Starship Invasions (1977) watch online HD

I have to agree with the people who say this movie's bad, but disagree with the ones who say it isn't so bad it's good. This movie is completely hilarious! I can only hope warner pulled SI out of distribution because they're working on a 30th anniversary DVD edition with lots of making-of featurettes where the director details how much crack he was on while he was making it. (It's out of circulation now and amazingly it's going for 150 bucks on amazon, this movie. Fortunately my video store happens to have an old copy.) Wait till you see the part with the pocket calculator! In this movie a guy uses a 70s style pocket calculator to compute flightpaths for a flying saucer. I rather would have thought that interplanetary trajectories would be a bit complicated for a pocket calculator, but what do I know? I remember when SI came out pocket calculators were a huge fad, along with digital watches. Everybody was all, now we can finally achieve world peace, because there are pocket calculators.

And the overacting family in the huge car! "look! it's a flying saucer! For god's sake DON'T MAKE THEM ANGRY!!" And the robots who look like trash cans...

And the sadistic kid who squashes the tomato...

Believe it or not I remember seeing this thing 29 years ago when it came out. I was all, wow, that really sucked, mommy. And my mom was like, yeah, I don't know what to tell you. So hilariously stupid and trashy. it's got goofy flying saucers, lots and lots of cheesecake, christopher lee losing every scrap of his dignity, tons of mind-controlled people acting really zombified and stupid, space battles that look like they were lifted straight out of "mars attacks!", possibly the most ridiculous costumes of all time, and the real coup de grace -- one actually extraordinarily talented actress (Helen Shaver, the wife of the UFO researcher guy) caught in the middle of it all, trying valiantly to salvage this whole mess. oh, and the soundtrack kicks. and yet is completely inappropriate for the subject matter.

I know, I know, you probably didn't find this review helpful.

While there's no denying the poor production value and cheap special effects (this is a B movie, after all); I feel the story behind this movie has some value. The motivation of the bad guys is well established. They are not simply evil, but are in a bit of a tight spot themselves. Also, the primary method they use to achieve their goal (a suicide ray) is rather chilling. The use of telepathic communication between the aliens was a nice touch. The cheesiness of this film can easily be embraced as enjoyable camp. It's not a great film, but I think you'll find that it sticks with you after you watch it. The story is fairly rich, with lots of details and connections filled in along the way. It truly has some meat to it. I first saw it as a kid while growing up. Now, over 25 years later, I finally tracked it down and watched it again. I'm still charmed by it.

For years I had hoped to run across this film again as I find that certain images of the flying saucers have stuck in my imagination throughout my adult life. Actual recollections of storyline are nil as it seemed to be crude in its storytelling but my impression is that for whatever reason I believe this to be an important film in terms of its longterm effect on the impressionable minds (like mine at the time) who watched it on its release. Robert Vaughn who so memorably appeared in other low budget films (notably Teenage Caveman, a Corman classic), adds to the overall impression that here was something to be enjoyed throughout ones life. Despite its obvious flaws, you should overlook the films limitations and enjoy the fact that here is a film that at its core is about flying saucers. Apart from Forbidden Planet, no other film has remained with me with such a powerful grip on my imagination.

I remember seeing this during Passover Holidays (easter) at my local cinema. It was marketed as a 'Star Wars' knock-off. I picked it up 20 years later in a 2nd hand bin on VHS. THIS FILM IS HILARIOUS DRECK!! Basically this race of aliens try to take over the Earth by mind control by causing earthlings to commit suicide!! Mixing UFO nonsense with ludicrous 'Star Wars' mythology and some demented ideas, I will never forget sitting in a cinema full of teens and pre-teens, and watching in horror as the main actress has her mind controlled, and she proceeds to slash her wrists! Kids were screaming in horror, and the projectionist had to stop the film!! It was truly one of those classic cinema experiences that people just don't experience in today's disgusting cineplex wasteland!

