5 Star

A Sci-fi Fan’s Dream Come True

Well, it started out as a seventy-three-minute independent USC student film, and now some fifty years later, this iconic Sci-fi film has arrived on Blu-ray and a 4K perfect restoration by ‎ Fabulous Films. With the original director’s cut, and the longer theatrical cut, plus plenty of bonus material, (see below). What a debut for writers, John Carpenter (Assault on Precinct 13, Escape from New York), Dan O’Bannon (The Return of the Living Dead, Memory: The Origins of Alien), with Carpenter as director and O’Bannon as editor of this 35mm film has stood the test of time, as it parodies the seminal 1968, 2001: A Space Odyssey by Stanley Kubrick (The Killing, PATHS OF GLORY). Dark Star came with cutting edge visual effects by Ron Cobb‘s (The Running Man, Aliens) team.

If you know this film, well this is what you have been waiting for, the scout ship Dark Star on its twenty-year mission to remove rogue planets that would hinder humans’ expansion into the great darkness. It’s the middle of the twenty-second century, and man has beaten the problems of travelling at light speed, so we see our Galactic travellers Lt. Doolittle (Brian Narelle, The Journeyman, Space Ninjas), Boiler (Cal Kuniholm), Talby (Dre Pahich, Blood Bath), Pinback (Dan O’Bannon), and the deceased Commander Powell (Joe Saunders, The World Is Just a ‘B’ Movie), who died in an electrical accident. They receive a message from McMurdo Sound in Antarctica, who sees that they are now ten years into their mission, and they are now nineteen parsecs away from earth.

What’s Talby’s first name?…. What’s *my* first name?

So far, they have used eighteen of their Artificial Intelligence Thermostellar Triggering Devices (bombs which can talk and think). These guys have been in space, in cramped conditions, and it has had serious psychological effects on them, as Talby spends all his time in the observation dome, just looking at the stars, and comets.

Don’t give me any of that intelligent life stuff, just give me something I can blow up.

It doesn’t help that on one of the planets with intelligent life, they adopted a mascot (a bright orange beach ball with feet) this leads us to a hilarious, but torturous scene with the alien and Pinback, as well as his video diary entries.

Now it’s time to go sleepy-bye you worthless piece of garbage.

In space, things go wrong, but in space the consequences are far more serious, especially when there are Artificial Intelligence Thermostellar Triggering Devices involved.

Dark Star is a true cult classic that definitely deserves a slot on your 4K UHD shelf.

John Carpenter’s Dark Star is available on [4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray]

Bonus Features:

Let There Be Light: The Odyssey of Dark Star: A feature-length documentary exploring the making of Dark Star, featuring exclusive interviews with actor Brian Narelle (Lt. Doolittle), cinematographer Doug Knapp, art director Tommy Lee Wallace, visual effects artist Greg Jein, voice artist Cookie Knapp, producer Jack Harris, and USC alumni Jeff Burr. Also includes archival interviews with John Carpenter and the final recorded interview with Dan O’Bannon. (Directed by Daniel Griffith, 2010)
Interviews with Sci-fi author Alan Dean Foster
Brian Narelle (Lt. Doolittle) shares behind-the-scenes stories
3D Guide to the Dark Star Ship
Full-Length Audio Commentary by Super-Fan Andrew Gilchrist
Written Introduction by Dan O’Bannon
Commander Powell’s Ship Log Booklet NEW
Michael Doyle’s Notes on Dark Star Booklet NEW
8 Reproduction Original Film Lobby Cards
Reproduction Foldout Poster of the 2 Original British Quad Poster Versions
Reproduction Original Film Campaign Brochure
Film Versions Included: Original 71-minute Director’s Cut / Expanded Theatrical Release 83 minutes
Theatrical Trailer
Stills Gallery
Poster Gallery
Lobby Card Gallery
Cast and Crew Biographies
CGI Menus
Interactive & Archival Content