Starman (1984)

Director:

John Carpenter

Writers:

Bruce A. Evans (written by) &
Raynold Gideon (written by)

Release Date:

14 December 1984 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Romance | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

In 1977 Voyager II was launched into space, inviting all lifeforms in the universe to visit our planet. Get ready. Company's coming.

Plot:

An alien takes the form of a young widow's husband and asks her to drive him from Wisconsin to Arizona. The government tries to stop them.

Plot Keywords:

Alien | Crater | Widow | Sex With Alien | Roadblock

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

Jeff Bridges	...	Starman
Karen Allen	...	Jenny Hayden
Charles Martin Smith	...	Mark Shermin
Richard Jaeckel	...	George Fox
Robert Phalen	...	Major Bell
Tony Edwards	...	Sergeant Lemon
John Walter Davis	...	Brad Heinmuller
Ted White	...	Deer Hunter
Dirk Blocker	...	Cop #1
M.C. Gainey	...	Cop #2
Sean Stanek	...	Hot Rodder (as Sean Faro)
George 'Buck' Flower	...	Cook (as Buck Flower)
Russ Benning	...	Scientist
Ralph Cosham	...	Marine Lieutenant
David Wells	...	Fox's Assistant

Also Known As:

John Carpenter's Starman (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

115 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

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

Certification:

Ireland:PG | Australia:PG | Iceland:L | West Germany:12 (f) | Netherlands:12 | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Norway:15 | Sweden:11 | UK:PG | USA:PG | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Arizona, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

This script was being developed at Columbia at the same time as another script about an alien visitation. The studio did not want to make both, so the head of the studio had to choose which film to make; he decided to make this one and let the other script go to a rival studio. The other script was for _E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)_.

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: Throughout the film, Chequamegon (Shih-WAH-muh-gone) National Forest is pronounced "She-mogg-wahn." Non-locals sometimes refer to it as "that unpronounceable national forest."

Quotes:

Starman: Take it easy.
Trucker: Up yours!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Making It Huge (1985) (V)

Soundtrack:

What Would Your Memories Do

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.