A film with some great special effects shots and a few not so great. A film with neat ideas yet, crisp film cinematography and color. This is one of those popcorn and coke matinee films which i saw a zillion times when it ran on WGN and WKBD in syndication. The film features well known actors. In another version i thought I read CHRISTOPHER LEE says his lines. There may have been another version. STARSHIP INVASIONS came out as a "b" movie yet garnered a cult following on tv. It also was one of those post star wars films that capitalized off ufo myths tied in with ancient astronaughts like HANGAR 18. All of this makes for a fun story and has been fodder for years for writers searching for fiction story material. With some revamping the film could have been better. I sense budgetary constraints. As a boy I liked it and loved the escapism. Fans of older science fiction will enjoy this piece for a fun afternoon or evening. Fans of LARENCE OF ARABIA don't expect DAVID LEAN quality here. Expect escapism.

HI,

Practically every thing in the movie was taken from UFO encounters of some sort reported through the previous years.

Whether it was the type of uniform, the insignia, the concept of guardians, the type and location (somewhat) of the base, etc. you get the idea, was made to resemble UFO contact reported information.

For me the most catching part of the movie was when one of the robots said "I think I can." when responding to a request for assistance from a guardian vessel under attack.

It came out shortly after one of the star wars movies and was labeled in the press as a "star wars" ripoff wannabe.

Some trivia: Parts of Starship Invasions was filmed on the campus of the University of Toronto, in particular some of the UFO scenes were shot on the grounds of the then-new Robarts Library, facing the also very new Innis College (where Marshall McLuhan was teaching) In this film, Robert Vaughn basically plays the part of Dr. Ernie Seaquist, dean of Astrophysics at the U of T, and who, at that time, had pinned to the cork board outside his office a double page spread from the National Enquirer with an article quoting Prof. Seaquist and sporting the banner title with something like, "U of T Professor says there IS life in outer space" -- he said a journalist had called one day, asked him that question, so he explained the Drake Equation and how space was so unimaginably large, he'd be very surprised if we were alone.

Sure enough, his quote does appear in the two-page article. As the last line. We were told in the Astrophysics dept that our projects could be on any subject, "Except astrology and UFOs."

I saw this film once on afternoon television in the late 70's . I've never seen it screened, rented or sold since. It seems to have sank into obscurity. I remember being disturbed in parts, so as bad as it may be, it could be provocative for ten year old latch key children, home alone in the late 70's. One interesting thing to note, reading the plot summary offered at IMDb, I've seen some of the same elements in UFO abduction lore & accounts. There are some who believe that there has been an extraterrestrial culture occupying the bowels of the Earth for some time, a federation of races I believe, that use this symbol of the winged serpent as their identifying mark. Some believe that this federation ultimately does want control of the Earth and humanity, and will reveal themselves following some type of cosmic or nuclear calamity on the Earth. Also, the ability to exert remote and irresistible control of the human brain through superior technology is a theme I've read frequently in reports, as well as this film's attention to the commonly reported telepathic ability of the ET's. I mention this because it seems like most cinema avoids some of the more fantastic elements of abduction accounts, and concentrates on other elements to the point of cliché. X-files hit on a lot of themes one can find in the reports, to be sure. I'd like to see this movie again, for nostalgia's sake. Sadly this isn't the UFO lore Epic I want. I'd like to see some talented writer/director do for modern abduction accounts what Spielberg did in Close Encounters with Project Bluebook reports. Some of the stuff they predict/report is genuinely terrifying, like, the apocalypse of mankind. The stakes don't get any higher. Perfect for Hollywood. A rich vein for creative exploration and sadly this little low budget film is about as close as it gets at the moment.

"Starship Invasions" is an incredibly slow and underacted sci-fi film from Canada. While it stars Robert Vaughn and Christopher Lee, the rest of the cast are mostly unknowns. If I didn't know better, I would believe that the film's director gave all the actors downers before they began filming. This is because although the film is supposed to be a life or death tale about the invasion of the Earth, it's all so low energy and the acting is just too subdued....to the point where you start to wonder if it's a sci-fi zombie film!

So is there anything I really liked about this film? Well, there isn't much but I did like the makeup job on the huge-domed aliens-- they looked quite good considering the low budget. As for most of the rest of the aliens, however, they were just folks wearing silly black leotards. The robot that saves the day is even more ridiculous. Overall, the film has its moments but just not enough to recommend you watch it.

It was poopoo then, it Has to be poo poo now. Christopher Lee as a RamaTut Alien, bad F/X saucers, stuff right outta those goofy 'The Outer Space Connection/Chariots of the Gods' '70s UFO crap flix, etc. Even has Helen Shaver, a fat guy on a tractor, a cute brunette Alien nude chick and the Man from Uncle w/ his 9 buck Calculator saving the day. Def. one for the ages.

