Starman

1984 "In 1977 Voyager II was launched into space, inviting all lifeforms in the universe to visit our planet. Get ready. Company's coming."
7| 1h55m| PG| en| More Info
Released: 14 December 1984 Released
Producted By: Columbia Pictures
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website: http://www.theofficialjohncarpenter.com/starman/
Info

When 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.

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Director

John Carpenter

Production Companies

Columbia Pictures

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Starman Audience Reviews

Hellen I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much
Acensbart Excellent but underrated film
AutCuddly Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,
Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.
Julian West I liked this movie when it came out in 1984, and I recently saw it again, and I like it even more, if that's possible. Jeff Bridges' performance is absolutely Oscar-worthy. He truly seems to be an alien being inhabiting a human body. Karen Allen also gives a very nuanced performance, playing a woman who has to travel with an alien who looks exactly like her late husband. This movie has heart, and it's funny. Perhaps the best-remembered line is the alien's deduction about stop lights: "Green means go, red means stop, and yellow means drive very fast."
Blueghost This was one of many well budgeted and well crafted science fiction films to come out in the 1980s, and it shows.It's exceptionally well shot, respectably acted, and has an excellent story, even if it skews towards what Nimoy and Gil Gerrard called the "female fantasy" of today's market trend. Even so, "Starman" tells a heart warming story of a being answering a "message in a bottle" communique from NASA, Earth. As usual we have a paranoid who is hell bent on nabbing Bridge's character for the sake of security and whatever else he might have in mind. Karen Allen, a recent widow must come to terms with both the loss of her husband and the person who has entered her life with unusual abilities.Both navigate one adventure after the other in order to reach their ultimate goal.Bridges presents the naive tourist who comes from a civilization that is a bit more socially advanced than our paranoid backwards ways, and comes to lock horns with one or two of the locals. The real pleasure about this film is that it is so well crafted. The acting is natural but also professional. It's not understated and "real" as is today's trend, nor are there any real "pretty", "handsome" nor any real "attractive" actors to detract from the story. Everyone here is a seasoned thespian who delivers well modulated performance energy. No one here is over the top, save for Bridges as he first adds life to his character, but that's to be expected given he's playing an alien.This is the kind of film that they don't make anymore, but should. Or rather it's the kind of film I'd like Hollywood to make. It's not fast paced. It's aimed at adults and anyone who is reasonably mature regardless of age. The story is not about good guys verse bad guys (mostly). There's very little gunplay here, though there is some mild violence. There's no massive CGI to awe and impress the otherwise jaded teenage viewer. The dialogue is not juvenile. The actors and characters are well rounded mature adults. There are no young nor obviously pre-teen at heart males popping off at the mouth with put down humor. This film was not test marketed (not much anyway) as today's films are.And that's why this film is worth seeing. In fact, it's worth owning, in my opinion. It's not heavy drama, but there are dramatic moments. There aren't any rapid fire vulgar jokes, but there is humor here. The characters are sympathetic, warm, and likable, except for the one bad guy, and even then you don't really have to put on your "white-hat black hat" glasses to understand what's going on.And that's the kind of film it is.Give it a shot and see what you think. Highly recommended.
gheremond Reportedly John Carpenter shot this movie as a way to show people that he could still understand what the audience wanted after the critical and financial disaster of his previous high-profile assignment, The Thing. Whether he proved his point or not is open to interpretation, although the fact that Starman was essentially his last big budget movie during the 80's and the director eventually kept spiraling farther away from the mainstream is probably evidence that this film didn't go as planned either. What Carpenter did accomplish though in the process, is craft the best serious take on an encounter with an alien civilization, at least until Contact came along.Compared to any other of Carpenter's films, Starman is perhaps the most singular and also the most genre-bending of any of his projects. You might have thought he pushed the envelope with Big Trouble in Little China, but Starman goes even further. The story is part alien encounter, part road movie, part romance and manages to mix its elements competently and switch gears expertly, propelled by two great performance by a young Jeff Bridges (this was his first Oscar nomination) and Karen Allen. Production values are also very high. Special effects, although not ubiquitous, are very imaginative and brilliantly executed whenever they occur. There are several shots in this one that have become iconic, such as the Starman transformation sequence early in the film, accomplished through a rare collaboration of two effects masters of the period, Stan Winston and Rick Baker. The movie is also graced with a spectacular score by Jack Nitzsche, elevating scenes like the finale into levels of otherworldly beauty.When it comes to Carpenter films, I consider this to be his finest, even compared to such gems as The Thing and Halloween. The fact that this isn't even remotely a horror film, so far from the director's comfort zone, makes it all the more remarkable. A classic and some of the most intelligent sci-fi you are ever going to find.
Spikeopath 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