Customer Reviews

Starman

5 star:		(91)
4 star:		(35)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Movie-5 stars, extras 0 stars, tranfer for Blu-ray (anamorphic widescreen I might add) 4 stars


Really what is Columbia thinking? "Starman" is one of John Carpenter's finest films with an Oscar nominated performance by Jeff Bridges, a moving score by Jack Nitsche and a clever, thoughtful script that takes the same themes as Spielberg's "E.T." and develops them better. We get no extras. Nada. Nothing. We also get to pay a fairly hefty amount for the Blu-ray (it's retailed at $29.00). Warner does a better copy of releasing their Blu-rays. Heck, even Fox and Universal have been making an effort to do a decent job with their films and TV shows on Blu-ray of late. "Starman" on Blu-ray is at least in widescreen and has a nice presentation with nice detail.

Sony didn't really have to do much. England got a DVD edition of this with a commentary by John Carpenter. All they had to do was port that version over for this edition and throw on the original promotional featurette made back in the day. It wouldn't have been hard. Don't get me wrong, this is a terrific movie and it looks great but it's a LOUSY effort on behalf of Sony. That's surprising given that they won the format war. You'd expect a better effort than this truly lazy package.


What can you do? I suppose write Sony or wait to see if the UK version has the commentary track and other extras ported over to the Blu-ray. Since it'll be region free buy that. If you must buy this cheap edition of the film try and pay as little as possible as this nearly bare bones (it has BD Live capacity and-whoopee!--trailers) editon of an exceptional film SHOULD retail at about $15.99 for what we get.

This review refers to the DVD edition of "Starman"(Columbia/Sony)....

I love this film. It's a film I can view often and never tire of it.Beautifully directed by John Carpenter, wonderfully photographed with great music, and stars Jeff Bridges and Karen Allen have a terrific on screen chemistry. It's got something for everybody. Great Sci-Fi, Romance, some Action/Adventure, Drama and Comedy as well. It's a film that the entire family may enjoy together(may not be suitable for the very young, as there is mild language and violence). The story of a romance between an Earth woman and an alien that looks just like her dead husband, and the ensuing chase as the government tries to capture him, is one that captivates and will keep you under it's spell, time and again. But Sony..what's up with this DVD????

"This film has been modified..., and formatted to fit your screen"..UGH!! Don't ya hate that? The buying info here shows the aspect ratio of this DVD to be 2.35:1, which is the original specs. But beware, it also says full screen and does not say widescreen or letterbox anywhere. On the back of the DVD box it says 1.33:1.This is a film that really should be seen in it's original form. The way the director and cinematographer wanted you to see it. There are some spectacular scenes of the alien ship coming down, an explosion, and some wonderful scenery that begs to be seen from edge to edge. I even checked over at the Internet Movie Data Base, and they also show the DVD with both the original aspect ratio and full screen, but I could not locate a DVD like that anywhere. Maybe it was available once and has gone out of print, but if that is the case, a new edition needs to be released in widescreen, and Sony..some commentary or one or two bonus features for Sci-Fi fans on the "making of" might do nicely too.

That being said, the rest of the transfer to DVD of this fabulous film was well done. The picture is crystal clear,colors wonderful, and the sound in Stereo Surround(2.0) was actually very good. There are subtitles in English Spanish, and French and may be viewed in those languages as well. Or any combination of the languages and subtitles.

I love the film enough to go 5 stars for it, but taking off one for not even having a choice as to how I want to view it.
Sony....Puhleeese! Reissue this film in the original widescreen format. Thanks!....Laurie

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This film is simply impossible not to like. Jeff Bridges is unforgettable as an alien from an incomparably advanced race who is stranded on Earth (after taking human form) and seeking to return to his own civilization, and his excellent performance as such earned him an Oscar nomination. He really gets into the role, and plays it to perfection. His gestures and mannerisms as the alien trying to understand human beings are uncannily plausible. Karen Allen is also superb in her role as an ordinary human being caught up in the struggle between Bridges, seeking to escape the Earth, and those darned nasty Big Government agents who fear the alien and seek to capture and destroy him. Darned gummint, isn't that just like them?

