tom Carlsen in a effort to fight the fact he's been typecasted as a crazy killer thanks to his role as UsefulNotes/CharlesManson in ''Helter Skelter (1976)''.
* TroubledProduction: The film went over-budget, leaving several and (allegedly vital) scenes to not be filmed because there wasn't any money left. This is reflected on the movie's rather disjointed nature that translated into mediocre reviews and poor box office performance. The failure of ''Lifeforce'' effectively killed Creator/TobeHooper's Hollywood career and contributed to Cannon Films going the way of the dodo in the early 90s.
* UncreditedRole: Michael Armstrong and Olaf Pooley did uncredited work on the script.
* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
** Creator/MichaelWinner was offered the chance to direct the film, as he worked often for Cannon producers Menahem Golan & Yoram Globus.
** Music/JamesHorner was first asked to write the score.
** Creator/GeorgePeppard was attached to star as Col. Tom Carlsen at one time.
** Creator/AnthonyAinley, Creator/RichardAttenborough, Creator/TomBaker, Creator/StevenBerkoff, Creator/JimBroadbent, Creator/GrahamChapman, Creator/NicholasCourtney, Creator/PeterCushing, Creator/PaulDarrow, Creator/PeterDavison, Creator/DenholmElliott, Creator/JonFinch, Creator/EdwardFox, Creator/JohnGielgud, Creator/JulianGlover, Creator/MichaelGough, Creator/CharlesGray, Creator/RobertHardy, Creator/NigelHawthorne, Creator/IanHendry, Creator/DonaldHouston, Creator/TrevorHoward, Creator/DerekJacobi, Creator/MartinJarvis, Creator/MichaelJayston, Creator/FreddieJones, Creator/MichaelKitchen, Creator/ChristopherLee, Creator/LeoMcKern, Creator/PatrickMacnee, Creator/JonPertwee, Creator/DonaldPleasence, Creator/JonathanPryce, Creator/PatrickTroughton, Creator/PeterVaughan, Creator/SimonWard, Creator/DavidWarner, Creator/EdwardWoodward and Creator/PeterWyngarde were considered for Dr. Armstrong.
** Creator/AnthonyAinley, Creator/RichardAttenborough, Creator/StevenBerkoff, Creator/BrianBlessed, Creator/PaulDarrow, Creator/DenholmElliott, Creator/JonFinch, Creator/JulianGlover, Creator/CharlesGray, Creator/RutgerHauer, Creator/NigelHawthorne, Creator/IanHendry, Creator/DonaldHouston, Creator/DerekJacobi, Creator/MartinJarvis, Creator/FreddieJones, Creator/KlausKinski, Creator/MichaelKitchen, Creator/ChristopherLee, Creator/JonathanPryce, Creator/MichaelSheard, Creator/PeterVaughan and Creator/SimonWard were considered for Dr. Leonard Bukovsky.
** Creator/AnthonyAinley, Creator/RichardAttenborough, Creator/JimBroadbent, Creator/NicholasCourtney, Creator/PeterCushing, Creator/DenholmElliott, Creator/JohnGielgud, Creator/MichaelGough, Creator/CharlesGray, Creator/RobertHardy, Creator/NigelHawthorne, Creator/IanHendry, Creator/DonaldHouston, Creator/TrevorHoward, Creator/MartinJarvis, Creator/FreddieJones, Creator/MichaelKitchen, Creator/LeoMcKern, Creator/JonPertwee, Creator/DonaldPleasence, Creator/PatrickTroughton, Creator/RichardWilson and Creator/PeterWyngarde were considered for Sir Percy Heseltine. Ronald Lacey was offered the role, but he turned it down due to the demanding make-up requirements.
** Creator/BrianCox, Creator/KennethCranham, Creator/PaulDarrow, Creator/PeterDavison, Creator/JonFinch, Creator/CharlesGray, Creator/MartinJarvis, Creator/BillNighy, Creator/JonathanPryce, Creator/MartinShaw, Creator/SimonWard and Creator/StuartWilson were considered for Roger Derebridge.
** Creator/AnthonyAinley, Creator/RichardAttenborough, Creator/DirkBogarde, Creator/PeterCushing, Creator/DenholmElliott, Creator/JohnGielgud, Creator/NigelHawthorne, Creator/IanHendry, Creator/TrevorHoward, Creator/FreddieJones, Creator/ChristopherLee, Creator/HerbertLom, Creator/LeoMcKern, Creator/PatrickMacnee, Creator/JamesMason, Creator/JonPertwee, Creator/MaximilianSchell, Creator/PatrickTroughton, Creator/PeterVaughan, Creator/MaxVonSydow and Creator/PeterWyngarde were considered for Dr. Hans Fallada.
** Creator/MichaelCaine was originally offered the role of [[TheDanza Colonel Colin Caine]]. Cannon tried to get Creator/AnthonyHopkins, who turned it down; then the film company thought they had a deal with Creator/TerenceStamp but for some reason that fell through. Creator/ColinBaker, Creator/PaulDarrow, Creator/JonFinch, Creator/MartinShaw and Creator/PeterVaughan were also considered. Michael Gothard also came close to being cast.
** Creator/JimBroadbent, Creator/PaulDarrow, Creator/JonFinch and Creator/MichaelKitchen were considered for Kelly.
** Creator/JimBroadbent was considered for the Brash Guard.
** Creator/PeterVaughan was considered for the Fatherly Guard.
** Creator/NicholasCourtney was considered for the Pathologist.
** Creator/PaulDarrow was considered for Lamson.
** Hooper tried to cast Music/BillyIdol as the Second Vampire, but his touring dates conflicted with the shooting schedule.
** Creator/PeterCapaldi was considered for Rawlings.
** Creator/OliviaHussey was initially cast as Ellen, but dropped out after mistakenly believing she would be playing the nude Space Girl. Creator/ElisabethSladen was considered for both roles.
** Creator/ElisabethSladen, Creator/JanetFielding and Creator/MarinaSirtis were considered for the Space Girl.
** Fallada and Bukovsky were both originally intended to be German, but were changed to British due to Frank Finlay and Michael Gothard acting as vocal coaches to Matilda May, who did not speak English.
** The film was supposed to have a TomatoInTheMirror ending by having one of the protagonists revealed as a space vampire. It would have worked, too, if this didn't contradict the rest of the movie.
* Michael Gothard was very close to being cast as Col. Colin Caine, and was eager to play the part after being relegated to smaller roles throughout his career. However, the role was given to Firth and Gothard was given Bukovsky. According to friends and family of Gothard, losing out on the part put Gothard into a deep depression.
* WorkingTitle: ''The Space Vampires'', same as the book. Cannon changed it because they wanted it to be a blockbuster and didn't want it to sound like one of their exploitation films.
!General Trivia
* Creator/GoNagai, highly prolific manga artist, TropeCodifier of FanService in anime and manga and creator of ''Anime/MazingerZ'', ''Manga/{{Devilman}}'', ''Manga/KekkoKamen'' and ''Anime/CuteyHoney'' among other, is said to have been greatly impressed with Creator/MathildaMay. Given the uncanny resemblance that Mathilda possesses to the heroines of Nagai's works, namely Sayaka Yumi from ''Mazinger Z'' and Jun Fudo from ''Manga/DevilmanLady'' and the fact she portraits an impossible powerful nude female that attacks men with reckless abandon, a very noticeable instance of AuthorAppeal in his works, one can see why.
* Frank Finlay was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire during the filming of this film.
* Frank Finlay plays a character similar to Abraham Van Helsing. In the 1977 version of Count Dracula, Finlay did play the Van Helsing role.
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