Hardware Wars
Hardware Wars
| 20 January 1978 (USA)
Hardware Wars Trailers

A short film parody of the classic science fiction film Star Wars. It premiered in theaters only seven months after Star Wars and consisted of little more than inside jokes and visual puns that heavily depended upon audience familiarity with the original.

Reviews
Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.
SeeQuant Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction
Sammy-Jo Cervantes There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.
Cassandra Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.
rls0812 This movie had a whopping budget of only $8,000, and it shows.The thing is, the director knew what he was doing, and made a very enjoyable movie.Acting is corny, the set design came from a yard sale, and there is no real plot outside of spoofing Star Wars ... BUT it is an enjoyable movie to watch, and has a lot of humor.It is hard not to chuckle at a guy wearing a welding hood, who's catch line is "Darth Nader, naughty person".It is also interesting the movie is self aware, such as it's catch phrase "You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll kiss $3 good by"Excellent example of a good movie, made with no budget!
steller After buying the excellent DVD yesterday, I have become a bona fide HARDWARE WARS fan! Done as a mock trailer for an unmade film, this obscenely low-budget and obscenely funny short is a film I wish I'd seen before, and I am embarassed that at one time, for about 2 hours, I couldn't stand it. If any of you has not seen HARDWARE WARS, I suggest you do immediatement! James Teller
NeoLeo Nothing is sacred. Just ask Ernie Fosselius. These days, everybody has a video camera, and a movie is hardly out before the spoofs start flying, quickly written and shot, and often posted directly to the internet. Spoofs are hot these days, and we go out of our way to make sure filmmakers don't get off on their own self-importance. 25 years ago, when the first Star Wars was made, it was a different world. Filmmaking was the playground of a select few and spoofs were very rare. Then God gave us Hardware Wars. It was shot to look cheap (or was it just cheap?) and the audio was obviously recorded after the fact. Does that take away from the experience? HECK NO! That's what makes it so great! It was raw and unpolished, and hit relentlessly on some of the more pretentious moments of the original movie. From Fluke Starbucker waving around a flashlight instead of a lightsaber (I did that when I was young!) to Chewchilla the Wookie Monster, to Auggie Ben Doggie's "nah, just a little headache" remark, this film short is as much a part of the phenomenon as any of the actual Star Wars films. Rent it. Buy it. Borrow it from a friend. And may the Farce be with you. Always.
moonisgod 20 minutes of purely wholesome, silly Star Wars spoof fun. Watching "Hardware Wars" really made me think about how there wasn't really that much to the whole first Star Wars film (it boils it down into less than half an hour and still has the same themes and story as the original). It's a good film just to watch if you want to amuse your friends, but I could see how "Hardware Wars" could lose some of it's spunk after a few viewings. A few friends of mine actually couldn't wait for it to be over, which is understandable if you get tired of lowbrow, silly humor easily. The newly added computer generated graphics seem to detract a little from the whole, but hell, if it drags it out a little longer, all the better. Imagine a MAD Magazine article brought to life, and that's the perfect summation of "Hardware Wars". And the box cover looks pretty neat too.