There are few special effects in the movie, and none are needed--this is a movie that gets through by sheer excellent storytelling and wonderful acting by Bridges and Allen. It manages to be touching without being sappy, and although our human government is viewed as being narrow-minded and overly paranoid, the alien in the end forms a high and joyous opinion of mankind, which I found uplifting and optimistic.

Well worth watching and owning.

I first saw this movie way back in 1985 and at that time I thought it was fantastic, better than ET (hugely overrated).

Well, time has not diminshed this feeling and after recently purchasing the DVD I can only say that it's still just as good.

Jeff Bridges gives us a truly believable and touching performance, he was deservedly Oscar nominated and Karen Allen is simply gorgeous as the wide eyed widower who cannot quite believe what is happening to her. The two carry the film very well and the supporting cast especially Charles Martin Smith are also excellent.

The movie succeeds on just about every level, emotionally it's truly touching and scenes such as the deer outside the diner and when Karen Allen describes the definition of love are real chokers.

The gorgeous Arizona landscape looks sumptous and the filming overall is first rate, John Carpenter clearly demonstrates his mastery of filmmaking throughout every scene. Forget the fact that the special effects could have been better, hey this was 1984 and way before CGI overpowered us with overblown special effects. By contrast some movies made today are so full of totally unnecessary special effects that it's no longer clear whether what you are seeing is real or animated.

This movie doesn't need to rely on this level of interference, it works on an emotional and human level.

As a side note - some years ago my wife and I visited Meteor Crater near Winslow and we looked for the cafe where Jeff Bridges, Karen Allen and Charles Martin Smith played out the final scene but we couldn't find it, must have been created for the movie.

Anyway, all in all simply fantastic and easily one of my personal favourites.

"Starman" is a top notch sci-fi movie that boasts a wonderful performance by Jeff Bridges. It is a story of first contact with a twist--an alien flys to Earth after receiving a welcome message from Voyager, only to find the human race hostile (the U.S. Air Force shoots down his ship). The alien takes the form of a dead house painter via some DNA trickery (yes, the plot is thin), then abducts the widow and makes her drive to Arizona where he will meet his mothership. The 3-day journey is one of discovery, not only for the alien, but the bewildered widow as well. Alternatively funny and touching, "Starman" turns into a love story, and it works quite well. What doesn't work is the standard Government/Military `capture-and-kill-the-threat' scenario. In spite of this weakness, "Starman" gets 8 out of 10. If by chance you haven't seen this film, by all means pick it up. It is well worth the time, even for people who don't normally like sci-fi.

Starman is easily the most accessible film John Carpenter has made yet. He shows surprising deftness in his handling of this sweet, touching movie. It's pretty amazing to think that a couple of years previous he was releasing the gore-fest, The Thing.

This alien being however is only interested in learning about our planet and maybe making it better. The deer scene is a classic, and the final image on screen before the fade out is marvelous. Karen Allen's expression sums up how many people feel after they see this fine film. A great movie? Bingo!

Now we need a release with extras including Carpenter's commentary.

By hook or by crook! The region 4 DVD is in Widescreen and comes surprisingly fat with extras including "A making of" Featurette, theatrical trailers for Starman as well as Close Encounters and an audio commentary with Jon Carpenter and Jeff Bridges which is terrific! Not only that, there's also a music video of Jeff Bridges and Karen Allen singing "All I have to do is dream" which is the song that Jenny Hayden and her husband, Scott, sing in the home movie she's watching at the beginning of the film. This is without a doubt Carpenter's best film, whether it's due to the writing or the actors or that he's just got a talent for doing romance or as he refers to the film "chick movies." Listening to Bridges and Carpenter discuss the film, film techniques, Jeff and Karen's performances and acting in general was an absolute pleasure. Looking at this movie again, it's no wonder why Bridges was nominated for an oscar.

PS: He gives away the secret technique he used to how he played Starman.

