Starman (1984) ⭐ 7.0 | Romance, Sci-Fi (original) (raw)
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Given director John Carpenter's predilection for horror - I'm thinking HALLOWEEN and THE THING, of course - you wouldn't imagine him to be best suited to the job of directing STARMAN, a cross-country romance with a science fiction twist. And yet he does a blinding job, and STARMAN proves to be a fine little movie; in parts poignant, touching and altogether human.
Although this film came out in the wake of E.T., I find it superior to the overly-sentimental Spielberg movie. The storyline is subtle and the developing central relationship is slow paced, taking time to get to know the protagonists and present them in a realistic light. The love story between Allen and Bridges is low key throughout, and even the love scenes are handled sensitively.
Allen has always seemed to me to be a completely natural actress, free from artifice; she has a rare ability to inhabit her roles which makes you wonder why she didn't become a bigger name. Opposite her in an Oscar-nominated performance stands Jeff Bridges, playing it kooky and mannered as the alien-in-a-man's-body; there's something oddly moving about his role in this film and he soon had me completely engaged in his character.
Yes, I'll admit that I shed a tear or two at the moving climax, even though I'm a totally non-romantic person when it comes to films and you can usually find me watching gory horror flicks instead. Saying that, watch out for the utterly eerie scene at the opening when a baby transforms into a man. This scene scared the hell out of me when I saw it as a kid, and even today the icky sound and physical effects bring to mind a certain ice-bound Carpenter classic!
Atypical and very likable Carpenter offering
Starman is certainly a bit of a departure for director John Carpenter. It seems that after the box-office disappointment of The Thing (1982) he decided that his next return to the alien film should be something less scary and more in line with the E.T. (1982) template. The result is a John Carpenter film that is decidedly more gentle natured than we had seen up to that point. After learning about humanity from the space probe Voyager 2 an alien crash lands on Earth and assumes the identity of a dead man. He enlists the reluctant help of the wife of this deceased individual in his mission to return home. Needless to say, the authorities pursue him, hell bent on preventing his departure.
This change of pace for Carpenter is another film which shows the care he gave to all his movies. The story is solid, if nothing especially great. But it's nicely shot and paced, with some engaging performances, especially from Karen Allen as the bemused woman taken along for the ride by the alien. Jeff Bridges puts in an original enough turn as the starman, although it is definitely quite surprising he was Oscar nominated for it. In essence this is a road movie with a romantic sub-plot that is based around a sci-fi premise. It's fairly successful in each of its sub-genres and is a very likable piece of work overall. And for what it's worth, I much preferred it to E.T.
Hey what a beautiful movie! Even as an alien, Jeff Bridges was brilliant. Karen Allen, as usual, gave her all and lit up the screen. The chemistry between the two was a delight.
This is not your typical over the top FX SciFi. It is an action drama with an underlying love story that would interest, even those who don't like this genre. But then I suppose if John Carpenter were to make a movie about the number 2758.369, it would be a interesting!
What more can I say - Great stuff!
A wonderful film full of hope for the human race.
Through the eyes of an alien, we view our world. Such is the beauty of John Carpenter's 'Starman'. His gentle alien comes in the form of a human clone (Jeff Bridges), and as we watch him interact with the rest of our race, we see both the good and the bad in all of us. It is this particular role that I find to be Jeff Bridge's most superb acting (or close to it, given his amazing work in 'The Fisher King'). To me he always did seem an alien in an unfamiliar human body, rather than the actor "Jeff Bridges". While there is certainly some over-simplification in the movie, and it can get a little sappy, I find the 'sap' in this case to be both touching and beautiful. How wonderful, how sad, how miraculous, to watch ourselves through the innocent and wise eyes of this alien being. A brilliant look at human beings, a sweet love story, and an excellent exploration of our spirit.
In 1977, the Voyager 2 travels to the outer space with messages of peace and greetings from Earth. A small alien spacecraft comes to Earth to make contact with Earthlings but the military airplanes shoot it down. The spacecraft crashes in Chequamegon Bay, Wisconsin and the alien wanders in a form of energy to the house of the young widow Jenny Hayden (Karen Allen), where he uses the DNA from a hair of her husband Scott (Jeff Bridges) to take his human form. The Starman contacts his mother ship and he needs to be in a crater Arizona in a couple of days to return to his star; otherwise he will be left behind and will die.
The Starman forces Jenny to take him to Arizona and she is hostile with him in the beginning. However, she learns that he is a peaceful being and she chooses to help him. But the army is chasing them and the despicable NSA chief George Fox (Richard Jaeckel) wants to hunt him down while the SETI scientist Mark Shermin (Charles Martin Smith) wants to help The Starman since he is sure that he has come to visit Earth peacefully.
"Starman" is still a wonderful sci-fi after thirty years. Nominated to the Oscar and to the Golden Globe, Jeff Bridges has magnificent performance and chemistry with Karen Allen. John Carpenter succeeds once again and makes a movie with a beautiful story, with drama, romance, action and humor. I saw this movie many times in the past on VHS but today I saw it on Blu-Ray. My vote is nine.
Title (Brazil): "Starman - O Homem das Estrelas" ("Starman - The Man from the Stars")
Note: On 25 August 2020, I saw this film again.
Note: On 28 February 2025, I saw this film again.
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