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Starman [1984]


RRP: £19.99
Our Price: £4.58 (subject to change)

Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

Starman is easily director John Carpenter's warmest and most beguiling film, and the only one that ever earned him an Oscar nomination. While most movie buffs are likely to call Halloween the best movie from Carpenter, die-hard romantics and anyone who cried while watching E.T. will vote in favour of the director's 1984 hit.

Jeff Bridges is the alien visitor to Earth who is knocked off course and must take an interstate road trip to rendezvous with a mothership from his home planet. To complete this journey he assumes the physical form of the dead husband of a Wisconsin widow (Karen Allen) who responds first with fear, then sympathy, and finally love. Carpenter's graceful strategy is to switch the focus of this E.T.-like film from science fiction to a gentle road-movie love story, made believable by the memorable performances of Bridges and Allen. It's a bit heavy-handed with tenacious government agents who view the Starman as an alien threat (don't they always?), but Carpenter handles the action with intelligent flair, sensitivity and lighthearted humour. If you're not choked up during the final scene, well, you just might not be human. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

On the DVD: Starman on disc is presented in anamorphic widescreen transferred from NTSC and letterboxed at 2.35.1. The picture is clear and sharp with very little grain. The soundtrack is crisp, perfectly complementing the romantic nature of this film. The overriding reason to shell out on this special edition is the commentary from John Carpenter and Jeff Bridges, in which director and actor show a genuine affection for the film. Other extras are a featurette filmed around the original release in 1884, a music video starring Bridges and costar Karen Allen covering The Everly Brothers classic "All I Have to Do is Dream", and a trailer for Close Encounters of the Third Kind. --Kristen Bowditch

Editorial
Special Features

2.35 Wide Screen
DVD 9
French\German\Italian\Spanish
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital 5.1 English
Dolby Digital 5.1
Trailer
Music Video
Featurette
Commentary By John Carpenter And Jeff Bridges

Editorial
Synopsis

A departure for director John Carpenter, STARMAN is a gentle, simple film that won accolades from critics and applause from audiences. Jeff Bridges plays the title character, an alien that has come down to Earth on a peaceful scouting mission. When he takes the form of a recently widowed woman's dead husband he unintentionally involves her in his mission. The alien only has a few days to reach a rendezvous point where he will be picked up by his mothership. Along the way he must discover what he can about human beings and our civilization. He finds out plenty very quickly, as his relationship with the young widow grows very strong as they make their way to the rendezvous point. Meanwhile, the FBI is in hot pursuit after it discovers the discarded landing vehicle, and the alien's own health is deteriorating in Earth's foreign atmosphere. The story tells of the struggle for communication, the pain of letting go, and the search for understanding. Jeff Bridges gives an unforgettable performance as the gentle alien trying his best to cope with being a human. With STARMAN, Carpenter proves he is a master storyteller, not just of horror and science fiction, but of subtle, emotional drama as well.

Starman
Review date: 2008-02-24 Rating: 10 out of 10

I loved this film, it is quite simply.. beautiful.
It will interest sci fi fans with it space man content but also involves you on the human feeling level with a purity that will make you well up.
It will also make you take another long hard look at what we... humans.. would look like to someone visiting us... an it isn't good.
great film recommended...bridges is as always brilliant

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Reviews


Gentle and thoughtful sci-fi
Review date: 2005-03-09 Rating: 10 out of 10

This underrated sci-fi is a joy to watch. Karen Allen stars as Jenny Hayden, a young widow who wakes one night to find someone in her house who looks exactly like her dead husband Scott. Jeff Bridges plays an alien who is sent on an investigative mission after his kind intercepted the Voyager probe, which was carrying details of earth. In a naive attempt not to frighten Jenny, the alien takes on the form of Scott.
The alien has crash landed and has only 24 hours to cross the USA to a rendevous point where he will be rescued so Jenny is forced to drive him there. Government agencies are in hot pursuit, their aim is to capture, interrogate and kill the being. Initially Jenny is scared and hostile, but as they flee across the States a burgeoning relationship develops.
This is a film that is gentle and moving but also manages to build up tension as the chase is on and fine acting from all the leads adds to the quality. This film is great for anyone wanting something a little more thoughtful than the usual action packed, special effects filled type of movie in this genre.

Wonderful, often under-estimated little film.
Review date: 2004-08-09 Rating: 8 out of 10

Starman never gets the critics reviews it deserves. Carpenter is best known for his more brash, out-and-out scary films (The Thing), but Starman is gentle, well thought out, well paced, and well acted. Look out for Charles Martin Smith's Shermin, which is a brilliant piece of character acting. I defy anyone with an ounce of tenderness not to be genuinely touched by the bond that develops between Allen and Bridges. Some laugh out loud moments too. "Scott's" journey is an allegory for the human condition. "You are at your best when things are worst". Buy it now, you won't regret it.

Universal Love
Review date: 2003-07-15 Rating: 10 out of 10

A UFO is located and shot down. Little did we know that the occupant was invited. Realizing his predicament the being finds a lock of hair from an expired Jeff Bridges and morphs into his naked bod. Naturally he is spotted by the widow (Karen Allen) and forces her to take him to a pickup point. Meanwhile back at the ranch the agency in charge of picking up stray aliens is in hot pursuit. They get a hot clue "He burnt a lug wrench and said 'greetings'?"
Will he make it? Will they catch him and do unspeakable things? Or will love bloom creating a sequel? If you are in love with love you will love this movie.

What a lovely, heartwarming film.
Review date: 2003-04-19 Rating: 10 out of 10

It is total lunacy of course. But who cares? Films are meant to be enjoyed and I often watch films with many guys and girls watching with me. All the girls were crying to this....

The word "alien" sounds terrifying; the director of Starman knows this so he based the alien character around the beloved, dead husband (Scott)of a young woman. She is terrified by the alien to start with, then starts to trust him, and finally loves him. It probably sounds yucky - however, the director stops it being such.

I particularly like the bit where Scott (the alien) tells her that, despite her infertility, she will have a baby and he will make sure the baby will be okay is particularly heartwarming. Another nice bit is where he gives her his final "crystal" at the end of the film. "What will I do with this" she asks. "The baby will know" replies Scott. Wonderful stuff.

This is a very nice film. It is romantic, scientific and, in a way, frightening - in that we as a species are so fearful of unknown phenomena and we greet such with violence. The film plays along this thread and demonstates that Scott is millions of years ahead of us in technology and that we are little minnows against him.
A wonderful movie.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Jeff Bridges
Alex Daniels
John Walter Davis
Ronald Colby
Kenny Call

Creators:
Jeff Bridges (Primary Contributor)
Kenny Call (Primary Contributor)

Director(s):

Recording label: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
EAN: 5035822068230
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: Dubbed, PAL, Widescreen,
Release date: 2002-04-08
Number of discs: 1
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Audience rating: Parental Guidance
Region code: 2
Running time: 110 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1984-12-14
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