Dark Star (1974)

In the far reaches of space, a small crew, 20 years into their solitary mission, find things beginning to go hilariously wrong.

Director:

John Carpenter

Writers:

John Carpenter (original story and screenplay), Dan O'Bannon (original story and screenplay)

Stars:

Dan O'Bannon, Dre Pahich, Brian Narelle

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Brian Narelle	...	Lt. Doolittle
Cal Kuniholm	...	Boiler
Dre Pahich	...	Talby
Dan O'Bannon	...	Pinback

Storyline

Low-budget story of four astronauts in deep space, whose mission is to destroy unstable planets in star systems which are to be colonised. The late Commander Powell is stored in deep freeze, where he is still able to offer advice. As their mission nears completion, they must cope with a runaway alien which resembles a beach-ball, faulty computer systems, and a "smart bomb" who thinks it is God.

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Plot Keywords:

alien | cult film | spoof | satire | parody | 

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Taglines:

They're not lost in space, they're loose!

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Genres:

Comedy | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 February 1979 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

Estrella oscura

Filming Locations:

Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$60,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Jack H. Harris Enterprises, University of Southern California (USC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min 70 min (Original Version) 71 min (Director's Cut) 68 min (original student film)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Sgt Pinback is shown sleeping, he holds a magazine to his chest. It is MAN'S BOOK, October 1972, with a cover by Basil Gogos.

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Goofs

When they're chasing the "alien" through the bowels of the ship, one of the poorly lit rooms is actually a basement. You can see the conventional light switch and the conduit on the wall.

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Quotes

Sgt. Pinback: [Pinback is trying to lure the alien with a rubber toy mouse] Here, boy! Want your mouse? Nice mouse. Pretty toy. Want your mouse? Here, boy.
[Thinks for a second, then loudly eats the mouse]
Sgt. Pinback: Idiot!

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Alternate Versions

Originally released in a shorter 68-minutes version, later expanded to a longer 83 minute version with the addition of new scenes (including the meteor storm, the visit to the crew's quarters and Doolittle playing his music).

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Connections

Referenced in Hot Tub Time Machine 2 (2015)

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Soundtracks

Benson Arizona
Music by John Carpenter
Lyrics by Bill Taylor
Vocals by John Yager (uncredited)
[Played over the opening and closing credits]

User Reviews

The Bizarro 2001

I saw this film as a kid, dismissed it as boring, and moved on. Luckily, fate forced me to see it again about 2 years ago and (some are going to hate me for this) now i consider it second only to Kubrick's 2001:A Space Odyssey. The scope is gigantic, even though we're trapped inside the goofy little ship with these rejects (and they ARE rejects). It is a spoof of man's uninformed view of his place in the universe. It is filled to capacity with malfunctioning technology, illogical solutions to self-inflicted conflicts and a very genuine feeling of the isolation of deep space.

The music (John Carpenter is an innovator in film scoring) is strange and often indistinguishable from the zany noises of the ship's equipment and displays (who would ever create such tortuous bleeps and sirens for EVERY function of a spacecraft designed to house a couple of guys in the outermost regions of the galaxy?). The ship's computer is a perfect contast of Hal9000 (2001) in that SHE seems to understand her crew's dimwitted plight and ,after speaking to them in her programmed monotone, recognizes the need to go back and dumb herself down so that they can function accordingly. It is never explained whether she has assumed a mother-figure role or is simply acting out of self-preservation ,but ,like most of the more thought-provoking elements of this absurdist's fantasy, the viewer is merely given the bare-bones information and allowed to decide for itself.

Maybe all of this implied data caused me to make the movie better in my head than it actually is ,but how many films have you seen lately that can give you that freedom?