HARDWARE WARS (1978) (MVD Rewind Collection Blu-ray Review)

HARDWARE WARS (1978) 

Collector's Edition 

Label: MVD Rewind Collection 

Region Code: Region-Free

Rating: Unrated 

Duration: 13 Minutes 23 Seconds 

Audio: English LPCM 2.0 Mono with Optional English Subtitles 

Video: 1080p HD Fullscreen (1.33:1) 

Director: Ernie Fosselius

Cast: Scott Mathews, Frank Robertson, Paul Frees,  Bob Knickerbocker

Ernie Fosselius's made-in-the-garage Star Wars Star Wars fan-parody film Hardware Wars (1978), released just a year after the film it was sending-up and nine years before Spaceballs, was one of the first parodies of the intergalactic blockbuster, a playfully lo-fi but loving send-up of George Lucas's sci-fi serial, starring Fluke Starbucker (Scott Mathews), Ham Salad (Bob Knickerbocker) and 

Chewchilla the Wookiee Monster (an orange furred Cookie Monster!), Princess Anne-Droid (Cindy Furgatch), and Augie "Ben" Doggie (Jeff Hale) a former member of the Red-Eye Knights, as well as droids Artie Deco and 4-Q-2. This everything-and-the-kitchen-sink production is loving inept but also so chock full of ingenuity and fan-made enthusiasm that it really transcends its limitations and delivers an actually fun 13-min riff on Star Wars, which was narrated by Paul Frees (The Last Unicorn, The War of the Worlds, Santa Claus is Comin; To Town). 

It opens with a space battle featuring ships that are obviously a toaster and a hot iron, our droids are a vacuum cleaner and the Tin-Man from the Wizard of Oz, and the big baddie Darph Nader wears a black welding helmet with a cassette deck taped to his chest, whose muffled, reverb drenched voice proves to be a constant source of miscommunication, while his Steam Troopers prove just an ineffectual as the real deal. 

It's a real kooky send-ups of Star Wars, at only 13-minutes long there's little chance of it wearing out its welcome, it's just a delight to watch, even with evident strings, warts and all. Prepare yourself for seeing Fluke an dthe gang cruise around in a dune buggy, space battles involving irons, toasters, waffle makers, and eggbeaters; flashlight lightsabers, basketball planets, pretzel-bun hair-dos, and a space-rats - yes indeed, The Farce is strong with this one!

Audio/Video: Hardware Wars (1978) arrives on region-free Blu-ray from MVD Rewind Collection in 1080p HD framed in 1.33:1 fullscreen. It's pretty rough looking in spots with plenty of course fluctuating grain levels, vertical scratches and speckles in spots, but overall it's quite a watchable presentation with good textures and decent colors. We get the following disclaimer before the movie starts up:

"Hardware Wars was scanned in 2K resolution from the only known surviving element, a 16mm reversal release print.

Due to poor handling of the camera original during the editing process, a large amount of dirt and damage is inherent to the production, especially during the film's frequent optical effect and dupe sequences. As this damage has been present since the film was initially released in 1978, it has been retained here, as removing or even reducing it would not accurately represent how audiences first experienced the film."

Audio comes by way of English PCM 2.0 dual-mono or PCM 2.0 stereo with optional English subtitles. The mono track showcases a bit of age-related wear and flat sounding presentation, as where the stereo track delivers a more natural, albeit still pretty lo-fi presentation. 

Extrasd are plentiful we get three alternate versions of the film, these include the 13-min 'Hardware Wars' 2012 HD Master, the 10-min 'Hardware Wars' Director's Cut, and the 11-min 'Hardware Wars' Foreign Version. Curiously the 2-12 HD Master version looks superior to the main features, there's no information on the disc about it, but I did find it quite curious. There's also the 'Director's Cut; which is quite a strange beast in and of itself, a re-edit with missing sequence title cards throughout, and what looks to be alternate takes of certain scenes. The 'Foreign Version' seems to be a amalgam of made up languages and strange subtitle fonts. 

Also on the disc is the 5-min 'Hardware Wars' Prequel featurette, which is actually a send up of The Antiques Roadshow titles 'Antiques Sideshow' that posits this flick as something made in the 60's that George lucas ripped-off a decade later, plus the 12-min 1978 Creature Features Interview with Writer/Director Ernie Fosselius being interviewed about the film, which had not been released yet, introduced as a "Video Laugh Specialist", showing off some fun merchandising items that could accompany the film. 

The 6-min 'Hardware Wars Saves Christmas' featurette re-imagines the film as a children's Christmas story book; the 1-min Awards Reel highlights various awards the fan-film has been bestowed with. We also get a pair of later parodies directed by Fosselius by way of the 22-min “Porklips Now”, his 1980 parody of “Apocalypse Now”, the the 21-min “Plan 9.1 From Outer Space” from 2009, a parody remake of “Plan 9 From Outer Space” with puppets, both of which I had 

never watched before, so that was quite a treat. 

The single-disc release arrives in a clear keepcase with a Reversible Wrap featuring a pair of vintage illustrated artworks, with the b-side offering some vintage shelf-wear and rental store stickers on it, and inside there's a Collectible Mini-Poster, plus the first-pressing includes a Limited Edition Slipcover.

Special Features: 
- 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
- Audio Commentary with Writer / Director Ernie Fosselius

- 'Hardware Wars' 2012 HD Master (12:54, SD, PCM 2.0) 
- 'Hardware Wars' Director's Cut (10:16, SD, PCM 2.0)
- 'Hardware Wars' Prequel featurette (05:23)
- 'Hardware Wars' Foreign Version (11:15 SD, PCM 2.0)
- 1978 Creature Features Interview with Writer / Director Ernie Fosselius (12:12)
- 'Hardware Wars Saves Christmas' featurette (06:10)
- Awards Reel (1:08)

- Hardware Wars Trailer (1:29)
- “Porklips Now” (21:40) 1980 parody of “Apocalypse Now” from director Ernie Fosselius
- “Plan 9.1 From Outer Space” (20:4y, 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)

MVD Rewind Collection have put together quite a stacked collector's edition for the world's' first-ever Star Wars parody loading it up with goofy alternate versions and chock full of satirical bonus junk that are sure to please. 

Buy it!

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Screenshots from the MVD Rewind Collection Blu-ray: