''Voyage of the Rock Aliens'' is a 1984 film directed by

James Fargo James Fargo (born August 14, 1938) is an American film director. He directed numerous films from 1976 to 1998. After serving as assistant director to Steven Spielberg on Duel and on many films starring Clint Eastwood, he was then given the chanc ...

and starring

Pia Zadora Pia Zadora (born Pia Alfreda Schipani, May 4, 1954) is an American actress and singer. After working as a child actress on Broadway, in regional theater, and in the film ''Santa Claus Conquers the Martians'' (1964), she came to national attention ...

and

Craig Sheffer Craig Eric Sheffer (born April 23, 1960) is an American film and television actor. He is known for his leading roles as Norman Maclean in the film '' A River Runs Through It, ''Aaron Boone in the film ''Nightbreed'', Joe Kane in the film '' The ...

Plot

A guitar-shaped spaceship and Robot 1359 (voiced by

Peter Cullen Peter Claver Cullen (born July 28, 1941) is a Canadian voice actor. He is best known as the voice of Optimus Prime in the original 1980s ''Transformers'' animated series, reprising the role many times since 2007. He has also voiced many other c ...

), search the universe for the source of rock and roll music. After discounting the planets Teldar and Malox, they come across Acirema. After listening to a dance/musical performance of “When the Rain Begins to Fall”, featuring Pia Zadora and Jermaine Jackson portraying members of rival gangs who fall in love, ala Romeo and Juliet, 1359 discounts this one too. The last planet left to visit is Earth. 1359 wakes the crew to visit the planet. A rocket

telephone booth A telephone booth, telephone kiosk, telephone call box, telephone box or public call box is a tiny structure furnished with a payphone and designed for a telephone user's convenience; usually the user steps into the booth and closes the booth ...

lands in the town of Speelburgh and ABCD (pronounced "Absid") (Tom Nolan) with his group of aliens exit. The humanoid aliens force robot 1359 to take the form of a

fire hydrant A fire hydrant, waterplug, or firecock (archaic) is a connection point by which firefighters can tap into a water supply. It is a component of active fire protection. Underground fire hydrants have been used in Europe and Asia since at least ...

. Only the Sheriff (

Ruth Gordon Ruth Gordon Jones (October 30, 1896 – August 28, 1985) was an American actress, screenwriter, and playwright. She began her career performing on Broadway at age 19. Known for her nasal voice and distinctive personality, Gordon gained internati ...

) witnesses their landing, and she becomes obsessed with alien invaders. Dee Dee (

) is a singer in high school who is in love with Frankie (

), the leader of Speelburgh's local high school rock band, The Pack (Jimmy and the Mustangs). She sings of her heart's desire to best friend Diane (

Alison La Placa Alison La Placa (born December 16, 1959) is an American actress best known for the role of acid-tongued yuppie Linda Phillips in the Fox sitcoms '' Duet'' and its spin-off '' Open House'', both of which aired in the late 1980s. Biography Earl ...

). Dee Dee's dream is to sing with the band; Frankie loves her but does not want her to sing with them. Meanwhile, a giant creature with tentacles lives in nearby Lake Eerie, a product of environmental pollution, and it periodically extends its arms throughout the town. As the aliens, played by the rock band RHEMA, search the area, they encounter Dee Dee, Frankie and The Pack at the local maltshop. Absid literally loses his head over Dee Dee (i.e. he explodes and needs to be put back together by his crew) and decides to win her heart. Meanwhile, his cohorts search for specimens such as flowers, leaves and cow chips. STUVWXYZ (pronounced "Stovitz") (Patrick Byrnes) stumbles across the path of two crazed mass murderers, Chainsaw (

Michael Berryman Michael John Berryman (born September 4, 1948) is an American character actor. Berryman was born with hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia, a rare condition characterized by the absence of sweat glands, hair, and fingernails; his unusual physical ...

) and The Breather ( Wallace Merck), who recently escaped from The Speelburgh Asylum for the Criminally Insane. Feeling dejected by Frankie's refusal to let her sing, Dee Dee succumbs to the charms of Absid, who asks her to be the singer of his band at the Heidi High Cotillion Dance and Battle of the Bands. Frankie and The Pack arrive at the school to keep the aliens out... but they cannot stop them because of the aliens' powers: they teleport into the bathroom through the toilets. Dee Dee finally gets her chance to sing at a battle of the bands between the aliens and The Pack, with the very jealous Frankie furious that Dee Dee has switched sides. Absid and Dee Dee sneak off to the lake. While the tentacled creature searches the banks, Absid tries to convince Dee Dee to fly back to his planet. Hesitating, she agrees to visit the ship, but discovers once there that she will have to give up all human emotion to live on the alien's planet. Meanwhile, Diane encounters Chainsaw at the high school. The crazed killer intends to make her his next victim, but his rusty chainsaw breaks down. Love blooms as Diane helps Chainsaw fix his chainsaw. Bolting back to her true love, Frankie, Dee Dee finds him cornered in a school hallway by the Breather. Frankie manages to fend off his rival, only to be attacked by the monster from the lake, which has gotten loose and surrounded the school with its tentacles. With his chainsaw now repaired, Chainsaw rescues everyone. In the end, the aliens board their ship and Absid decides to leave the humans "a little alien persuasion". He fiddles with the buttons in the booth and clears away all of the town's pollution. He also turns the brutal Pack into a group of boy scouts. The creature leaves town, the skies clear, flowers bloom and Frankie and Dee Dee sing and dance into a smogless sunset.

