DARK STAR (1974) Novelization By Alan Dean Foster

First, a confession: I have this book somewhere in my collection, but I don't believe I've ever read it. That said, I'm glad I own a copy (and will read it, one of these days), because I just love the fact that 70s sci-fi superscribe Alan Dean Foster not only penned the novelizations of the screenplays to Star Wars, Alien, The Black Hole and a bunch of Star Trek animated episodes, but the offbeat, satirical Dark Star, too! (Oddly, the British posters for the movie actually credit Foster for the film story, which of course, was written by John Carpenter & Dan O'Bannon...)

The prolific science fiction author Foster actually appeared on VCI Entertainment's special "Hyperdrive" edition DVD  in an interview segment (also included with the more recent Blu-ray version) where he discusses how he came to write the novel and his thoughts on the film that inspired it. Over the course of the segment, he also discusses his career, specifically how he came to become the "go-to guy" for genre film tie-in paperbacks.

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND: SPECIAL EDITION (1980) Lobby Cards

Today, we've got a batch of lobby cards from the 1980 "Special Edition" release of Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters Of The Third Kind. Columbia's marketing department basically stuck with the most iconic shots from the previous release of the film - no doubt because of their familiarity - and supplemented the package with a couple of stills from the new footage. After all these years, though, that image above still gives me a thrill. Enjoy!

BUCK ROGERS (1979) Mediascene Cover By Steranko

Issue #34 of Jim Steranko's Mediascene tabloid magazine was a "Science Fiction Preview" issue, with coverage of Space: 1970 favorites Meteor, The Shape Of Things To Come, and... Buck Rogers. Here's a snapshot of Steranko's terrific cover illustration of the heroic Captain Rogers and friends/enemies!

THE HUMANOID (1979) Trade Ad

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Not too long ago, I finally got my mitts on a copy of The Humanoid, the Italian Star Wars knock-off starring Richard Kiel, Barbara Bach and Corinne Clery. I'd wanted to see it for years, and surprisingly, I was not disappointed.

While not quite as gleefully bonkers as other International space operas produced in the cosmic wake of George Lucas' box office megahit (I'm looking at you, Starcrash and Message from Space), The Humanoid does have its own Continental charms. It's also surprisingly watchable, with some cool production design and neat-looking spaceships. Of course, the shadow of Wars hangs over all of it (especially the archvillain's Vader-esqe helmet/costume), but there are some unique elements buried in there to enjoy as well. It's good, dumb fun.

Here's Ttitanus Studios' ad, printed in the May 17th, 1978 issue of Variety, announcing the Aldo Lado-directed (under the Anglicized nom de plume, "George B. Lewis") interstellar epic to the motion picture trade. Columbia Pictures ultimately picked it up for distribution in many International territories... but not the U.S., where it still has never received a legitimate theatrical or home video release.

More German PLANET OF THE APES Novelizations

Escape From The Planet Of The Apes

A while back, I posted the covers of several German paperback editions of some of the Planet Of The Apes television show novelizations by George Alec Effinger. The artwork on those covers was pretty wild. Well, here are the same publishers' editions of the Escape From The Planet Of The Apes (1971) by acclaimed science fiction author Jerry Pournell, and Battle for The Planet Of The Apes (1973) by David Gerrold.

Battle For The Planet Of The Apes

As with those previously-showcased covers, these illustrations are delightfully lurid, and have a certain primitive charm. Interestingly, though the scenes depicted don't seem to be derived from those particular films/novels, at least this time the German artist(s) got the apes' outfits (mostly) right - unlike the weird, Civil War cavalry outfits the simians sported on the other set of covers!

CAPTAIN AMERICA (1979)

As it is Independence Day here in the United States, I figured it was time to finally post something here at Space: 1970 about the two 1979 Captain America TV movies, starring Reb Brown (Yor) as the star-spangled avenger.  Fortunately, I had this missive from loyal Star Kid Jason Shepherd in my e-mailbox, and I thought it would serve nicely, so:

Attached are some pictures from the 1979 CBS Captain America movies. Since Space:1970 has started covering TV superheroes of the era, I figured you might want these.

These movies represent a unique frustration for me.  Captain America has always been my favorite superhero, and I realize how lucky Cap fans were to see these movies, but... it stings that they're not very good.  Clearly they were less inspired by the comics and more by the then-contemporary Six Million Dollar Man series, including giving Cap an Oscar Goldman-like boss and a unique sound effect when he used his super-strength.

If Captain America had made the transition from TV movies to TV series, would it have been very good?  I like to think it could have become a decent series.  Reb Brown would have had a chance to stretch his acting chops a bit, grow into the role.  They would have to settle on a format that allowed for more action -- more fights, less motorcycle-riding (a weak point of the TV movies!)  While they likely wouldn't have been able to do TV versions of Cap's classic Rogue's Gallery, hopefully they would have invented some decent foes for Cap instead of run-of-the-mill crooks and spies.

Me again: I don't think I actually saw the two Captain America TV movies when they originally aired, although I did eventually pick up a VHS copy of Captain America II: Death Too Soon in the 90s, and I own the double feature DVD now. But I do remember that my friends who had seen them were very upset about the costume changes and revamped origin story. When I watched the two telefilms on DVD a while back, I personally found it difficult to get too worked up about either change (although the costume in the first movie was really bad!).

