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happy 30th birthday, Star Wars

I defy you to find a better way to commemorate the release of the original Star Wars than by watching the bizarre Turkish Star Wars. And don’t say “dressing up like a stormtrooper”. That’s just lame. And not cool-lame, just lame-lame. Playing the LEGO Star Wars PS2 game, however, does come a close second.

Dünyayı Kurtaran Adam (The Man Who Saves The World) is a Turkish-made film commonly known as Turkish Star Wars because of its notorious bootlegging of Star Wars film clips worked into the film. Released in 1982, Dünyayı Kurtaran Adam was created in Turkey caught in the midst of massive political upheaval. As a result, American-made films were not easily acquired and were often remade with a Turkish cast and setting. The musical soundtrack is entirely lifted from Western film hits of the time, primarily Raiders of the Lost Ark. There are also scenes incorporating the music of Moonraker, Flash Gordon, Battlestar Galactica, Planet of the Apes and Disney’s The Black Hole… According to the translator “It doesn’t make any more sense in Turkish.”

Also, it is at at least as entertaining as the three prequels put together.