Battlefield Earth (2000) | Sci-Fi Saturdays

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I’m watching so you don’t have to.

The purpose of this series is not just to review exemplary sci-fi films. It also looks at films that are iconic, which Battlefield Earth is. Just not for the same reasons as other films that hold that title.

First Impressions

A voice over talks about mankind becoming extinct with lots of shots of explosions, running, and action. The intertitles mention that this film is from one of the “best selling science-fiction books of all time.” Really? It then shows a shot of John Travolta as an alien warrior with more explosions. It’s an intense trailer that tells nothing about the film. That should be the first clue about the quality of Battlefield Earth.

Presented below is the trailer for the film.

The Fiction of The Film

An opening crawl informs audiences that it is the year 3000 AD and an alien race named the Psychlos has ruled the planet for 1,000 years. They export metal from the planet of which gold is the most precious (duh). Humanity is on the brink of extinction with small tribes of people living in the Rocky Mountains. Others are kept as slaves for use by the Psychlos. One of the free men, Jonnie (Barry Pepper) rides out of his encampment, unhappy with the way things are. He meets two men in an abandoned shopping mall, but is captured by a Psychlo raiding party.

Jonnie is shown the ropes of the slave encampment, including how to use a breathing apparatus, as the air within the Psychlo dome surrounding Denver is toxic to humans. Conversely, the air outside the dome is toxic to Psychlos. He disrupts the processes and ends up shooting two Psychlo guards which makes him known to the chief of security, Terl (John Travolta). Terl schemes and blackmails his second-in-command Ker (Forest Whitaker) but ends up not getting transferred off Earth for at least 50 more years.

Terl, bitter at the rebuke from his people, decides to steal gold that is being mined. Jonnie won’t fight another prisoner over their food, and convinces the slaves to unite as one. Terl releases Jonnie, Carlo (Kim Coates), and Floyd (Jason Cavalier) so he can learn what they like to eat (to the aliens it appears to be live rats). The Psychlo then recaptures the humans and puts Jonnie in a training machine to teach him the language and history of the Psychlos, so that he can lead the group that will mine the gold for Terl.

Terl lets Jonnie visit the Denver Library, where he examines a number of books including looking over the Declaration of Independence. Terl proves his superiority to the “man-animals” by shooting legs off a group of cows, and then capturing Jonnie’s girlfriend Chrissy (Sabine Karsenti) putting an explosive collar on her neck. Terl then teaches Jonnie how to fly the Psychlo ships, completely unconcerned about the sharing of knowledge.

Ker discovers a strip of gold in an irradiated area of the mountains. The Psychlos cannot get close since radiation will react explosively with the air they breathe. Jonnie flies his men into the area, but has other plans. He takes sorties to Washington DC for locations of military bases. Then to Fort Hood, Texas where he trains his men on how to fly Harrier jets. Finally they go to Fort Knox and take loads of gold, which they pass off to Terl as the mined (and refined) gold. This all happens in 14 days.

At the Psychlo facility the prisoners stage a riot and escape. Other human survivors that Jonnie met outside the dome arrive in Harrier jets and begin attacking the Psychlo base. Jonnie sends Mickey (Christian Tessier) to the base teleporter with a nuclear warhead which gets sent to planet Psychlo, destroying the entire homeworld. Carlo sacrifices himself to destroy the dome, killing many of the aliens. Jonnie and the resistance capture Terl and hold him in Fort Knox, using him for leverage if the Psychlos ever come back. Ker switches sides and works with the humans. But at least Terl gets his gold.

“Attention. This is Terl, your chief of security. Exterminate all man-animals at will, and happy hunting!” – Terl

History in the Making

Battlefield Earth is a film unlike almost any other reviewed on Sci-Fi Saturdays. It is a film of such great social and filmic importance that I’ll be doing something that I’ve never done before; I have contacted Barry Alton Dertwiller, CPT MCSE, the director of the Battlefield Earth Center for Cultural Studies and Gift Shop in Denver, Colorado, who has agreed to share some of his expertise regarding the film and its messages. But first, let’s get some of the pleasantries out of the way.

The film was based on a 1982 book by Lafayette Ronald Hubbard, who is also the author of Dianetics; a book that is to Scientology what the Bible is to Christianity. That book, Battlefield Earth was, as any other science-fiction related book released after Star Wars, shopped around in Hollywood. An autographed copy came by way of John Travolta in hopes that he could show it to friends of his and get it produced as a film. Unfortunately the early 80s were a time of diminishing returns for the actor, and Travolta was unable to get any traction on the idea. Cut to the mid-90s when Travolta has just starred in Pulp Fiction which turns his trajectory upwards, allowing him the perception he has the clout to get things done. JD Shapiro was hired to write the first draft screenplay, but eventually was fired for not kowtowing to the studio and refusing to remove or change elements in the film. His prior credits included an episode of the romantic-comedy Duet, an episode of Charles in Charge, Robin Hood Men in Tights, and a film based on his life which he also directed called We Married Margo. He was eventually replaced by Corey Mandell who’s only previous credit is an early draft for the 1991 TV movie, Love Kills.