Where were Tom Servo and Cro when ya needed them?

* maybe. Real bad.

The film studio responsible for the old "OUR GANG" serials cranked out this science fiction film in 1977. The film, STARSHIP INVASIONS drew inspirations off of the wave of space warfare films coming out at that time. The film tells the tale of a ufo menace to earth that is combated by friendly aliens who ask humans for help. A fun point in the plot is the ERIC VON DRAKEN plot point involving hidden ufo bases and ancient astronauts. I don't believe this in real life it was as I said fun. The film was a good family movie and a great "pop corn and coke" film. The special effects at times were creative and others dreadful yet the film is worth viewing. I if you are into UFO lore you will like this film. The film plays like a modren incarnation of a old BUSTER CRABBE serial.

Saw this turkey in the theater when it came out, not long after "Star Wars", and it quickly became a "MST3" with audience participation. The tag line for this bomb was "Why did they come"? When a cast member said that line in the film, my buddy stood up and shouted "Why did WE come?" which had the whole theater doubled over with laughter. The only redeeming factors for this film were the sexy female aliens in skimpy costumes and the unintentional laughs. Well, that and the theater was still offering real butter (not butter-flavored vegetable oil) on the popcorn. If you intend to watch this movie, gather some like-minded friends and prepare them for making snippy comments about it. Adult beverages will probably help.

The movie started out promisingly enough. AN old farmer is chug chugging along in his dilapidated old tractor when a huge metal pie plate zooms over head. He gets beamed aboard and the next thing he knows he's sitting in what looks like Danish dentist's waiting room. A sexy. exotic alien beauty walks in , starkers, and looks the old boy up and down with a naughty grin on her face. Cut to a shot of the farmer breaking into a frightening, toothless grin

I remember thinking " If this is an invasion sign me up!"

Well, the rest of the movie wasn't quite so interesting.

I have no problem with the low budget. Lots of good movies have been made on a shoe string.

And the ideas were pretty good. Twist here, twist there. Without giving away spoilers the film had some thought behind it.

But everything about this movie is S-O L-O-W K-E-Y. It's not just the pacing. The color schemes are all beige and gray. The music is laid back and elevator style and nobody ever raises their voice, which is pretty uncommon for a movie about invading something.

Instead of feeling excited, and revved up, like I'd expect to feel while watching a movie called Starship Invasions, I felt kind of relaxed, even soothed. All I needed was a warm bath and some chamomile tea.

My parents took me to this movie when I was a kid. At the time, my parents and I had very little in common in terms of taste in movies -- I was a "Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang" and "Love Bug" kind of guy; they were into Woody Allen and French Cinema.

But when it came to this movie, for once, we agreed: It sucked.

It left such a sour taste that a couple of months later, they had to drag my brother and me literally kicking and screaming to the movie theater to see something called "Star Wars."

I gave it an extra star because Christopher Lee.

One of the worst movies ever made. Crap acting, plot, costumes, set designs, dialogue, character motivation, music, you name it, it sucks.

Christopher Lee is the worst. If you're looking for a movie to hate, this is it. A true pile of crap. FX sucks. The scientists wife and daughter sucks, the alien costume with the dragon on it with the silly helmet sucks. Very slow and stupid plot. Who are the people who made this movie? Did they know what they were creating? Maybe they liked it. Or knew it was crap but had to finish the job. In any case. It has to be one of the worst movies ever made. It had a budget. But it was blown on untalented losers. Home movies are better.

I remember the ads for this thing, and I remember not wanting to see it. And I remember when I finally saw it on a Sunday afternoon broadcast how it looked like it was shot in a suburb of the state capitol, and wondering why it was so poorly shot, and why the music and everything else looked so poor.

This film looks like it was thrown together at the last minute, and I think it's a safe bet that it was designed to compete with Star Wars, which, judging by the poor quality of this production, they expected to be another "Plan 9 from Outer Space". Well, "Star Wars" was much more than anything 1950s had to offer, and this movie all but vanished into the ether.

