There's a bizarre alternate universe out there where your favorite movies are twisted and transformed into weird, cheap derivations both alien and all-too-familiar—and made on a budget that would make Plan 9 from Outer Space blush at the shoe-string effects. It's the world of Turkish rip-off cinema, and one of its crowning achievements is Dünyayı Kurtaran Adam. That translates to "The Man Who Saved the World" but has become better known as "Turkish Star Wars."
You know what you're in for with this 1982 movie in the first five minutes, when you see space launch footage spliced with Star Wars footage juxtaposed with cardboard sets and crappy thrift store costuming. Sometimes the Star Wars footage is projected directly onto the actors. We see the Death Star, for instance, which we are told is Earth surrounded by "brain cells."
There's plenty of weird pastiche to go around, including the introduction of the Indiana Jones theme somewhere along the line. There are also poorly made robots, plenty of rock quarry scenery that would make Tom Baker-era Doctor Who jealous, and some of the least convincing monsters and aliens ever committed to screen. The plot, if it can be called that, is loose and borderline non-sensical, playing out like a fourth-hand retelling of Star Wars told through rough translations.
The movie sets the bar high for blatant rip-offs, of which there were many inspired by Star Wars. But what it lacks in acting, special effects, originality, and artfulness, "Turkish Star Wars" makes up for in sheer, jaw-dropping weirdness and audacity. Asylum Studios should take notes.
