Starman (Full Screen Edition)

Amazon.com essential video

While most movie buffs are likely to call Halloween the best movie from John Carpenter, others--die-hard romantics and anyone who cried while watching E.T.--might vote in favor of the director's 1984 hit Starman. It's easily Carpenter's warmest and most beguiling film, and the only one that ever earned an Oscar nomination. That honor went specifically to Best Actor nominee Jeff Bridges for his performance as an alien visitor to Earth who is knocked off course and must take an interstate road trip to rendezvous with a mothership from his home planet. To complete this journey he assumes the physical form of the dead husband of a Wisconsin widow (Karen Allen) who responds first with fear, then sympathy, and finally love. Carpenter's graceful strategy is to switch the focus of this E.T.-like film from science fiction to a gentle road-movie love story, made believable by the memorable performances of Bridges and Allen. It's a bit heavy-handed with tenacious government agents who view the Starman as an alien threat (don't they always?), but Carpenter handles the action with intelligent flair, sensitivity, and lighthearted humor. If you're not choked up during the final scene, well, you just might not be human. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

Very captivating movie, a must see........2007-09-15

First of all, one of the wonderful things about this edition is that it is widescreen. The widescreen is on the flip side of DVD, (atleast on the copy that I recieved). Widescreen is a must for any film in my opinion. I hadn't seen the film in several years; last time was on VHS. I ran across it searching for different films to buy and got it right away. I forgot how excellent this movie was. Jeff Bridges did a great acting job,and Karren Allen was a great supporting role. The musical score is incredible, listen to it carefully when watching the film. This is a movie you need to have in your DVD library.

One of the best movies rarely seen.......2007-07-01

This film works on many levels. The cast is engaging, the plot is suspenseful and dotted with humor, the musical score is hauntingly beautiful, the themes are uplifting and the symbolic meanings are mythic. Why not more films about human goodness and being at our best when things are at their worst?

WHERE IS THE SEQUEL ???????.......2007-06-28

If ever a movie called for a sequel this is it!!! I wont give away the story but after you've seen it you will wonder too!! So many questions and no answers...and widescreen is an absolute must for this great film!!!

A Hidden Gem of a Movie.......2007-06-14

I have a little bias here -- this happens to be one of my all time personal favorite movies, so it's easy for me to wax poetic about it. Basically, the story of an alien who comes to visit, is shot down, temporarily takes human form, is chased by the government, and has to find his way back to meet the other aliens before he runs out of energy and dies.

Sounds like "ET", but this one is for the grownups, not the kids. What makes it work is a beautiful, sweet romance that develops between the alien and a woman who is initially terrified of him (the alien has cloned himself into the form of her deceased husband). The writing is minimalist, with breathtakingly pithy, powerful dialog. Karen Allen gives a beautiful performance, and Jeff Bridges gives one of the greatest performances of any actor in any film ever -- he is simply brilliant as the alien exploring human experience. This movie is bittersweet, full of hope and romance and redemption, and yet tinged with sadness. Great date movie, great movie period.

The Starman.......2007-05-29

This filf has sentimental value to me, so that's why I'd ordered it. The acting's great but the story is alright.

Great seller. Overall, I'm satisfied.

Average customer rating:

I can dance
Attention - it's not the original "Lambada" !
Waste of Time!
Master OF The RARE Laserdiscs Movies.
HOTT !!!! Lambada

Lambada
Starring: J. Eddie Peck , Kayla Blake , Gina Ravera , Gigi Hunter , and Richard Giorla
Director: Joel Silberg
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Musicals & Performing Arts | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( L ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

ASIN: B00008973B
Release Date: 2003-04-15

Amazon.com

Lambada has its heart in the 1950s and the rest of its anatomy in the 1980s. It's a Jerry Bruckheimer production, like Flashdance, in all but name. Kevin, a.k.a. "Blade" (J. Eddie Peck), is a math teacher by day, dancer/G.E.D. instructor by night. Sandy (Melora Hardin) is the kind of student Sting warned about in "Don't Stand So Close to Me." There's his dangly earring and her hair gel. There's her lunkhead boyfriend, who looks like Top Secret!-era Val Kilmer, and Blade's lambada nemesis, Ramon. And, oh yeah, Blade is Latino. Sound familiar? It is. Lambada is cheesy as all get out and doesn't have an original idea in its body. It's also a sure-to-be-guilty pleasure for fans of Footloose and other 1980s flicks with big beats and misunderstood heroes. It isn't as good, but it's still a hoot. And there's lots of steamy Lambada dancing in the nightclub scenes. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Description

A sizzling underground dance culture collides with a world of wealth and privilege in this story ofhot moves, fiery passions and sexual intrigue. With its steamy, expertly choreographed dance sequences, Lambada takes dirty dancing farther than it has ever gone before! By day, Kevin Laird teaches at a chic Beverly Hills high school but by night, he sets the dance floor on fire at an East L.A. lambada club. Kevin's sexy moves earn him the respect of the tough barrio dropouts attending his high-school equivalency classes. But when a seductive student exposes Kevin's secret double life, she threatens to bring down everything he's worked for.

