The Last Starfighter (1984)

Director:

Nick Castle

Writer:

Jonathan R. Betuel (written by)

Release Date:

13 July 1984 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Family | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

In his wildest dreams Alex never suspected that tonight he would become...

Plot:

A video-gaming boy, seemingly doomed to stay at his trailer park home all his life, finds himself recruited as a gunner for an alien defense force.

Plot Keywords:

Alien | Trailer Park | Planet | Spacecraft | Handyman

Awards:

4 nominations

Cast

Lance Guest	...	Alex Rogan / Beta Alex
Dan O'Herlihy	...	Grig
Catherine Mary Stewart	...	Maggie Gordon
Barbara Bosson	...	Jane Rogan
Norman Snow	...	Xur
Robert Preston	...	Centauri
Kay E. Kuter	...	Enduran
Dan Mason	...	Lord Kril
Chris Hebert	...	Louis Rogan
John O'Leary	...	Rylan Bursar
George McDaniel	...	Kodan Officer
Charlene Nelson	...	Rylan Technician
John Maio	...	Friendly Alien
Robert Starr	...	Underling
Al Berry	...	Rylan Spy
Scott Dunlop	...	Tentacle Alien
Vernon Washington	...	Otis
Peter Nelson	...	Jack Blake
Peggy Pope	...	Elvira
Meg Wyllie	...	Granny Gordon
Ellen Blake	...	Clara Potter
Britt Leach	...	Mr. Potter
Bunny Summers	...	Mrs. Boone
Owen Bush	...	Mr. Boone
Marc Alaimo	...	Hitchhiker
Cameron Dye	...	Andy
Geoffrey Blake	...	Gary
Kimberly Ross	...	Cheerleader II
Wil Wheaton	...	Louis' Friend
Bob Kenaston	...	Uncle Bob
Ed Berke	...	Cop #1
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bruce Abbott	...	Rylan Sargent (uncredited)
Suzanne Snyder	...	Cheerleader (uncredited)
Lee E. Stevens	...	Bogati (uncredited)

Directed by
Nick Castle

Writing credits
Jonathan R. Betuel		(written by) (as Jonathan Betuel)

Produced by
Gary Adelson	....	producer
Edward O. Denault	....	producer
John Whitney Jr.	....	associate producer (as John H. Whitney Jr.)
Robert E. Swanson	....	consulting producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Craig Safan

Cinematography by
King Baggot		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Carroll Timothy O'Meara		(as C. Timothy O'Meara)

Casting by
Irene Mariano
Barbara Miller

Production Design by
Ron Cobb

Art Direction by
James D. Bissell

Set Decoration by
Linda Spheeris

Costume Design by
Robert Fletcher

Makeup Department
Lance Anderson	....	mechanical effects makeup
Werner Keppler	....	technical makeup
Audrey Levy	....	key hair stylist
Terry Smith	....	design makeup
Gerald Solomon	....	assistant hair stylist (as Gerald Salomon)
Rick Stratton	....	makeup lab sculptor (uncredited)
Brian Wade	....	makeup effects technician: Greg Cannom (uncredited)

Production Management
Kim C. Friese	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Richard Denault	....	second assistant director
Brian E. Frankish	....	first assistant director
Sharon Gerhard	....	dga trainee

Art Department
Carl Aldana	....	illustrator
Richard J. Bayard	....	construction coordinator
Beverli Eagan	....	set designer (as Beverli Egan)
Tracy Farrington	....	property master
Don High	....	set designer
Robert Inklekofeer	....	leadman
John L. Jensen	....	production illustrator (as John L. Jenson)
William James Teegarden	....	set designer (as Jim Teegarden)
Michael Wiegand	....	assistant props
Peg McClellan	....	illustrations (uncredited)
Lee N. Sforza	....	propmaker foreman (uncredited)
Michael Walsh	....	set dresser (uncredited)

Sound Department
Bub Asman	....	sound editor
Fred J. Brown	....	supervising sound editor
Juno J. Ellis	....	assistant sound editor
David W. Gray	....	stereo sound consultant: Dolby (as David Gray)
Robert L. Hoyt	....	sound re-recording mixer
Margie O'Malley	....	foley artist (as Margie Denecke)
Lauren Palmer	....	adr editor
B. Tennyson Sebastian II	....	sound re-recording mixer
Michele Sharp	....	sound editor
Jack Solomon	....	production sound mixer
John J. Stephens	....	sound re-recording mixer
James Thompson	....	cable person (as James E. Thompson)
Al Yaylian	....	boom operator