From the moment I first saw this film in the '80's, I knew it would be one of my all time favorites. This is a film that does deliberately tug on your heartstrings, but you appreciate it in the end, rather than feel you were manipulated. It is an emotionally endearing film with standout performances by Jeff Bridges and Karen Allen. Bridges deservedly received a Best Actor nomination for his role here, but the understated beauty of Allen's performance deserves special mention. At first she is the frightened widow who meets Bridges' alien in her living room. Then she becomes the reluctant hostage as they drive cross country to his rendezvous point. As he reveals his fate should he fail to meet his mothership, a growing understanding and concern fills the troubled widow. In the end, she learns to love him, and it is clear that his resemblance to her dearly departed husband has nothing to do with her feelings for the alien. Her last scene is one of touching, heartfelt parting, as she looks up into the sky, her lovely face accepting the fact she will never see him again. The CD of this movie not only features the stunning score of Jace Nitzsche, but a wonderful duet Bridges and Allen recorded that doesn't appear in the movie.

"STARMAN", the entertaining 1984 film from Director John Carpenter that combined sci-fi, romance and action.

Known for films such as "The Fog", "Escape from New York", "The Thing" and "Christine", Carpenter made his return to the science fiction realm. Having directed space-driven films in the 1960's such as "Terror from Space", "Gorgo versus Godzilla", "Sorcerer from Outer Space" and "Dark Star", Carpenter is joined by screenwriter Bruce A. Evans ("Stand By Me") and Raynold Gideon ("Stand By Me" and "Mr. Brooks"), composer Nack Nitzsche ("Nine 1/2 Weks", "Stand By Me", and "The Crossing Guard") and cinematographer Donald M. Morgan ("Crossing Jordan" and "Sybil").

The film would star Jeff Bridges ("Tron", "The Last Picture Show" and "The Fabulous Baker Boys"), Karen Allen ("Raiders of the Lost Ark", "Malcolm X" and "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull"), Charles Martin Smith ("Drive", "Left Behind: World at War" and "Dead Heat") and Richard Jaeckel ("Baywatch", "Delta Force 2: The Colombian Connection" and "Black Moon Rising").

The film revolves around grieving widow Jenny Hayden (Karen Allen). Her husband Scott was killed in an accident and she finds herself at her home watching old home films of the two.

Meanwhile, an alien probe has crashed and the alien being ends up at the home of Jenny. The surviving alien immediately looks at photos of the deceased Scott Hayden and from the DNA taken from the lock of hair of Scott, the cloning transformation begins.

Jenny sees a blue pulsing light in her living room and discovers a baby that suddenly grows into a young boy, then a teenager and then all of a sudden, a clone of her deceased husband. The Starman then uses one of the miniature balls that he carries around to communicate with his people to meet him at a rendezvous point.

She reacts to fear but is immediately told by the Starman to take him to the state of Arizona. Thinking that she is being kidnapped and not knowing what will happen to her.

Meanwhile, the US government through George Fox has ordered SETI (Search for Extra Terrestrials) agent Mark Shermin and the military to check out the alien vessel. Discovering that there is no one inside, Shermin believes that the alien is somewhere nearby.

While they drive towards Arizona, Jenny starts to see the kindness of the alien. She also learns that he must get to the rendezvous point in Arizona within three days or else he will die on this planet. Having a change of heart, Jenny decides to help him get to the destination but with the government after them, will she be able to help him?

VIDEO & AUDIO:

"STARMAN" is presented in 1080p High Definition (2:40:1) and I have to say that for a film that came out in 1984, the HD transfer of this film is magnificent. I have literally watched this film over and over when it first aired on cable and then have seen it presented in a variety of formats (widescreen and re-released in full screen) on DVD but this Blu-ray release is simply the definitive version to own.

With many of the scenes shot outdoors, the video quality is quite vibrant for a film that is 25 years old. When it comes to many 80's films, on Blu-ray, you really don't know what kind of picture quality that you are going to get. Some look like they have been DNR'd (digital noise reduction) and are very soft and waxy in terms of picture quality, some look aged and as much as I love grain, sometimes it's too prominent. But for "STARMAN", colors are vibrant. You can see Starman's red clothing really come out quite nicely on the video.

