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Battlefield Earth |  | Director: Roger Christian
Actors: John Travolta, Forest Whitaker, Barry Pepper, Kim Coates, Sabine Karsenti
Studio: Warner Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $14.98
Buy Used: $0.01
as of 9/9/2010 06:20 CDT details
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Seller: ZoverstocksUSA
Rating:  466 reviews
Sales Rank: 23010
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Languages: French (Subtitled), English (Original Language)
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Region: 1
Discs: 1
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Running Time: 118 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.6 x 0.5
MPN: 085391856627
ISBN: 0790750996
UPC: 085391856627
EAN: 9780790750996
ASIN: B00003CXIV
Theatrical Release Date: 2000
Release Date: January 16, 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
The security chief for the alien Psychlos, who have conquered the Earth, decides to use human slaves to mine for gold, but a young man decides to chal
When Battlefield Earth was released in May 2000, this inept sci-fi epic qualified as an instant camp classic, prompting Daily Variety to call it "the Showgirls of sci-fi shoot-'em-ups." Other reviews were united in their derision, and toy stores were left with truckloads of Battlefield Earth action figures that nobody wanted. As the film's star and coproducer, John Travolta must have felt an urge to enlist in the witness protection program. Recklessly adapted from the novel by sci-fi author and Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard and set in the year 3000, the film is no worse than many cheesy sci-fi flicks, but the sight of Travolta as a burly, dreadlocked alien from the planet Psychlo provokes unintentional laughter from first frame to final credits. As Terl, the Psychlo security chief who conquers Earth and hatches a secret scheme to steal all the gold from Fort Knox (which sits conveniently in wide-open vaults), Travolta hams it up as if he knows he's in a camp-fest. (In a cameo as a long-tongued Psychlo seductress, Travolta's wife, Kelly Preston, only adds to the absurdity.) Barry Pepper (the praying sharpshooter from Saving Private Ryan) tries his best to convey charisma as Jonnie, the human slave who leads an uprising against Terl's tyranny, but he's adrift in a foolish plot that makes even smart humans look stupid. The decrepit look of a dreary future is convincingly established (the ruins of Washington D.C. recall Logan's Run on a grander scale), but in the wake of its ludicrous climax, the best that Battlefield Earth can hope for is a Dune-like fate: it might improve in a longer director's cut--but that's wishful thinking. --Jeff Shannon
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 466
 In the year 3000, everything was hokey August 25, 2010
Del Keyes (In The Middle of the Sunshine)
If "Battlefield Earth" is suppose to be the "Citizen Kane" for Scientologists, I wouldn't want to know what their "Manos" might be.
What is up with Franchise Pictures? Is that company like another Revolution Studios, making crap after crap for its entire run? They probably made a few decent hits, but I have encountered this company a little too often in certain lousy films I reviewed: "Driven", "FeardotCom", and "Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever". And now I'm reviewing the most notorious of their discography. Not only is this movie terrible, it was the impetus of the production company's bankruptcy. Blame the defunctness upon themselves, since Franchise took the money from a foreign investor and didn't pay it back after the movie bombed.
So why is it bad? Other than ripping off "Planet of the Apes", having spotty narrative, pretentious overwrought acting, and ho-hum special effects, it's a movie without a care in the world. In the future, after an alien race conquered the Earth, humanity has regressed back to the era of 10,000 B.C. A lone wanderer (Barry Pepper) was off for food until he was captured by the same aliens, a race of lion-predators with nose-plugs from the planet Psychlo; the head of security for the alien lion-predators (or ALPs) is a flamboyant hedonist named Terl (John Travolta). The movie then has two sides to follow, mostly on the ALPs: Terl, with the help of Kur (Forest Whitaker) by simple deceptive blackmailing, tried to farm gold from behind their superiors' back because their leaders were too prudish enough to give him a promotion; the long wanderer was detained by the same ALP, taught in the alien's language and learning the tools of the trade, while secretly planing a revolt against the aliens. The ALPs are obnoxious, aggressive and coy beings who only care about themselves, while the human beings aren't any better as they sometimes fight against themselves over food.
The unreasonable conquerors vs. one-dimensional barbarians. Which side did I root for? Absolutely neither. Terl is just too pompous to be charming, and the wanderer always has that angry scowl on his face, which frankly makes me dislike him as well. In fact, a lot of stupid occurrences in the plot made me groan. From the fact that Terl made the wanderer learn his language, not even thinking the so-called man-animal (or m'animal) would use the knowledge against him, to the wanderer giving the gun back to Terl after the m'animals made a successful ambush; plus, there's the part where the m'animals tried to steal gold from Fort Knox and yet for some reason the security camera (which Terl said is watching their every move) didn't caught up with their scheme, the jets that just float perfectly still in mid-air, and the fact that planet Psycholo had a flammable atmosphere yet there are shots of flames spewing from factories IN THE PLANET...and it didn't blow up from those. Nevermind 'stupid', the plot is a series of errors.
