Star Wars rip-offs and non-SW movies featuring lightsabers?
 

Recently I've fallen down the rip-off rabbit hole and become obsessed with movies that were 'influenced' by Star Wars. I was hoping users could give me some suggestions for more. Obvious ones are Battle Beyond the Stars, Starcrash, Battlestar Galactica, etc. Non-space opera movies like Krull and Hawk the Slayer are also of interest, and I'm after anything that features a 'lightsaber' duel. Suggestions are much appreciated, thanks a bundle for any help!

Not a lightsaber duel, but in the movie Oh Heavenly Dog a staff member in heaven uses a lightsaber as a pointer.

Sorry, couldn't find a picture.

Blake Edward's 1989 sex farce Skin Deep starring John Ritter has a scene where two men fight in a darkened room wearing glow-in-the-dark condoms.

No, really.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XOKvFyNquM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnbW0ugsToE

I like Krull – I've only just found out that Lindsay Crouse dubbed Lysette Anthony :). Good blend of fantasy and science fiction.

A specific lightsaber duel: Spaceballs.

And one that's very close to my heart, the cartoon Ulysses 31. This reinvented The Odyssey as science fiction and Ulysses carries a gun which doubles as a laser sword.

Re: Star Wars rip-offs and non-SW movies featuring lightsabers?
 

Laserblast (1978) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laserblast


There's a movie called "HG Wells' The Shape Of Things To Come" which is apparently based on Wells' book, but is simply using his name on a Star Wars rip off.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._G._...Things_to_Come


Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone (1983)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaceh...Forbidden_Zone


Director/writer Alfonso Brescia made 4 films over an 18 month period after Star Wars came out in 1977.
Cosmos: War Of The Planets (aka;Year Zero War In Space) - 1978
Battle Of The Stars (aka; Battle In Interstellar Space) - 1978
War Of The Robots - 1978 (aka; Reactor)
Star Odyssey - 1979 (aka; Seven Gold Men In Space)

Re: Star Wars rip-offs and non-SW movies featuring lightsabers?
 

From Hot Shots! Part Deux (1993)...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQw1Kd_Uv8Y

Battle Beyond the Stars is directly based on Seven Samurai by Akira Kurosawa who also made The Hidden Fortress which Star Wars is directly based on. At most Battle Beyond the Stars lifts some effects shots and sci-fi archetypes from Star Wars.

Another cheap-o Star Wars rip-off was Galaxina (1980) statring Dorothy Stratten.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3LRLeuEWEM

Space Raiders (1983). Ugh.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBham6MnKYE

A not-very-funny spoof called The Ice Pirates (1984), starring Robert Urich and Anjelica Huston.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LGPVfHpKXU

Looks like Barbarella went on a bender at the Star Wars Cantina, got blackout drunk and woke up next to Dark Star.

Oh, yeah, another bad comedy that throws in a light sabre is The Pirate Movie (1982). You can fast forward to the 6:00 mark...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ivu_L89pLb8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9jhc5SHkPo

Ah, Space Raiders.
A film that actually has a character called "Ace"... and it's not meant as tongue in cheek.

Oh – the characters the Headless Monks in a Doctor Who of a few years ago had normal swords but channelled energy along the blades.

Produced by Roger Corman, same as Battle Beyond the Stars. Would explain why that dopey ship looks familiar.

Least we get to see Natalie Portman in her first feature film. Dunno why they cast her as a boy though.

Thanks, these are great, there are a couple here I don't know about and most of the light sabre spoofs are new to me. Please keep them coming!

(About Battle Beyond the Stars: I don't mean to say it's 'just' a ripoff. There are lots of differences and it's a great movie. But it borrows elements like the weathered environment, mega-weapon, a junker of a spaceship for our blue-eyed, blonde-haired farm boy hero etc.)

I'm just thinking about this again and the shield fight in Dune came to mind. The reason is because of the trigger sound of the shields, which could be perceived as similar to the lightsaber. I loved them I must say. The miniseries made them far less obvious, more like an invisible wall with a vibration on the surface, which to be fair was probably closer to the novel.

Re: Star Wars rip-offs and non-SW movies featuring lightsabers?
 

the slow blade penetrates the shield.
rawr.

also, i now have echoes of Ed Grimley dancing in my head, thank you very much!