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| Dark Star [1974] | ![Dark Star [1974]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41V0WMZ7PNL._SL160_.jpg)
 enlarge | Director: John Carpenter
Actors: Dan O'bannon, Dre Pahich, Brian Narelle, Cal Kuniholm, Adam Beckenbaugh
Studio: Fabulous Films Ltd.
Category: Video
List Price: £12.99
Buy Used: £1.25
You Save: £11.74 (90%)
New (3) from £9.97
Avg. Customer Rating:  19 reviews
Sales Rank: 13096
Format: Collector's Edition, Pal, Widescreen
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: Parental Guidance
Media: VHS Tape
Running Time: 79 minutes
Number Of Items: 1
Discs: 1
EAN: 5022988041191
ASIN: B00004CIMZ
Theatrical Release Date: 1974
Release Date: July 21, 1997
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: In stock & ready to post from Vinyl Exchange, Manchester, UK. - doesn't say widescreen on cover as picture
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.co.uk Review
The crew of the spaceship Dark Star are on a 20-year mission to destroy unstable planets and make way for future colonisation by using smart bombs which zoom off cheerfully to do their duty. But unlike the orderly inhabitants of Star Trek's Enterprise, the nerves of this crew are becoming frayed to the point of psychosis. Their captain has been killed by a radiation leak that also destroyed their toilet paper. "Don't give me any of that 'Intelligent Life' stuff", says Commander Doolittle when presented with the possibility of alien life, "Find me something I can blow up". When an asteroid storm causes a malfunction, Bomb Number 20 (the most cheerful character in the film) has to be repeatedly talked out of exploding prematurely, each time becoming more and more peevish, until they have to teach him phenomenology to make him doubt his existence. And the film's apocalyptic ending, lifted almost wholly from Ray Bradbury's short story "Kaleidoscope" has the remaining crew drifting away from each other in space, each to a suitably absurd end. Absurd, surreal and very funny. John Carpenter once described Dark Star as "Waiting for Godot in space". Made at a cost of practically nothing, the film's effects are nevertheless impressive and, along with the number of ideas crammed into its 83 minutes, ought to shame makers of science fiction films costing hundreds of times more. --Jim Gay
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| Customer Reviews: Read 14 more reviews...
 Very Disappointing November 26, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Have just tried to watch my newly received copy of the Dark Star 30th Anniversary Special Edition. What a disapointment. In what sense is this edition "Special"? No digital remastering, dreadful sound, and not even subtitles for the hard of hearing (and believe me, you need them to follow what the actors are saying). The "extras" are simply short biographies of some of the actors. There's nothing "Special" about this, the use of the word is just a con to get you to pay for something substandard. This is NOT a "Collector's Edition" unless you go out of your way to collect bad film-to-DVD conversions. My advice: don't waste you money.
Really funny November 21, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
What makes this film so funny for me is the fact that everyone in it is so bloody miserable all the time. The characters are also brilliantly conceived and complement eachother really well, the funniest one being, imo, the terminally bored guy who desides to blast a hole through a sheet of metal plating just for the hell of it, using a laser rifle. If you don't find this funny first time round, try watching it again with Kubrick's 2010 in mind.
 there won't be another press April 26, 2008
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
Hilarious and incredibly creative, made me a huge O'bannon fan. This was supposed to be funny and it flopped miserably, so O'bannon came back with "Alien" to make every one scream! Apparently, he was so overwhelmed by the response to Alien that while he was watching the premier he was crying. Back to Dark Star--this *is* a student film, and the sound *is* crappy. Not, I repeat, not unintelligible. However, there's no way to tidy it up, so either get it or forget it, because there won't be another press of the actual film. Personally, I think it's brilliant, hilarious, fun to play in the background at parties, and a great stocking stuffer.
 Don't bother December 30, 2007
1 out of 14 found this review helpful
Where others see "cult classic" I see "poor student project". Everything about this film is amateurish. If I didn't love Alien so much I would have given this one star.
Don't give me any of that intelligent life crap, just give me something I can blow up December 8, 2007
6 out of 9 found this review helpful
For the first 20-25 minutes of Dark Star, I sat here thinking this could well be one of the most awful science fiction movies of all time. By the end, though, my tune had changed rather drastically. I would say the film is brilliantly funny despite its treasure trove of bad movie qualities. It is definitely uniquely absurd, the rare science fiction black comedy that actually manages to deliver. Undoubtedly, some viewers will label Dark Star a disaster and wonder how anyone could like a single thing about it. If you appreciate droll humor and are willing to conform your own thinking to that of the film (rather than waiting for it to conform to your expectations), you're liable to be in for a most unusual treat here. In case you haven't noticed, this is indeed a John Carpenter film. Carpenter co-wrote (along with Dan O'Bannon), directed, and produced it. Don't be expecting a Hollywood theatrical production, though. Dark Star is by and large a student film brought to life by Carpenter and O'Bannon. It was later picked up for a theatrical release (for which an additional 15 minutes or so of action was filmed and added), but the whole movie was made on the smallest of budgets. Some of the special effects aren't bad at all, surprisingly enough, but there's no mistaking the fact that Carpenter and company had to make due as best they could in scene after scene.
Here's the premise. It's the future, and the crew members of the Dark Star have been sent out on an extraordinarily long mission to blow an array of unstable planets throughout the galaxy to smithereens. I'm not sure these guys were perfectly sane to begin with, but twenty years in space, trapped inside a cramped spaceship, have definitely taken a toll on each of them. Now the ship's captain (and all of the toilet paper on board) have been lost to an unfortunate radioactive leak (but let's just say Commander Powell is gone but not forgotten in the deep freeze unit), and Lt. "Just give me something to bomb" Doolittle has taken command. Sgt. Pinback (Dan O'Bannon) - who may or may not be a real astronaut to begin with - isn't too happy about this, but his concerns are predominantly voiced in a series of insane video journal entries. The only thing Boiler (Cal Kuniholm) really seems to care about is trimming his facial hair, and Talby (Dre Pahich) has isolated himself in the ship's observation bubble. There is also a pet alien on board - basically a beach ball with hands - and its escape from its room leads to all kinds of trouble (not to mention one of the longest, most comically absurd sequences you're ever likely to see involving Pinback and an elevator shaft). Bomb Number 20 keeps getting lowered from its bay and prepped for launch and detonation, which wouldn't be such a bad thing if the bomb weren't harder and harder to convince that it's responding to faulty signals. Yes, the bombs on board the Dark Star are sentient, and Mother (the ship's computer) has a heck of a time talking the cheerfully gung ho Bomb Number 20 back into its bay each time it is wrongfully triggered. In fact, as the film reaches its climax, Doolittle himself has to personally engage the bomb in a profound existential debate in an attempt to save the lives of everyone onboard.
With almost no budget to speak of and some highly questionable acting, Dark Star is a film that some will equate with spiritual purgatory, but those with an appreciation for dark comedy will find themselves completely won over by this unique film project, which I would describe as a student film with aspirations of kooky grandeur. If you're like me, you'll want to watch this film again and again - but you might have trouble convincing any of your friends to do the same. I think Dark Star is bloody brilliant.
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