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Dark Star (film)
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Dark Star is a 1974 sci-fi tongue-in-cheek comedy motion picture directed by John Carpenter and co-written with Dan O'Bannon. Dark Star was ranked #95 on Rotten Tomatoes' Journey Through Sci-Fi.
ough destined for eventual theatrical release in 1974, this was only possible as a consequence of a successful series of showings at a number of film festivals in 1973. Originally the film was a 45 minute student short filmed on 16mm film.
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Encyclopedia
Dark Star is a 1974 sci-fi tongue-in-cheek comedy motion picture directed by John Carpenter and co-written with Dan O'Bannon. Dark Star was ranked #95 on Rotten Tomatoes' Journey Through Sci-Fi.
Production
Although destined for eventual theatrical release in 1974, this was only possible as a consequence of a successful series of showings at a number of film festivals in 1973. Originally the film was a 45 minute student short filmed on 16mm film. The movie was seen by producer Jack H. Harris, who gained the theatrical distribution rights to the film, and arranged for it to be transferred to 35mm, and paid for the addition of 38 minutes which brought the movie up to feature film length.
Director John Carpenter and Dan O'Bannon wrote the screenplay. Six years later, the basic "Beachball with Claws" subplot of the film was reworked from comedy to horror, and became the basis for the O'Bannon-scripted science fiction horror classic, Alien.
The special effects in the movie were done by Dan O'Bannon, ship design by Ron Cobb, model work by O'Bannon and Greg Jein, and animation was by Bob Greenberg, all of which are considered impressive for a student work. O'Bannon starred in the film in the role of Sgt. Pinback.
Analysis
Carpenter has described Dark Star as "Waiting for Godot in space".
Plot
In the middle of the 22nd century, mankind has reached a point in its technological advances to enable colonization of the far reaches of the universe. Armed with intelligent "Exponential Thermostellar Bombs", the scout ship DARK STAR and its crew have been in space alone for twenty years on a mission to destroy "unstable planets" which might threaten future colonization. Meanwhile, the ship's crew, consisting of Lt. Doolittle, Sgt. Pinback, Boiler and Talby (their Commander, Powell, has died and exists only via cryogenic supports) perform their jobs in a state of abject boredom as the tedium of their task has driven the crew up the wall. Sgt. Pinback has adopted a ship's mascot in the form of a mischievous alien "beachball with claws" that refuses to stay put in the food locker, forcing Pinback to chase it all over the ship. Lt. Doolittle dreams of surfing back in Malibu. Dark Star's navigator Talby has become reclusive and spends all his time in the ship's dome. The computer has become dysfunctional, with parts of the ship burnt out and others simply blown up. Due to damage suffered in an asteroid storm, thermostellar Bomb #20 threatens to detonate while still in the ship's bomb bay. The other crew members attempt to talk the bomb out of blowing up ("'Wouldn't you consider waiting around awhile for another course of action?' 'No.'"). Lt. Doolittle revives Commander Powell who advises them to teach the bomb the rudiments of phenomenology, resulting in a memorable philosophical conversation between Doolittle and the bomb.
Bomb #20 retreats to the bomb bay for contemplation, and disaster seems to have been averted. Pinback addresses the bomb over the intercom to finally disarm it.
The bomb misinterprets Doolittle's phenomonology and believes itself to be God. He explodes killing Pinback and Boiler instantly, Commander Powell is fired off into space encased in a large block of ice, Talby drifts off into the Phoenix Asteroids to die and circle the universe, and Doolittle surfs down to the unstable planet on a piece of debris to burn up in the atmosphere.
Soundtrack
The theme song played during the opening and closing credits is "Benson, Arizona". The music was written by John Carpenter, and the lyrics by Bill Taylor.
Further reading
- Holdstock, Robert. Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, Octopus Books, 1978, pp. 80–81. ISBN 0-7064-0756-3
- Cinefex magazine, issue 2, Aug 1980. Article by Brad Munson: "Greg Jein, Miniature Giant". (Discusses Dark Star, among other subjects.)
- Creative Screenwriting magazine, Sep/Oct 2004, Vol. 11 No. 5, pages 70–73. (Article: "Alien, 25 years later: Dan O'Bannon looks back on his scariest creation" by David Konow. Discusses, among other things, how the "Beach Ball Alien" scenes in Dark Star were an inspiration for Alien.)
- Fantastic Films magazine, Oct 1978, vol. 1 no. 4, pages 52–58, 68–69. James Delson interviews Greg Jein, about Dark Star and other projects Jein had worked on.
- Fantastic Films magazine, Sep 1979, issue 10, pages 7–17, 29–30. Dan O'Bannon discusses Dark Star and Alien, other subjects. (Article was later reprinted in "The very best of Fantastic Films", Special Edition #22 as well.)
- Fantastic Films magazine, Collector's Edition #17, Jul 1980, pages 16–24, 73, 76–77, 92. (Article: "John Carpenter Overexposed" by Blake Mitchell and James Ferguson. Discusses Dark Star, among other things.)
External links
- at The Official John Carpenter
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