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The Last Starfighter: Recommendations?

post #1 of 12
2/28/10 at 8:48pm
Thread Starter 
I've been thinking about picking up this movie on Blu-ray and I'm wondering if anyone can offer any thoughts on the transfer to Blu-ray? Also interested in knowing if this is a double sided disk because I know that it comes with a DVD on the flip side. To be honest about it, I dislike these flipside disks and have boycotted them outright. 
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Gear mentioned in this thread:

The Last Starfighter 25th Anniversary [Blu-ray]
post #2 of 12
2/28/10 at 8:54pm

Always start by doing a search in the product database. If there's been an official HTF review, a copy will be attached to the entry in the database. That happens to be the case here.

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/products/the-last-starfighter-25th-anniversary-blu-ray

If there is a review thread with further discussion, the link will also be part of the entry.

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post #3 of 12
3/1/10 at 2:03pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks, Michael. However, my main point in asking was to get input from those who have purchased it. I put more validity behind live remarks about what the community members have to say on it before I break down and purchase it myself. Reviews only tell you so much but mostly, reviews are basically rehearsed comments.

I did know about those entries, I just thought someone might offer up their thoughts.
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post #4 of 12
3/1/10 at 4:22pm
Then apart from the uneccessary crack about "rehearsed comments," it's safe to assume that you didn't even bother to read the link Michael provided.  If you had, you would have seen that the review (like every HTF review) includes a message thread with input from community members, which of course HTF reviewers are actually a part of.  In fact, the message thread was the very first link, not to mention the two big sections labeled "User Ratings" and "User Reviews."
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post #5 of 12
3/1/10 at 7:16pm
Thread Starter 
I looked through it ... it mostly contained technical information about the release. It was helpful but doesn't give anyone an impression of a consumer review. This is why I generally refer to Amazon reviews but most of those reviews are cross-linked with the DVD reviews and only review the movie instead of the Blu-ray release.

I already know about the movie, watched it several times. What I'm looking for is a review on the Blu-ray release, not of the movie. ;)
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post #6 of 12
3/1/10 at 7:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by kemcha View Post

Reviews only tell you so much but mostly, reviews are basically rehearsed comments.

 

Two points. First of all, I write DVD and Blu-ray reviews for this site. At best, I find your characterization of our reviews inaccurate.

But second, as previously noted by both myself and Jesse Blacklow, the product database contains links to other sources of information, including comments by other users. That makes it a convenient entry point to what's already been said on the subject by consumers in addition to the reviewer. If you choose not to avail yourself of that information when it's right there in front of you, that's your choice, but then how interested are you really?


Quote:
Originally Posted by kemcha View Post

What I'm looking for is a review on the Blu-ray release, not of the movie. ;)


Why doesn't this qualify?

Quote:
VIDEO QUALITY   3 ½/5
The Last Starfighter is presented in a 1080p VC-1 2.35:1 transfer that varies between the earthbound trailer park scenes which to my eye showed a natural range of colors and fleshtones, as well as a pleasing, filmlike quality, and the CGI space shots, which come in crystal clear and sharp. If anything, the HD transfer really brings out the contrast between the live action and the CGI to the point that the CGI shots look even less photo-realistic, and even more like animation. This isn’t a problem with the transfer – it’s a problem with the film that has existed since it was first shown in theaters. So the transfer is a good one, but it points up a problem that can easily take the viewer out of the movie even faster than this would happen with an SD transfer. I should note here that I am watching the film on a 40” Sony XBR2 HDTV. As I said before, if anyone watching this film on a 60” or larger monitor is seeing any problems like DNR impacting the picture, please post a comment on this thread.
 
 
AUDIO QUALITY   3 ½/5
The Last Starfighter is presented in an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix in English, which presents the dialogue clearly in the front channels and distributes music and atmospheric effects through the surrounds. When Craig Safan’s Williams-esque score really kicks in with the brass, the subwoofer comes to life – and this happens frequently during the film. There is also some great directionality in this mix, including things like a young boy firing a dart gun into a metal siding at screen right and getting a satisfying “tang!” out of the right channel.
 