Of course, with the HD transfer, it does also showcase some of the oldschool sci-fi technology. For example, there is a scene with Starman and Jenny inside the car and you can tell that the green screen for that certain scene just doesn't look right with the haloing effect around the characters.

As for audio, the film is presented in English and French Dolby TrueHD 5.1. The film actually sounds great for a 1984 film as scenes such as the alien vessel crashing down on Earth, to explosions and blasts that really sound nice through the front channel and surrounds. For the most part, the film is front channel heavy and there is occasional surround sound usage. Dialogue is clean and understandable from the center channels and the musical score from Jack Nitzsche also sounds great on HD.

Overall, I was very impressed by the picture and audio quality for this film. Of course, I'm not talking about reference quality but for a 1984 film and seeing how many 80's films have not received a great HD transfer, "STARMAN" is one such film that definitely looks and sounds much better than its DVD counterpart.

As for subtitles, "STARMAN" is presented in English, English SDH and French.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

There are no special features on this Blu-ray disc but trailers for upcoming releases from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. This Blu-ray release is BD Live enabled.

JUDGMENT CALL:

I can easily remember watching this film over and over on HBO when I was younger. I absolutely loved the film and although watching it now, you do see its campiness due to the special effects of that time but watching it 25 years later, I have to say that I enjoyed every minute of the film again!

It was also a great to see John Carpenter really deliver with this film, especially when compared to his later sci-fi film "Ghosts of Mars" which are of course, is apples and oranges when it comes to comparisons but in terms of quality, Carpenter delivered for this 1984 film.

Jeff Bridges did a great job playing an alien life form trying to learn from humans and Karen Allen definitely balances out his character quite effectively. I actually enjoyed the pacing of the film and seeing how the two main characters had this somewhat of a hostile interaction but slowly, they begin to learn from each other.

The Blu-ray release is definitely the definitive version to own at this time. The HD transfer is much better than the DVD and the audio quality is also great for a film that came out 25 years ago. Of course, the downside of this release is that there are no lack of special features. I would imagine that both Jeff Bridges and Karen Allen could have been interviewed. Also, it would have been a blast to hear a commentary from John Carpenter.

A "STARMAN" TV series did come out in 1986 which furthered the storyline of "STARMAN" (starring Robert Hays as the Starman) and rumors were circulating in 2008 that a DVD release was on its way but nothing has been confirmed as of this time.

But for now, fans of this classic sci-fi series can be proud to know that this Blu-ray release of this film is just beautiful to watch and sounds great ala High Definition.

Romantic and entertaining, "STARMAN" also features a wonderful performance by both Jeff Bridges and Karen Allen. "STARMAN" is definitely a Blu-ray release worth the double dip!

This is a funny sci-fi romantic comedy from director John Carpenter (more famous for his thriller-type movies, which I have not seen.) The movie made me laugh out loud a few times - no easy feat.

The opening sequence shows a Voyager probe going out to space, and then a spacecraft returning toward earth. NORAD tracks the incoming object which crashes off-course in Wisconsin. SETI sends a scientist to find the crashsite. The military is also after it, of course. The alien performs a "symbiotic transformation" into a dead man's body using DNA from in a hair sample found in a photo book. The starman kidnaps the widow, and they start a cross-country journey toward "Arizona maybe" where he must meet up with the mothership, or die. Along the way, there is some social commentary regarding our treatment of foreigners, and our society in general.

"Do you seriously expect me to tell the president...that an alien has landed...assumed the identity of a dead house painter from Madison, Wisconsin...and is presently out tooling around the countryside...in a hopped-up, orange-and-black, 1977 Mustang?"

Well acted by Karen Allen as the widow, Charles Martin Smith as the SETI scientist, Richard Jaeckel as the government man, and Jeff Bridges earned an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of the starman. The direction and photography was good, and I think the special effects are fine (especially for 1984), though some people think they look cheap.

The DVD has the usual set up features and a trailer.