Hardware Wars

After buying the excellent DVD yesterday, I have become a bona fide HARDWARE WARS fan! Done as a mock trailer for an unmade film, this obscenely low-budget and obscenely funny short is a film I wish I'd seen before, and I am embarassed that at one time, for about 2 hours, I couldn't stand it. If any of you has not seen HARDWARE WARS, I suggest you do immediatement!

James Teller

A perfect spoof of Star Wars. This 15 minute quickie is a hilarious short film made immediately after the first Star Wars. It is littered and loaded with tons of jokes. All are funny. And such memorable characters as Fluke Starbuker and Augie Ben Doggie. Those two should be in more movies. The new version with cheesy computer graphics kind of takes away from the low budget homemade feel of the original. I saw this when I was four and couldn't find anyone who had ever heard of it for 14 years. I began to think it was all a figment of my young mind's imagination when I saw it at a video store in Mokena ayear or two ago. Watched thousands of times since. I've also shown it to 40 or 50 people who had never heard of it. They all loved it. If you can find it watch it. And may the farce be with you.

20 minutes of purely wholesome, silly Star Wars spoof fun. Watching "Hardware Wars" really made me think about how there wasn't really that much to the whole first Star Wars film (it boils it down into less than half an hour and still has the same themes and story as the original). It's a good film just to watch if you want to amuse your friends, but I could see how "Hardware Wars" could lose some of it's spunk after a few viewings. A few friends of mine actually couldn't wait for it to be over, which is understandable if you get tired of lowbrow, silly humor easily. The newly added computer generated graphics seem to detract a little from the whole, but hell, if it drags it out a little longer, all the better. Imagine a MAD Magazine article brought to life, and that's the perfect summation of "Hardware Wars". And the box cover looks pretty neat too.

Out of all the parodies of Star Wars I've seen, this is probably the funniest. Not because of the premise, Star Wars with simple electronics instead of spaceships, but because of how poorly acted it is. This is purposely overacted, and it makes it hilarious, and since everyone knows its purposely overacted, no one complains. The special effects were also purposely as awful as can be, and include a toaster on a visible string that shoots toast, and an egg beater on a string. This short is funny for any fan of Star Wars (which I'm not), or anyone that has 15 minutes to kill. Great short!!

My rating: *** out of ****. 13 mins. Not rated.

Auggie Ben Doggie? Chewbacca as Cookie Monster, gnawing on the Princess' cinnamon-roll hairdo? Yes, all this and a flying toaster in "Hardware Wars", one of those rare gems they used to play between films on HBO in the early 80's. All the same, it's not as funny as "Pork Lips Now", an "Apocalypse Now" parody by the same team, which can be seen on the same tape if you go rent this at the video store. This kind of half-baked 70's lo-tech humour is sadly missed.....