The Last Starfighter
The Last Starfighter | |
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Theatrical release poster |
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Directed by | Nick Castle |
Produced by | Gary Adelson Edward O. Denault |
Written by | Jonathan R. Betuel |
Starring | Lance Guest Robert Preston Catherine Mary Stewart Dan O'Herlihy Norman Snow |
Music by | Craig Safan |
Cinematography | King Baggot |
Editing by | Carroll Timothy O'Meara |
Studio | Warner Bros. Universal Pictures Lorimar Productions |
Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release date(s) |
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Running time | 101 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $15,000,000 (estimated) |
Box office | $28,733,290 (North America)[1] |
The Last Starfighter is a 1984 science fiction adventure film directed by Nick Castle. The film tells the story of Alex Rogan (Lance Guest), an average teenage boy recruited by an alien defense force to fight in an interstellar war. It also featured Dan O'Herlihy, Catherine Mary Stewart, Robert Preston, Norman Snow and Kay E. Kuter.
The Last Starfighter, in addition to Disney's Tron, has the distinction of being one of cinema's earliest films to use extensive computer-generated imagery (CGI) to depict its many starships, environments and battle scenes. This CGI technique, for the time, was a great leap into the future compared to contemporary films such as the previous year's Return of the Jedi, which still used static physical models shot by moving film cameras.
The Last Starfighter was Preston's final film role. His character, a "lovable con-man", was a nod to his most famous role as Harold Hill in The Music Man.[2] There was a subsequent novelization of the film by Alan Dean Foster, as well as a video game based on the production. In 2004, it was also adapted as an off-Broadway musical.
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[edit] Plot
Alex Rogan (Lance Guest), is a teenager living in a trailer park with his mother (Barbara Bosson) and little brother (Chris Hebert). Outside of being a handyman at the trailer park, his sole activity is playing Starfighter, a stand-up arcade game where the player defends "the Frontier" from "Xur and the Ko-Dan Armada" in a space battle. Eventually he becomes the highest scoring player of the game. Shortly afterwards, he is approached by the game's inventor, Centauri (Robert Preston) who invites him to take a ride. Alex does so before discovering that the vehicle is actually a spaceship; moreover, Centauri is a disguised alien who whisks him off to a far away planet called Rylos, leaving his family and girlfriend, Maggie Gordon (Catherine Mary Stewart). So that his absence goes unnoticed, an android named Beta (Guest in a dual role) is left in his stead.
Upon his arrival, Alex discovers that the images and territories in the Starfighter arcade game represent an actual conflict between the Rylan Star League and the Ko-Dan Empire; the latter is led by Xur (Norman Snow), a traitor to whom the Ko-Dan Emperor has promised control of Rylos itself. The game was designed as a test to find those "with the gift"; Alex is expected to pilot an actual Starfighter spacecraft called the Gunstar. He also discovers that The Frontier is an array of planetary-scale force fields that protect Rylos and its surrounding planets from invasion and that Xur has given the Ko-Dan the means to breach it.
Before Alex can fully understand and dispute his induction, Xur appears (via a holographic projection) inside of the Starfighter base and reveals he has discovered an infiltrator in his ranks and proceeds to broadcast his death by torture to the entire base, including his father, Ambassador Enduran (Kay E. Kuter), the Starfighter commander. He then proclaims to the people of Rylos that once Galan (Rylos's moon) is in full eclipse, the Ko-Dan Armada will begin their invasion and not even the Starfighters will be able to save them. When Alex asks to be taken back home, Centauri does so, giving him a means by which to contact him, should Alex change his mind. After they leave, the starfighter base is attacked- a saboteur eliminates the base's defenses, causing the base to sustain heavy damage, killing all starfighters save for a friendly reptilian alien navigator named Grig (Dan O'Herlihy), and destroying all Gunstars, save for an advanced prototype that Grig was servicing at a different location at the time of the attack.
Once home, Alex discovers the android who assumed his identity and contacts Centauri to come and retrieve it. An assassination attempt by Xur interrupts this, and Alex realizes that the only way to protect his family (and the Earth) is to pilot a starfighter. Returning to the ruined base, Alex meets up with Grig and they set out in the Gunstar to battle the Ko-Dan Armada by themselves.
