‘The Last Starfighter’ blasts onto Blu-ray
Category: Blu-ray's and DVD's
The 1984 movie The Last Starfighter is imaginative and captures the spirit of the time. Lance Guest, Dan O’Herlihy, Catherine Mary Stewart, and Robert Preston took this fun story to great heights.
This was a time before everyone had computers so arcades and video game machines were popular. Alex (Guest) is a top player of one game in particular and he manages to hit the record high score. He was able to make it all the way to the end where, as the player, he destroyed the evil starship. The entire trailer park where he and his family live cheers him on.
After this triumphant accomplishment, Alex is visited by a man named Centauri (Preston). Centauri developed the game to find candidates to be real starfighters in another galaxy that is on the verge of being attacked by the evil Xur. Well, one thing leads to another and off they go to the planet Rylos where Alex is about to join the starfighting team. But what Centauri does not know is that Alex does not want any part of this war. After all, he only played a video game so why does that qualify him to be a real starfighter?
Centauri agrees to return Alex to earth where he meets a “beta unit” that has taken his place while he is away fighting Xur. When he learns that his family is in danger and he will always be in danger as long as Xur is alive, he agrees to return to Rylos and join the team. But in the meantime Xur has wiped out the station with all of the starfighters. There is only one left in the universe – Alex Rogan. He and his pilot Grig (O’Herlihy) end up taking on the entire armada.
For a bored young man from a trailer park in the middle of nowhere, this is a big change. And he has always wanted to do something important with his life. He finally got his wish.
This movie came along seven years after the original Star Wars. Unlike that famous film, this one has plenty of heart and is extremely clever, having been written around a video game machine. There are plenty of wonderful new bonus features that will add a new understanding about the film for viewers.
In the film there is a brief reference to the sword in the stone and King Arthur. Writer Jonathan Betuel explained that he was reading the book “The Once and Future King” at the time he wandered into a store and saw the enthusiasm of gamers. This sparked the idea of making a story in the same vane. Whereas Arthur was the only one to pull the sword from the stone and then go on to lead his country, Alex was the only one to completely finish the game and then go on to save the universe.
Guest and Masterson guide viewers through their experiences making the movie. There is an interesting feature with Craig Safan who created the wonderful score. He knew the story required a large orchestra, and this soundtrack really does make the movie. Several other bonus features are included in this new edition. And inside the box is a movie poster as well as a nice booklet to accompany the film.
The Last Starfighter is rated PG. For a new direction in space wars, check out this fun movie.
About the Author
Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for over 25 years. She also writes about products and travel. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as Internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books, is the entertainment correspondent for Good Day Orange County, and has her own TV show, Beyond the Red Carpet, on Village Television in Orange County. She is a longstanding member of the Los Angeles Press Club and the Television Critics Association.