Абраксас: Ғарыш сақшысының тарихы

Damian Lee
David Mitchell
| story =
| based on =
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| music = Carlos Lopes
| cinematography = Curtis Petersen The film's budget was projected at CAD$2.5 million at the start of production, but was said to have grown to CAD$3.2 million by the time of release. It was financed by a loan secured from a Dutch bank on the strength of international distribution commitments, and local money coming from businessman Alexander Ruge, who owned Cambridge based Ruge Manufacturing.

Pro wrestler Jesse "The Body" Ventura commanded a salary equivalent to US$250,000, which was then considered a hefty fee for an independent film. He already had a working relationship with Lee from their previous film Thunderground. Ventura took a leave of absence from his announcing job with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to appear in the film. He also got his young son Tyrel hired to play one of Tommy's bullies, which he described as a perk of working on an independent production. Jerry Levitan, a lawyer who was trying to break into the film industry, was cast on short notice in Los Angeles, where he was visiting companies to pitch a legal comedy he had written as a vehicle for himself. Until the early stages of filming, Grace Jones and Mr. T were hoped to appear as inhabitants of planet Sargacia.

Principal photography started on November 13, 1989, and was scheduled to last five weeks. The Georgian Peaks Ski Club served as production headquarters, as Lee and Mitchell were members of the club. The leading actors were lodged in upscale apartments surrounding the picturesque Georgian Bay, which went a long way towards compensating for the harsh climate. Despite Thornbury being a conservative Presbyterian town that did not much care for the agitation brought by a film crew, wrestling's large popularity in Canada guaranteed Ventura a warm welcome. The film also received a series of charity screenings in the Kitchener Waterloo agglomeration, where part of it was shot, to benefit the local Rotary Club. David and Francis Mitchell were in attendance.

The film arrived on Canadian VHS through Cineplex Odeon on March 28, 1991. It made its belated U. S. debut via Prism Entertainment on April 21, 1993. The boxcover title was just Abraxas.

Abraxas received a modicum of interest upon Ventura's election as governor of Minnesota. Paired with Predator, it was part of, and gave its name to, Jesse Fest: Governor of Minnesota/Guardian of the Universe, a double bill hosted by the University of Minnesota Film Society at the Bell Auditorium in Minneapolis from December 16 to December 20, 1998.

Abraxas, Guardian of the Universe has enjoyed a lackluster reception. Rob Salem of The Toronto Star said that "it is [a bad film]. But it isn't terrible. In fact, it's occasionally kind of fun." He found that it "remains a cut above most of the sci fi/action dreck you'll soon find it surrounded by on video store shelves". VideoHound's Sci Fi Experience assessed that although "a few camp touches (like James Belushi’s cameo) indicate nobody should take it too seriously", the film is "mainly two burly, gravel voiced bruisers pummeling each other." TV Guide thought that the film's modest scope belied its grandiose title, and that "[a] more accurate title would be Abraxas, Guardian of Thornbury, Ontario, because the intergalactic mayhem seldom oversteps the border of that one snowy town". It further complained that its relatively comfortable budget did not show on screen, arguing that "[s]o much money could only be explained if over half of it went to Jim Belushi for his funny cameo". James O'Neill, author of the book Sci Fi on Tape, dismissed the film as a "[p]itiful, would be actioner Ventura desperately tries to save".

The film has earned notice for its saxophone heavy smooth jazz score by Carlo Lopes, which has been deemed highly inappropriate for a work falling into the action genre. It also features several songs, such as "Strong as I Am" by the The Prime Movers. That band was unaware of its inclusion and contacted the filmmakers with assistance from performance rights company BMI to sort out the legal details behind it.