Okay, I'm a true believer in the 'guilty pleasure syndrome.' I sometimes watch movies considered bad just because I like something about them. I can think of several examples, such as "Supergirl" (just to see Helen Slater), "Cabin Boy" (because, yes I do wanna buy a monkey) and "Freaked" (Keanu Reeves in a dog mask… so what else is new) immediately come to mind. What's great about these films is that they often achieve some level of cult classic and because there are just enough people out there who share my guilty pleasures, they get released in terrific DVD Special Editions. The most recent one to slide across my desk originally came out 25 years ago. It starred a Playboy Playmate of the Year, one half of a popular comedy duo of the 70's, and had cheesy sci-fi special effects that rivaled even the more recent of the Sci-fi Channel's made for TV movies. It was called "Galaxina" and the title character was portrayed by the late Dorothy Stratton.

Galaxina was a lifelike mute robot who was a crewmember on board the police cruiser 308. It was captained by the rather aptly named Cornelius Butt (Avery Schreiber - of 'Burns & Schreiber') and piloted by Thor (Stephen Macht). After a long stay in deep space, the crew thinks they are on their way to a nice stretch of R&R. Instead they are given a new mission and are sent back out immediately to locate the mysterious Blue Star. Along the way they end up in an intergalactic brothel and face some unusual motorcycle worshiping thugs.

If you think the plot sounds a little… silly. Well, you’re not far from the mark. "Galaxina" looks like it was made by refugees from a Star Trek convention. It is incredibly silly, the dialogue is beyond laughable, and the effects about as bad as I mentioned before. However, it is also rather fun to watch, much in the way it is fun to watch train wrecks like "Barbarella" or the 1980's "Flash Gordon." First off, you can’t believe the movies even got made and then you can't believe you’re getting a kick out of them.

What's sad about this film though is not that it was made famous because of its inherent 'badness', but because of the death of it's titular (no pun intended) star. Dorothy Stratton had already made a name for herself by becoming a Playboy Playmate, but when she became 1980's Playmate of the Year, her life was pretty well set. She really didn’t have that much talent aside from her amazing looks, but there were those ready to make money off of her. She was also saddled with a husband who was beyond deranged. In a fit of jealous rage, he brutally murdered Stratton. Shortly after, he killed himself. A few years later, the events would be the subject of the film "Star 80."

Recently BCI Eclipse released a 25th Anniversary Edition of "Galaxina" and even though the film itself isn't good enough to warrant it, they really went all out with the DVD. Besides fine tuning it with an all new high definition transfer, they were able to get director William Sachs and actor Stephen Macht to sit down for a commentary on the film. There's also an additional audio interview with Sachs as well as several photo galleries and storyboards. They also dug up some extra footage that was used in the International Cut of the film. As far as DVD-Rom features, you'll find two complete versions of the script and several articles from Starlog and Fangoria magazine about the movie. Heck, they even included a booklet with some photos and a biography of Stratton.

"Galaxina" may be famous for all the wrong reasons, but it is still considered somewhat of a cult classic. I applaud BCI for their efforts in making it worthwhile to have on DVD.

Directed by: William Sachs
Starring: Stephen Macht, Avery Schreiber, James David Hinton, Dorothy Stratton
Extras: Audio Commentary by Director William Sachs and Actor Stephen Macht, Audio Interview with Director William Sachs, Four Still Galleries and Storyboards, Additional Footage from the International Cut, Trailer, Six Page Booklet with Stills and Bio of Dorothy Stratton, DVD-Rom: Two Complete Scripts (Original and Shooting), Reprints of Articles from Starlog and Fangoria Magazine
Specifications: Widescreen (2.35:1)
Studio: BCI Eclipse
Release Date: 8/29/2006
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website

We'll give Galaxina: 25th Anniversary Edition a B.