Message From Space
Its a Japanese ripoff of Star Wars that so desperately needs riffed. It came out at the height of the Star Wars craze and actually had some effort put into it with some big, fancy sets (and a lot of small, crappy sets). It had Vic Marrow as a drunk general and Sonny Chiba (who's first role was in Invasion of the Neptune Men!) as a samurai prince named Hans (Hans?).
There are cheesy nuggets all around, like the weird, terrifying dancers in the bar, the old woman and her alien son who looks like a reject from V: The Final Battle, Beba 2 the robotic version of Short Round, and the whole thing about magic nuts leading the main characters on a quest to save the people who worship the magic nuts. Also, silver face painted aliens wearing Ronin Warrior outfits are the bad guys.
The effects are horribly funny, with model bashed planes on strings just whipping around like a inept shop teacher trying his hand at teaching history lessons. A lot of the effects look like they were made with LSD in mind.
Daniel Jackson
shared this idea
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tsarstepan commented
Space jerks? Cosmic walnuts? Stock footage? Yes, please.
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Brian Semon
commented
This has to happen. It's 7 Samurai and Star Wars all rolled into one and so unintentionally hilarious and cheesy. I'm watching it right now and googled to see if it's been riffed because I've been making jokes about it to myself while watching lol
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Jake
commented
Reasons to do this movie:
Fine insults like calling someone "stupid idiot" or "banana".
Excellent Midi tracks of space surf music.
Beautiful women presented in ways that make them totally unappealing.
Luke's theme from star wars but changed one note away from a lawsuit.
Even though these people have advanced technology they are most afraid of quicksand.
Siting backwards in chairs like bosses.
Robuts.
Flying space nuts.
Freaking laser whips.
A pompy "bad guy song" that loops whenever "bad guy stuff" happens.
So many miniatures where harmed in the making of this film, we owe it to them.
Never mind, it's terrible, don't do it. -
Trish Pellerito commented
Message from Space just scream’s “Riff Me Baby”. Where to start with this Star Wars wannabe? Is it the haunting French horn from an otherwise corny music track? Nope! It’s the glowing walnuts… Rotten robots, Vic Morrow’s special Iron Chef military costume and his 4th Dr. Who/Obiwan casual wear, it’s the young Jersey Boy and Asian Kid heroes who fly around in washing machine hose draped space ship cockpits like the Dukes of Hazard, the silver slathered villains from Ultraman and their putty nosed witch queen in the souped up wheel chair. And let’s not forget the space going galleon full of Japanese Ewok-plant people. Oh Toei Studios, I do luv ya!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSKA-WRa6lM -
Anonymous
commented
Wasn't the guy from Alien Nation: the series, and Robot Jox in this?
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Rod Martinez
commented
Well, this one will Riff itself. Released about a year after the original Star Wars movie, this is the Japanese knock-off we've all been making fun of for a couple decades now.... it even has glowing walnuts!
Time for the pros to hit this one... -
James
commented
I'd love to see a riff of this movie! It is a blatant Start Wars knock-off, true, to the point that the female lead's theme music is hauntingly similar to Princess Leia's.
It has all the hallmarks of 70's Japanese science fiction movies: bizarre plot with incomprehensible twists, over-the-top acting, spaceship models on strings, moons with rocket motors strapped to them for propulsion, space-faring wooden galleons... it's all there!
Oh yeah, and magic glowing walnuts that fly across the galaxy to find heroes.
Yet at the end of it all, you find yourself feeling good about having watched the movie. For all its cheese and knock-offery, it actually is an entertaining movie.
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Eegah
commented
Definitely riffable!
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evilshady
commented
This Star Wars rip off is begging for it!