Found this clip from Sneak Previews featuring a review of the theatrical cut of Buck Rogers. Of course cinema snobs Siskel & Ebert hated it, but that's not why it's interesting. The clip features FX battle footage and mock up shots NOT seen in either the film version, or TV pilot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1anLvCr7rk
BUCK ROGERS ON SISKEL & EBERT'S SNEAK PREVIEWS
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Scott
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Re: BUCK ROGERS ON SISKEL & EBERT'S SNEAK PREVIEWS
Siskel only gave it a mild thumbs down according to his print review:
April 4th 1979
"Tribune mini-review. Star skirmishes **1/2 (out of a possible ****)
AT LEAST "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century" can't be accused of false advertising, which is all-too-common in these days of over-hyped movies. Originally planned as a made-for-TV feature "Buck Rogers" is a "Star Wars" ripoff that isn't afraid to laugh at itself. In fact, if it didn't run out of gas in the last reel - in order to leave us with a non-committal ending that screams "sequel" - "Buck Rogers" might have been worth recommending.
I saw it with a big Saturday night crowd at the Evanston Theater. The cheap admission price of $1.50 (unbelievable for a first-run film) had the audience in good spirits as the opening credits rolled.
And if anyone still wonders why films such as this become hits, then the Evanston crowd held the answer. The audience was primed for a frivolous good time. A few laughs and some decent special effects would be all that was demanded.
"Buck Rogers" had more than a few laughs, but it's special effects were nothing more than that repeats of the effects of TV's "Battlestar Galactica", which makes sense because "Buck Rogers" was written and produced by the same man who produces "Battlestar".
IN FACT the only reason that "Buck Rogers" is playing on wide screens is that a recent release of a couple of "Galactica" TV shows in foreign movie theaters has proven to be a surprise hit. Apparently the world wide movie audience is eager to embrace almost any "Star Wars" imitation while it waits for the next "Star Wars" film, due a year from May.
"Buck Rogers" tells of an astronaut from Chicago launched into outer space in 1987, who returns to Earth not, as projected, in five months, but five centuries later.
Chicago and the universe are quite different in the 25th century. Bad news real estate fans, there isn't a condo in sight, not to mention the Drake Hotel or Water Tower Place. The main building in town looks like the Hyatt-Regency O'Hare. Actually, it's the new Bonaventure hotel in downtown Los Angeles. The State-Street Mall is rubble, as is the South Side, which figures in one of the films funnier jokes (for those who don't live on the Southside).
As for the Universe, there have been some radical changes. Earth is under attack from mysterious intergalactic pirates as well as the ambitious Princess Ardala, one of 30 daughters of King Draco (sounds like a detergent), who already controls two-thirds of the universe.
AS LUCK would have it, Buck Rogers (played by Gil Gerard, a Lee Majors look-alike) is intercepted by Princess Ardala (the statuesque Pamela Hensley), who is torn between using him to dominate Earth and simply just using him as a lover.
Helping Buck maintain his and the Earth's independence are a small robot droid (sound familiar?), which carries a computerized brain, which looks like one of those blinking yellow road repair warning lights. The droid belches it's verbal responses and every once in a while speaks in Yiddish or Brooklynese. It gets a laugh every time, further testament to the genius of "Star Wars".
"Buck Rogers" ultimately degenerates into a series of rocket ship dogfights which are dull versions of the "Star Wars" fights. The explosions are the same every time - a translucent exploding ball, that is optical printed on top of the destroyed ship. Nothing fresh here in the way of special effects.
In fact, the only thing surprising about "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century" is it's release at the beginning of April. Such films are typically released at drive-ins during the summer. Come to think of it, maybe that's why the film is so enjoyable. With "Buck Rogers" and baseball's opening day upon us, summer doesn't seem so far away."
http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1.../article/tempo
April 4th 1979
"Tribune mini-review. Star skirmishes **1/2 (out of a possible ****)
AT LEAST "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century" can't be accused of false advertising, which is all-too-common in these days of over-hyped movies. Originally planned as a made-for-TV feature "Buck Rogers" is a "Star Wars" ripoff that isn't afraid to laugh at itself. In fact, if it didn't run out of gas in the last reel - in order to leave us with a non-committal ending that screams "sequel" - "Buck Rogers" might have been worth recommending.
I saw it with a big Saturday night crowd at the Evanston Theater. The cheap admission price of $1.50 (unbelievable for a first-run film) had the audience in good spirits as the opening credits rolled.
And if anyone still wonders why films such as this become hits, then the Evanston crowd held the answer. The audience was primed for a frivolous good time. A few laughs and some decent special effects would be all that was demanded.
"Buck Rogers" had more than a few laughs, but it's special effects were nothing more than that repeats of the effects of TV's "Battlestar Galactica", which makes sense because "Buck Rogers" was written and produced by the same man who produces "Battlestar".
IN FACT the only reason that "Buck Rogers" is playing on wide screens is that a recent release of a couple of "Galactica" TV shows in foreign movie theaters has proven to be a surprise hit. Apparently the world wide movie audience is eager to embrace almost any "Star Wars" imitation while it waits for the next "Star Wars" film, due a year from May.
"Buck Rogers" tells of an astronaut from Chicago launched into outer space in 1987, who returns to Earth not, as projected, in five months, but five centuries later.
Chicago and the universe are quite different in the 25th century. Bad news real estate fans, there isn't a condo in sight, not to mention the Drake Hotel or Water Tower Place. The main building in town looks like the Hyatt-Regency O'Hare. Actually, it's the new Bonaventure hotel in downtown Los Angeles. The State-Street Mall is rubble, as is the South Side, which figures in one of the films funnier jokes (for those who don't live on the Southside).
As for the Universe, there have been some radical changes. Earth is under attack from mysterious intergalactic pirates as well as the ambitious Princess Ardala, one of 30 daughters of King Draco (sounds like a detergent), who already controls two-thirds of the universe.
AS LUCK would have it, Buck Rogers (played by Gil Gerard, a Lee Majors look-alike) is intercepted by Princess Ardala (the statuesque Pamela Hensley), who is torn between using him to dominate Earth and simply just using him as a lover.
Helping Buck maintain his and the Earth's independence are a small robot droid (sound familiar?), which carries a computerized brain, which looks like one of those blinking yellow road repair warning lights. The droid belches it's verbal responses and every once in a while speaks in Yiddish or Brooklynese. It gets a laugh every time, further testament to the genius of "Star Wars".
"Buck Rogers" ultimately degenerates into a series of rocket ship dogfights which are dull versions of the "Star Wars" fights. The explosions are the same every time - a translucent exploding ball, that is optical printed on top of the destroyed ship. Nothing fresh here in the way of special effects.
In fact, the only thing surprising about "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century" is it's release at the beginning of April. Such films are typically released at drive-ins during the summer. Come to think of it, maybe that's why the film is so enjoyable. With "Buck Rogers" and baseball's opening day upon us, summer doesn't seem so far away."
http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1.../article/tempo
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Scott
- Raider Gunner
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- Joined: Wed Feb 21, 2007 1:32 pm
Re: BUCK ROGERS ON SISKEL & EBERT'S SNEAK PREVIEWS
Thanks for the print review!
Siskel is a bit hard on the FX. Are they as good as Star Wars...no, Galactica I feel had better FX also. Still, they aren't as bad a he claims.
Siskel is a bit hard on the FX. Are they as good as Star Wars...no, Galactica I feel had better FX also. Still, they aren't as bad a he claims.
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