Star Wars Copies From the 1970s

When Star Wars came out in 1977, it was an immediate monster hit. Filmmakers everywhere, but especially in Italy, sat up and noticed. If the audience wants a space Western, that's what they'll get! But we had already seen space adventures for many years, so what was it about Star Wars that people loved so much? A series of movies were churned out that tried to emulate Star Wars as best they could, going so far as to rip off character designs and plot lines from a galaxy far, far away. The most famous of these knockoffs was Starcrash, an Italian film with movie stars and space battles, but not much else. 

Evan Puschak looks at the phenomena of low budget Star Wars wannabe movies, and hones in on exactly what they were missing. Which any moviegoer who saw Star Wars on a big screen in 1977 knows to be true. This video is only seven minutes long; the rest is an ad. (via kottke)