Leave it to Roger Corman to come up with a low-budget answer to Star Wars. And to have the stones to base it on classics like The Magnificent Seven and The Seven Samurai. Battle Beyond the Stars is important for a few reasons. It was written by John Sayles, who went on to write such high-profile flicks like Eight Men Out, Passion Fish, and the TV series The Alienist. Oscar winning composer James Horner (Braveheart, Aliens, Avatar and many, many more) got his start here as well.