Weird and poorly made sci-fi romance TV movie about an alien (Belinda Bauer) with an 1980s Human League short haircut who is on the run from alien hitmen and is rescued and romanced by a young James Spader. The romance isn't all the compelling and the action elements are not all that exciting either. The only real point of interest is seeing Spader in an early leading role, getting to play the hero instead of his usual 80s smarmy jerk supporting parts (i.e. "Pretty in Pink," "Mannequin," "Less Than Zero," etc.), although I suppose he did get to play the hero of "Tuff Turf." For an actress I hadn't really heard of before, Bauer is quite good as the alien. After looking at her filmography, I saw that she played a memorable villain in "Robocop 2" and was in "Winter Kills" and "Flashdance," but I don't remember her in those two films. There's also a good score by the underrated composer Gil Melle. Overall, this is a pretty bad movie that's made watchable by two good leads.
14 Reviews
StarCrossed the made for TV movie
electric_postcard-128 May 2007
This movie reminded me of another alien romance move called "My stepmother is an alien" which was at least very funny. Overall this is a slow moving alien romance movie where alien girl meets boy and both are chased by evil alien dudes. The acting was good and the special effects was interesting at times. The ending left you hanging. Questions like, what did the boy do with his newly acquired alien mental powers? Did they have an alien kid as a results of their one night stand? What did the FBI do to the boy once they caught him in the end? Oh well, these questions will always linger. The lack of availability of this movie on DVD speaks volumes for its lack of popularity. You may luck out and see it on cable one day. Is it worth seeing? Sure it is, but be sure to have a pillow near by to crash on during the film.
80's tele sci-fi at its finest.
HyperPup8 December 2001
Starcrossed had to be one of the better scifi telefilms to emerge in the 80's big three networks realm. This gem orginally airing on ABC had to be one of the more interesting pop scifi films of our time. Blending modern and contemporary art styles, light futuristic drama with familiar locales and most of all, a delicate to spirited electro-jazz score by Gil Melle that set the mood perfectly for the visuals and should have been released for sale. This is probably a movie that most hardcore scifi fans will want to pass on, It has action but not as robust as Star Wars, there are no high tech space battles but there is a good story to be found in Starcrossed. If you ever find yourself wanting a scifi love story, this is definately one of the better ones. It sometimes plays on SciFi channel so keep an eye peeled if you are interested.
Insanely bad. You have been warned!
nb-198817 April 2020
We love you, James, so we will forgive you this one steaming pile of tripe -- but nothing further!
Belinda is fine to look at for the first 30 seconds. Then, her acting -- all the acting from everyone involved -- swirled down the toilet. Sixth-graders could have done better. To describe the acting as "wooden" gives a bad rap to actual wood.
My then-23-year-old self managed to miss this one in the theaters...and that was a real blessing.
One star for Belinda. One star for James.
Yuck.
Belinda is fine to look at for the first 30 seconds. Then, her acting -- all the acting from everyone involved -- swirled down the toilet. Sixth-graders could have done better. To describe the acting as "wooden" gives a bad rap to actual wood.
My then-23-year-old self managed to miss this one in the theaters...and that was a real blessing.
One star for Belinda. One star for James.
Yuck.
Worst Film Ever Made
jdiamondjd28 April 2009
Awful is a good word to start with. are you others stuck in the 80's or just pretentious film students? i have seen better "stuff" in my toilet. i am a James spader fan, but after seeing this movie early one morning suffering from insomnia i question his ability as a person. for Christ's sake he is a fellow mick and Bostonian and could not pull off the accent! not only that the movie sucked more than a hooker on a good day! all you lovers of starcrossed, it is time to put away the d&d game and move out of mom's house and get a job. if i ever see this movie on my t.v. again i will vomit and then drop my t.v. off a thirteen story building! James spader should be ashamed, better yet humiliated for ever even thinking this movie was a good career move! and you lovers of it GET A LIFE!
Finely-Crafted Sci-Fi TV-Movie
Dejael30 October 2004
As one reviewer has commented, this film is worth watching just for the luscious, talented Belinda Bauer alone, as the alien, which is a standout; or for James Spader's excellent performance as Boston-Irish Joey Callahan. Both were at the beginning of their careers in the mid-1980s and this film is a highly artistic work which has everything going for it except a dismal special visual effects budget which reduces the credibility of the film, script, characters and actors exponentially.
Jeff Bloom's script, direction, with acting, characters, costumes, makeup, performances, art direction, plus edgy electronic music score by Gil Melle are first-rate. With a bigger budget for scope and visual effects, this film could have succeeded as a theatrical feature. Unfortunately, its producers, Charles Fries Productions, cheaped out and made this a good little B-picture which is character-driven instead of effects-laden. Its style and substance make up for the almost nonexistent visual effects, which consist mainly of some early CGI animation which looks like 3-D CAD drawings, standing in for the alien spaceships which are only believable as nocturnal lights, especially at the end.
This film was available on VHS videotape in the late 1980s directly from Fries Entertainment, but was discontinued sometime in the early 1990s. As far as I know it has never been reissued on video. The soundtrack score by Gil Melle is worthy of a CD release also.
Highly recommended. A 7 out of 10.
Jeff Bloom's script, direction, with acting, characters, costumes, makeup, performances, art direction, plus edgy electronic music score by Gil Melle are first-rate. With a bigger budget for scope and visual effects, this film could have succeeded as a theatrical feature. Unfortunately, its producers, Charles Fries Productions, cheaped out and made this a good little B-picture which is character-driven instead of effects-laden. Its style and substance make up for the almost nonexistent visual effects, which consist mainly of some early CGI animation which looks like 3-D CAD drawings, standing in for the alien spaceships which are only believable as nocturnal lights, especially at the end.
