Dark Star
by John Carpenter
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DVD details
Actor: Adam Beckenbaugh, Brian Narelle, Cal Kuniholm, Dan O'Bannon, Dre PahichDirector: John Carpenter
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: Color, DVD, Letterboxed, NTSC, Special Edition, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 83 minutes
Published: 1999-03-01
DVD Release Date: 1999-03-23
Audience Rating: G (General Audience)
Studio: VCI Entertainment
DVD Reviews of Dark Star
DVD Review: In space no one can hear you yawn
Summary: 5 Stars
John Carpenter's claim to fame rests largely on his contributions to the horror film genre. He's responsible for the hugely influential 1970s slasher flick "Halloween," of course, but he's also made several other noteworthy horror movies. His remake of "The Thing" still impresses over twenty years later thanks to a great cast, incredible special effects, and scads of claustrophobic atmosphere. "The Fog," starring Adrienne Barbeau, is Carpenter's attempt at a good old-fashioned ghost story. I could go on and on, mentioning the killer car film "Christine," the satanic "The Prince of Darkness," and the Lovecraftian horror of "In the Mouth of Madness." Fortunately, Carpenter occasionally made films in other genres, such as the science fiction classics "Escape From New York," "Starman," and the hilarious "They Live" starring none other than one time pro wrestler Roddy Piper. In his prime Carpenter had the Midas touch, and it all started with a little film called "Dark Star" way back in the early 1970s. Donald Pleasance doesn't appear to make a speech about Michael Myers, there is no canister containing an evil fluid in the basement of a church, and no Kurt Russell shooting up the bad guys in this movie. "Dark Star" is a comedy set in deep space.
Pinback (Dan O'Bannon), Talby (Dre Pahich), Doolittle (Brian Nerelle), and Boiler (Cal Kuniholm) are four poor saps on a rather boring mission. Their assignment takes them into the outer reaches of the universe in search of unstable planets, which they then blow up with talking bombs in order to clear pathways for human colonization. You heard correctly: not only do the bombs talk but they also possess personalities and voices capable of conveying happiness, sarcasm, and can partake in complex philosophical discussions. We come into the story shortly after the demise of Captain Powell, and the crew is looking slightly demoralized. One can only blow up so many cold balls of rock before boredom sets in. One of the crewmembers does nothing but peer at the stars through a glass bubble on top of the spacecraft. Another plays a strange looking instrument made of jars and other acoustically viable pieces of hardware. All of the crewmembers bicker incessantly over the most mundane issues. In "Dark Star," the tagline won't read, "In space no one can hear you scream" like it does in "Alien," but rather "In space no one can hear you yawn." If you think this little joke is funny, it's even funnier because Dan O'Bannon is the guy who wrote the screenplay for "Alien."
A significant portion of the film deals with an odd situation between Pinback and his pet alien, which resembles in no small way a huge beach ball that shakes and chitters. This ball has a bad attitude, however, and soon escapes from its chamber when its master arrives to feed it. Pinback chases the creature through the ship, dodging the beastie's attacks while getting angrier and angrier. This alien means to stay loose, however, and nearly kills Pinback by knocking him down an elevator shaft. Meanwhile, the entire ship faces imminent danger in the form of an activated bomb that fails to deploy due to a malfunctioning piece of machinery. The bomb sits firmly in a locked position on the ship, refusing all attempts by the crew to convince it to carry out its prearranged task. Things look so deadly serious that the crew consults the cryogenically frozen body of Captain Powell, which can talk and answer questions, to come up with a few options. Carpenter manages to turn what would normally be a grim ending into something clever and rather amusing. Then again, most of the film is quite amusing in numerous ways.
The funniest character is Pinback, and he's also the one with the most screen time. Although I thought the sequence with him and the beach ball alien ran on longer than necessary, the scenes were amusing. Watching him try to climb up the elevator shaft, as well as an extremely close call that almost costs him his head, is to witness an amazing feat of physical comedy. Just as worthy of a few chuckles is watching him go back through his video diary. We soon learn that these guys have been on their mission for so long that this poor fellow's name isn't even Pinback; it was something else once but for some reason now lost in the mists of time he assumed his current moniker. Fans of horror and science fiction movies recognize O'Bannon's name thanks to "Alien" and a few other films, but his performance in "Dark Star" shows that he possesses some fine acting chops. I also commend John Carpenter; he made his budget go a long ways in this film. While some of the set pieces look quite cheesy, most of what we see appears very convincing considering the era in which he made the movie. It's difficult to critique this movie without taking into consideration how successful Carpenter became later, but the movie looks great and just exudes a feeling that here is a guy who would go places. Well, he did.
The disc contains two versions of the film, an uncut one as well as a special edition print. A trailer for the movie, cast and crew biographies, and production notes round out the supplements. Carpenter went on to make a few other extremely low budget films, most notably "Assault on Precinct 13" and "Halloween," before studio executives woke up and realized he was a talent they could throw money at by the bucketful. Ultimately, I think Carpenter did his best work with lower budgets. Fans of the man will definitely want to check this disc out posthaste, and those interested in seeing what the creator of "Halloween" did before that film came out should see this as well. It's a great way to spend a couple of hours.
Description of Dark Star
Four astronauts adrift in space hope to get back to earths orbit. Studio: Video Communications Inc. Release Date: 09/04/2001 Starring: Brian Narelle Dre Pahich Run time: 83 minutes Rating: GBestsellers in DVD
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