Hardware Wars

     Year: 1977
     Runtime:  13 min.
     Director: Ernie Fosselius
     Cast:
          
           Frank Robertson:   4-Q-2  
           Scott Mathews:     Fluke Starbucker  
           Jeff Hale:         Augie "Ben" Doggie  
           Cindy Furgatch:    Princess Anne Droid  
           Bob Knickerbocker: Ham Salad  
           Paul Frees:        Narrator 
           Sonny Buddy Jr.:   Voices  
           Ernie Fosselius:   Lecturer 
           Walt Kraemer:      Voices

Presented as a trailer for a coming attraction, Hardware Wars follows the adventures of Fluke Starbucker and friends, who rescue the beautiful Princess Anne Droid from the clutches of the completely unintelligible naughty person, Darph Nader, who has destroyed her home world of Basketball. Our heros roam the galaxy battling evil and all manner of household appliances. It was made popular when, in 1978, HBO ran it as part of a series of short films between feature presentations. The film was shot in 16 millimeter and features hilariously crude special effects and some really excellent performances by the actors, whose spoofs of the main Star Wars characters are dead on. The movie has received much praise and even George Lucas has called it his favorite Star Wars parody. A special edition was released in 1997 four months after the release of the Star Wars special edition, but this was done without the involvement of the director, Ernie Fosselius.

As an interesting side note, director Fosselius actually worked on Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi as a music arranger. He also worked on another Star Wars parody, Mel Brooks's Spaceballs as a sound effects editor, and his other work includes films such as Ed Wood (sound effects) and The Unbearable Lightness of Being(composer).