Back in the ‘80s the genres of Science Fiction and Comedy joined forces in a way no decade before or after had ever seen. You had films like 1985’s Weird Science, 1986’s Short Circuit, and of course, the legendary Spaceballs from 1987. Although, preceding all these memorable titles, was a feature from 1984 going by the name The Ice Pirates.
Perhaps not the first film which comes to mind when thinking of Sci-Fi/Comedy hybrids, The Ice Pirates is one of those lost gems that cannot be denied. Originally released in theaters on March 16th of 1984, in its opening weekend it was right up at the top of the box office; right behind big films like Splash and Footloose. Not bad at all, now in 2024, The Ice Pirates celebrates a milestone 40th anniversary.
Looking back at it all, The Ice Pirates was directed/co-written by Stewart Raffill (a proficient filmmaker who is known for other Sci-Fi favorites, such as the later 1984 release, The Philadelphia Experiment, as well as 1988’s Mac and Me), with Stanford Sherman (known for 1983’s Krull) as the co-writer, plus cinematography from the well-respected Matthew F. Leonetti (known for films such as 1982’s Poltergeist). Joining them, you also had production from John Freeman (famously known for his work on 1969 classic Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid), plus a very recognizable cast which included Robert Ulrich (known for his role in the S.W.A.T. series), Mary Crosby (an accomplished actress, but also daughter of Bing Crosby), Michael D. Roberts (known for his role in the series Baretta), the award-winning Anjelica Huston, and still a relatively new face to the big screen, Ron Perlman.
Just some of the names involved, The Ice Pirates had a lot going for it right from the get-go. However, the story goes that due to budget cuts, the film’s script had to be reworked as more of a Comedy than straight ahead Sci-Fi flick. This in mind, being an MGM project, despite these issues and an inevitable re-write, it still had a substantial budget of around 8 million dollars to work with. These factors all considered, the true question is – in spite of any setback, how does The Ice Pirates stand out? Well, depending on who you ask, the film actually does have a pretty entertaining plot that moves at a decent pace and satisfies both the itch for Science Fiction and Comedy in one package. Possessing a very much a tongue-in-cheek vibe, you could even look at The Ice Pirates as a film which paved the way for Mel Brooks’ Star Wars parody Spaceballs that arrived a few years later. Furthermore, some fans of these types of films would even argue that The Ice Pirates is right up next to other cult favorites such as 1999’s Galaxy Quest.
Yes, The Ice Pirates may be silly, but it is still an effective and extremely fun parody. This is no doubt due to the quality of the crew involved; who clearly made the most of the issues in front of them, and highlighted them amidst the actual parody itself. Factors that make the film that much more compelling, thankfully, while somewhat obscure at this stage, The Ice Pirates has still have plenty of opportunities to find an audience. First released to VHS in 1984, it made the jump to a relatively barebones DVD in 2005, before coming to Blu-ray in 2016 with superior imagery/audio quality, but also with zero bonus features.
Any way you look at it The Ice Pirates may not be a classic film, but it is still one that should be on a short list of some of the best spoofy Sci-Fi Comedies out there… even 40 years into the future.
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