The iconic* 1978 Star Wars parody by Ernie Fosselius, beloved by early Star Wars and sci fi fandom circles in the 70’s.

*(to GenX’ers and Boomers who saw Star Wars in the theatre in 1977)

Regarded as the most profitable short film of all time - made on a budget of $8,000, grossing over $1 million. George Lucas said in an interview on the UK’s “The Big Breakfast” in 1999 that Hardware Wars was his favorite Star Wars parody.

In August 2010, Time Magazine listed it as one of the top ten Star Wars fan films.

When Hardware Wars premiered in 1978, it was the first Star Wars parody. As noted in Shock Cinema Magazine, Hardware Wars "laid the groundwork for every DIY movie send up that now pops up on YouTube … Premiering when George Lucas's cash cow was still filling the theaters, it quickly became a pre-VCR, word-of-mouth phenomenon."

In 1978, the idea of a spoof movie was quite new. Star Wars spoofs became popular, and countless more parodies were created, notably including the Family Guy extended episode "Blue Harvest", George Lucas In Love, and Spaceballs. The creators of Hardware Wars, Ernie Fosselius and Michael Wiese, seemed to realize their influence on future Star Wars spoofs, particularly on Spaceballs. As noted by Salon, "After the success of 'Hardware Wars,' Wiese and Fosselius resisted the temptation to produce more sci-fi spoofs." “At one time, someone did offer to finance a full-length feature of 'Hardware Wars,' but we passed," Wiese says. "We always knew it was a one-joke movie and wouldn't sustain that length. Of course that didn't stop Mel Brooks from 'quoting' us—some might say ripping us off—with 'Spaceballs.'"

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