Dark Star Blu-ray Review

• 27th Jan 2012

Here we are; a new year and a new Blu-ray release for me to review. It’s the latest old sci-fi movie to be pulled out of mothballs and spruced up especially for release in the HD format. It’s also a movie that even now, many folks may not have even seen. It’s John Carpenter’s 1974 sci-fi comedy classic Dark Star.

Those of you familiar with the site may know that we ran a John Carpenter season here at Filmwerk last year, covering all of his directorial work. I had the honour of kicking the entire thing off by penning a full retrospective for Dark Star back then. That piece was based on watching my old (pre 30th anniversary edition) R2 DVD release of the movie and can be found here. By all means, go check it out if you want a more in depth look at the movie itself. This review then will avoid covering too much of the same ground as the retro and focus on the specifics of the new release.

So without further ado, let’s get started.

Dark Star was of course John Carpenter and Dan O’Bannon’s 16mm student film, which was then blown up to 35mm and extended to feature length (with new scenes) and released theatrically. What’s important to mention here and now is that both versions of the movie are included on the disc, which is pretty cool. Note: the disc menu is a little confusing as it describes the original shorter ‘student’ film version of the movie as ‘The Director’s Cut’. This sets up a slightly different expectation I would imagine. They should really have chosen to describe it more accurately.

Moving on.

For those that haven’t seen it, or need a refresher, here’s a quickee reminder. The film is, at its core, a humorous reflex action to the sterile and graceful future that Kubrick had presented with 2001: A Space Odyssey a few years before. Set in the 22nd century, we join the spaced out, bored and generally pissed off and dysfunctional crew of the scout ship Dark Star whose twenty year (and counting) mission away from humanity, is to find and blow up unstable planets using intelligent thermostellar bombs. Naturally, things soon go awry and the drudgery and repetitiveness of life aboard the ship hits a slight bump.

Co-writer and star Dan O’Bannon famously recycled Dark Star‘s ‘used future’ and ‘truckers in space’ concepts for Alien a few years later and thinking of Dark Star as Alien‘s comedy progenitor is an interesting alternative way to view the film.

Some (including the always eccentric O’Bannon) say it wasn’t very funny, but I would disagree. Perhaps it isn’t an uncontrollable belly laugh kind of funny, but it is funny. What it definitely is though, is very well written, acerbic and acutely observed. It’s also a lot of fun and wonderfully of its time. I mean where else are you gonna find a dude in a spacesuit trying to convince a sentient nuclear bomb with a god complex not to explode using desperate existentialist theorising? Exactly!

So, before I begin treading too much ground already copiously trod in my previous piece, let’s dive in to the specifics of this Blu-ray release.

What we have here is most of last year’s excellent Hyperdrive Edition DVD presented in the Blu-ray format, but not quite all of it. I’m not sure if any further restoration on top of that which was done for the Hyperdrive DVD has been carried out here. Maybe, but for an extremely low budget, thirty plus year old movie, it looks pretty damn good to me in 1080p.

As I’ve just mentioned it, let’s talk further about the picture quality. I’ll be honest, if you buy this title looking for modern, true high density, ultra detailed, zero noise, deepest black perfection; you’ll be a bit disappointed (although, the blacks are actually very impressive and low noise). Remember, this was a 16mm student film transferred to 35mm in 1974 and now digitally restored. It’s just not realistic to expect it to compare to modern titles like Inception or even classic hi-def quality yardsticks like Blade Runner. Having said that, this is easily the best quality presentation you’ll have ever seen the movie in and is a joy to behold even on a 50″ plasma. I only wish I had my old VHS copy to compare it to. It certainly massively outstrips my old DVD version, which looks shocking by comparison. It would be an interesting thing to A-B test last year’s Hyperdrive DVD edition on my system with the Blu, as this would be pivotal to owners of that version wondering whether to upgrade or not. Alas this has not been possible. Audio is clean for the most part and sounds better than the original DVD. Audiophiles with super surround systems will not be particularly impressed, but this is really to be expected. All things considered, it sounds great.

OK so, with a movie like this, one of the things most anticipated by folks like me is the list of bonus features included in the package (they really shouldn’t be called ‘bonus’ any more, but that’s a conversation for another time). No supplemental information was supplied with the check review disc, so apologies if I miss anything out, I have had to trawl the web quite a bit for any insight not obvious on the disc menus themselves.

As I alluded to earlier; this release very much takes the Hyperdrive DVD edition as its inspiration. As such, it contains pretty much the same features list, with a few inexplicable omissions. First and foremost we get a feature length documentary detailing the making of the movie. This features many of the cast and crew reminiscing on various aspects if the film’s production. To give it its due, it’s a very enjoyable documentary, being factually abundant, interesting and engaging. What it lacks though is any direct input from either Carpenter or O’Bannon. Instead, certain audio extracts from archive interviews with both men feature throughout. It’s not ideal and is very noticeably a sub-optimal situation. One must, however, console oneself with the thought that these archive interview clips woven in from time to time are better than having nothing at all from either of the film’s principal creators. Having said that, dear reader; you need to know that Carpenter’s clips are of such bad audio quality that they are presented with subtitles.

Of course Dan O’Bannon sadly died a couple of years ago, possibly before this documentary was even conceived or filmed, but Carpenter’s lack of involvement is more puzzling. Here is a director known to be previously very generous in lending his time to the production of DVD extras including some great commentaries (check out They Live, The Thing or Big Trouble in Little China) and he’s simply nowhere on this presentation. Conspicuous by his absence, you could say.

Speaking of commentaries, the Hyperdrive DVD edition of Dark Star features one by self confessed mega-fan Andrew Gilchrist (who’s he? No idea). I do not know how good this commentary is, because for some reason it has been omitted from the Blu-ray edition. Why? Surely not disc space issues? A commentary (even one like this that by design must be a little sub-par) is a welcome feature. Why delete it when you are replacing it with nothing at all? While I’m on the subject, a couple of other interesting sounding interviews and enjoyable bits and bobs on the Hyperdrive edition are missing here. Surely they aren’t planning a Hyperdrive Blu-ray edition? I really don’t know. I would really have liked to have the commentary, even if it is by a relative no mark.

What all fans would have killed for of course would have been a Carpenter/O’Bannon commentary. I’m not sure if before he died, O’Bannon and Carpenter were on speaking terms and how that would have played out had they been coerced into doing the commentary, but my word it would have been entertaining! Hell, John Carpenter on his own would have been equally great, and he could even have dragged buddy Kurt Russell in for support if need be. Sigh. Where is he?

We can only assume that Carpenter was either not interested in being involved, or was for some other reason prevented from taking part. Please don’t tell me it was anything contractual, or money orientated. Whatever it was, it cannot help but taint the overall quality of this Blu-ray package, especially in conduction with the other missing features.

The bottom line here then is that for anyone who owns either the original vanilla DVD or 30th Anniversary Edition of the movie and isn’t a total ‘extras’ nut; this new Blu-ray edition is an absolute must. There’s just no comparison. However, anyone who was tempted in by the excellent, long overdue and feature packed Hyperdrive Edition last year will have a harder decision to make. The Blu does offer the aforementioned HD picture enhancement, such as it is. But on the flip-side is missing a good few of those bonus features mentioned earlier, which just seems mean.

For me, Dark Star on Blu can be summed up thus: great film, package could have been better.

We need that Carpenter commentary folks, sort it out will ya?!

Ben Pegley