Another bad example of filmmaking is its improper use of the angle shot. The angle shot is viewed to make a scene dynamic and exciting, but when the shot's used too much, it defeats the very intent of the diagonal aspect, making it disorienting and dull; this movie made a primary use of the shot for 90% of the movie. I don't even know what the director is going for in that recurring camera point. And I like how the movie just ran out of the SFX budget, as at times the crew didn't bother to show sparks from the alien guns, or how guy survive a series of blasts that just happen to miss in two straight lines. At one scene, one alien shot the other alien's hand's off; the gun didn't react to the trigger, the hand didn't explode on impact, it just happened off screen. How cheap is that?
What "Battlefield Earth" is is a joyless, heartless waste of two hours.
The "Plan 9 From Outer Space" of Sci-Fi August 21, 2010
Bill Board (God's Wrath, Ohio)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
First of all: Travolta? He of "Sat Nite Fever" & "Grease?" In a story by the (smirk) "great mind" of Elron Hubbard? Are you REALLY expecting anyone to purchase this?
 SciFi Entertainment August 9, 2010
K. Duncan (Ohio, USA)
1 out of 4 found this review helpful
Apparently, you one star reviewers were so busy picking the movie apart, you never got the chance just to sit down and enjoy a bit of SciFi entertainment. My wife & I enjoyed this movie tremendously, were taken away by it, we both understand what the term Science FICTION means. If you want resemblance to reality, then you should watch a NON fiction movie, stay away from Science Fiction altogether. But as a Science Fiction film, it was a wild ride into SciFi adventure as far as we were concerned, and as I said before: we both enjoyed it tremendously! -kd5-
 Yes, it is John Travolta June 22, 2010
I, Da Ca$hman (Colorado)
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
For all my reviews visit my website [...]
I am NOT reviewing the DVD. Just the movies unless otherwise stated.
Please note that the rating above might not accurately reflect my thoughts, you will see a rating sentence at the end of the review.
Well, if you go into this expecting a Syfy channel movie, then you will probably get what you see. If come in with just an open mind, you can see stuff. Zaranyzerak said it well in a video he did saying that "Trailer Park Boys" seemed stupid at first glance, but these characters have layers on them. And so they do. I'd say John Travolta is probably the best guy in the line-up. Man, I love his lines. In fact, most of the aliens seem to have better lines then the earthlings. Maybe to show how earth and mankind are loosing the fight unless something great can pull off, and they don't have that much hope. While, the aliens, they have it all and can feel the great lines as much as they please.
But, you really feel emotion in these characters. And emotion that only comes from a classic...usually. If there's one thing that matches the Syfy channel, it's the CGI. But, I understand. Imagine a Tie-Fighter 15 feet above the surface of Endor in Star Wars. That would be hard wouldn't it? The emotion, you haft to see it too understand it...and I'm two days late on the review and I was sick while I was watching it. Excuse me for that. Remember The Thing (1982) which is being remade into The Thing (2011) which is a remake of exhibit one and exhibit one is a remake of The Thing From Another World (1953) which is a remake of a short story The Thing (18--). Now that I've co-oped out my short paragraph lemme bring your attention to it.
It had no female actresses. Why? Not because they were sexist, but because they didn't need em. The story flowed fine without a lady in it. I do hate when they put in a girl or an African-American JUST to fill in a demographic. If you're gonna put those groups in their, you wanna put them in the plot and not just to be there. Another example is Glory (1989), it doesn't focus on the female actors too much, simply because females didn't have much of a say back in the Civil War era. Fact, probably until the '60's did they not have much say. So, what do we say for Battlefield Earth? Well, it does pretty much try to fill in the demographic of the lady, but they also got TWO other demographics without actually wasting them. They result as John Travolta's partner.
So, there are my thoughts without ruining the movie. The Rating? 3.7/5+-
 Full of sound and fury signifying nothing June 17, 2010
Jason (Backwater, Alabama)
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
Jonnie "Goodboy" Tyler (Barry Pepper), caveman, wearer of tattered straps and animal pelt, man who was so confused he may as well have been slobbering and wearing a helmet when introduced to rudimentary construction techniques, member of the few remaining humans who have not yet been enslaved after near eradication in the year 3000, single-handedly relearns all modern science and alien advanced technology in less than a year to organize, educate, and mobilize all of remaining humanity in about a week to outwit and defeat - via fighter jets that haven't been used in a thousand years - the Psychlos, an advanced, gigantic race of Smurf-colored, interstellar conquering aliens who decimated the world's combined military in the time it takes to boil an egg yet haven't managed to mine Earth's gold or find Ft. Knox in the 1000 years they have ruled the planet.
Read that giant, possible run-on sentence again.
Plot-wise, this movie is for people who think Speed 2 is a little too "deep." The screenplay is so bad I convulsed from rolling my eyes. Some countries have been bombed for lesser travesties. It's a third-term, back-alley abortion.
Add in one of the most gloriously over-the-top acting performances in the history of cinema by John Travolta, and suspension of disbelief is not enough; expulsion of disbelief is required. Which is a shame, really, because the combination completely dwarfs a semi-entertaining movie with decent special effects (despite the horrible camera work shot through a lifeless blue filter the majority of the movie).
Watch B:E with the intention of making fun of it. I recommend following it up by watching a movie with a better, more believable plot, something like Armageddon.
Jason Elin
Showing reviews 1-5 of 466
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