Special Effects by
James Camomile	....	special effects (as James Dale Camomile)
Michael Lantieri	....	special effects
Kevin Pike	....	special effects supervisor
Darrell Pritchett	....	special effects (as Darrell D. Pritchett)
Joseph C. Sasgen	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Peggy Baker	....	digital post-production coordinator: Digital Productions
Fred Bradford	....	software developer: Digital Productions
Allison Brooks	....	digital editorial: Digital Productions
Michael Busch	....	technical manager: Digital Productions
Philip Chen	....	software developer: Digital Productions
Andy Davidson	....	software developer: Digital Productions
Brad deGraf	....	technical manager: Digital Productions
Gary Demos	....	technical executive: Digital Productions
Ken Dozier	....	technical manager: Digital Productions
Tom Earnist	....	drafter/encoder: Digital Productions
Michelle Feraud	....	software developer: Digital Productions
Kathleen Fisken	....	drafter/encoder: Digital Productions
Noah Gans	....	technical manager: Digital Productions
Gordon Garb	....	software developer: Digital Productions
Walter Gish	....	software developer: Digital Productions
Jack Green	....	drafter/encoder: Digital Productions
Erin Rae Hoffer	....	drafter/encoder: Digital Productions
Brad Hunt	....	technical manager: Digital Productions
Paul Isaacs	....	technical manager: Digital Productions
Bob Kensinger	....	digital editorial: Digital Productions
Michael Kory	....	drafter/encoder: Digital Productions
Shelley Lake	....	technical manager: Digital Productions
Beth Leitner	....	drafter/encoder: Digital Productions
Larry Luther	....	software developer: Digital Productions
Stephanie Mardesich	....	assistant to production executive: Digital Productions
Sherry McKenna	....	production executive: Digital Productions
Malcolm McMillan	....	software developer: Digital Productions
Mary Ann Morris	....	software developer: Digital Productions
Ron Moszkowski	....	technical manager: Digital Productions
Emily Nagle	....	software developer: Digital Productions
Jeffrey A. Okun	....	visual effects coordinator
Kevin Rafferty	....	senior drafter/encoder: Digital Productions
David Ruhoff	....	software developer: Digital Productions
Jim Rygiel	....	senior technical mananger: Digital Productions
Stephen Skinner	....	drafter/encoder: Digital Productions
Donald Smith	....	drafter/encoder: Digital Productions
Claudia Sumner	....	visual effects supervisor: Digital Productions
John Tilton	....	drafter/encoder: Digital Productions
Larry Yaeger	....	software developer: Digital Productions
Roger Dorney	....	optical supervisor (uncredited)
Christopher Dusendschon	....	Vistavision scan plate cinematography: Kenimation/Digital Productions (uncredited)
Rexford L. Metz	....	visual effects director of photography (uncredited)
Dennis Michelson	....	visual effects: Digital Productions (uncredited)
Michael Douglas Middleton	....	visual effects still photographer (uncredited)
John Scheele	....	visual effects consultant (uncredited)

Stunts
Glenn R. Wilder	....	stunt coordinator (as Glen Wilder)

Camera and Electrical Department
Richard J. Beban	....	second assistant camera (as Richard Beban)
Stephen E. Bridge	....	camera operator (as Stephen Bridge)
Roger Gebhard	....	first assistant camera
Marlin Hall	....	key grip
Charles Hatcher	....	dolly grip (as Chuck Hatcher)
George Holmes	....	gaffer
Larry Keys	....	best boy electric
Rodney Veto	....	best boy grip
Richard Clark	....	video playback supervisor (uncredited)
Wynn Hammer	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Joe Kelly	....	grip (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Dan Bronson	....	wardrobe: men
Maritza Garcia-Roddy	....	wardrobe: women (as Maritza Garcia)
James Linn	....	costumer

Editorial Department
Conrad M. Gonzalez	....	assistant film editor
Frank E. Jimenez	....	apprentice film editor

