“Battle Beyond The Stars” (1980); Roger Corman’s scrappy, campy answer to Star Wars turns 40…

The Clone Wars. Following the unexpected success of George Lucas’ “Star Wars” in 1977 (“A New Hope” wouldn’t be added to the title until years later), studios big and small were scrambling to create their own space operas.  Some were embarrassingly obvious in their mimicry (Luigi Cozzi’s “Starcrash”), others gained their own cult followings (Glen…