Customer Reviews

Battlestar Galactica: The Feature Film

5 star:		(50)
4 star:		(29)
3 star:		(25)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

As an old insider of the crew that worked of Galactica, take it as official that the movie you are considering purchasing was indeed a compilation/re-edit of the 2 original television premier episodes shot for television (Saga of a Star World), the 3rd episode, and a short wrap up and effects shots from the 5th episode. Prior to airing on television, Universal had requested a theatrical release in Canada for audience test purposes. Our editig crew took the episodes, edited, added, and put together the film. After the premier on American television, and very little viewer response, Universal wanted the theatrical compilation released in American theatres to garner attention. The series was then re-premiered, and this time the scene was added sparing the life of Baltar. Universal "sugguested" retaining his character instead of using the Imperious Leader as a "mysterious leader figure." Budget cuts, company "sugguestions", and internal politics cut short the life of our beloved saga. Universal has not seen fit to release any other version of the original 5 episodes of the series, except for a re-edited theatrical version (sparing Baltar's life). Sci-Fi channel currently has rights to air the episodes and does every so often. This is currently the only way of seeing the original vision for the series start. I hope one day the entire series will be made available in its true form, and the original dream that was Battlestar Galactica will become a reality for all the fans out there, and a vision of what may lie "somewhere beyond the stars." Until that day, you'll have to settle for second best.

I would like to say first and foremost that BATTLESTAR GALACTICA is a fine movie. It tells a really good story of the last survivors of the human race after the destruction of their twelve differing home worlds by an evil robotic race known as the Cylons. Lorne Greene stars as Adama, commander of the last surviving warship Galactica who is charged with leading his people to the safety of the legendary planet Earth.

This 1978 pilot was filmed for television and shown, followed by the descision to run it in theatres. As many have pointed out on this page, this film is not presented in true widescreen format, but rather sports black bars at the bottom and top of the picture which actually cover some of the original footage. You must keep in mind that this movie was NEVER filmed in widescreen to begin with, seeing that it was made for television. Several sequences and character moments are dropped from this cut as well to shorten the film to the more traditional running length. Universal is not cheating anyone here. Instead, they are presenting the version of the film as it appeared in theatres, altered in format and shortened in length to fit the theatrically wide movie screens we are so accustom to!

Ultimately, I would recommend "The Complete Epic Series" to anyone who fondly remembers BATTLESTAR GALACTICA before advising them to purchase this movie version of the film. Basically, this is for the major fans only, who may be interested in seeing what the film may have looked like in widescreen (as close as you will ever get to it in this case) and for those interested in comparing the two differing edits of the overall story. I would, however, recommend this version of the film for anyone who has never seen the show before. This is a good way to get the feel of what the series is about without spending too much money!

I don't care what version of Battlestar Galactice folks like. I like this one, but that's just my view. Like what ya want BUT make sure you put the right review with the right DVD. It's important to know that this DVD is the theatrical version of the 70's Battlestar NOT the 2003 Ron Moore version. There are negative reviews of the 2003 version on here, but this is not that version. Be sure to put the right review with the right DVD.

Picked this DVD up a few days ago at Walmart and had forgotten how much fun this show and movie were. I agree with those who say you might want to save your dough and go with the bigger set with all the episodes though. I picked this one up for a lark and now I'm planning to get the whole series. I guess I can give this to a friend.

This movie is pretty much the same as the first few episode of the old 'Battlestar Galactica' series. I found it boring, since having already forced myself to sit through the TV Show series. I really don't enjoy the poor special effect, and how they reuse the same shots in all space fight scenes. It's good if you haven't seen the TV Show, sums up the first few episodes.

I don't have time to give a review that it at least 20 words long. What's wrong with just giving a star rating?

This original movie is a great one to watch even if it is terrific on Blu-Ray. Why not re-release this back into theaters with new enhanced special and sound effects in 5.1 Dolby Digital for DVD and 7.1 Dolby True HD sound. Even this original would be terrific in 3-D if IMAX theaters can do this.

Previous reviewers have said most of what is great about this DVD and the series in general. The Battlestar Galactica film, and the pilot version, were great for their day, at turns dark, and bright. And honestly about half the television episodes were just as great as well, with intermittent episodes of fair to mediocre quality.

SO IF I LIKE THIS SO MUCH... Why the one star only? The sound! In this day and age to buy a DVD, even from the late 70's / early 80s, that is in such a price range, and it only has 1.0 sound. That is simply not acceptable at all. Essentially one is getting a DVD with only VHS sound quality, and then the price you pay is supposedly justified only by the widescreen picture format.

ONCE YOU GET THIS MOVIE YOU MAY WANT THE WHOLE EPIC SERIES. IT'S AVAILABLE IN AN EXCELLENT SET. I LOVED THIS MOVIE AND IT REMINDED ME OF HOW MUCH I MISSED THE SHOW...SO THEN I BOUGHT THAT TOO!

This DVD is not in anamorphic format despite Amazon's claim to the contrary. This is a widescreen LETTERBOX format only. The video transfer appears to be the same as the previously released DVD. In fact side one of this DVD is exactly the same as the previous DVD. Side two contains the supplemental material.

I would not recommend the purchase of this DVD to anyone who already has the the previous DVD.