But it's like a man wonders who approves these films, and how they get made. Robert Vaughn, the professional that he is, was up for the job and so took it. But it's like no matter how much the cast puts their best foot forward the film itself was horribly shot. Zooms, hand held shots (before shaky cam became a thing), reliance on either natural lighting with 1970s film stock, and primitive tilts with medium shots, just bespeak of a movie that was thrown together at the last minute.

What's worse is that there are fans who like this garbage. That, I don't get. With the likes of 2001, Star Trek, Star Wars, the Planet of the Apes movies, Rod Serling's Twilight Zone TV series and everything else, ... it's like even the schlocky 1950's science fiction movies were better than this thing, and it makes one wonder how people who like good scifi come to like this movie and other junk like it. It does perplex one.

And yet an industry that was fraught with illegal drugs, an industry that necessitated you "know someone" to "get in", an industry whose self-appointed "guardians" flaunted nearly every law in California's code of justice, decides it's a good idea to make this junk.

The basic story could have been a winner. And indeed it was revisited in the likes of "The Last Starfighter" and one or two other films that had a cast, crew and budget that actually cared about the material. But B-movies like this thing just show how much some studio exec has control over what used to get shot and what doesn't.

I have to admit, I've often wondered whatever happened with this film, and now I have my answer. Between this and "Battle Beyond the Stars" it's a miracle that Lucas came to the fore and saved the genre.

Avoid this thing.

Apart from his stint among the ensemble of AIRPORT '77, 1977 was truly Annus Horribilis for Christopher Lee: his three genre efforts were easily among the worst exploitation outings of their vintage that I have come across! For the film under review, I sure hope that he did not accept it without even bothering to read the script – in the vain hope of matching the enormous success enjoyed by his frequent colleague Peter Cushing with the same year's STAR WARS (for the record, he would himself eventually join that most auspicious franchise – albeit with a quarter century's delay)!

Well, where to begin with this lamentable Canadian attempt at a space opera – which, more than actively ripping off the George Lucas blockbuster, takes a leaf (or two) from yet another 1977 sci-fi landmark, i.e. Steven Spielberg's CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND! In fact, here we have two sets of aliens, one which is evil and intent on destroying our planet (shades of Lee's own END OF THE WORLD, one of his afore-mentioned contemporaneous duds) and the other benign and seeking to thwart their plan (though, yet again, they still need to kidnap humans in order to have THEIR computer system fixed – WTF?!). To be fair to this one, it is not as deadly dull as the others – in fact, I ended up laughing out loud a number of times throughout!

Indeed, its unintentionally hilarious moments are perhaps too many to catalogue or remember even at a mere day's juncture, but I will try regardless: a dim-witted, middle-aged farmer is abducted and conditioned to engage in sexual intercourse with a voluptuous alien (which he cannot quite believe is happening to him!); the costume of the invaders looks like a full-body black condom (which Christopher Lee looks understandably miserable inhabiting – what is more, all the actors playing extraterrestrials have had to loop their lines in post-production, since the writer-producer-director apparently thought it cool to allow them to only voice their thoughts!); equally incomprehensible is the redundant presence of what can only be described as space escorts forever waiting in the wings – maybe they should have called the film STAR WHORES?!; a couple of inept intergalactic goons realize too late that their protective force-field was not switched on, so that they are blown to bits by the typically impulsive and paranoid U.S. military; hero Robert Vaughn (displaying a fixed baffled countenance throughout) is supposed to be an expert on UFOs, yet when one flies over his car he does not immediately notice it and has to be alerted to its presence by his kid daughter and, on realizing that he missed the all-important sighting, he just shrugs and keeps on driving; to recruit his computer whiz pal to the aliens' cause, he visits him one evening at home, yet this guy is still wearing his coat and tie as if they were his casual attire; the world's end comes by way of a suicide epidemic (not in itself a bad idea, but would it not just take too long to achieve?) triggered by a laser beam fired from way out in space; Vaughn's wife, depressed over his absence from home (she had already voiced her concern about how he was being unfaithful to her with UFOs!), goes from peeling onions for dinner to slashing her wrists in a split second; though supposedly emanating from outside our atmosphere, the spaceships are inexplicably seen emerging from the sea several times; Lee does very little here except press random buttons off a keyboard and aimlessly fiddle with knobs to feign his authority, check his wristwatch every now and again to God knows what ostensibly vital purpose, and operate the occasional flimsy ray gun (also worn on his wrist), etc.