Edited by Michael Reuben - 3/1/10 at 9:59pm
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post #7 of 12
3/11/10 at 1:11pm
For the record there are two different Blu-ray versions of this:
1) Blu-ray only
2) Blu-ray and DVD combo pack.  This is a Blu-ray and a DVD (two seperate discs, not a flipper).  The Bourne films are the only flippers that have been released to far.  This was released several weeks prior, along with several other reissues that added a copy on DVD.

Being that the dual disc release is cheaper I would recommend it.
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post #8 of 12
3/11/10 at 1:27pm
If anything, the HD transfer really brings out the contrast between the live action and the CGI to the point that the CGI shots look even less photo-realistic, and even more like animation. This isn’t a problem with the transfer – it’s a problem with the film that has existed since it was first shown in theaters. So the transfer is a good one, but it points up a problem that can easily take the viewer out of the movie even faster than this would happen with an SD transfer.

I recently watched this on DVD, and even on DVD its a genuine problem

on its original release, it was not a problem because we had not seen many computer graphics and it looked "cool"

compared to more recent CGI, the space scenes just look like someone "forget to shade / light" with the result that it looks seriously crude, and snaps you out of the film, as the review mentioned!

the earth bases scenes (in the trailer park) were just fine in comparison
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post #9 of 12
3/11/10 at 3:06pm
Thread Starter 
Michael and Adam, thanks for the clarification on this matter. I plan on picking up this wonderful film in the next few days. 
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post #10 of 12
3/11/10 at 5:20pm
The Last Starfighter is no different than a lot of other films from the past. Some effects work ages well and some does not. As someone has pointed out, the CGI in the TLS was cutting-edge when conceived and executed but by today's standards it's crude. Doesn't bother me a bit! As far as I'm concerned the effects work is exactly what gives the movie some of it's charm. IMO it's comparable to watching stop-motion animation from the 50's and 60's, or films where matte paintings were used to produce otherwordly environments and backdrops. Those techniques are just as obvious and in many cases much more "horrible" than the CGI work in The Last Starfighter, but that doesn't prevent me from enjoying said films for what they are. Buy it and take pleasure in it's quirky story and big heart. If you're a fan it should be a no brainer.
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post #11 of 12
3/11/10 at 8:19pm
I've always had a soft spot for The Last Starfighter and was thrilled to see it released on Blu-Ray.  Are the effects crude by today's standards?  Yes.  The 1933 King Kong had women fainting in the aisles when it was released.  Now it can air on a Saturday morning as kiddie fare.  That doesn't mean the films can't be enjoyed for what they are.  Heck, I still love the old Buster Crabbe Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon serials with their cardboard spaceships sailing by on wires and the sparklers at the back end to suggest rockets.  Those don't "take me out of" the movies, they are part of the movies - part of their charm and part of the nostalgia factor. (I discovered the serials on TV as a kid, and watched them week after week, sometimes with my dad - who had watched them in the theaters when he was a kid.)  It isn't as though the CGI in TLS was all that convincing the first time around, either.  It looked like a slghtly-better-than average videogame - which, given the premise, actually worked out just swell.  Anyone who enjoyed the film when it was first released or came to like it on TV, VHS or DVD should be pleased with the Blu Ray edition.  (I got the two disc version and gave the DVD copy to my nephew, who I used to watch the movie with on TV when he was little.)  

If you didn't like the movie, or if you're so hung up on SFX that they can spoil a good story for you, then you obviously shouldn't bother. 

Regards,

Joe
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post #12 of 12
3/12/10 at 12:51am
Thread Starter 
I have to say that I also hold "The Last Starfighter" with a fond affection. I remember going to the theater to see this movie back in the day and I fell in love with the characters. This is why I'll be purchasing this Blu-ray release. 
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Gear mentioned in this thread:

The Last Starfighter 25th Anniversary [Blu-ray]
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