A Few Words About A few words about…™ The Last Starfighter – in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Robert Harris]

The Last Starfighter, directed by Nick Castle and released in the summer of 1984, is an okay - maybe better than okay - teen/sci-fi/gamer film. If it doesn't have you thinking of Disney's Tron, which preceded it by precisely two years, then you have no right to the title "cinephile."

The effects are nicely produced for the budget. The performances are again, okay, or a bit better. The one highlight for me is seeing Mr. Preston doing his Harold Hill two decades later.

As a Blu-ray, it's a quality affair, with nice audio, inclusive of the original 4.0 mix, and derived from the original camera negative in a 4k scan.

The only problem with a 4k scan is that it brings to the fore, an intermittent cut-through scratch screen center, that appears through the surrounding grain. This may not be visible on panels, but in projections, it tends toward the obvious.

Aside from that, it's a nice presentation, with a ton of special extras, which is the main reason to go for Arrow's new Blu.


Image – 4.5

Audio – 5

Pass / Fail – Pass

Upgrade from DVD – Certainly

Recommended

RAH

 

[Adam Gregorich]

OKAY!?! This was one of my favorite movies growing up. My kids are mortified by the "poor" CGI and have a hard time believing that it was 1980s state of the art. I have the universal Blu-ray and would be interested to hear if the special features and transfer are worth an upgrade from those who have seen both.

 

[dpippel]

OKAY!?! This was one of my favorite movies growing up. My kids are mortified by the "poor" CGI and have a hard time believing that it was 1980s state of the art. I have the universal Blu-ray and would be interested to hear if the special features and transfer are worth an upgrade from those who have seen both.

Yes on the transfer. It's not perfect, but it's definitely better than the old Blu-ray. I haven't yet had time to delve into the extras, so I can't speak to them.

 

[JoshZ]

The Universal disc was very heavy-handed with DNR. Any new master handled competently would practically have to be an improvement on that.

 

[sbjork]

My father took my sister and I to see the movie at one of the Maplewood, MN theatres back in 1984. We sat behind a couple of employees from Cray who provided a running commentary on the effects. While Cray didn't produce the effects but rather sold one of their XMP supercomputers to Digital Productions, these gentleman seemed to know quite a bit about how they were done. It was one of the few times that I have not minded people talking during a film.

I am trying to get my now 85 year old father together with my sister to watch Arrow's Blu-ray in my home theatre. It would be a lovely bookend while he is still with us. But he has not set foot in any house but his own since the pandemic began as he is high risk. That disc is burning a hole on my shelf right now until he finally feels safe enough. My old Universal disc went straight into the bin the day that the new one arrived.

Maybe there is an element of "I guess you had to be there" with the movie, but we have loved it since 1984. It is simply delightful, and I do not think that is entirely due to nostalgia. It strikes the perfect tone for this kind of material.

 

[Vegas 1]

Also have this BR from Arrow Video the outer sleeve is very tacky tried wiping it off but no luck anyone else have this issue?

 

[B-ROLL]

Also have this BR from Arrow Video the outer sleeve is very tacky tried wiping it off but no luck anyone else have this issue?

Have you tried

Kraft Cheez Whiz ...

 

[sbjork]

Also have this BR from Arrow Video the outer sleeve is very tacky tried wiping it off but no luck anyone else have this issue?

It's just the texture of the metallic embedded printing. I think that it feels kind of cool -- almost like it is rubberized.

 

[DavidJ]

OKAY!?! This was one of my favorite movies growing up. My kids are mortified by the "poor" CGI and have a hard time believing that it was 1980s state of the art. I have the universal Blu-ray and would be interested to hear if the special features and transfer are worth an upgrade from those who have seen both.

I remember loving this one growing up too. I wonder what my kids will think of it and I wonder what I'll think of it now.

 

[Adam Gregorich]

Maybe there is an element of "I guess you had to be there" with the movie, but we have loved it since 1984. It is simply delightful, and I do not think that is entirely due to nostalgia. It strikes the perfect tone for this kind of material.

I couldn't agree more! Just ordered it!

 

[dpippel]

I couldn't agree more! Just ordered it!

Same here. This film has a lot of heart, and that makes up for the shortcomings. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts, the cast is great (particularly Dan O'Herlihy and Robert Preston, in his last film role before he left us), and I just love the score. Eighties cheesiness to be sure, but oh so tasty.

 

[Roger Mathus]

Also have this BR from Arrow Video the outer sleeve is very tacky tried wiping it off but no luck anyone else have this issue?

Yes, but did not notice it until you mentioned it. Likely to give the muted as opposed to shiny look. I like the look but do not like the feel.