A film ahead of its time...

In Spain, during the late 1970s and the 1980s, surged a renaissance of filmmaking. Gone were the limitations that Nationalist Dictator, “General Francisco Franco”, who had recently passed away. Some of these movies were genius. 1980's “And In The Third Year, He Rose Again”, directed by Rafael Gil, poked fun at a hypothetical scenario, “what would happen if it turned out, Franco is still alive?” Others, such as “Supersonic Man”, were merely mockbusters of more famous movies.

But today, I'm going to write about one of these movies I've recently fallen in love with. And that film is 1985's “Star Knight”, starring Klaus Kinski, Harvey Keitel, Fernando Rey & Miguel Bose. Directed by Fernando Colomo, it was the most expensive film in Spanish history up to that point, with a budget of 400 Million Pesatas, roughly $4 Million in USD at that time. 

Many years, before crazy conspiracy theorists toyed with the idea of the Bible being a misinterpretation, this film laid out that story. It's about a knight named Klever (played by Keitel) rescuing a Princess from a dragon. The dragon turns out to be a spacecraft, piloted by an alien named IX (Bose). During his quest, he kidnaps an alchemist named Boecius (Kinski) to help them along the way. 

The film has an amazing score by Jose Nieto, which compliments the plot very well. The budget was obviously used very well, the costumes and props take you right to the medieval era. The spacecraft, and armor worn by the alien, don't look out of place. 

This movie has gained a mixed reception from fans and critics alike, it seems like the type of movie that you either love and hate. I love this movie. The only complaints I have, is Kinski's voice being dubbed over. Gone is his German accent, replaced by a deep, booming voice of an old British man. It seems so out of place, it doesn't look right. Kinski is a polarizing figure in cinema, but that's for another day. The only other gripe I have with the film, only has to do with the marketing side of things: although he has the least amount of screentime out of the stars, and his name doesn't even appear on the poster or VHS releases for this film, Bose's face is plastered all over the cover art. Apparently, he's a huge star in the Spanish speaking world. But in English speaking markets? Not so much. Much like Kinski was, Bose is also a horrible person. 

I did some digging to find out what happened behind the scenes. English resources had run dry, and there's barely any. According to an interview with Colmo (in Spanish), Kinski was, as usual, being difficult to work with. When his full salary for the role didn't come in time, he almost backed out. Keitel, being a nice person, literally paid the rest of Kinski's salary, out of his own pocket, just to get him to commit to the role. Despite this, Kinski was rude to everyone on the set, except Bose, and those in charge of handling the animals. 

Despite his bad experience with Kinski, Keitel would appear in another picture with him, shortly before the former's death, 1988's “White Hunter”, an italian film, not to be confused with the American film starring Clint Eastwood, who, coincidently, appeared alongside Kinski in “For A Few Dollars More”. Small world, isnt it?

If you're a fan of old movies, sci-fi, fantasy, and anything before it's time, may I suggest this amazing film?