1984 Directed by John Carpenter
An alien takes the form of a young widow's husband and asks her to drive him from Wisconsin to Arizona. The government tries to stop them.
I loved everything about Starman, from the beautiful theme composed by Jack Nitzsche to the inclusion of The Voyager Golden Record, the Saturn-like appearance of the spaceship, the special effects, Karen Allen! Jeff Bridges! Charles Martin Smith! John Carpenter going full helicopter enthusiast!
This was probably the first time I have been emotionally moved by a John Carpenter film (yes, I cried...a couple of times...), but I also laughed, became tense during climatic scenes despite knowing things were going to turn out okay, but that's great filmmaking, isn't it? The ability to take a rather predictable, formulaic [albeit solid] script and turn it into cinematic gold. J♥hn Carpenter, how I love you and your craft.
If I'm being completely honest,…
'Starman' is a revenant story, a ghost story, a story born out of grief and loss, and the reintegration of what was lost back into a life made new and strange. It is a story about Stockholm Syndrome pre-loaded. 'Starman' is a noir posing as a romance posing as a sci-fi film. It is the story of the outlaw on the lam from the authorities who hides in the home of the grieving widow and takes her on the road with him in her car to safety (across the county/state/country/planetary line). In this story, the grieving widow tends to (righfully) fear the (misunderstood) outlaw who generally points a gun at her after she points a gun at him until they…
Me thinking back to last year when I watched Midnight Special: "Ohhhhhhhhhh........ok. Just call it Starboy then."
In a very alien sort of way, I think I'm going to absorb a half a star from Midnight Special and add it to this instead.
Love is... um... it's when you care more for someone else than you do yourself.
-Jenny Hayden
I never notice Starman on any John Carpenter "best of" lists but it surely deserves to be on at least a few. Not only is it a great film but it showcases Carpenter's talent as a director in a different light then what his fans are accustomed too. Even though the film is most assuredly science-fiction, it's still Carpenter's biggest attempt at real drama and it succeeds in spades.
Bruce A. Evans and Raynold Gideon's script was in limbo for a few years because the studio thought it was too similar to E.T.. Dean Riesner attempted to rewrite the script while working with…
i was a total mess from the moment this started. if i so much as see a picture of that voyager record i start to cry, and this whole movie is so emotional that i never got a chance to stop. it surprised me at first that Carpenter made such a touching movie, but then i thought of THE THING and remembered what a master emotional manipulator he is. ending on a shot of Karen Allen's face instead of the sky was an incredible choice. Karen Allen was an incredible choice. i took off half a star because this is so good but i don't know if or when i could handle going through watching it again. this lil review sucks but i don't know what else to write because you can't type out the sound of weeping, and analyzing how or why it works would be silly for me to do.
related: www.radiolab.org/story/91520-space/
Such a lovely film. It seems as though the entire thing is based around learning processes and it's amazing when one realises that this is a Hollywood film which is wholly about life and the rekindling of hope - for a better future - rather than destruction and death. It's strange to see a film that's so optimistic from Carpenter.
Another instance in Carpenter's filmography of the utmost incompetence of human instititutions in the face of the great mystery: be it aliens, monsters, or sentiment. Beautiful. Terrific . Apple Pie.
Watched for Jeff Bridges, stayed for the delightful story.
It is one underrated sci-fi movie. The highways and crater shots are beautiful not to mention the music scoring. Karen Allen's wifely and loving Jenny together with Bridges' odd and fantastically performed Scott/ET was so charming to watch. The narrative is wonderful, it's worth rewatching. Overall, it's a touching story. It even has one of the wholesome love scenes you will ever see.
As kid this was a late night movie. All I can ever remember of this film was Jeff Bridges unforgettable performance as new born awkward adult and the big love that envelopes when they ditch the mustang, start moving from prefab houses on trucks, pick ups to railway carriages. The finally we are engulfed in that soundtrack. What beautifully shot film. This is Carpenter’s road movie. His John Ford moment. Those Monument Valley vistas in winter, dear god.
I might have loved it but a synth just ejaculated all over this movie and it made it hard to hear the themes and morals over the sound of the 80s. Jeff Bridges got nominated for Best Actor for this lmaooooooo
I’ve been selling this movie really fucking short for years now. Some of the most beautiful imagery that Carpenter ever put to screen.
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