So the production was getting off to a rocky start in the writing department (not counting a lack of critical reception on Hubbard’s original novel, which had mixed reviews, including this quote from the science-fiction magazine Analog, calling the novel “a wish-fulfillment fantasy wholly populated by the most one-dimensional of cardboard characters.”). But that’s okay. The film had a star in Travolta. He would no longer be attempting to play Jonnie, whose full name is Jonnie Goodboy Tyler (no, for reals), but would now embody Terl, the nine foot tall Psychlo security chief. He would be joined by Barry Pepper who had acted in two of the most critically acclaimed films prior to this one Saving Private Ryan and The Green Mile. This was to be his first leading role. They were joined by perennial character actor Forest Whitaker, known best for Good Morning Vietnam and Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, but also having appeared in Travolta’s Phenomenon in 1996. Kim Coates rounded out that main cast, another veteran character actor from films like The Last Boy Scout and Waterworld.

For direction, the film hired Roger Christian. This is a man who won an Academy Award for set decoration for George Lucas’ Star Wars, and was nominated again for Ridley Scott’s Alien. He continued a relationship with Lucas, working on Return of the Jedi, as a second unit director and returning in the same capacity on The Phantom Menace. Of the films he’s directed, Battlefield Earth is probably the one he’s best known for, even though his 1982 directorial debut, a horror film called The Sender, has become a cult-classic and publicly touted by Quentin Tarantino as his favorite horror film of that year. Maybe, unsurprising to some, Christian won several awards for this film. They include the Golden Raspberry Awards for Worst Director, Worst Picture and Worst Picture of the Decade. Sometimes it’s better to be known for something, rather than nothing.

Genre-fication

The history of science-fiction films is replete with humans fighting back against alien visitors. Some of the earliest films reviewed on Sci-Fi Saturdays include such tales. Films like Earth vs the Flying Saucers, Invaders from Mars, and The War of the Worlds. Battlefield Earth also combines elements from modern films like Waterworld (which is also centered around Denver) and Independence Day (which features jet planes versus spaceships and aliens). I asked Mr. Dertwiller to speak a little about the importance of genre in the film.

Jovial Jay: What elements of the film do you find the most compelling in terms of science-fiction?

Barry Alton Dertwiller: Well, the film is nuanced in its approach. Take the title for instance. It’s “Battlefield Earth.” It’s not a battle for Los Angeles. It’s not a battleSHIP. It’s not even a battle beyond the stars. It’s happening right here, on Earth! That pretty much tells you everything you need to know right there.

JJ: But what about the people that say it’s too derivative of other films?

BAD: Listen, all films can’t be Star Wars, but Star Wars has elements of a lot of films too, right? That film borrowed from Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon, and the films of Akira Kurosawa, and everyone is saying it’s the best science-fiction film around.

JJ: Yes, but George Lucas’s film was a little more cohesive.

BAD: I guess. I mean I have heard that people are wondering how these “man-animals” learned to talk so well having been decimated over a millenia. Or that all the humans have these 1950s sounding teen names, like Jonnie, Chrissy, Mickey, and Sammy. But the point of the film is about humans reclaiming their planet and defeating the bad guys. And what a bad guy! Did you see these creeps? There’s been nothing like them on film before or since. These Psychlo’s are pretty unique aliens.

JJ: I guess that’s a fair assessment. While they’re not quite like the aliens described in the book, they do have a unique look with their large heads, large frame, and occasional sixth finger. But I guess I don’t see why they chose Earth in the first place, since the air is poisonous to them and the amount of radioactive material after the nuclear battle with them has left parts of the planet unobtainable.

BAD: That’s a classic reverse-astronaut move there. Normally movies have the humans going to planets where they can’t breathe the atmosphere, so at least here humans get home field advantage. And they have those nose clips that help them breathe.

JJ: Which only covers their nose, and not their mouth…

BAD: Yeah but it’s alien technology. We have a full display at the museum about how those work. It’s really interesting.

Societal Commentary

Science-fiction films, whether good or bad, tend to address themes related to human nature. Sometimes it’s lofty ideals about the nature of the universe or where mankind came from, as with 2001: A Space Odyssey, or last week’s film, Mission to Mars. Other times it may just be about letting off some steam, like in Laserblast, or making sure that Martians don’t steal all the Earth women (Mars Needs Women). This film takes much of its thematic matter from the novelization.

JJ: What can you tell us about the backstory of the Psychlos? That’s kind of a weird name, right? Like they’re ‘psycho” or something.