Customer Reviews:

I can dance.......2007-01-07

The Movie L is looking for is The Forbidden Dance......... I enjoyed, both those movies as well as Salsa. This movie is a little cheesey but when you are ten and watching it, who cares!!!!

Attention - it's not the original "Lambada" !.......2005-12-05

I was looking for a "Lambada", a bright Brazilian movie,
with the catching Brazilian flavor and dancing.

Instead... they sell a castrated American "adaptation"
even without a famous theme song!

Friends,
Don't buy it. Waste of time.

Waste of Time!.......2005-10-02

I was never a professional dancer, but always loved to dance. I guess that's at least one reason why I love to watch dancers perform almost any type of dance. That's certainly why I tend to buy so many moves sight unseen if they even suggest that I'll see lots of dancing.

What can I say? I was expecting a lot from Lambada, but the movie let me down in a big way. In my humble opinion, the movie is more about smut that strut with not nearly enough dancing. The movie was extremely boring with a very weak plot. I can usually take that if the dancing is strong and the music is grand. This movie lacked both. Truly disappointing.

Master OF The RARE Laserdiscs Movies........2005-07-11

I have Lambada 1990 ON LASERDISC,'Tis a great Music/Romantic movie therefore I bought the DVD TOO :p

HOTT !!!! Lambada.......2004-09-09

Hi! If you're into all sorts of dance and music videos, then you'll definately want to buy or rent this movie. I love the Lambada dance and the ethnic background it has so I LOVE the movie. The other Lambada movie is my favorite though. It has to do with a Brazilian girl making money dancing the Lambada in a club. GO WATCH the movie. it's a definate watch!!!! You wont regret.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind / Starman

Average customer rating:

Close Encounters of the Third Kind / Starman

Manufacturer: sony columbia
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

ASIN: B000OA8OK4

Product Description

Double Feature Close Encounters and Starman

Starman, Vol. 2 - Invaders from Space / Atomic Rulers

Average customer rating:

SEE IT TO BELIEVE IT !
Strange "Invaders" gives Starman Vol. 2 edge over Vol. 1

Starman, Vol. 2 - Invaders from Space / Atomic Rulers
Starring: Ken Utsui , Junko Ikeuchi , Shôji Nakayama , Minoru Takada , and Sachihiro Ohsawa
Director: Akira Mitsuwa , Koreyoshi Akasaka , and Teruo Ishii
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video

Classic Sci-Fi | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video

Comedy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video

( S ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

ASIN: B0000714AF
Release Date: 2002-12-10

Description

He's back! Starman, "the creature made of the strongest steel," fights monsters, chases flying saucers, and defeats evil-minded aliens in two deliriously surreal mixes of science fiction, surprisingly moody photography, and wild superhero action! Wanting the Earth for themselves, scaly-skinned Salamander Men from the planet Koolamon begin eviction proceedings by assaulting humans with their radioactive breath, a space virus, high-decibel sound waves, a salamander nurse with a penchant for scaring kids, and most fiendish of all, a diabolical dance company! Thankfully the Emerald Planet sends Starman, their cosmic crusader in bulging tights, to stop the amphibious Invaders from Space. As expected, Mr. Starman turns from peace-loving-alien-and-friend-of-children-everywhere into a frenzied karate machine out to kick reptile butt! Then Starman worries that nuclear radiation may "poison outer space" and tries to stop the country of Magolia from becoming the Atomic Rulers of the world. But, uh oh, after wiping out a nest of Magolian agents (who all dress like film noir gangsters), Starman is rudely arrested for murder! Worse, a Magolian nuclear weapon is stolen--by a bunch of little boys! Double wow.

Customer Reviews:

SEE IT TO BELIEVE IT !.......2003-01-21

Anyone craving outstanding late-night entertainment has got to check this dvd out! 2 incredible nearly forgotten 60's sci-fi / superhero / kung-fu action / thrillers with zero budget special effects. If you're a fan of grade Z sci-fi (think FROM HELL IT CAME or THE BRAINIAC) this is a must for you. As usual, SOMETHING WEIRD VIDEO does a nice job by including lots of fun extras. But it's the feature films that are just unbelievable! I can't express how much i enjoyed INVADERS FROM SPACE! Part kiddie show, part action adventure, part sci-fi nightmare. Truly truly the stuff of bad dreams. Grab a 6-pack, turn off the lights, and get ready for a strange strange trip.