Music Department
David Franco	....	music supervisor
Daniel J. Johnson	....	music editor (as Dan Johnson)
Ken Johnson	....	music editor
Alf Clausen	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Rick Riccio	....	music scoring mixer (uncredited)
James Thatcher	....	musician: French horn (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Wayne R. Campbell	....	transportation captain (as Wayne Campbell)
Bill Cresant	....	transportation coordinator

Other crew
Bea Blondell	....	production auditor
Faye Brenner	....	script supervisor
Linda Foster	....	assistant: Nick Castle
Gary Gero	....	animal handler
Don Hamblen	....	craft service
Gwen Johnson	....	animal handler
Susan Kobata	....	secretary: E. O. Denault
Jack Lyons	....	unit publicist
Linda Poster	....	assistant: Nick Castle
Geoffrey Ryan	....	location manager
Carole Sherman	....	secretary: Gary Adelson
Debbie Smith	....	production coordinator
Maureen White	....	production liaison
Craig Miller	....	marketing consultant (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Lorimar Film Entertainment (as A Lorimar Presentation) (as A Universal/Lorimar Production also)
• Universal Pictures (as A Universal/Lorimar Production)

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1984) (USA) (theatrical)
• MCA Home Video (1984) (USA) (VHS) (pan and scan)
• Scotia International Filmverleih (1985) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Home Video Hellas (HVH) (1985) (Greece) (VHS)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (1985) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Universal Home Entertainment (1998) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Universal Home Entertainment (1999) (USA) (DVD) (special edition)
• Universal Studios Home Entertainment (2009) (USA) (DVD) (25th anniversary edition)
• Creative Films (2010) (Spain) (DVD)
• Cinema Classics (19??) (USA) (VHS)
• Lorimar Home Vídeo (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Warner Bros. Television (19??) (USA) (TV)

Special Effects

• Digital Productions (digital scene simulation)

Other Companies

• Apogee Productions  optical effects (as Apogee, Inc.)
• Van der Veer Photo Effects  optical effects
• Pacific Titles & Optical  optical effects (as Pacific Title & Optical)
• Gene Winfield Special Projects  Star Car built by
• Apogee Productions  titles (as Apogee, Inc.)
• Atari  video game available from (as Atari, Inc.)
• Berkley Books  novelization

Also Known As:

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Finland:K-12 | France:U | Norway:11 | Sweden:11 | UK:PG | USA:PG | West Germany:12 | Singapore:PG | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Iceland:10 | Iceland:12 (video rating) | Australia:PG | Portugal:M/6

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Company:

Lorimar Film Entertainment

Trivia:

Atari actually programmed games for its 5200 SuperSystem and 400/800 series home computers as a tie-in with this movie. The games never went past the prototype phase (though copies do survive). Also, the game was nothing like the arcade machine Alex played in the film - the technology did not exist at the time to produce real-time 3-D polygonal graphics on a home machine. Rumor also has it that Atari produced one prototype Last Starfighter arcade machine, but it since has been lost. An early Atari 2600 program was revamped into the game released as "Solaris".

Goofs:

Continuity: The interior set of the Star Car does not match the exterior shots.

Quotes:

Alex Rogan:Hey, you look like me!
Beta:Of course I do. I'm a beta unit.
Alex Rogan:What the hell is a beta unit?
Beta:A beta unit is a simuloid. An exact duplicate, only not as loud!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Gamera vs. Guiron (#4.12)" (1991)

Soundtrack:

Never Crossed My Mind

A fun movie and... hey in it's own way... Legendary

I love THE LAST STARFIGHTER... it's a good, fun movie. A matinee type of film. It's not as great as Star Wars or some of the big budget movies of the time... (hmmm, where there any big budget Sci Fi movies other than Star Wars at the time?) The acting, though not great was charming. Lance Guest (brillantly playing Alex and the very naive Beta), Greg O'Herlihy (sp) playing the loveable Lizard creature Grig and of course.... Robert Preston as rascalous Centauri. And something that I forgot for a long time (until I saw it at a local store and had to buy it on DVD) was that this was one, if not THE, first movie to utilize CGI. Yeah, it's a far cry from what filmakers can do now with Apple Rendering software. But when I saw the movie in the Theater, I was impressed and thought that if Computer Graphics were this good in the this first movie... how much it will grow. It's a movie well worth having in your library. And as I'm watching it right now, I'm glad that I have it in mine.