Hardware Wars 1 of 2

[phuqueho]

memories... i was happy our grammar school showed it in the early 80's.. hey.. i sold it as art cuz it purley is

[schizuki]

Is that the legendary Paul Frees narrating? Burgermeister Meisterburger himself?

[VincentValdemar]

Still better than the Prequels!..

[taffysaur]

@VincentValdemar feel better now do we?

*rolleyes*

[Sharptooth100]

That would not make a great movie because it would stink.

[LMTR14]

gosh... wowwee

LOL

[MacEwanMouse]

an heroic

[blackrainuponus]

Suddenly the Christmas Special doesn't seem so bad...

[spideyfreak74]

hahaha....i remember watching this as a kid when HBO was the only premium cable network. look at the woman leaving the beach at 2:27. LMAO!!!

[jadelightn]

This used to run on HBO all the time. When HBO ran the same movie 55 times a month.

[glitchesandglitter]

i recall waking up around midnight when i was really little and seeing this on tv and thinking like wtf is this shit?

[hillyhill8645]

Brooks Gordon...are you out there???

[IceLucario2012]

20th Century Foss?

[AnukTheMaster1000]

@IceLucario2012 LOLZ

[AmusingByNature]

Wow.

[SergeantLuke]

Darph Nader... villain.

[ctdsnark]

The shot at 4:15 still confuses the heck out of me---is that supposed to be this film's version of a Jawa?Does Augie "Ben" Doggie,for some unexplainable reason,turn into a robot for a couple of seconds?WHAT??!!??

[sgrplmgrl]

i remember bill tush being in this...lol

[samh09]

This movie needs to be put in HD. Not complaining just saying it would make it look better in HD, that's all.

[jetuber]

I remember back in grade school, we were shown this at an assembly in the school gym. It was right around the time of either Star Wars itself or The Empire Strikes Back, if I recall.

[generatorx]

I borrowed this from the local public library as a reel film. It was a popular title with a waiting list. Awesome short film!!

[komangodonify]

Golly willikers!

[ltrich50]

This is a classic and I do believe that GL himself signed off on it. The play on the Star Wars charedter names were hilarious: 4Q2...Ham Salad...LOL

[3investigators]

Lot's of fun. I saw this when it first came out. And dare say it's held up for me much better than the film it parodies!

[PsychoCharles17]

what exactly is so funny about this? its simplicity as a 'funny' parody among the contemporary American audience or is there some actual point to be made about Star Wars within the context of the jokes being made throughout the film?

[movieapple]

Wow, too many words!

[mikepalomino]

@PsychoCharles17 If you fail to find this funny I can only tack it up to is inter-generational differences.

However - that said - I don't know where it says that parody has to have a point. This is parody for parody's sake, like a Mad Magazine from the era, lampooning the best scenes from the movie, along with a lot of kitsch and tongue-in-cheek use of household items in place of expensive special effects. I find it very quotable too.

For me it still holds up but your mileage may vary :)

[TomatoeAssassin]

Thank God! It's not the "new and improved" version. I enjoyed the original version every time I saw it on HBO but the "improved" version ruined it.

[locksmithite]

OMG!!! I thought I was the only human being alive that remembers this.

[banjotune22]

I totally remember this when I was a kid.

[TrueDragon13]

Me, too! I love this farce.

[MissXtine10]

Well, whatever they're doing now, it sure ain't acting ; D

[CaptainOnoma]

xD xD

[francoflavier]

2.29 who is that guy in the background

[spazman220]

lol i believe that is a beach goer

[jvfante]

it was the producer's sister, if memory serves. I forget her name, but nearly all of us who worked on this film are in front of the camera somewhere. jf

[mikepalomino]

@jvfante

Mr. Fante, great to see someone associated with the film here.

If I may, a few questions:

Was the dubbing intentional (for comic effect) or was that a limitation of the budget / equipment?

Any stories to tell about the bar scene? Were those authentic bar patrons or extras? Some of them look pretty wild. The guy at 4:46 (grabbing his hair) looks like he's tripping (lol).

Did you get to work with Paul Frees personally? What was that like?

Thanks in advance!

[masseyHHVP]

This early fan film played on HBO in its early days over and over in between movies especially late at night and I loved it every time...Ultra camp sci fi at its glorious worst..My favorite is the muppetWookie Co-pilot.

[epopluap]

Ham Salad looks like Noel Gallagher!

[frankd1965]

Chewchilla looks like "The Cookie Monster" from Sesame Street.

[mikepalomino]

heh, I think that was part of the gag - since he's referred to as a Wookie Monster : )

[auggiedoggy]

@frankd1965 : LOL, yes and C3P0 looks like the tin man from The Wizard of Oz.

