...for me the whole thing was too slow and spaced out.
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"This movie is a comedy. I wanted to be sure and clarify that right up front, because when the film was first released to the paying public they didn´t seem to realize it was supposed to be funny." --Dan O´Bannon, screenwriter and actor, "Dark Star."
One can understand the public´s reaction. Later in his introductory essay to the film, O´Bannon says, "My second film--"Alien"--was basically "Dark Star" made scary. I figured, ´If I can´t make them laugh, maybe I can make them scream.´ The rest is history."
"Dark Star" was director John Carpenter´s first film. It started out as a student project in 1970, and with the addition of about fifteen minutes of additional footage it was released theatrically in 1975. One can easily see in it parodies of "2001: A Space Odyssey" and "Dr. Strangelove," as well as hints at stuff to come, like "Halloween" and, especially, "The Thing." All told, though, it looks exactly like what it is--a student production, made for a total of $55,000.
Over the years it has picked up a cult following. That usually means a film is bizarre enough to be enjoyed by a select few for its quirky eccentricities. "Dark Star" qualifies on all counts. The acting is amateurish, the pace is awkward, the special effects primitive, the jokes sophomoric. It´s just weird enough to watch as a curiosity, and the folks at VCI offer it in two forms: The original uncut version shown in movie houses and a shorter Special Edition prepared for video in 1983. Of the two, I recommend the uncut version.
The setting is the distant future, when Man has gone beyond the solar system and expanded his role in the universe. It is the job of the spaceship "Dark Star" to locate unstable planets in the far reaches of space and blow them up before their orbit becomes a hazard to other planets in their systems.
The entire story takes place aboard the spacecraft, which has been away from Earth a good many years. Problems arise when the men begin to go a little bananas isolated in the confines of their ship all this time, and then a bomb with a mind of its own decides to detonate despite human orders. OK, it´s HAL with an attitude. O´Bannon is the best part of the show, goofier than the rest of the crew to begin with, he´s definitely been in space too long. It´s nice when you´re the screenwriter; you can give yourself the best parts.
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[release]1489[/release]