Verdict
Summary
Hardware Wars is a 13-minute spoof trailer that recaps Star Wars in its entirety, focusing on all the best moments of the blockbuster, sometimes with spot-on effect.
Plot:
The galaxy is having a whole other kind of “star wars” …
Review:
Darph Nader and his legion of automated drone trashcans are terrorizing the galaxy, and a young “Red Eye Knight” named Fluke Starbucker joins forces with an old sage named Augie Ben Doggie to answer the call of the Princess Anne-Droid (whose hair has baked swirls on each side) whose planet Basketball was destroyed by Nader. In order to get to her, they enlist slacker pilot Ham Salad and his sidekick Chuke-Chilla, a muppet, to fly them to Nader’s base. Oh, and don’t forget about the tin man 4-Q-2 and the little rolling robot Artie Deco who get in on the spoofing.
Hardware Wars is a 13-minute spoof trailer that recaps Star Wars in its entirety, focusing on all the best moments of the blockbuster, sometimes with spot-on effect. The lightsabers are high-powered Maglite flashlights that look remarkable in a foggy setting, and some of the comedy bits are fun. The entire thing is a gag, but it’s notable for being the very first spoof of Star Wars and it received some notoriety for being such. It’s a shame they didn’t do it as a feature because if these short 13 minutes proved anything, it’s that they were onto something. From Ernie Fosselius, who was one of the founding members of Danny Elfman’s Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo.
It’s remarkable that MVD released this as part of their Rewind Collection … while the film itself is only 13 minutes, the disc comes with a bunch of bonus features that eclipse the film’s length by leaps and bounds. This is really a release of hardcore Star Wars fans, but I’m not entirely sure anyone else would care. It’s a bit of a time capsule oddity at best.
Bonus Materials
- Brand new 2K HD transfer from the only known surviving element, a 16mm Reversal Release print presented in its original 1.33:1 aspect ratio
- LPCM 2.0 Stereo Audio
- Original Mono Audio
- Optional English Subtitles
- Audio Commentary with Writer / Director Ernie Fosselius
- ‘Hardware Wars’ Directors Cut (10:15, SD)
- ‘Hardware Wars’ Prequel featurette (05:23, SD)
- ‘Hardware Wars’ Foreign Version (11:19, SD)
- 1978 Creature Features Interview with Writer / Director Ernie Fosselius (12:12, SD)
- ‘Hardware Wars Saves Christmas’ featurette (06:09. SD)
- Awards Reel (01:08, SD)
- ‘Hardware Wars’ Trailer (SD)
- “Porklips Now” (21:38, SD) 1980 parody of “Apocalypse Now” from director Ernie Fosselius
- “Plan 9.1 From Outer Space” (20:46, SD) 2009 parody remake of “Plan 9 From Outer Space” with puppets from director Ernie Fosselius
- Reversible Artwork
- Collectible Mini-Poster
- Limited Edition Slipcover (First Pressing Only)