[frankd1965]

Paul Frees did the voice over for this

[Flamedramon1992]

XD

So cheap! But that makes it so funny!

The Droid-sound XDDDDDDDDD

Pocketlamp XDDDDD

[CATB0XFILMS]

at 2:29 you can see a person at the beach! hahah

[Q1701746561017]

Utter crap. I've seen way better spoofs. Ones with actuall jokes that are actually funny.

[pikagirl01]

WEIRD

[moviewiz]

where did you get this i havent seen this in years

[frankd1965]

Love this film.

[englishsunset]

This use to be played on HBO back in the very beginning days of cable tv. It was good then and ever better now.

[cosmoscomedy]

A spectacle lightyears ahead of it's time!

[fantomfriend]

i saw this on a local station after the rarely shown movie darkstar. i still use the lines gee wow eveytime someone has a lightsaber. and everytime some one is garbled i say what is he saying i don't understand what he's saying. this is truly a memory that has become star wars nostalgia.

[Piramidohd]

Hardware Wars, un corto di 13 minuti del 1977 che Lucas ha descritto come la sua parodia preferita. Fonte: Wikipedia

[acer3573]

Lent my HW tape to an old coworker, when he returned it the next week he said "well that's 10 minutes I'll never get back." LOL. I still love this film!

[Dargo099]

6:16 -Speed limit:99.99 % of light speed!

[Noche93]

mmm, im suspecting is not the real film

[coalhalo]

It is very much a "real" film. It came out right after the original Star Wars and was shown widely; especially on HBO and Cinemax.

[goktimusprime]

Ernie Fosselius also assisted Mel Brooks in creating Spaceballs (1987). :)

[evilbobandrews]

And worked on Return of the Jedi.

[spacestevie2]

@goktimusprime Ernie also dis the dance scenes in Return of the Jedi. Lucas loved this parody.

[SLATER654]

lol at 2:33 at the upper right you can see a woman

[ChicoEdge]

I think that was intentional...

[RikuDude88]

golly jeppers goollywillicurs

[dave90046]

I remember seeing this as a kid and thinking how cool it was. Me and my friends had a big discussion about how we would make our own Star Wars movie (never happened).

[hardc1974]

Holy, I have not seen this since 1983 or 1984 on First Choice back when I was a kid. This is amazing. Thank you for posting!!!

[ronpaul2008rocks]

This came out right after Star Wars! I remember seeing this when I was a kid, too. I thought it was great. I only saw it once soon after it came out. I think it was 1977 or 1978.

[frankd1965]

1978 was the year of release.

[iriscren]

i own this movie orangial copy

[stadalberts]

Golly willikers!

[scaramoochscaramooch]

wookie monster is so cute..aka 'chew-chilla' love it:)

[scaramoochscaramooch]

gollllllllllly!!!!! lol

[olivaresreed]

Awesome! I never thought I'd see this film again! I loved it when I first saw it over 20 years ago - love it now!

[champcar4ever]

I remember when this first came out and laughed so hard I busted a gut.

[jvidell]

Does anyone remember the name of a short film that aired around the same time and was about a movie maker who was attacked my the film he was working on when the film came to life and attacked him like a blob?

[cochranexyz]

I remember one about tape (video tape or reel to reel). The video tape summoned someone to a house then ate them, then wrote another to someone. And so on. Is this the one?

[mikepalomino]

@cochranexyz No, that movie's called "Recorded Live" and it's on the same YouTube Channel that hosts this video.

watch?v=S-Qeee8D2Ro

[mikepalomino]

@jvidell No, that movie's called "Recorded Live" and it's on the same YouTube Channel that hosts this video.

watch?v=S-Qeee8D2Ro

[grumpybb]

@jvidell Flesh Eating Film Reels

[bigedude33]

Crap I haven't seen this since HBO when I was like 10 - 20+ years ago... Awesome!

[homerswife]

2:29 look at the top right corner, lol!

[ramkidd123]

omg!!! so old school!!lol

[naughtypagan72]

I love the Mos Eisley scene - reminds me of the bars around here :)

[cavernism]

the original sweded movie!!

[kranktank]

it's Swedish?

[cavernism]

No...look up "sweded" on YouTube or watch the movie Be Kind Rewind, and you'll see what I mean. :-)

[MrMaFisto]

I remember watching this in school during movie days. We all laughed so hard.

[Hashinator89]

I'd heard about this about a year ago. Apparently, this is supposed to be Lucas' favorite parody. Don't know what made me think of it, but good thing it did. I'm glad I did it; i've hoping this would TAKE A DUMP on Spaceballs, and thank God, it did. I'd have to put this over Blue Harvest, even moreso Thumb Wars.

