Space Rage
Space Rage: Breakout on Prison Planet is a 1985 American space Western film directed by Conrad E. Palmisano and starring Richard Farnsworth, Michael Paré, John Laughlin, Lee Purcell and William Windom. Some promotional materials have used the abridged title Space Rage. The original version of the film, Trackers, only received a test release and was not widely seen.
Plot
Two centuries in the future, a dangerous lunatic named Grange is sentenced to a penal colony, Botany Bay, on the planet Proxima Centauri 3. There, a bounty hunter and an ex-policeman team up to prevent him from escaping.Production
The film was the brainchild of Beverly Hills psychologist Morton Reed. During a luncheon with film industry friends Roger Corman and Elliott Slutzky, he heard them complain about how hard it was to find fresh concepts. Reed, who had moonlighted as a writer, told them on a dare that he could easily come up with an exciting movie. He formed his own company Morton Reed Productions and found a partner in Vestron, a distributor of genre films looking to branch out into production. His project was the most expensive of Vestron's initial three-picture slate, which also comprised two chillers from Friday the 13th producer Steve Minasian, Don't Scream: It's Only a Movie! and April Fool's Day. The film's budget was initially estimated between $3.2 million and $3.5 million. It was helmed by stunt coordinator Conrad Palmisano, in his main unit directorial debut.Principal photography began on January 26, 1985. During a personal appearance in early March, Farnsworth confirmed that he had just wrapped up work on the film. The movie was shot under the title A Dollar a Day. Shortly after however, it had been re-titled to Trackers: 2180 or just Trackers. Some sources mention another considered title, The Last Frontier. Farnsworth, who was disappointed with his previous performance and contemplating retirement, expressed satisfaction with the picture. Reed conceded that he had been surprised by the demands of filmmaking, saying: "It's incredible, such hard hours, that I don't think there can be a really, totally bad filmmaker in the world. If you finish, you're a hero. No matter how you did it, it's incredible." Following test screenings however, Reed's efforts fell short of expectations and the movie was ordered to undergo reshoots, which were directed by production executive Peter McCarthy.