Dark Star - Thermostellar Edition (Blu-ray) (1974)

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.

Buy Dark Star - Thermostellar Edition (Blu-ray) (1974) Now

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!

Read Best Reviews of Dark Star - Thermostellar Edition (Blu-ray) (1974) Here

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.

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Looks and sounds as expected. Decent upgrade from previous DVD releases.

Please Note: Amazon lists the "Special Features" as "None." Which is wrong. I believe it was changed because it initially stated that both the 68 min. student film, and 83 min. feature film version of the film, were each present on this release -and that isn't true. So they simply deleted that information and substituted "None" in the Special Features field. A common mistake made by Amazon. There "are" Special Features. They are the same as VCI's previous Hyperdrive DVD edition, and are as follows:

1. Let There Be Light: The Odyssey of Dark Star The Extended Version (feature length documentary in HD)

2. Audio commentary track by "super fan" Andrew Gilchrist

3. On-camera interview with science fiction author Alan Dean Foster (SD)

4. 3D Visual Guide to the Dark Star spaceship (SD)

5. An interview with actor Brian Narelle (Doolittle)(SD)

6. Text trivia

7. Original theatrical trailer.

** AGAIN: Missing from this edition is the shorter, 68 minute "student film" version of the film **