[leeroynaggins]

Wonderbug!

[irvman999]

IT WAS MORE LIKE SPEED BUGGY!

[024yeknom]

3:03 lmao

[024yeknom]

I aint seen this in nearly 20 years...

[tanukidee]

"You bet yer ASTEROID, Kid!!" XD I remember when they used to show this on HBO! Of course, they probably won't admit that now... Thanks for posting this--my sister and I loved it.

[DarthOxillious]

I love this, it is so hilarious. Honestly, this really is brilliant for its time.

LOL! LMFAO! Glad you put this here and glad George Lucas allows this stuff, marvellous!

By the way I love the Original Trilogy better, because it had a better story, cast, crew and because it had a really good classical theme. I do enjoy the Prequel Trilogy, it's just, it wasn't that great. Digital effects is one thing great. Diologue and enthusiasm, thats something different.

Darth Oxillious out.

[bmares92]

c'mon the six movies were brilliant, maybe they needed a little more dialog but it would've extend the movie too much; perhaps the first is my favourite

[gopconservative94]

The wookie Monster...Cookie Monster on crack...the best!

[wmgroutofthebox]

I was in college. This was so funny and still is.

[snibbor35]

I too remember this from my 30+ childhood. It still cracks me up

[jefcon3]

I remember seeing this in Kindergarten, about 30 years ago, and we thought it was the funniest thing ever... but am not sure how I remembered to think to look it up again... lol

[RHCAXD]

this is great!!!!

[Izlude7980]

lol the wookie monster

[herbg3]

This movie helped inspire YouTube!

[bluestarheart]

hah leia actually has cinamon buns on her head!

[kcdfdancer]

we watched this in school its sooooo funny

[stevieschnick]

I have this on one of my Night Flight bootlegs

[scottamuis]

This is really old and it's really a great piece of movie slamming !!!

5 stars *****

[integral]

Whatever happened to Ernie?

[CCrossfan]

You bet your asteroid kid

[MidNight017]

really awesome. do u think they'd Hardware Wars:The Prequels? I bet they'd do a much better job than GL did w TPM & ATOTC. Heh. No offense, really.

[ToastmachineIdiot]

wow! My dad kept telling me about this and it's unbelievably hilarious!

this is awesome!

[davelaz]

We watched this in junior high school. Not sure what the educational value was, but I loved it!

[MidNight017]

The educational value is that you don't really need obscene amounts of money/talents in order to make people laugh till "(you) piss in (your) pants." Take that, Holywood!

[Kantorock]

Laughed so hard I almost wetted my pants.!

[SFFOOL76]

the guy directed this movie (ernie foss----ius) did voice work for RETURN OF THE JEDI (as a guy crying when his ranchor monster died) I loved this movie as a kid, it was so funny.

[greg5566]

If that's true, it shows that George Lucas has really lost his sense of humor, because there was a big movement to get Lucas to include the "Star Wars Kid" in one of the latest movies, but he wouldn't.

[SFFOOL76]

I heard about that with "Star Wars Kid" , however look at family guy and how many star wars references they do.

[SpreadingtheMuse]

As a SW fan, I saw no reason to include the SW kid other than irrational pity. You just cant submit to the mob mentality and throw in every random idea that comes along. A lot of those ideas have been pretty dumb.

[greg5566]

What you say is not wrong, HOWEVER, in the case of episodes I, II, and III of SW, nothing could possibly have hurt, and anything would have been better.

[SpreadingtheMuse]

Whereas there was room for improvement in I, II, and III, that isnt a good reason for wasting screentime for a geek injoke about a young man who never wanted the attention in the first place.

I dont dislike the prequels. In fact, a lot of the criticism has been mob-rule hysteria.

[greg5566]

That may be true. But some of the criticism, mine for instance, stems constantly checking my watch wishing it would hurry up and end, and George Lucas's complete lack of story-telling ability.

[SpreadingtheMuse]

I thought the stories themselves were fine, they were just undercut by ruinous dialog. Had he hired a professional screenwriter to stick to his outlines but give realistic sparkling dialog, most of the complaints would vanish.

This explains SW's popularity overseas. Some countries get only subtitles, so they dont actually "hear" the dialog, and therefore miss a great deal of the corniness. Go watch a foreign subtitled film. Some of them have atrocious dialog, but no one ever notices.

[greg5566]

Yes, we're saying the same thing now. I didn't say the stories were bad. I think the story, especially of #1, was great. It's the story-TELLING that was bad, for some of the reasons you said. Dialog is a huge part of it, but not the only one--pacing, character development, etc, all are important.

