''Starship'', also known as ''Lorca and the Outlaws'', and ''2084'', is a 1984

science fiction film Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a film genre that uses speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial lifeforms, spacecraft, robots, cyborgs, interstellar ...

directed by Roger Christian from a screenplay by Christian and

Matthew Jacobs Matthew Jacobs (born 1 July 1956) is a British writer, director, producer and actor. He is known best for his extensive career writing for television shows like '' Doctor Who'' and ''The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles''. He also directed two pr ...

, and starring John Tarrant,

Deep Roy Gurdeep Roy (born Mohinder Purba; 1 December 1957), known professionally as Deep Roy, is a Kenyan-British actor, puppeteer, and stuntman. At tall, he has often been cast as diminutive characters, such as Teeny Weeny in ''The NeverEnding Story' ...

Donogh Rees Donogh Rees (born 1959) is a New Zealand actress. She starred in the long-running soap opera ''Shortland Street'' as Nursing management#Director of Nursing, director of nursing Judy Brownlee from 2001 to 2006. She starred as Abbie in the sci-fi ...

, and Cassandra Webb. The music for the film was written by Tony Banks of

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

Plot

On the remote mining planet Ordessa, the management uses killer military police

androids An android is a humanoid robot or other artificial being often made from a flesh-like material. Historically, androids were completely within the domain of science fiction and frequently seen in film and television, but advances in robot techno ...

to crack down on workers upset with the terrible conditions. Lorca (John Tarrant) and his mother Abbie (

) led the human underground

resistance movement A resistance movement is an organized effort by some portion of the civil population of a country to withstand the legally established government or an occupying power and to disrupt civil order and stability. It may seek to achieve its objective ...

until Abbie was killed by androids. Now, Lorca and Suzi ( Cassandra Webb) battle Captain Jowitt (Ralph Cotterill) and the brutal

bounty hunter A bounty hunter is a private agent working for bail bonds who captures fugitives or criminals for a commission or bounty. The occupation, officially known as bail enforcement agent, or fugitive recovery agent, has traditionally operated outsid ...

Danny (

Hugh Keays-Byrne Hugh Keays-Byrne (18 May 1947 – 2 December 2020) was a British-Australian actor and film director. A former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, he was best known for playing the main antagonist in two films from the ''Mad Max'' franchise ...

), with the help of the friendly android Grid (

Cast

*John Tarrant as Lorca *

as Grid *

as Abbie * Cassandra Webb as Suzi *Ralph Cotterill as Captain Jowitt *

as Danny *

Joy Smithers Joy Smithers (born 15 July 1963) is an Australian actress, best known for her acting performances on television, and her role as a television news presenter, such as with MTV Australia in the late 1980s. Her credits include: ''All The Way'', ' ...

as Lena *

Tyler Coppin Tyler Coppin (born 9 November 1956) is an American-Australian actor, playwright, and American dialect coach for actors in film, television and theatre. Personal life and education Coppin is a fourth-generation Californian born in Roseville, Ca ...

as Detective Droid *James Steele as MP Droid *

Arky Michael Arky Michael is an Australian actor and writer, who is best known for his role as Fulvio Frangellomini in the television drama series ''Rafferty's Rules''. Arky also had a starring role in the television series ''Sweet and Sour'' and many guest ...

as Dylan *John Rees as Priest

Production and release

''Starship'' was originally released under the title ''Lorca and the Outlaws''; it also had a working title of ''The Outlaws and the Starship Redwing''. It was filmed in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

and

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

in Australia, and at

Shepperton Studios Shepperton Studios is a film studio located in Shepperton, Surrey, England, with a history dating back to 1931. It is now part of the Pinewood Studios Group. During its early existence, the studio was branded as Sound City (not to be confused w ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. Its initial theatrical release was in Australia on 14 December 1984. It later premiered in

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

on 5 July 1985, and was shown at the Fantasporto Film Festival in

Porto, Portugal Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...

in February 1987. Its American theatrical release was on 4 April of that year, and the VHS home video was released later that year.

Reception

M.J. Simpson, a British journalist who specialises in reviewing science fiction films, called ''Lorca and the Outlaws'' a "sub-sub-Star Wars piece of semi-juvenile rubbish which is nothing more than a scrappily assembled mishmash of clichés and lazy film-making." The ''

Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...

'' concurred, calling it "a low-rent, Anglo-Australian rip-off" of ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...

'' (1977).

Awards and honours

''Starship'' was nominated for an International Fantasy Film Award, in the "Best Film" category, at the

Fantasporto Fantasporto, also known as Fantas, is an international film festival, annually organized since 1981 in Porto, Portugal. Giving screen space to Fantasy film, fantasy/Science fiction film, science fiction/Horror film, horror-oriented commercial fe ...

film festival in 1987.

Notes

External links

* * *
''Lorca and the Outlaws''
at Badmovies.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Starship (Film) 1984 films Films directed by Roger Christian British science fiction films Australian science fiction films 1980s science fiction films 1980s English-language films 1980s British films