Apparently, Lee himself though of STARSHIP INVASIONS as the nadir of his career…but, while I beg to differ (relatively speaking), it was certainly not a fluke of a low point! In ant case, it was shown under various titles to no effect: ALIEN ENCOUNTERS, ALIEN WARS and PROJECT GENOCIDE!

"Oh boy, a real flying saucer!" is what a little boys shouts when he and his parents are confronted with a mysterious space ship circling above their car on a secluded countryside road. I definitely shared his enthusiasm, because I truly worship cinematic B-trash like this, and my only regret was that I wasn't yet drunk enough when I watched "Starship Invasions". Although a low-keyed crossover between the hugely successful "Star Wars" and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", this piece of junk has quite a lot to offer. For example, it stars Christopher Lee in the most ridiculous and embarrassing outfit of his long and respectable career, hypnotizing aliens speaking without moving their lips, alien base camps underneath sea level, loads of sexy space wenches, authentic R2D2 robots (oh no, they're not men in suits AT ALL) and goofy intelligent beings with gigantic bald heads and miniature ears. I'm not at all sure what the plot is about, but it sure is incoherent and totally messed up. There are alien invaders trying to overtake planet earth, but at the same time these crazy beings are at war with other extraterrestrial species. I can't really say why because I always got distracted by random alien babes in too tight spandex costumes. Presumably the big bald aliens are here to protect us humans from the nefarious Christopher Lee and his posse. Meanwhile, Robert Vaughn stars as a professor who takes himself deadly serious and appears on TV talk shows in order to persuade the world about the existence of interstellar civilizations. Okay, "Starship Invasions" comes across as cheesy and campy, but admittedly it's also dark and sinister at times, especially when it turns out that the evil aliens are able to make earthlings commit ritual suicide through their telekinetic powers. Once you're done laughing with Vaughn's nihilistic facial expressions and Lee's stoic voiceovers the film does become very boring, though. The special effects are astonishingly decent for a low- budget Canadian exploitation flick like this. Particularly the UFO models are nifty, albeit prototypic, and even when floating around they don't look that stupid. With a slightly more coherent script and competent direction, and maybe also with less urge to imitate other and more successful Sci-Fi titles, I'm convinced that "Starship Invasions" could have been a better movie. Now it's merely a curious footnote in the genre and a reasonably interesting flick for cult-collectors. Writer/director Ed Hunt was also responsible for two favorite 80s guilty pleasure of mine, namely "Bloody Birthday" and "The Brain".

Yes, this movie really is worth seeing. Mainly because two big named actors Robert Vaughn and Christopher Lee agreed to act in a film with FX, set direction, and costumes that look like they were slapped together at a church picnic.

Really! This is a laugh riot! The plot: Vaughn is a renowned scientist and family man who's having his reputation damaged by speaking out publicly about UFOs. Apparently, Big Brother knows about the aliens and Earth and wants to keep the matter quiet.

Like all media the term UFO doesn't mean "Unidentified Flying Object" such a insects, reflections of light, or lens' glare. UFO mean "Extra Terrestrial Spacecraft." Actually aliens are on earth doing experiments at several well hidden bases. But they're so advanced they come in peace and just want to study us. However, evil alien Christopher Lee heads a coup of their bases. Lee's evil alien race used up all their planet's resourced and now wants to enslave/destroy humanity.

The surviving peaceful aliens reach out to Vaughn by literally landing on his front yard. Apparently only Vaughn is smart enough to develop a super weapon to defeat Lee.

The sheer fact that Vaughn is able to keep a straight face during these scenes is side splitting!!! What the heck was used to blackmail Vaughn and Lee into being in this movie.

I'd have to think once they saw the set which looks like a children's playhouse they would be kicking a screaming to get out of there! Some of these scenes are the funniest in motion picture history!

I saw this movie at the theater when it was released -- in 1977 -- when I was in fifth grade. For a Saturday matinée, it was a nice diversion (compared to cleaning my room). I then saw the movie about 20 years later and wondered if I had taken any drugs that Saturday afternoon so long ago. Further research informed me of its Canadian origins; that probably answers LOTS of questions right there, but I don't want to say anything bad about our Canadian friends. I personally believe in the Ancient Astronauts premise, something many people passionately deny. Whether you believe in Ancient Astronauts or not, Starship Invasions will mostly likely fulfill all your expectations of what it would be like to have Canadian Aliens building subaquatic bases and terrorizing dumb farmers. I agree with the previous review: Christopher Lee should definitely have had talking scenes.

