Dark Star — Dark Star( UHD/ Blu Ray boxset)

Appearing four years before his slasher genre-defining classic Halloween, Dark Star was the first feature-length film directed by John Carpenter.  The film is a low-budget slice of Sci-fi regarding a spaceship manned by bearded, long-haired crewmen, who spend their days in deep space blowing up unstable planets. It’s a low-key parody/send-up of the genre, blending bickering/ bored crewmates, bombs that talk back,  a red ball with claws pet alien, a ship captain frozen in ice, and the odd subtle chuckle. Here from Fabulous Films is a dual UHD/Blu-ray release of the film.  It features two cuts of the picture,  a selection of new and archive extras (including a feature-length documentary), along with repro stills and posters, and a limited edition online exclusive clamshell/o-card package with a Dark Star patch.

Dark Star is from the year 1974. It was directed, co-written, and produced by John Capentor. Its other writer was Dan O'Bannon( Alien, The Return Of The Living Dead,  Blue Thunder)- who also takes one of the leads. The picture started off as a student film created by the pair  University of Southern California between 1970 and 1972, expanded to a feature in 1973 with reshoots.

The film, in either version presented here, runs around the one hour and twenty-minute mark. And it’s fair to say the pace and tone of the whole thing is somewhat uneven, as we move from the downbeat grind of day-to-day life on the ship, bickering interactions, off-kilter slapstick, and more philosophical moments.

The picture opens with a transmission from Earth, with a man detailing how far they are from the planet now, how proud everyone on the planet is of them, though there is no budget to send their requests. We then meet our three lead characters- who are crammed shoulder to shoulder in a tinny, triangle-arched control room- these take in more serious/in charge Lt Dolittle (Brian Narelle), full off dull stories Pinback/ looks after the ships pet Pinback(O’Brian), and lank long blondhaire/ motsched Bolier(Cal Kuniholm)- we see Dark Star above a planet, and out of the bottom of the ship appears a bomb- the crew chat with it, before firing off to the planet- then warpseed out of the area.

As things unfold, we find out the pair have identified their next planet- setting course there- along the way we meet constantly in the ship watch tower Talby(Dre Pahich), and the cryogenically frozen ship's captain Commander Powell(Joe Shanders)- who sits between life and death, chatting ever so often with his crewmates.

I first saw Dark Star way, way back in the pre-cert days of the late 70’s/ earlier 80’s as a preteen- at that point I had no idea who Carpenter was, or what Halloween was. As a youngster who liked sci-fi, this seemed a very different version of the genre- rather cynical/ downbeat, but with light traces of levity- I dug the beach ball with claw alien & found the whole chasing it through the ship rather engaging, I enjoyed the talking bombs, and liked the film's bittersweet resolve. Watching it now, forty-some years later, I appreciate the more satirical moments, and largely found it an engaging slice of low-budget 70’s sci-fi, with a fairly distinctive feel/ vibe. Sure, there are issues here- with the pacing, glowing budget issues, and it’s certainly not as impactful as Carpenter's 80s classic output- but as a debut film, there is much to like/ be impressed by.

 

The discs features two versions of the film- both run at a similar one hour and twenty mark. On the extras side( I believe these are all archive), we have a commentary track from Super Fan Andrew Gilchris. He starts off by giving us a brief bio of Miles Watkins, who played the man from Mission Control, and comments on the IBM mainframe computers behind him. We find out that the spacecraft in the film was designed by Dan O'Bannon & Don Cob, with the first drawing of it done on a pizza place napkin. He points out the three-foot model used in the film.  We find out the original short film was called The Electric Dutchman, which was made over a three-year period. The final completed film with additional footage cost just sixty thousand dollars. He points out interesting shot use, and the moments of blurred out porn in the crew's rec room. Later on, he explained how the elevator scene was done, and details what's written on the meals the crew eat. He comments on the ship's plan we see at one point, and much more. This is a very informative/ interesting track, and it’s well worth a play.

Otherwise, we have: Let There Be Light: The Odyssey of Dark Star( one hour and fifty-six minutes), this is 210 documentary directed by Daniel Griffith. It starts off by briefly looking at both the early lives of John Carpenter and Dan O'Bannon, before moving on to discuss how they met, the film's production as a student film, how it went on to be a released film, and focusing on key elements in the pictures. It includes 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. This again is most interesting/ informative- though it is a little let down that the only input from the director is just snippets of an audio recording.

Otherwise, on the disc, we have the following: Brian Narelle (Lt. Doolittle) shares behind-the-scenes stories (40.10), Sci-fi author Alan Dean Foster discusses Dark Star's impact (34.36). Written Introduction by Dan O’Bannon(1.25). A 3D Guide to the Dark Star Ship.

The new content comes in the clamshell and o-ring 4K UHD package, taking in the following: A Reproduction of the original press book. A Mission Log. An essay by journalist and author Michael Doyle, from his forthcoming book Bringing Darkness Instead of Light: Conversations with John Carpenter. Two reproduction UK quad posters, a reprinted set of eight original publicity lobby cards, and a Dark Star Mission sew-on patch. So, a really neat/ classy presentation- this version of the release is limited to just five hundred copies- which can only be brought directly from Fabulous Film Website

It certainly is wonderful to see Dark Star getting such a classy/ definitive release from Fabulous Film- but don’t hang around long, as I know such a limited number set will disappear very quickly!.