But anyway, we're on the same page. I especially agree with you 100% if he would have simply hired professional screenwriters and a professional DIRECTOR, they would have been great.

[johnowenD]

Chew Chilla hahahahahahahahah

[redwingsfanintexas]

this is the spoofs of all spoofs. great classic already. i saw it when i was a kid. HBO in-between movies. good stuff.

[64098]

I could tell it was fake when I saw the wire holding up the toaster!

[andrew01292]

Look at the sunbather at about 2:30 lol

[evildigigenius]

What the heck!! ahahahahahah

[annegiep]

This is incredible!!! I loved watching this when I was in school... thanks for posting this!

[rebekahWalton]

Funny! THanks for putting it on.

[SmurfHatred]

Omg i love this movie so much im so happy you posted it ive been looking forever!!!!!

Thank You!

[Stylensky]

I loved this as a kid in the early 80s. I think the first place I saw it was on HBO in about '82. Ham Salad and Oggie Ben Doggie are the funniest. "No, its just a headache"...lol

[pedotes78]

hey what's that song in the cantina called ? who sings it?

[zefallafez]

"Okee From Muskogee" by Merle Haggard

[destroyedtheozone]

This is the best fan made STAR WARS movie EVER!

[DannyJustiniano]

its not fan-made..

[ce5k]

Holy Mother of God -- thank you for posting this!

[tk000222]

nice 1138 on the speedo.

I owned this on vhs back in the mid-80s ...

I still (occasionally) say "jeepers. golly willikers"

[joannais]

thats awesome

[ThaFourFour]

REDEYE KNIGHTS ! lmao ! only ever seen the cover for this ! better than the christmas special but not as funny !

[NinjaGhostScorpion]

You'll laugh.

You'll cry.

You'll kiss 3 bucks good-bye.

[StokersMate]

Fluke's driving Wonderbug! ^_^

[kd5ful]

I remember this from Mrs. Double's class in '78.

I was in 4th grade.

NICE!!

[GaaraYautjaWarrior1]

Holy crap, this is one of the funniest video that i have ever seen, its funny how they ride in an iron.

[711samantha]

thank you for posting this.i havent seen this since i was a little kid.still funny after all these years.i love when chew-chilla eats princess annes hair. hahahahahahahah

[spaceorbison]

My fucking god I was like 5 years old when I saw this shit. I just remember the fucking flying toaster and iron mainly but now that I see this its bringing back some memories oh my god. Ham Salad! ROFL..

[colusaben]

I saw this 30+ years ago at a drive in. thanks for the great memory.

[reformedfruit]

Notice in the background at 2:40 in Luke's workshop that he's completely disassembled 4Q2!

[reformedfruit]

Classis stuff! Thanks for posting. I love that Paul Frees narration (this and his Haunted Mansion narration) are just classic.

[bharris68]

we could watch this when I was in elementary school IF we were really good and all of us got our work done for like an entire month.

[glitchesandglitter]

i can remember waking up one night past my bedtime, and watching a glimpse of this. late night television used to be so weird and cool.

[wormguy119]

Sweeeet post! I first saw this in an episode of "TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes" in the early 80s. I had it taped on an old VHS tape but lost it over the years.

[Mowac]

I haven't seen this in 30 years...It was one of those short films that was on HBO. Thanks for the post. I use to mock this film all the time.........hillarius!

[therealmadwombat]

HOLY SHIT!!! I haven't seen this in about 25 years!!! Good job guys!

[thinazzabird]

how i laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed

[CareerTech1]

This is classic!

[impulsivedesigns]

i remember seeing this as a kid. its alot funnier now. that was frank zappa singing the song in the bar.

[MBbackwards]

You guys grabbed my uncle at adelphi i think and made him watch this, he told me about this today, how long ago was that?

[jrazz2298]

I rember seeing this on HBO back in the erly 80"s funny

[aldeshsa]

I never knew this was an actual movie. I remember hearing the name once or twice. Thanks for the post.

[SmileOnADog]

I saw this when I was a kid and I think we had that vacuum cleaner.

[syanarasucka]

this really wasn't as funny as i was told it would be

[Moncynnes]

I love how at the 2:24 mark you can see a lady picking up her beach towel and cooler and hurrying out of the shot...

[b75s]

Hard to believe this S-W spoof was actually made B4 microsoft movie-maker came to be. HELL! even before microsoft. Of all the S-W spoofs out their now, this one is still the king.

[ueberRegenbogen]

Us old codgers used to do it with film, and splicing blocks! :)

(side note: It doesn't predate Micro,soft—they go back to 1975.)