Cast

as Dee Dee *

as Frankie * Tom Nolan as Absid (ABCD) *

as Diane *

as Chainsaw *

RHEMA ''Rhema'' (ῥῆμα in Greek) literally means an "utterance" or "thing said" in Greek. It is a word that signifies the action of utterance. In philosophy, it was used by both Plato and Aristotle to refer to propositions or sentences. In Chr ...

as The Aliens * Jimmy & the Mustangs as The Pack *

as Sheriff *

Jermaine Jackson Jermaine La Jaune Jackson (born December 11, 1954) is an American singer-songwriter and bassist. He is best known for being a member of the Jackson family. From 1964 to 1975, Jermaine was second vocalist after his brother Michael of The Jackson ...

as Rain *

as the voice of 1359

Songs

* "Openhearted" –

Real Life Real life is a phrase used originally in literature to distinguish between the real world and fictional, virtual or idealized worlds, and in acting to distinguish between actors and the characters they portray. It has become a popular term on the ...

* "

When the Rain Begins to Fall "When the Rain Begins to Fall" is a 1984 song written and composed by Peggy March, Michael Bradley, and Steve Wittmack, recorded by singers Jermaine Jackson and Pia Zadora, and released as a US single at the beginning of 1985 (In Europe in Octo ...

" –

and

* "21st Century" –

* "New Orleans" –

Neil Sedaka Neil Sedaka (; born March 13, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. Since his music career began in 1957, he has sold millions of records worldwide and has written or co-written over 500 songs for himself and other artists, collabo ...

with Gary U.S. Bonds * "Real Love" – Pia Zadora * "Try to See It My Way" – Dara Sedaka * "Back on the Streets" – 3 Speed (written by Kiss (band) guitarist

Vinnie Vincent Vincent John Cusano (born August 6, 1952), better known by his stage name Vinnie Vincent, is an American guitarist. He is a former member of the rock band Kiss from 1982 until mid-1984 during the band's transition out of their 1973–1983 make ...

and Richie Friedman) * "Justine" – Jimmy & the Mustangs * "That's Life" – RHEMA * "You Bring Out the Lover in Me" – Pia Zadora * "Always" – Real Life * "Combine Man" – RHEMA * "Little Bit of Heaven" – Pia Zadora and

Mark Spiro Mark Spiro (born March 28, 1957) is an American songwriter, record producer and recording artist. Represented on millions of records sold worldwide, Spiro has delivered songs to artists such as Julian Lennon, Cheap Trick, John Waite, Heart, Laura B ...

* "She Doesn't Mean a Thing to Me" – Mark Spiro * "Come On" – Jimmy and the Mustangs * "Trouble Maker" – Jimmy and the Mustangs * "Let's Dance Tonight (Medley)" – Pia Zadora, Jimmy & the Mustangs, and RHEMA * "Get Out and Dance" – RHEMA * "My World Is Empty Without You" –

John Farnham John Peter Farnham Officer of the Order of Australia, AO (born 1 July 1949) is a British born Australian singer. Farnham was a Teen idol, teen pop idol from 1967 until 1979, billed then as Johnny Farnham, but has since forged a career as an Adu ...

and

Rainey Haynes Rainey Haynes (born August 16, 1964 in Memphis, Tennessee) also known simply as Rainey, is an American rock singer and writer. Early life Haynes showed an interest in singing, songwriting, and performing early, and had taught herself to play ...

* "Nature of the Beast" – Michael Bradley * "Before the Jupiter Effect" –

Cliff Sarde Cliff Sarde is an American composer, multi-instrumentalist and recording artist A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to desi ...

