The Last Starfighter (25th Anniversary Edition) [Blu-ray]
by Nick Castle
![The Last Starfighter (25th Anniversary Edition) [Blu-ray]](/images/The-Last-Starfighter-25th-Anniversary-Edition-Blu-ray-B0025VLELQ-L.jpg)
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Blu-ray details
Actor: Barbara Bosson, Catherine Mary Stewart, Dan O'Herlihy, Lance Guest, Norman SnowDirector: Nick Castle
Brand: NBC Universal
Writer: Jonathan R. Betuel
Blu-ray: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language)
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Original recording remastered, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 60 minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: 2009-08-18
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Universal Studios
Product features:
- Condition: New
- Format: Blu-ray
- AC-3; Color; Dolby; DTS Surround Sound; Original recording remastered; Subtitled; Widescreen
Blu-ray Reviews of The Last Starfighter (25th Anniversary Edition) [Blu-ray]
Blu-ray Review: Blu-Ray even looks better than previous HD-DVD release
Summary: 4 Stars
The Last Starfighter is essentially a space opera hinged on the fantasy that video game skills will save the day. Obviously this movie was made for the young teen crowd (essentially 13 yr old boys with Ataris/ Intelivisions/ColecoVisions/etc) and has its share of action and comedy that, like most space operas in the 80's, has more than one similarity to Star Wars (but then again Star Wars was a homage to the classic space operas of the golden age of television). So it's not high caliber sci-fi, but it's not B-movie fodder either.
The story is pretty simple: Evil leader of evil aliens wants to attack good aliens, so in walks a single hero who is the last hope for freedom. That's about it. The movie doesn't deviate too far from this premise other than to further flesh out the fish-out-of-water scenario of an 80's Earthling thrust into space (as well as a little fun with an alien in 80's Earth) as well as the inner battle of said Earthling to stay and fight for a Star League he doesn't know or stay home and go to community college. A serviceable story, if not deep.
The acting does make the simple story enjoyable to watch. Lance Guest seems to have fun with the role, which works for the character. Biggest props go to esteemed Robert Preston's Centauri, who plays the role with the style of a magician and the charisma P.T. Barnum. Another esteemed actor, Dan O'Herlihy, does a surprisingly good performance. Especially when you consider he is wearing full prosthetics with less facial mobility than the costumes from the original Planet of the Apes. Yeah there is a bit of theatrical "drama", but that works with the whole space opera motif.
Special effects are a benchmark here because this is the first film to incorporate live action elements to computer generated animation. The CGA is pretty barbaric by today's standards and even back then was noticeable. The biggest glare in this are the scenes flying in around asteroids, which look pretty "plastic" CG-wise. However the CG ships looked awesome and you can't beat the camera angles and fly-byes that computer animation affords. Plus back then this was pretty state of the art.
The original DVD was released years ago and not too long ago an HD-DVD release was done. Both were pretty good in their format, but this Blu-Ray is a true remastering of the movie. It's a MPEG-4 codec on a BD-25 (25 gigabyte single layer Blu-ray Disc) in the 2.35:1 aspect ratio. It looks like a lot of the grain was taken out too, and for some that could be annoying if you are really into the true theater look. Still the images are a good deal sharper and look better than any previous release (including the HD-DVD release). The CG effects really stand out, and while I liked it that aspect also separated those scenes more from the live action shots as far as differences in detail, color and lighting. All in all it's a great transfer/remaster in spite of it not being perfect (then again how many 15 year old movies can really stand up to current digital transfers?).
The Blu-Ray comes with the same features as the DVD release only the new documentary is in high definition and you get a few Blu-Ray centric features like BDLive and D-Box compatibility (that's a motion control chair that responds to queues from the movie). Extras are as follows:
Commentary with director Nick Castle and production designer Ron Cobb - It's informative and entertaining hearing the two banter between each other. You can tell they enjoyed making this movie.
Crossing the Frontier: Making The Last Starfighter - This was in the original DVD release. Lance Guest hosts this half hour documentary going behind the scenes on the technical and other aspects of the movie.
Heroes of the Screen (in HD) - Essentially interviews with cast and crew talking about how the movie was made and how they felt about the production.
DTS-HD 5.1 in English and subtitled in English (SDH), Spanish and French - Can't speak for the accuracy of the subtitles, but the English audio sounds great. Not a whole lot of surround sound stuff going on, but then again this is an older movie.
Theatrical and teaser trailer - Standard definition. Not much to say here.
Image gallery - Includes rare production photos, promotional stuff and content from an alternate ending.
This movie is definitely a time capsule for 80's science fiction and is very much a product of that time. If you like that sort of charm then by all means pick this one up. If you already have the original DVD you were definitely enjoy the updated visuals and sound as well as the new interviews. It's worth the double dip.
Description of The Last Starfighter (25th Anniversary Edition) [Blu-ray]
"Greetings, Starfighter! You have been recruited by the Star League to defend the frontier against Xur and the Kodan Armada." So begins an adventure of galactic proportions in The Last Starfighter. After Earthling Alex (Lance Guest) conquers the Starfighter video game, he is recruited by alien Centauri (Robert Preston) to be part of an elite legion of fighters. Leaving behind his trailer park home for the outer regions of space, Alex becomes the last hope for the beleaguered Star League and hundreds of worlds - including Earth. Loaded with out-of-this-world bonus features and digitally remastered for optimum picture quality, The Last Starfighter 25th Anniversary Edition is the ultimate video game fantasy come true! Starring: Lance Guest, Dan O'Herlihy, Robert Preston, Catherine Mary Stewart, Barbara Bosson, Norman Snow Directed by: Nick CastleAt the time of its original release in 1984, this modestly budgeted sci-fi excursion had the distinction of offering some of the first examples of purely computer-generated animation, an apt (and frugal) special-effects solution for a movie with a plot line rooted in computer games. Both the computer-generated visuals and the arcade game now look quaint, but writer-director Nick Castle's affable, good- hearted adventure holds up nicely, thanks to a clever premise--the title game is actually a test for prospective starship pilots, planted by embattled aliens under siege from an evil invader. When a restless teenager (Lance Guest) racks up an impressive score, he finds himself spirited away to the besieged planet and thrust into the midst of an intergalactic war. Apart from Castle's skill at contrasting his extraterrestrial settings with the mundane details of his hero's earthbound life, the movie gets lift-off from two thorough pros, Robert Preston, who makes the alien recruiter, Centauri, a planet-hopping cousin to The Music Man's Harold Hill, and Dan O'Herlihy, the alien copilot, who suggests a scaly Walter Brennan. Older fans will snicker, but kids and young teens will find this rite of passage absorbing, while their folks will savor Preston's brash charm. --Sam Sutherland
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