110 - The Ice Pirates (1984)
This movie was a pick from one of our Patrons - Thanks Gregg!
The Ice Pirates (1984) is a movie that came and went in the theaters but was destined for cult status by the extended cable channel every kid in the 80's and 90's remembers fondly HBO. Back when HBO was known to play failed movies on a constant loop, you could give new life to films that just never found an audience in their initial theatrical run - like a previous episode, TerrorVision (1986) http://www.grindhousefilm.com/podcast/2017/1/26/episode-43-terrorvision-1986.
Ice Pirates is nothing more than a shameless rip-off of Star Wars that came about a little too late in it’s development cycle to make an impact and ended up getting its budget slashed in half. Why the movie was even produced is beyond anyone’s guess but it was a doomed project from the start. Surprisingly it actually made money - albeit a paltry $14 million, but it wasn’t a total bomb.
It’s a fun film that is beloved by many kids from the 80’s where it’s flaws are pushed aside in favor of nostalgia. Viewing it for the first time in 2018 will make you question why it’s so well regarded by Gen X’ers but it’s one of those things that we run into often on this show - you simply had to be there.