* "When the Rain Begins to Fall (reprise)" – Pia Zadora and Jermaine Jackson * "End Credits Medley" ("Let's Dance Tonight", "She Doesn't Mean a Thing to Me", "Justine", "Back on the Street", "21st Century")

Production

The original script by James Guidotti, ''Attack of the Aliens'', was conceived as a B-movie spoof. "It's a little like sitting home and watching TV late on a Saturday night, all the while switching channels from 5 to 9 to 11 and to 13," Guidotti explained. "On channel 5 they're airing an old ''

Beach Party ''Beach Party'' is a 1963 American film and the first of seven beach party films from American International Pictures (AIP) aimed at a teen audience.Smith, Gary A. Smith (2009) ''The American International Pictures Video Guide'', McFarland p.21 ...

'' movie; on 9 one about alien invaders; on 11 a film about a mad, homicidal maniac on the loose; and on 13 a rock 'n roll program." When Guidotti's script was spotted by executives at the production company Inter Planetary Curb, Vice President of Development Edward Gold and consultant Charles Hairston polished the script, turned it into a musical, and the film went into production under the title ''Attack of the Rock 'n' Roll Aliens''.

was first cast as a result of her previous work on stage and screen. With Zadora attached to the film, they began fleshing out the cast. The Frankie character sings two songs in the film, but producers wanted someone with acting experience, so Craig Sheffer was offered the role, which he chose over a television series, another film and the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

play ''

Torch Song Trilogy ''Torch Song Trilogy'' is a collection of three plays by Harvey Fierstein rendered in three acts: ''International Stud'', ''Fugue in a Nursery'', and ''Widows and Children First!'' The story centers on Arnold Beckoff, a Jewish homosexual, drag ...

'' (the latter of which he took after ''Rock Aliens'' had wrapped). Sheffer initially had another theory as to why he was cast: "The funniest part is that I thought they hired me for my long hair," Sheffer revealed. He and other cast members were in for a rude awakening when the filmmakers sent them to the barber shop. Similarly, Tom Nolan was chosen to portray alien leader Absid based on his acting background rather than singing abilities. Then-president of

Curb Records Curb Records (also known as Asylum-Curb and formerly known as MCG Curb) is an American record label started by Mike Curb, originally as Sidewalk Records in 1963. From 1969 to 1973, Curb merged with MGM Records where Curb served as President of ...

Dick Whitehouse needed a new wave band for the film and learned of

through an acquaintance. Whitehouse, star Pia Zadora and their entourage flew to

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

to attend a showcase by RHEMA and subsequently cast in the film, minus bass player Bobby Freeman. Principal production of the film took place in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

for 9 weeks in 1983. Outside scenes were shot in downtown

Fairburn, Georgia Fairburn is a city in Fulton County, Georgia, United States, with a population of 12,950, according to the 2010 census. Though it has a rich history of its own, the city is now a closely linked suburb of Atlanta, which lies just 17 miles to the ...

. In these outside scenes many extras were local Fairburn residents including the members of the Fairburn Volunteer Fire Department. In April 1984, Pia Zadora and

headed to Italy aboard Zadora's personal jet to shoot a

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for their duet "

". Although the song already appeared in the movie (with Sheffer

lip-synching Lip sync or lip synch (pronounced , the same as the word ''sink'', short for lip synchronization) is a technical term for matching a speaking or singing person's lip movements with sung or spoken vocals. Audio for lip syncing is generated th ...

Jackson's part), the plot of the music video had absolutely nothing to do with the film, and there was an entirely different cast and crew, it was decided that the video would be tacked onto the end of the film. Ultimately, the filmmakers placed the music video into the film as part of the opening sequence.

Soundtrack

soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' ...

was released by Curb Records in 1984. The cover of the album downplays the film in favor of the hit single "

", prominently featuring

and

. Many of the songs heard in the film are not on the album and numerous songs have different arrangements. In many countries, the album was released on

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl m ...

and

cassette Cassette may refer to: Technology * Cassette tape (or ''musicassette'', ''audio cassette'', ''cassette tape'', or ''tape''), a worldwide standard for analog audio recording and playback ** Cassette single (or "Cassingle"), a music single in the ...

; in Germany it was also issued on CD. # "

" –

and

# "Little Bit of Heaven" – Pia Zadora and

# "Real Love" – Pia Zadora # "Nature of the Beast" – Michael Bradley # "Let's Dance Tonight" – Pia Zadora # "Back on the Street" – 3 Speed # "Openhearted" –

# "She Doesn't Mean a Thing to Me" – Mark Spiro # "21st Century" –

# "Justine" –

Jimmy and the Mustangs Jimmy and the Mustangs is an American rockabilly band fronted by Jimmy Haddox (sometimes credited as Jimmy Silvers). Emerging from the punk scene in Southern California during the 1980s, Jimmy and the Mustangs played their first live show openin ...

