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Spaceballs The Movie on video cassette scene (specific reference?)

posted 9 years ago by PepitoBenito
3 replies | jump to latest

So while Spaceballs is obviously primarily a Star Wars parody, it clearly takes from all sorts of sci-fi sources. I've just been rewatching Star Trek 3: Search for Spock, and came across a scene that always bothered me, but only just clicked in my head as being very similar to the Spaceballs scene where Dark Helmet watches the movie in the movie to figure out what's going to happen next. Kirk is watching the ship's video recorder log of the events at the end of Wrath of Khan, where Spock sacrifices himself, and I suspect the director/people involved were probably too lazy to re-shoot this scene, because every single camera angle is directly from Wrath of Khan. It's like he's watching Wrath of Khan on cassette tape.

I've no doubt someone has mentioned this before, and at the end of the day it doesn't really matter because it was just a funny gag in Spaceballs anyways, but I'm curious if anyone else agrees this might be a direct reference to Star Trek 3, or just a coincidence?

[–] Hendry_William_French 9 years ago

Good spot. You could be right!

How many a$$holes we got on this ship, anyhow?!

[–] ExplorerDS6789 9 years ago

This wasn't the first time the characters in a Mel Brooks film actually watch the film they're in. Have you seen Blazing Saddles? Hedley Lamarr tries to escape into Graumann's Chinese Theater that's playing...Blazing Saddles. After the showdown, Bart and Jim go in the theater to see how their own movie ends.

Mel Brooks demolishes the fourth wall.

[–] Line-of-Flight 9 years ago

I don't think that's where it's from, but regardless it's a nice catch of you. Next time I watch The Search For Spock I'll defenately be thinking about it :)