WARNING: SPOILERS CONTAINED HEREIN. This movie is pure 70's drivel & that's what makes it great! You get: Scantily clad alien ladies with their buttcheeks hanging out (whoo-hoo!), Christopher Lee in a ridiculous big hat and leotards (buh-ha ha ha!- poor guy), "mod" "futuristic" space decor, funky electro-swill jazz music soundtrack (that you may be inclined to dance to while watching this- yes, I danced!), the lowest of low-budget laser beam special effects, Robert Vaughn trying to be overly serious wearing a turtleneck, big bald obviously fake-looking alien heads, a space ray that causes earthlings to commit suicide, inflatable pillow-like flying saucers, dialogue spoken with the mouths shut, and oh-so-much more! You want some good laughs, plop down the 30 bucks this goes for on Ebay. It's worth every damned penny!

I remember going to this at an Air Force Base theater in Oklahoma (Vance AFB, BTW). I was in third grade? My dad must have thought this was a kid movie, because me and my sister went alone. Now don't think my Dad was a bad parent. We didn't do trick or treating due to the occult influence it was based upon. I don't think he knew what we were going to see in the way of content. The excessive blood, and implied sex and nudity, was way more than I was prepared for. I didn't even know what sex was back then... hey, it was only the 70's... we wuz simple folk way back then. Not "sophisticatd" like today's kids are supposed to be. I remember going home and telling my dad, "I don't think I should have gone to that one".

Anyway... The aliens come to take our planet, need our "seed" to do it, and use a transmitting device that turns humans into wanton killing machines. People start killing "for no reason". The hero tries to fly a saucer, and disable the device before we wipe ourselves out, thereby doing the aliens job for them.

The movie was way over the top for a kid's mind. There was little action... and yes, I think this movie suffered from the "improvisation" move of the 70's movies... just say whatever comes to your mind, never mind a script. This is why Star Wars and Close Encounters did so well... they actually had a script and assigned dialog.

Avoid this one. I don't know why this came to my mind this week, but I am glad I found this IMDb entry... so I could warn others. Don't expect this to come to DVD anytime soon. Hopefully, someone will have the better taste to file 13 this one.

Rumor has it that Vaughn was misled about what a rotten film this would be. Well, I'm sure it would be convenient for him if that were true, but I suspect he had some idea what he was in for if he read the script. Can't blame that on him, though. This dreadful attempt to catch the extraordinary wave of sf enthusiasm splashed up by Star Wars (a phenomenon that is hard to imagine today, if only because everyone now seems to love science fiction movies) lacks even the so-bad-it's-good charm of Plan 9 or Robot Monster. The saucer models are painfully amateurish, the robot is... well... painfully amateurish, and the dialog really, actually, sounds like the actors were asked to make it up as they went along (and did a painfully amateurish job of it).

This is the kind of film that begs for lampooning in a review, but I'm sort of hoping not enough people have, or will have, seen it to make it worth the effort. So I'll leave the lampoon on the deck and just tell you straight and prosaic: This is a bad movie. You won't like it. It is not entertaining and has no good parts. Do absolutely anything else with your time instead of watching it. Why are you still even reading this? There is nothing you could possibly do to further waste your time than devote another millisecond to anything connected with this movie, including reading more of this review. Go away. Really. Now.

Okay, its been awhile since I saw this movie, but it is burned in my memory as the worst movie I have ever seen. It seems whoever wrote the script tried to bring in every hokey UFO/Aliens/whatever theory they could dredge up, from aliens building the pyramids to the Bermuda Triangle. I swear, the 'research' for this moving was from reading the Weekly World News.

And the so-called special effects. The 'Suicide Ray' was an obviously toy spaceship circling badly around a globe with an electrical arc going from a metal ball on a post coming out of the top of the flying saucer to the globe. Other flying saucers were obviously just thrown like a frisbee and filmed that way as 'cool flying sfx.'

All I can figure is that they were TRYING to be hokey. You can't get this bad without real effort.