Alex and Grig attack the Ko-Dan mother-ship, crippling its communications system; catching the Ko-Dan fighter wings off-guard. The battle reaches a fevered pitch; Alex keeps the upper hand, using the "lone fighter-against-hordes" tactics he mastered by playing the coin-operated video game. Soon, however, his weapons are depleted. Desperately, he activates a secret weapon installed in the Gunstar: "Death Blossom", which destroys all the remaining Ko-Dan fighters. Lord Kril (Dan Mason), captain of the Ko-Dan mothership, blames Xur for this turn of events. After relieving Xur of command, Kril orders him executed. Instead, Xur takes advantage of Alex's attack and kills the sentries escorting him from the bridge. He then flees the mother-ship just before Alex destroys the ship.
Alex is proclaimed the savior of Rylos, only to discover from Enduran (who escaped from the Starfighter base before its destruction) that the Star League is still vulnerable: The Frontier has collapsed and Xur escaped, and will continue to be a threat as long as he still lives. Alex agrees to stay and recruit other Starfighters, rebuilding the Legion. He returns to Earth, dramatically landing his Gunstar in the trailer park. Grig tells Alex's mother and the people of the trailer park of Alex's heroism in the Rylan War and that he will be a Starfighter of great potential, who will teach future Starfighters.
After explaining to his friends and family where he was, Alex reveals that his services as a Starfighter are still needed by the Rylan Star League. He then asks Maggie to join him in space. Maggie's grandmother, Granny Gordon (Meg Wyllie) gives her blessing to her granddaughter, and Maggie returns to Rylos with him. Alex's little brother Louis is inspired to follow in his brother's footsteps and begins playing the game, so that he too can master it.
[edit] Cast
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[edit] Production
This section needs additional citations for verification. (April 2010) |
The Last Starfighter is one of the earliest films to make extensive use of computer graphics for its special effects. In place of physical models, 3D rendered models were used to depict space ships and many other objects. The Gunstar and other spaceships were the design of artist Ron Cobb, who also worked on Alien, Star Wars and Conan the Barbarian.
The computer graphics for the film were rendered by Digital Productions on a Cray X-MP supercomputer. The company created 27 minutes of effects for the film. This was considered an enormous amount of computer generated imagery at the time.[4] For the 300 scenes containing computer graphics in the film, each frame of the animation contained an average of 250,000 polygons, and had a resolution of 3000 × 5000 36-bit pixels. Digital Productions estimated that using computer animation required only half the time, and one half to one third the cost of traditional special effects. The result was a cost of $14 million for a film that made about $21 million at the box office.[4]
Not all special effects in the film were done with computer animation. The depiction of the Beta unit before it had taken Alex's form was a practical effect, created out of materials and produced on-set. The Starcar created by Gene Winfield and driven by Centauri was also a real prop.[5] It was later reused in the film Back to the Future Part II as a car parked on one of the streets in the 2015 future setting.
The more mundane sequences of the film unexpectedly received more attention. Test audiences enjoyed the comical struggles of Alex's android impostor at the trailer park so much that the producers decided to shoot more of these scenes, which they felt gave this science fiction film a unique flavor.
A new, digitally remastered version presented in anamorphic wide screen is now available. The new transfer has improved color and sharpness, and is shown regularly on television.
[edit] Music
Craig Safan's score for the film calls for an unusually large orchestra, including six trumpets and six trombones, which are used simultaneously to play the main theme in twelve-part harmony.
Southern Cross released a soundtrack album at the time of the film's release (later reissued on CD in 1987).
Side One:
- Main Title (2:30)
- Outer Space Chase (2:52)
- Into the Starscape (3:50)
- The Planet of Rylos (2:04)
- Death Blossom: Ultimate Weapon (3:37)
Side Two:
- Incommunicado (Craig Safan/Mark Mueller) - Clif Magness (3:08)
- Never Crossed My Mind (Craig Safan/Mark Mueller) - Clif Magness (2:45)
- Return to Earth (3:28)
- The Hero's March (2:16)
- Centauri Dies (3:08)
In 1995, Intrada issued an expanded album, which omitted the songs credited to Safan/Mueller/Magness, and included the complete versions of several cues, including "Into the Starscape" (on the original release it cuts out at the point in the film when Louis whoops at the sight of the Gunstar taking off on the video game screen and in real life; in the film the music continues over the end credits).