BAD: The story that we tell at the Center is that Mr. Hubbard was real upset that his new book, this was back in the 1950s. His new book, Dianetics, was getting a bad review from the medical community, especially from psychiatrists. Those are the ones that treat mental illness. Anyway, he thought they had it out for him, and he would not let that dog go. So 30 years later when he was writing Battlefield Earth he made the bad guys the psychiatrists. But to hide it, he called them Psychlos. Pretty clever?

JJ: About as clever as writing a science-fiction book excoriating the American political systems and calling the aliens the Publicans and the Dems.

BAD: No need to get all huffy about it. It’s just a name he used.

JJ: So, how does that story relate to the characters in the film? There’s nothing about mental illness or medical practitioners or anything.

BAD: You know, that’s a good point.

JJ: When it comes down to it, it’s more about these long-haired hippie-like people, living in the wilderness that have to fight against these corporate aliens that have come to our planet to take all the resources for themselves. It’s more like a David and Goliath story–literally, since these Psychlos are so tall–where Jonnie and the humans really stick it to the man.

BAD: Also a good point. It also is saying that a super-determined man, who repeatedly causes trouble, and is not punished for his actions, but instead is rewarded by being provided training and instruction in advanced technology, so that he can fly around the country without the bad guys knowing anything he’s doing, and eventually read the Declaration of Independence, can get the idea for a revolution and defeat the aliens, winning back the world for future generations. That’s the kind of hero that we need to see more of.

The Science in The Fiction

As past Sci-Fi Saturdays articles have pointed out, the scientific accuracy of films is never the prime concern. While continuity and realism are appropriate (especially in a genre called science-fiction), the story should come first. Sometimes things are done for the sake of drama, but move the plot along. Those can be forgiven. Sometimes, there’s egregious oversights that are there…just because.

JJ: Mr. Dertwiller, I have to discuss what I feel is the biggest flaw in the film. And that’s the 1,000 years issue. If you’re not familiar with what I mean, it’s that these aliens have been on Earth for a millennium. One thousand years. And they’re, just what? Still pulling metals out of the ground? Isn’t this supposed to be an advanced alien race that mines gold from planets all over the universe, and sends it back home?

BAD: Well I guess that’s true, but you could look at it from the standpoint that Terl is in charge and he’s a bad manager, right? His problem is that he’s greedy and wants to keep some of the gold himself.

JJ: Right, but 1,000 years? Is he really that old? He’s also just a security chief. That guy, the Planetship (there’s a weird character name) is really in charge. And Terl, he was trying to get off the planet. That was the point of his “training” Ker. He wanted to go back to Psychlo and be with his wives or whatever.

BAD: Perhaps there’s more gold on Earth than we ever expected. Maybe the Psychlos are seriously efficient and have been mining for 1,000 years.

JJ: I’ll even say 900 years, just to give them time to set up their operation–which is only in Denver, right?

BAD: Yup, like we say here “Denver means energy.”

JJ: Okay. Leaving the mining out of it for now. What about the books? Wouldn’t those books in the library have been turned to dust in 1,000 years?

BAD: There are some books we’ve discovered, well, not at the Center, but historians, that are well over 1,000 years old, like the Diamond Sūtra or the Celtic Psalter. Heck, the Gutenberg Bible looks pretty good for being just shy of 600 years old.

JJ: Okay, but the airplanes at Fort Hood. They run through a training simulator that works perfectly fine. And these planes still have fuel in them. And they turn on an overhead projector and the bulb still works. What do you say to that?

BAD: You remember that this is just a movie, right?

The Final Frontier

In summation, Battlefield Earth has failures on numerous fronts, that all come together to make possibly one of the worst films in modern history. Is this worse than Plan 9 From Outer Space? Probably not. But this film shows that other “disastrous” productions, like Waterworld, Johnny Mnemonic, or even Face/Off are not as terrible as they may have been portrayed, with “bad” being a sliding scale. Between scripting and character motivation issues, cinematography, and continuity gaffes, they create a holistically problematic movie that cannot be fixed by simple editing. It will forever stand as a warning to those that think they can do better. Here’s the baseline. Prove it.

JJ: We’re running a little long at this point, and there’s so much more we could have discussed. But I wanted to thank you for stopping by and answering some of my questions.

BAD: Oh, it was my pleasure.

JJ: Where can people find out more about the film and your Institute?

BAD: We’re on Yelp and you can find information on the daily tours, and reenactments that a number of dedicated purists do once a month on our website at BECCSandGiftShop.info.

JJ: Excellent. Any final thoughts Mr. Dertwiller?

BAD: Buddy of mine said that this film had so many Dutch angles in it, he thought it was directed by Paul Verhoeven. Which I guess would be funny if I knew who Paul Verhoeven was.

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