Samuel LoveBefore John Carpenter was the maestro of horror with classics like Halloween, The Thing and Christine, he made his directorial debut with an ambitious student film that soon evolved into a charmingly scrappy and offbeat sci-fi spoof that has gone on to become a cult classic in its own right. While it’s far from his masterpiece, Dark Star is a fascinating and enjoyable little flick that set the groundwork for Carpenter’s later genre-defining work. The film was originally shot on 16mm and later blown up to 35mm for theatrical release. This new 4K release from Fabulous Films has received a full color-grading pass along with a meticulous digital restoration, resulting in the most accurate and detailed presentation of this science-fiction classic to date.
We took a look at the Fabulous Films web exclusive 4K UHD release.
Synopsis
John Carpenter’s pulp science fiction classic – this brilliantly clever and funny parody of
Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, follows a warped intergalactic mission to
blow up unstable planets. Four bored astronauts fill in time between missions catching
up on their tans with the help of a sun-lamp, playing with a suspiciously plastic-looking
alien mascot they are taking back to Earth and conversing with their female version of
Hal. Things start to go horribly wrong when the spaceship computer misfires and a
‘smart bomb’ thinks it is God.
SPECIAL FEATURES
- Let There Be Light: The Odyssey of ‘Dark Star’
- Booklet: Michael Doyle’s essay on Dark Star
- Booklet: Dark Star Mission Log
- Theatrical Trailer
- Stills Gallery
- Poster Gallery
- Lobby Card Gallery
- Cast & Crew Biographies
- Trivia
- 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
- 8 Reproduction Original Film Lobby Cards
- Reproduction Foldout Poster of the 2 Original British
- Quad Posters
- Reproduction Original Film Campaign Brochure
- Includes both original Director’s Cut & Expanded Theatrical Release
DARK STAR is available on Blu-ray and 4K UHD from Fabulous Films
