Customer Reviews

Dark Star [VHS]

5 star:		(53)
4 star:		(29)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(21)

 

 

A lot of people i know who are not aware that this film was originally released in 1975 fault it for being derivative, when, actually, if anything, the shoe is on the other foot.

Dan O'Bannon's special effects sequences are incredible, especially since the entire budget for the whole film wouldn't buy coffee for an effects house working on teevee commercials today; i am especially taken with the utterly convincing planet-buster bombs made from an HO-scale piggyback trailer turned upside down with engine parts from a 1/25th scale model car attached (if you look closely on a good copy you can still read the logo of the car manufacturer on the valve cover used as part of the bomb's drive mechanism).

So many great lines and sequences in this film -- Pinback and the beachball and the elevator may exceed the Maximum Allowable Funny Quotient for a minor film, and Doolittle's conversation with the bomb (capable of destroying an entire planet) that plans to detonate right alongside the ship, as he leads it into beginning philosophy and convinces it that maybe it *didn't* really hear the "go" code...

The theme song, "Benson Arizona", one of the more warped contry songs one will ever hear, is a hoot; the original is by Carpenter and a lyricist whose name i have lost, and SF fans have been adding verses to it for years.

Watch for the "THX-1138" gag -- for many years (if not still) the only time the *whole* title has been used in a film reference.

O'Bannon worked on special effects on the first "Star Wars" film, and basically borrowed his own "computer search of the blueprints" sequence from "Dark Star" for that film.

The basic design of the "Dark Star" itself is by Ron Cobb, background astronomical paintings by Jim Danforth, and the design of the crew's spacesuits is determined by the fact that they used a commercially-available toy spaceman for effects shots.

As an example of the sort of audience this film appeals to -- it was briefly released theatrrically in the latter Seventies; a frind here in Atlanta went to see a matinee, and realised that the only other people in the dark with him were Joey Ramone and his girlfriend.

It's funny, as I read the other reviews, I struggled to think of something that wasn't said. I was especially tickled by the 1-star review by a guy who obviously didn't get it, and obviously hated it. I can certainly understand how someone would not like it, because it's not a film for everyone. It's very cerebral in parts, and really makes you concentrate to get the message between the lines. It's also very funny, very satirical, and for a low-budget sci-fi movie, the effects are occassionally very impressive. I've tried to show this film to friends who stare at the screen with their head cocked like a dog who has heard a high pitched squeak. It's an acquired taste, and if you're in the right frame of mind (and I don't necessarily mean under the influence of mind-altering substances), you'll love it. The country song "Benson Arizona" still makes me break into laughter alone. The talking bomb is one of the funniest characters to ever appear in a space movie, rivaling HAL and the robot in Fantastic Planet. Watch it with an open mind, and a room full of hard-core sci-fi fans and I think you'll come away pleased.

So, I thought I would show this movie to my fiancee and a friend of hers, both of whom I would definitely say are picky and typically like the empty flashy movies that draw in money, but have no substance. She was laughing very loudly by the end (and so was her friend, by the way).

John Carpenter may be known for his other really big hits (Halloween, In the Mouth of Madness [his best, in my opinion], or Vampires), but before fame arrived, he was a student. This was his film. Along with co-conspirator Dan O'Bannon, the two made this student film with zero budget (the chest plate on the star suit is a muffin pan), until it was viewed by a producer. $60,000 and a few extra scenes later, it was released and immediately picked up a cult following. I first saw it on PBS, back in the days when they showed such classic films.

Funny, irreverent, and strikingly enough, deep and meaningful. Don't look for famous actors here, go rent a Bond flick for that. Look for insight into the human spirit, the plight of the isolated, and one of the most humorous sci-fi movies ever made! I highly recommend it for fans of a good comedy or science fiction flick. You won't be disappointed!

This is just about the only Hollywood film to recognize the fact that interstellar communication is limited to the speed of light, that artificial personalities may be less than cheerfully subservient, and that deep space exploration may not neccessarily attract the best and the brightest of the human race. Naturally, this is not a movie for everyone. It's very much like a film-school film, but like one made by a couple of VERY talented students. It features a lot of dialogue that wavers between comedy and ironic philosophy, and never really settles on either end of the spectrum. A couple of the scenes involving the beachball - er, alien - were later worked into Alien and Aliens, some of the computer graphics were used in Star Wars, and the overeager and intelligent bomb concept forms a major theme in the entire Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series. I love it. But when I say it's not for everyone, I mean it. This is a film to watch with a bunch of serious science fiction lovers (and I'm not talking about Star Wars fans), or alone. You were warned.

What if the Enterprise's Engineering Officer was a janitor who happened to come aboard just as Scotty died in an accident...and everyone pretended not to notice because they can't return to base until the mission is done? What if J. T. Kirk was killed by a short circut in his chair, and had to be put on ice, consulted as a dream-drunk oracle by his crew only in the greatest of emergencies? What would it be like to be onboard a spaceship with a homicidally bored hillbilly? What if the only 'new life' you'd encountered was a "cute" lifeform like a beachball with feet imbued with the playful malignity of a cat playing with a mouse? Have you ever wondered just how dangerous a high-tech elevator could be? What if a powerful bomb, created with the intelligence to destroy a planet, were continually thwarted in its quest to explode, and had to be repeatedly cadged and coddled into putting off its detonation until AFTER it leaves the bomb-bay? What would YOU say to it, smart guy? This film is flat out hilarious. Sure its old and the effects look hokey - it was made with a budget of next to nothing.

