Science Fiction

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Starman

Columbia Pictures

Michael Douglas-Jarry J. Franco Productions

Delphi II Productions

United States of America

English

Jeff Bridges

Karen Allen

Charles Martin Smith

Richard Jaeckel

Robert Phalen

Tony Edwards

John Walter Davis

Ted White

Dirk Blocker

M.C. Gainey

Sean Stanek

George Buck Flower

Russ Benning

Ralph Cosham

David Wells

Anthony Grumbach

James Deeth

Alex Daniels

Carol Rosenthal

Mickey Jones

Lu Leonard

Charlie Hughes

Byron Walls

Betty Bunch

Victor McLemore

Steven Brennan

Pat Lee

Judith Kim

Ronald Colby

Robert Stein

Kenny Call

Jeff Ramsey

Jerry Gatlin

David Daniell

Randy Tutton

John Carpenter

Mark Jensen

Ronald L. Colby

Donald M. Morgan

Marion Rothman

Bruce A. Evans

Raynold Gideon

Marguerite Happy

Ben Scott

Robert Jauregui

Kerry Rossall

John-Clay Scott

William T. Lane

Tony Rivetti Sr.

Marc Margulies

Thomas Causey

Curt Sobel

Virginia Katz

Craig Ridenour

Jay Engel

Hank Garfield

Joseph F. Brennan

Andy Hylton

Robin Michel Bush

Anna Zappia

Mike Amorelli

Eric Smith

Calvin Sterry

Richard Dow

Paul Pav

Patricia Ledford

Eddie Lee Voelker

David Turner

Michael Hill

Pennie DuPont

Brian Ralph

Joe Alves

Bruce Nicholson

Jennifer Shull

Daniel A. Lomino

Robert R. Benton

Sandy King

Carl Mazzocone

Hugo Cortina

Chris Schwiebert

George Kohut

Sidney Ray Baldwin

Dean Williams

Charlie Mullen

Roy Arbogast

Bill Kimberlin

Michael P. Redbourn

Don S. Walden

Steve Maslow

Kevin O'Connell

Bill Varney

Tom McCarthy Jr.

Walt Hadfield

William J. Durrell Jr.

Marina Pedraza

Pete Altobelli

Ken Zimmerman

Bill Gay

Larry Clark Bird

Mark C. Haskins

Jack Nitzsche

Barry Bernardi

Michael Douglas

Larry Franco

Terry Leonard

Tom Joyner

Jeffrey Chernov

Steven Poster

Loving the Alien.

Mixed notices then and now for John Carpenter's sci-fi love story - cum human warning parable, but the fact is is that if it touches you it's a touch that stays for ever. It's a lovely film headed up by Jeff Bridges' wonderful turn as the alien from outer space teaming up with Karen Allen for a road trip to a Nevada crater, where he will be picked up by his own species and taken home.

Taking on human form, that of Allen's deceased husband, much of the humour is derived from how the alien tries to adapt to a human lifestyle. The language, food, customs and romance, but always there is a serious thread running through the narrative. He was invited here by the contents of Voyager One, but now the suits want him for less than honourable research, so the pair, coming together as one after she is obviously in a state of kidnap worry, have to stay one step ahead of the authorities.

So there's suspense in the mix via the chase dynamics, as well as some beautiful sequences, one of which has animal lovers of the world punch the air with unbridled joy. The premise is of course flimsy, and cribbing bits from ET and Close Encounters did the film no favours under critical analysis, but the emotional whack is mightily strong, with the lead characters being so easy to root for. While Jack Nitzsche's synth based musical score is a sci-fi great, perfect.

A vastly under valued picture on Carpenter's CV, Starman would like to come and see us, if only we would give it the time. 8.5/10

CinemaSerf

One of Jeff Bridges' better performances this one. He is an alien who arrives on Earth and assumes the physical shape of "Hayden". Thing is, he has recently died - so you can imagine how phased his recent widow "Jenny" (Karen Allen) is as he coerces her to drive him to Arizona where he can rendezvous with the others from his race. The crater left by his landing has attracted the attention of SETI - a government agency charged with looking for ET, and - of course - the more militaristic elements under the command of "Fox" (Richard Jaeckel). What now ensues is a road-movie with a difference as the two gradually start to bond whilst being pursued by the authorities. There is a gradually accumulating chemistry between Allen and Bridges, the latter offering a nuanced and gentle performance as if he were but a baby in a man's body lost in a strange and not particularly welcoming environment. It has some touching moments, a little humour and though the ending isn't really ever in doubt, the travels of this couple are demonstrated in a gently sentimental (but not sickly or melodramatic) fashion. It's a bit on the long side - we do take a little bit of time for the thing to get moving, but once it proves to be a well photographed, scored and entertaining character study from John Carpenter. Worth a watch, I'd say.

Look who directed it... and that raises a lot of questions doesn't it? I mean it's espically good and then you see it's john Carpenter doing a... a love story and a very moving and beautiful love story.

I guess the draft Carpenter got was extremely political... and he took all the politics out and focused on the love story, that was a great call, it was a great call in the 80s and it is great advice for today.

And it's good with Bridges doing a stellar job, and he really didn't learn how to act until the 90s.

I totally forgot about it, and then my wife and I saw it, hadn't seen it since the 80s and forgot how amazing it was. It stands the test of time, it's moving, it's beautiful, and it entertains... you can't ask for more.

Starman (1984) Original Trailer [HD]

Official Trailer

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