- Main Title (2:31)
- Alex Dreams (1:44)
- Centauri Into Space (05:59)
- Rylos (2:01)
- Centauri Dies (6:51)
- Target Practice (2:17)
- Alex's First Test (2:51)
- Beta's Sacrifice (6:07)
- Death Blossom; Ultimate Weapon (4:44)
- Big Victory March; Alex Returns (5:44)
- Into the Starscape (7:21)
[edit] Reception
The Last Starfighter was a financial success, earning over $28 million on an estimated budget of $15 million.[6]
Critical reviews have been mixed, but generally positive. Based on 26 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes ranks The Last Starfighter at a 73% "fresh" rating.[7] Roger Ebert gave the film two-and-a-half out of four stars, stating that while the actors were good, The Last Starfighter was "not a terrifically original movie," but was nonetheless "well-made".[8]
[edit] Adaptations
The Last Starfighter's popularity has resulted in several non-film adaptations of the storyline and uses of the name. Alan Dean Foster wrote a novelization of the film shortly after it was released (ISBN 0-425-07255-X). In the same year as the release of the film, Marvel Comics released a three issue miniseries adapting the film to comics format. In 2004, it was also adapted as an off-Broadway musical debuting at the Storm Theatre in New York City.
A real The Last Starfighter arcade game by Atari, Inc. is promised in the end credits, but was never released. If released, the game would have been Atari's first 3D polygonal arcade game to use a Motorola 68000 as the CPU. Gameplay would have been taken from game scenes and space battle scenes in the film and would have included the same controller that was used on the first Star Wars arcade game. Ultimately, it was not released because the arcade machine would have had a sale price of $10,000, which the vice president in Atari considered too high.[9]
Home versions of the game for the Atari 2600 and Atari 8-bit home computers were also developed, but never commercially released under the Last Starfighter name. The home computer version was eventually renamed and released (with some minor changes) as Star Raiders 2. A prototype exists for the Atari 2600 Last Starfighter game, which was in actuality a game already in development by Atari under the name Universe. This game was eventually released as Solaris.[10]
In 1984, FASA, a noted sci-fi tabletop game maker, created a gaming system for The Last Starfighter.
In 1990, an NES game titled "The Last Starfighter" was released, but it was actually a conversion of Uridium for Commodore 64, with modified sprites, title screen and soundtrack.[citation needed]
A freeware playable version of the game, based on what is seen in the film, was released for PC in 2007. This is a faithful reproduction of the arcade game from the film and features full sounds effects and music from the game. The creators of this game, Rogue Synapse, have also built a working arcade cabinet of the game.[11]
[edit] Sequel
In February 2008, production company GPA Entertainment added "Starfighter - The sequel to the classic motion picture Last Starfighter" to its list of projects and two months later the project was reported to be "stuck in the pre-production phase".[12] It was still there as of January 2012.[13]
[edit] References
- ^ "The Last Starfighter (1984)". Box Office Mojo. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=laststarfighter.htm. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
- ^ Crossing the Frontier: Making "The Last Starfighter" (behind-the-scenes retrospective), Universal Studios Home Video, 1999.
- ^ http://www.metacafe.com/watch/an-eUJMb7bnYh2Ym/the_last_starfighter_1984_recruits/
- ^ a b Ohio State University CG history page
- ^ http://www.break-in-studios.com/archive/TheLastStarfighter_CG.htm
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087597/business
- ^ "The Last Starfighter (1984)". Rotten Tomatoes. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/last_starfighter/. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (January 1, 1984). "The Last Starfighter review". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on June 30, 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5qritmm4I. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
- ^ PDF article about the game
- ^ AtariProtos.com. "The Last Starfighter". http://www.atariprotos.com/2600/software/tlsf/tlsf.htm. Retrieved March 6, 2008.
- ^ Download page for freeware version of The Last Starfighter videogame
- ^ "The Next Starfighter?". FSR. April 7, 2008. http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/news/the-next-starfighter.php.
- ^ "George Paige Associates, Inc.". http://www.webcitation.org/6509y9f2N. Retrieved 2012-01-27.
[edit] External links
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: The Last Starfighter |
- The Last Starfighter at the Internet Movie Database
- The Last Starfighter at the TCM Movie Database
- The Last Starfighter at AllRovi
- The Last Starfighter at Rotten Tomatoes
- Animation Timeline from Brown University
- The Last Starfighter video game
- Arcade game specifications by Atari
- Marvel Super Special #31 - A review of the Marvel Comics adaptation of the film
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- 1984 films
- English-language films
- 1980s science fiction films
- American coming-of-age films
- American comedy science fiction films
- American science fiction action films
- Films about computing
- Films about video games
- Films directed by Nick Castle
- Films shot in California
- Science fiction war films
- Space adventure films
- Universal Pictures films