Starship Invasions

Infobox Film
name = Starship Invasions


image_size = 200px
caption =
director = Ed Hunt
producer = Ed Hunt
writer = Ed Hunt
narrator =
starring = Robert Vaughn
Christopher Lee
music =
cinematography =
editing =
distributor = Warner Bros.
released = 14 October 1977 (U.S.)
25 November 1977 (Toronto, Canada) ["The Globe and Mail", as per movie listings around this date.]
runtime = 89 minutes
country = CAN
language = English
budget = $1 000 000
gross =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
website =
amg_id = 1:46683
imdb_id = 0076760

"Starship Invasions" is a 1977 Canadian science fiction film produced by Ed Hunt and filmed at Toronto, Ontario.

Production and release

The film began production under the title "Alien Encounters", and a previous working title was "War of the Aliens". Hal Roach Studios producers Earl A. Glick and Norman Glick bankrolled the production with $1 million.cite news | publisher="The Globe and Mail" | title=No more cheap sex films, Hunt is big budget now | date=10 December 1977 | page=34 | first=Robert | last=Martin ] However, that title closely resembled the 1977 blockbuster "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", thus prompting the film to be retitled "Starship Invasions" for release.

"Starship Invasions" was released in VHS format by Warner Home Video. [ [http://www.amazon.com/Starship-Invasions-Robert-Vaughn/dp/6302676851 "Starship Invasions" (VHS) info on Amazon.com] ] It was also released in 1987 on video in the United Kingdom by Krypton Force under the title "Project Genocide". [ [http://www.bbfc.co.uk/website/Classified.nsf/0/0705C996B2CC7C178025660B002D00D2?OpenDocument "Project Genocide" at BBFC] ]

Its French-language title was "L'invasion des soucoupes volantes". [http://www.rcq.qc.ca/RCQ212AfficherFicheTech.asp?intNoFilm=16143 "L'invasion des soucoupes volantes" ("Starship Invasions") at Regie du Cinema Quebec] ]

ynopsis

The plot concerns the Legion of the Winged Serpent, a rogue group of human-like aliens led by Captain Rameses (Christopher Lee) who wish to invade Earth with their fleet of flying saucers before life on their own planet becomes untenable due to the fact that their sun is about to go supernova.

They plan to kill all humans on Earth through the use of an orbiting transmitter whose signals prompt people to commit suicide. Opposing this plan is the Intergalactic League of Races, another highly advanced group of bald, big-headed aliens based in a golden pyramid deep beneath Earth's ocean.

Due to acts of assassination and sabotage that leaves their robots destroyed, their forces depleted and their base in enemy hands, the League of Races seeks help from UFO expert Professor Allan Duncan (Robert Vaughn) to save the Earth. Their efforts culminate in a battle between the League and Rameses' saucers deep in space.

Critical reception

Toronto "Globe and Mail" reviewer Robert Martin panned "Alien Invasions", likening the film to "those dubbed Japanese movies usually seen on Saturday afternoon television".cite news | title=Alien futures market active | publisher="The Globe and Mail" | date=30 November 1977 | page=F9]

Trivia

None of the aliens in this film are shown speaking, rather their voices are dubbed in to simulate telepathy.Interestingly enough, many elements of the film, including the design of the robots and the Winged Serpent emblem the black-clad villains wear, are taken from actual UFO accounts (see "The Field Guide To Extraterrestrials" by Patrick Huyghe, Avon Books, 1996 for examples).

Cast

* Robert Vaughn as Professor Allan Duncan
* Christopher Lee as Captain Rameses
* Daniel Pilon as Anaxi
* Tiiu Leek as Phi
* Helen Shaver as Betty Duncan
* Henry Ramer as Malcolm
* Victoria Johnson as Gazeth
* Doreen Lipson as Dorothy
* Kate Parr as Diane Duncan
* Sherri Ross as Sagnac
* Linda Rennhofer as Joan
* Richard Fitzpatrick as Joe
* Ted Turner as Zhender
* Sean McCann as Carl
* Bob Warner as an Air Force General

References

External links

* [http://www.canuxploitation.com/review/starship.html "Starship Invasions" at Canuxploitation]
*rotten-tomatoes|starship_invasions