Yeah, they're silly movies and deviate substantially from Marvel Comics lore and legend, but they're entertainingly silly, and that's enough for me.

July's Space Babe: Jean-Marie Hon

July's Space Babe is pretty Jean-Marie Hon, who co-starred in two Space: 1970 favorites: Ark II and Man From Atlantis. On the Saturday morning Filmation series, Ark II, Jean-Marie portrayed the youthful and idealistic scientist Ruth, who traveled a post-Holocaust America with her equally-idealistic companions Jonah, Samuel, and talking chimp, Adam, bringing technological and humanitarian aid to the scattered remnants of civilization. On Man From Atlantis, she was Jane, communications officer aboard the advanced research submarine, Cetacean, providing back-up support for aqua-mariner Mark Harris's undersea adventures.

I've been able to find out very little about the lovely Ms Hon online. She was born in 1955 in San Francisco, and acted on television from 1976 (Ark II) through 1985, appearing in TV movies and in guest shots on shows like Hawaii 5-0 and The Hardy Boys. According to what little I've been able to uncover in my Internet safaris, she retired from acting to raise a family and became a pharmacist. She appeared in the supplemental interview material on the Ark II DVD set from BCI a few years back, and still looked beautiful.

THE LAST DINOSAUR (1977) TV Guide Ad

Let's kick off a new week (and month) with another vintage TV Guide ad, shall we?

I have very vivid memories of watching The Last Dinosaur when it premiered on American television back in 1977. I was quite enthralled with the plot, which posited a prehistoric jungle hidden in an Antarctic volcanic crater (I hadn't seen 1957's The Land Unknown then), and the Godzilla-styled, "suitmation" dinosaurs. Hell, I still dig the Rankin/Bass - Tsuburaya Productions co-production, and bought the movie a year or two back on Warner Archive's uncut DVD (reviewed HERE).

STARCRASH (1978) Deleted Quicksand Scene

Watching Luigi Cozzi's deliriously over-the-top (and endlessly entertaining) 1978 space opera Starcrash, it's hard to imagine that anything was cut out. It is simply so jam-packed with action and low budget spectacle, the mind boggles when it's learned that a prominent setpiece was left on the cutting room floor.

In the finished film, immediately following the curvaceous Stella Star's (Caroline Munro) escape from the Imperial prison, she flees through a marsh-like area where she comes across a spaceship conveniently waiting for her. Originally, though, the scene was to play out with her being pursued by armored guards and falling into a deadly quicksand pit! Another close call for space smuggler Stella!

I can't imagine that poor Caroline was pleased to see the scene excised from the finished flick, especially since, from these rare stills, it looks like it was probably a pretty unpleasant couple of day's shooting for the scantily-clad sci-fi siren!

Coming Attractions: HANGAR 18 (1980) TV Spots

James L. Conway's 1980 UFO conspiracy thriller for Sunn Classics, Hangar 18, was released today on Blu-ray and DVD by Olive Films. As I've said, I missed it in the theaters when I was a teen, but I do remember seeing these commercials for the movie. They certainly piqued my interest! I kinda adore how the first spot above tries to pass it off as a documentary.

News: HANGAR 18 (1980) On Blu-ray/DVD This Week!

Yikes! Here's another Space: 1970-era HD release that nearly slipped by me! Anyway, the 1980 Sunn Classics UFO conspiracy film, Hangar 18, starring Darren McGavin, Robert Vaughn and Gary Collins, is being released tomorrow on Blu-ray and DVD, courtesy of Olive Films. There's very little info out there on this release, but it does look like it's a new, 1080p HD 1.85:1 widescreen transfer, though no extras are listed.

I missed Hangar 18 at the theater in 1980, but I did catch up with it a year or so ago on Netflix Instant. While certainly no Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, with some pretty unimpressive, low budget special effects, it was still an enjoyable flick, due, in no small part, to its familiar cast of professional character actors.

Even though this disc - like Olive's other Blu-ray releases - is a little more expensive than I'd like, I still hope to be adding it to my video library soon. It should be in stores tomorrow, or you can order it online from Amazon: Hangar 18 [Blu-ray] or Hangar 18 (DVD).

UPDATE: I've now discovered (because I finally went to the Olive Films website!) that this edition includes a bonus feature after all: a commentary track with director James L. Conway (The Boogens) and writer David O'Malley. That sweetens the deal a bit.

UPDATE 2: ...or maybe not. The review that appeared today at Blu-ray.com claims there are no bonus features on this disc. I guess I'll have to see for myself once I get my hands on it.

UPDATE 3: Having now purchased my own copy, I can confirm that, despite the info on the Olive Films website, the released Blu-ray does not include the promised commentary track, nor any other supplemental features. Oh well. The transfer is very decent, however. There are quite a few specks on the print, but the image is sharp and well-delineated, colors are bright and stable, and the overall presentation is quite satisfactory. If you can find it at a discount (as I did), it's worth picking up.

LOGAN'S RUN (1977) CBS TV Series Promo

From 1977, here's a long (four and a half minute) promo for the CBS Logan's Run television series, consisting entirely of footage from the premiere episode. In fact, it's pretty much a Reader's Digest-styled condensed version of that pilot film!

I'm not entirely certain if this promo was actually broadcast, or was only shown to affiliates and advertisers.