This film was available on VHS videotape in the late 1980s directly from Fries Entertainment, but was discontinued sometime in the early 1990s. As far as I know it has never been reissued on video. The soundtrack score by Gil Melle is worthy of a CD release also.
Highly recommended. A 7 out of 10.
A hidden 80s gem
katmax-226 January 2009
This movie was made for TV in Canada in the 80s and I remember stumbling across it in a video shop many years ago and loving it. It's a story of starcrossed lovers and a flight for freedom. As other reviewers have noted the production values aren't high, but for me the characters made up for the cardboard sets..and the spaceship was rather original for its time I thought. I've been looking for a copy of this on DVD for years without luck.
If you are a James Spader fan this is probably one of his earliest and hardest titles to get your hands on - and impossible to watch if you don't have a VHS system, but its worth taking the time to find if you like a decent B SciFi movie.
If you are a James Spader fan this is probably one of his earliest and hardest titles to get your hands on - and impossible to watch if you don't have a VHS system, but its worth taking the time to find if you like a decent B SciFi movie.
Wonderful
sunbeam_sl4 September 2004
I came across this show by accident on local TV. We live in the country and I didn't even know what the channel was. After it was over I thought it was the best Scifi movie I had ever seen. I called up all the video stores around and none of them had it. Finally one of them said it was only aired on TV. So we have invested for the last 6 months in satellite and I still can't find it. I have looked everywhere and am ready to give up and get rid of satellite. Since we don't do credit cards it would be impossible to get it on e-bay I guess. Anyway, I was just browsing and wanted to give my opinion in here. 2 thumbs up to you James Spader, you really did a wonderful job in this movie!
Okay, but bad production values
courser-118 May 2004
While I had no real problems with the storyline of this movie, I'm surprised that no other reviewer has mentioned the incredibly shoddy production values. Sound levels and quality fluctuate wildly - sometimes even in the same scene. The same is true for lighting and color saturation. It was extremely distracting. I might have rationalized that perhaps my local TV station just got a damaged print or something, until one scene cut was so bad it looked like Spader teleported from one spot to another. The angle and focus were terribly off and the cut was anything but seamless.
I liked the emotional depth of this sort of dumb film, but the bad production values and quality control made it a nightmare to watch. Thankfully, I saw it on TV and didn't have to pay anything for it.
I liked the emotional depth of this sort of dumb film, but the bad production values and quality control made it a nightmare to watch. Thankfully, I saw it on TV and didn't have to pay anything for it.
Worth watching, if only for Belinda Bauer
hoyo_de_4915 October 2004
Clever, vastly underrated little ABC Circle Films production starring James Spader,(pre-Stargate; sex,lies, and videotape)Belinda Bauer in a totally believable performance,(compare to Jeff Bridges in the more highly-acclaimed "Starman")and even a young Clark Johnson (Homicide: Life on the Street.)
Special effects were low-budget but the direction,cinematography, and Gil Melle's beautiful score make this one a keeper and a film to watch over and over. Lifetime has shown this movie occasionally (though why it's always edited for length and content, I'll never know)but, other than that, I've never seen a repeat. Find it if you can; to my knowledge, it's never been released on DVD but there is a VHS version floating around Europe somewhere. Hope its not PAL.
Special effects were low-budget but the direction,cinematography, and Gil Melle's beautiful score make this one a keeper and a film to watch over and over. Lifetime has shown this movie occasionally (though why it's always edited for length and content, I'll never know)but, other than that, I've never seen a repeat. Find it if you can; to my knowledge, it's never been released on DVD but there is a VHS version floating around Europe somewhere. Hope its not PAL.
Dull and interesting at the same time.
photoweborama16 June 2003
As stated before, the film has some decent elements, but just does not quite make it.
It has a decent plot, but the film really drags through most of the film. The actors did a decent job, as far as what they had to work with. James Spader was very believable.
Although a dull film, it still held my attention to the entire end.
It has a decent plot, but the film really drags through most of the film. The actors did a decent job, as far as what they had to work with. James Spader was very believable.
Although a dull film, it still held my attention to the entire end.
Excellent formula movie
bernie-503 December 2001
Caught it on Starz Encore
webcrawler24 July 2009
Everyone looking for the film you can catch it on Starz Encore Drama. I get DirecTV so not sure which channel you might find it on cable, but Starz Encore is a good bet. Cute film. What is it about 80s film culture that makes you warm and fuzzy inside? Also, I remember the locations shot around Toronto, Canada. Very nostalgic because these places are much different now, and a few buildings and stores no longer exist. I believe this was a failed TV pilot. There are a few other Canadian based TV shows I have been searching for that were filmed around this time (early 80s). Night Heat, Friday the 13th, and War of Worlds.
The Best Alien Movie ever!
pentium4858 June 2010
Man two days ago I Just recorded this movie on the channel This and I haven't seen this movie in years. I was so hoping I would see it again because I couldn't find it on tape or online. This movie reminds me of that movie called Date with an angel and kinda reminds me of heaven like the Kingdom of God. I mean it just made me want to get closer with God or at least explore other planets. Man what would that be like? Anyway this is somehow as good as the movie ET but I like this better than ET because it seems to be more real about aliens. I hope they put this out on Tape one day and even if they don't than don't forget I got this movie recorded and if you want to buy a recorded copy from me than remember I can only give you a VHS recorded copy not the official that they don't have.
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