Tuesday, December 11, 2012

THE HUMANOID (1979) Lobby Cards

The one European Star Wars rip-off that continues to elude me is 1979's The Humanoid, starring Richard Kiel (The Spy Who Loved Me, Moonraker), Barbara Bach (The Spy Who Loved Me), and Corinne Clery (Moonraker).

I've read a lot about the movie over the years, and while I'm sure it's pretty cheap-looking and shamelessly derivative (just look at that Darth Vader clone!), I also suspect that it might have an eccentric 70's, Starcrash/Message from Space-type charm that would appeal to my arrested adolescent tastes. C'mon - it's got a robot dog! And Jaws! And a couple of Bond girls! In any case, it's a flick that I still want to see for myself one of these days.

I've occasionally come across gray market DVDs of the film being sold online, but I'm hesitant to spend money on something when I have no idea how it's going to look and no legal recourse if I'm dissatisfied. So... I guess I'll just have to keep hoping that some niche DVD outfit picks it up and releases a good quality, authorized version one day (preferably in English!).

In the meantime, I can keep looking at these mysterious lobby cards and keep wondering what I'm missing...


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10 comments:

  1. UnknownDecember 11, 2012 at 5:37 AM

    Its a hugely enjoyable film and lovely to look at. Definitely has Star Crash charm although probably not as nutty/fun as S.C. There is a very funny Humanoid-Star wars comparison here http://www.golobthehumanoid.com/vstarwars.html

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  2. JeremyDecember 11, 2012 at 5:57 AM

    Looks like that fansite uploaded the whole thing up on youtube, if you have the patience to watch it in 15 different parts

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  3. KonsumterraDecember 11, 2012 at 10:13 AM

    i loved it in cinema when i was a kid - vampire machine, laser archers, many weird ideas - feels italian - i would like to see again too.

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  4. jasonDecember 11, 2012 at 7:34 PM

    Wow, I haven't even heard of that one, and I thought I knew about all the Star Wars ripoffs of the day...good luck finding it, and if you do, I look forward to hearing your report!

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  5. GWDecember 12, 2012 at 12:21 AM

    Its funny I was just thinking about this movie a couple of days ago,it and starcrash are definitely the best of the italian post star wars films,the other side of the coin would be the Al Bradley/Alfonso Brescia trilogy War of the robots/War of the planets/Star Odyssey
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFXkKPJMhTA

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  6. shintokamikazeDecember 12, 2012 at 4:30 PM

    The movie is on youtube

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    Replies
    1. Christopher MillsDecember 12, 2012 at 4:34 PM

      I tried to watch it on YouTube - I can't watch anything longer than 10 minutes on my computer before my head starts to hurt. I can't read books on my computer screen, either.

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  7. AnonymousDecember 13, 2012 at 1:28 AM

    I'd like to see it released on disc, too. If you'd like to watch it from youtube, though, download the parts, and use a joiner program to stitch them together and burn it to DVD to watch on your TV, if you don't mind the extra effort. It might make a serviceable copy until it is released officially somewhere.

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  8. PlaidstallionsDecember 13, 2012 at 10:39 AM

    This played at like 2am once when I was in college, it had a reputation then so I stayed up and watched it. I couldn't make it all the way through...

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  9. Metal MarkDecember 13, 2012 at 11:56 AM

    Just saw it recently. A seller on eBay sells a decent looking copy. It's a fun movie. I hope to review it at my site in the next couple of weeks.
    http://scifihorrorfantasy.wordpress.com/

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