Why has there been so few space battles in cinema?

Movies I can reference with space battles.

TPM
AOTC
ANH
ESB
ROTJ
ST II: Wrath of Kahn
ST III: Search for Spock
ST VI: The Undiscovered Country
The Last Starfighter
Enemy Mine
ST: First Contact

These are the only ones that come to mind right now. I'm sure more can be added, but still, there have been tens of thousands of movies produced over the decades and yet we have this few movies with space battles? Surely more can be done?

 

Star Treks Generations, Insurrection and Nemesis also have space battles.

Beyond that, I'm having a hard time thinking of many right now. Theres always Battle Beyond the Stars, and, um, Monty Python and the Life of Brian as well.

 

$$$

 

Don't forget Mel Brooks History of the World. JEWS...IN...SPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACE!!!

 

My guess is it is due to the resources that it takes to create a decent space combat. It is similiar to why war movies are so expensive, it costs a lot to create the ships/uniforms, special effects, etc.

Their was also a space battle in Wing Commander.

 

Where was there a space battle in AotC?

The Cloner

 

Do not forget The Last Starfighter! Sure wish someone would make a sequel to that one. Heh-heh-heh...

 

I think it's mainly due to the fact that the Star Wars saga has set the bar so high for space battles. Many directors and writers are afraid to venture into the realm merely out of fear of being sub-par in comparison.

 

"Where was there a space battle in AotC?"

When Obi and Jango battled in the asteriod belt.



"Do not forget The Last Starfighter! Sure wish someone would make a sequel to that one. Heh-heh-heh..."

I didn't. I consider the space battle in The Last Starfighter to be one of the best ever. The Gunstars are awesome and the Death Blossom was genious. I wish they would do a sequel as well. Btw, it was the first movie to have an all cgi space battle. Impressive since it was done in 86'.

 

"When Obi and Jango battled in the asteriod belt."


Yes!! You are right! Somehow I always forget to think of that one!

The Cloner

 

There was a battle early on in Lost In Space, as well...

I think it's because space travel is not really a part of life as we know it. There aren't many occasions for a space battle in simple fiction, and let's face it... you could always create an excuse for space battles by creating your own galaxy full of futuristic technology and a widespread civil war, but I'd like to see you do it without copying Star Wars.

 

Probably has nothing to do with it, but space battles in film defy ALL science--technically there would be no sound or explosion, which would make for a very dull battle.

Of course, everyone wants the cool battles, so I doubt that its filmmakers wanting to be reasonably scientifically accurate.

 

Off the top of my head:
The Fifth Element
Flash Gordon (Serials)
Flash Gordon
Starship Troopers
Ice Pirates
Galaxy Quest
Battle Beyond the Stars
Battlestar Galactica
Independence Day
Starship Invasions

And Money is likely the big issue. Mostly though, I'd say it has to do with Sci-Fi not being a huge market to begin with.

 

I think sci-fi is a big market. The PT and the Matrix trilogy proved that and there is still more coming.

 

My theory has always been that filmmakers are afraid of doing space battles because critics will consider them Star Wars rip-offs, simply because the space battles in ANH blew everyone away. I look at Independence Day, great movie, ton of fun, but most critics just looked at it as Star Wars on Earth.

 

Dude, how can you forget the epic battle in Spaceballs? That was a great battle. Especially the last battle with the transformed "Spaceball 1" sucking all of the air off of Druidia. Spaceballs had some epic battles.

But seriously, just about every sci-fi movie which is based in space has had some sort of battle in space, whether long or very brief.

 

The PT and the Matrix trilogy proved that.

Yes, and there was no Sci-Fi at all before Matrix. Certianly nothing "big". It's not like there was an E.T., or Close Encounters, or Flash Gordon, or Last Starfighter, or Star Wars, or Star Trek.

Thank God for the Matrix.

 

I think your taking this out of context. We are talking about why there are so few SPACE BATTLES in film considering there are tens of thousands of movies. I was merely mentioning recent sci-fi movies.

Did you not see The Last Starfighter and SW and ST mentioned in my original post? Close Encounters and E.T. don't have Space Battles in them. Not trying to argue, but it seems you were being little sarcastic.

 

I was, you're right. Sorry if I offended.

You suggested that the Matrix (a movie with no space battles) "proved" that Sci-fi was popular. I was merely pointing out that Sci-fi did not begin in the 1990's.

My point was that Sci-fi isn't a large genere, and the projects in it are always dubed a risk by the studio. Drama, Comedy, Romance, and Action/Adventure are all generes that have a high profit-to-cost ratio, so they are made more often, and hence, are more popular for a studio to make.

 

The battle between Jango and Ben in AOTC was visually beautiful. It was really a high point for the saga in terms of dog fighting in space. Also, the little nod to the OT and Han was nice (Obi-Wan hiding on the asteroid).

The reason why there haven?t been too many is because "space battle" is something very specific. When we see those words, we associate ships or vehicles, if you will, in space, battling one another. Thus, many films have a form of space battle, just not taking place in space.

 

DS615,

No offense taken. It's all good. You would think after all these years with the successes of sci-fi movies we've already mentioned, the studios wouldn't be so afraid to take a chance.

 

And yet television has been doing it for years from Flash Gordon all the way up to Star Trek, BG,B5 et al.

Course the best were done Saturday morning toontime.

 

I think the biggest reason there are not many space battle/space opera films being made is solely because of artistic inclination. And because Star Wars pretty much covered all the ground. But mostly artistic inclination. Most sci-fi material story-wise is usually told on a much smaller scale though it can contain monumental meaning and/or plot devices.

 

Money, money, and more money. Honey.