The first time I saw Dark Star was back in the 70's when it first came out in the theatres. Out of my group of friends who saw it with me, I was the only one who thought that Dark Star was a great movie. The idea of a near psychotic crew, a space ship on the verge of total systems failure, a playful beachball alien, happily suicidal planet buster bombs, a popsicle for a commanding officer, and a sad but funny ending...I don't know, maybe it had been done before, but at the time it seemed like the most original sci fi movie that I had ever seen. I loved it so much, that it was the first VHS tape I ever purchased. This is one of those movies that have great quotable lines, second only to Monty Python and the Holy Grail. If you're seeing it for the first time, don't expect the high cinema. The acting is mediocre, the sets are low budget, and the special effects, though passable for the time, are nothing compared to today's overly perfect, computer generated FX. However, these shortfalls add to the overall charm of the movie, and if they remade Dark Star, using today's technologies and standards, it would totally ruin the story. In my humble opinion, John Carpenter's first film (or maybe it was his second) was his best.

Much like George Lucas' THX-1138, Dark Star had its beginnings as a film school project which was later expanded into a full-length movie with the help of later investors. However, while Lucas became far less serious when he started working with big budgets, the opposite phenonmenon occured with Dark Star's creators Dan O'Bannon (later scripter of such hits as Alien and The Abyss) and John Carpenter (later director of such hits as The Thing and Halloween). In fact, Dark Star often seems to make fun of elements found in Carpenter and O'Bannon's later works, as if they knew what directions they would later be taking and decided to parody themselves before anyone else got the chance. For example, there's an alien that looks like a blown-up beachball bouncing around the ship and causing trouble, providing a very silly alternative to the insect in Alien. Of course, other classics are billiantly parodied in this movie as well, especially 2001 with its out of control, intelligent computer and in the scene of astronauts floating off into space.

Much like Monty Python, the humour works on many levels. In addition to slapstick, you get rather intelligent and philosophical humour. Not all of it works, but there are enough hits to make up for all the misses.

Given the original budget of the film, don't expect a visual spectacular. Comparing Dark Star to the creators' later works is like comparing Lord of the Rings to Peter Jackson's first film, Bad Taste. This first film has a sort of roughness and lack of polish to it which really emphasizes its moments of brilliance. Too bad the film isn't longer.

My husband, his siblings, and a few friends and I all trooped down to the local theater to see this on opening day (which, as it turned out, was about the ONLY day it was shown in release). We laughed till we made ourselves sick.

OK, it was 1974. Star Wars had not even been made yet. And yes, the movie is now dated. But the entire concept is still funny. Seriously, how would you feel if you lost your ENTIRE supply of TP, had a crazed beach ball alien loose on your ship and one of your smart bombs decides to go into existential mode???

See. Over 30 years and I still remember the plot. :-) And hey, I'm buyin' the dvd to add to my collection. It's worth the bucks, STILL.

It's amazing what they did on this movie with a budget of only $55,000! For a big production, $55,000 is probably how much they pay for one of the main actors hairbrush!

This was Dan O'Bannon's first production, he later went on to write the script for Alien and many other sci-fi films. Dan plays the character Pinback who wants to improve morale on the ship, but the others won't cooperate. The sequence with Pinback and the alien pet is one of the best scenes.

Dark Star was released in 1974, but virtually nobody came. After the movies premere, Dan O'Bannon went to a local theater and asked the manager how long the line was to see the movie Dark Star. The manager wryly replied "What Line?", then Dan became heartbroken and stopped writing movies until he got the opportunity to write the script for Alien.

Dark Star, in many ways, continues to be the most popular cult sci-fi movie ever filmed. It was also the lowest budget sci-fi movie that more than fully recovered the budget expenses in less than a week!

Yes, this film is not for the general couch potato who wants to be given entertainment on a silver platter. Please rent Star Trek-Numbesis and ogle at the zillion dollar effects.

This movie is a must for film buffs and sci-fi buffs. Place yourself in the year 1974; Kubrick's "2001" had set the stage for sci-fi presentation, the Star Trek TV series for stories with meaning, 50s sci-fi flicks for kitsch. Carpenter and O'Bannon create an incredible parody to counter the established sci-fi genre with something unexpected.

Life in space isn't mysterious, it isn't majestic, it isn't noble. It's outright boring, boring, boring. People go loopy and act stupid when bored out of their skulls. Crew members don't die from defending our way of life, they die from equipment breakdowns. Aliens aren't big-brained morally righteous gods or armies of monsters, they're silly beachballs. Computers aren't soulless mechina, they're as snippy and neurotic as the rest of the crew.

The movie offers a view of things to come from both Carpenter and O'Bannon. By taking this work as a skills-in-progress snapshot, you can see how both are forming their craft in movie-making. Carpenter's penchant for dark shadowy scenes is obvious, and O'Bannon displays his evolving talents at storytelling. Then take into consideration that the entire film was created for under $60,000 and you can appreciate the accomplishment.

If you appreciate the history of cinema and science fiction, you'll appreciate Dark Star. Let there be light.

Movie - 5
Content - 3
DVD Quality - 2
Overall - 4