# "My World Is Empty Without You" –

and

* Zadora's missing song from the film, "You Bring Out the Lover in Me", appeared on her album ''Let's Dance Tonight'', which included alternate versions of most of her songs from the film. "

" was also issued in a vast array of singles and remixes. *

's "New Orleans" was released on his album ''Come See About Me'', and several singles featuring alternate versions of the song were released. * Dara Sedaka's "Try to See It My Way" is heard when Dee Dee meets Frankie in the malt shop but it's not listed in the credits of the movie. This is a cover of a 1980

Bryan Adams Bryan Guy Adams (born 5 November 1959) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and photographer. He has been cited as one of the best-selling music artists of all time, and is estimated to have sold between 75 million and mor ...

song and he provided backing vocals for her version, which was issued on Sedaka's album ''I'm Your Girlfriend'' (1982). * Both songs by

were issued on their album ''

Heartland Heartland or Heartlands may refer to: Businesses and organisations * Heartland Bank, a New Zealand-based financial institution * Heartland Inn, a chain of hotels based in Iowa, United States * Heartland Alliance, an anti-poverty organization i ...

'' (1983). *

's "Before the Jupiter Effect" and Michael Bradley's "Bobbie Ann" are both cited in the ending credits but were not utilized in the final cut of the film. * The additional songs from the film by

("Come On", "Trouble Maker", "Let's Dance Tonight"), Michael Bradley ("Bobbie Ann") and

("That's Life", "Combine Man", "Get Out and Dance", "Let's Dance Tonight") were never issued by Curb Records, though promotional music videos exist for many of them and the RHEMA tracks were later distributed online by former band members. * An "Expanded Soundtrack" featuring more than 50 tracks (including a variety of remixes, alternate versions and additional songs by RHEMA and Jimmy and the Mustangs) was compiled by a fan in mp3 format and first surfaced online in 2010. Subsequently, this collection went on to pop up on other sites, torrents and it has also surfaced for sale as multi-disc CD bootlegs.

Home video

* The film was released on VHS in the United States and Japan in February 1988 by Prism Entertainment. *In the United Kingdom, it was released on VHS by Raven Home Video in 1997. * In 2005, the movie was issued on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

in the United Kingdom by Moonstone Pictures. Fans have complained about the quality of this release, which appears to be transferred from video. * In 2009, the film was issued on DVD by Alive/CMV Laservision in Germany. Subtitled "Let's Dance Tonight", this version features a very clear full-screen print with German and English audio options, as well as the theatrical trailer and alternate opening/ending scenes. Although it's the same version as that released in the United States, the film runs a few minutes shorter as a result of PAL speedup. * In addition to the single-disc German version, a 2-disc Special Edition was also issued. This version includes alternate German credits and UK ending, a photo gallery, trailer, and a vintage 45 minute Curb Records promotional reel of rare music videos of the soundtrack songs "When the Rain Begins to Fall" (as utilized in the film), "Justine" (shot on video to coincide with the earlier release of

' self-titled album), "Openhearted", "She Doesn't Mean a Thing to Me", "Back on the Street", "Nature of the Beast", "21st Century", "New Orleans", "Combine Man" and edits of Pia Zadora's "Let's Dance Tonight" and "Little Bit of Heaven"VOYAGE OF THE ROCK ALIENS (1984) Little Bit of Heaven Video - workprint - Pia Zadora
/ref> which deviate from the versions featured in the film.
/ref> * In 2013, Alive/CMV reissued the film on a Blu-Ray which included both widescreen and open-matte versions (though they're upscaled from the same transfer used for the earlier German DVD releasesBlu-Ray.com: Voyage of the Rock Aliens (1985) - 03/27/13
/ref>). All of the extras from the 2-disc special edition were ported over, and new to this version were four TV spots, a 17-minute movie highlights promo reel, a photo gallery and additional music videos for "Trouble Maker", "Real Love", "You Bring Out the Lover in Me", and yet another variation of "Little Bit of Heaven". * Vinegar Syndrome was granted the rights to restore the film and released it on BlueRay in July 2022 and features interviews with Patrick Byrnes, Greg Bond, Marc Jackson, Jeffrey Casey and Crag Jensen from the band RHEMA. The release also contains interviews with producers, Max and Micheline Keller, actor, Michael Berryman, Writer, James Guidotti, Costumer, Donzaleigh Abernathy and Visual Effects Supervisor, Peter Chesney.

References

External links

*

at The 80's Movie Rewind site {{James Fargo 1984 films 1984 comedy films 1980s science fiction comedy films 1984 independent films 1980s musical comedy films 1984 romantic comedy films 1980s romantic fantasy films 1980s science fiction films 1980s dance films 1980s parody films 1980s monster movies American comedy films American science fiction comedy films American independent films American musical comedy films American musical fantasy films American romantic fantasy films American romantic musical films American science fiction films American dance films American parody films American monster movies American rock musicals Films directed by James Fargo Science fiction musical films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films