Troopers Turns One

By Bert Ehrmann
November 1998
On November 7th, The movie "Starship Troopers" celebrates its first "release" birthday. Dubbed "The Biggest Summer Movie of the Fall", Troopers has turned out to be one of the most interesting movies in Sci Fi history. The story follows Johnny Rico, a recent high school graduate looking to pledge his life to become a "Citizen", a high status figure in society. His pledge requires that he join up with the Federal Network, and enlist with the Mobile Infantry. Unfortunately for Rico, War erupts with an alien race known as the Arachnids, a species of large hive-like insects. This in turn throws Rico and his whole platoon into the farthest reaches of the galaxy in order to protect the Earth from total destruction.

"Starship Troopers" opened with generally poor reviews. Roger Ebert only gave the movie two out of a possible four stars. Other viewers felt that the movie was a retelling of World War II, with the Mobile Infantry representing the NAZI SS troops used to slaughter millions of people. (Director Paul Verhoven later remarked that the whole movie was meant to be a form of satire, and not to be taken literally.)

Earlier this year, "Starship Troopers" was released on DVD, and later released on VHS in October. Both "Pan and Scan" and "Widescreen" formats are available.

Controversy and Dead Bugs, a Great Combination
Featuring interesting content and amazing design, the official "Starship Troopers" web site is a must visit. Navigation through the site is easy and will provide hours of enjoyment. What I found most interesting were the scenes from the movie were literally played out within the site. (Be sure to watch for the "Zegema Beach" banner on the web site.)