BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS was Roger Corman's answer to STAR WARS -- even though the screenplay by John Sayles was patterned after THE SEVEN SAMURAI -- and his highest budgeted production at the time of its release (reportedly $2 million). It's also the only one of his films to be marketed with a View-Master tie-in. We can't post any of the 3-D pictures, but below is the booklet that was issued with the packet (In the absence of the View-Master reels, you can refer to the DVD when taking the spaceship test at the end). And for our friends in the Great White North, there was a French language version of this pack issued for the Canadian market. Good luck finding one!
That's so cool. I have my ViewMaster collection here by my side, with my electric model that has its own light source inside (but doesn't talk). I don't have this particular reel set or many movies (The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai... being an exception) but lots of old TV, from Daniel Boone and Star Trek to Lost in Space and UFO, as well as studio lot tour and Hollywood Wax Museum reels. What a world that was to escape into back during the often scary 1970s. Nobody was drunk inside your ViewMaster.
ReplyDeleteI still have my LAND OF THE GIANTS and VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA ViewMaster sets back in NY. The scariest was definitely PEE WEE'S PLAYHOUSE -- Jhombi in 3D was definitely sumpthin' else! You've made me jones to hear Hank Fonda call out: "Geeeeeeeeeeeeeyayefffffffff!"
ReplyDeleteHmmmm....did the ViewMaster edition of BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS opt to leave Sybil Danning out?
ReplyDeleteI have that Pee-Wee set, too, but I've never looked at it. Too afraid, I guess. John Paragon definitely has a face for 2D.
ReplyDeleteYou got it, Robert! Not a sign of Sybil anywhere in the packet. Heck, they don't even give us a nice full-on 3-D shot of the spaceship's rack!
ReplyDeleteArbo, we still have all of our View-Masters here in the Temple library: FAT ALBERT, JOE FORRESTER, METEOR, ELECTRAWOMAN AND DYNA-GIRL, PEANUTS, the animated STAR TREK series, KUNG FU, PIPPI LONGSTOCKING, THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE, MOONRAKER, all of the live-action Disney films of the '70s, etc. When I was in the Southwest last November I picked up a few travel sets. Sadly, it was announced recently that View-Master wre no longer produce the sightseeing reels.
I do still have some travel sets and one or two of NASA missions. I know I have BATMAN, KING KONG, the animated versions of SUPERMAN and FLASH GORDON, and G.I. JOE. Possibly a few others but I gave some away a few years back.
ReplyDeleteGosh, I would love to have had one of the talking Viewmasters! Mine were the plastic ones from the 90's. I had a few of them, and all my reels were Disney movies. It would be pretty cool to see these vintage reels in action though. Did you know they're still making Viewmasters up to this day?
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