Strange "Invaders" gives Starman Vol. 2 edge over Vol. 1.......2003-01-03

For an overview of Starman movies and both Something Weird discs overall, see review under Starman Volume 1.
Unimaginatively titled, Invaders from Space is actually the most campy fun of the four Starman features. Starman is sent by the ruling council of the Emerald Planet to stop seriously ugly Salamander-like aliens, from the planet Koolamon in the Marpet galaxy, who are spreading a plague-like disease on Earth and who can adopt semihuman form. At the Yamano theater, an "unusual dance troupe gives a weird performance." (I couldn't have said it better myself!) Seems the Koolamonians, who have established a spherical undersea Earth base, are also operating undercover out of the theater as an avant garde dance ensemble! Starman gives a "signal ball" to a group of little kids (whose scientist dad has been kidnapped by the aliens) with which they can contact each other; dozens of fire-twirling Salamander men attack the kids near a weird castle in the woods; and they're also menaced by a way-creepy nurse in a surgical mask who then metamorphosizes into an even uglier witch in a long cape with glitter in her hair (the kids vaporize her into a puddle of goo). The Koolamonians then start messing with our gravity, stopping baseballs in mid-flight, and making everything run backwards! Starman battles the Salamander men in midair, underwater, and inside their flying saucers, while the alien leader slowly croaks, "Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha." Finally, the professor invents a special gun that kills the Koolamonians and Starman floats off into space as the children wildly wave goodbye. Print quality of Invaders is quite watchable overall, with tonal values, brightness, and detail/sharpness ranging from very good to excellent, although it suffers the most of the four films from moderate speckling/blemishing throughout and occasional light lining. Still probably as good as it has ever looked.
Atomic Rulers is, for my money, the least entertaining of the four Starman features. The plot involves evil agents from the country of Magolia who are carrying nuclear devices around in suitcases in some sort of plot to take over the Earth. Of course the little kids get ahold of one of the suitcases, so Starman, "friend of all children," battles the Magolian gangsters, saves a plane in flight, and eventually tracks the bad guys to their Bondian lair inside a mountain (that jittery helicopter and Magolian base miniature make Gerry & Sylvia Anderson's Supermarionation look like Industrial Light and Magic). Unfortunately, the bad guys just look like gangsters (there are no wild aliens, space stations, etc.) and Starman is in his suit-and-tie mode a lot. There's lots of running around, but only a modicum of crazy gymnastic fight scenes. Print quality on Atomic Rulers is, ironically, as good or better than the other three movies, with perhaps a bit less overall speckling and blemishing than Invaders or Evil Brain.
Volume 2 extras include another 25-minute B&W Prince Planet manga cartoon, circa 1965; dreadful 12-minute color Super 8mm amateur short (Mercury Amazing vs. Vampyrum), most charitably described as extremely crude; mildly campy 1960 16-minute color educational short, Exploring the Moon, wherein Dr. C. H. Clemenshaw, director of the Griffith Observatory, and annoying buddy Art take a simulated trip to the moon to study its topographical features; and my personal favorite, a 1960 Bell System-produced 10-minute color short, Talking of Tomorrow, a highly amusing, Jetsonian look at the "city of the future" where helicycle travel and outer space construction projects are assisted by such as-yet-unnamed but surprisingly accurately described telecommunications technologies as call waiting, teleconferencing, fax, picturephones, satellite TV, desktop computers, e-commerce, wristwatch radios, etc. (No hack job, it was designed by Tom Yakutis and Corny Cole [Inspector/Pink Panther], and animated by Disney/MGM/Hanna-Barbera artists Ed Love and Don Towsley, with backgrounds by Richard H. Thomas [1940s/50s Warner Bros./Pink Panther]). Volume 2 also includes the highly detailed and interesting essay on the Starman/Super Giant phenomenon. Extras on both discs still have the crummy logos in the corner. Bottom line: the greater preponderance of action sequences and outlandish mutants, not to mention those avant garde dance numbers, give Invaders from Space a clear edge over the other three movies. For this reason, plus the superior Talking of Tomorrow short, those new to the Starman series or Starman fans with limited funds would be well-advised to make Volume 2 their first buy.

John Carpenter's Three Pack (Christine, Vampires, Starman)

Average customer rating:

Caveat Emptor-Package in error
finally starman widescreen!
Good for your John Carpenter collection.

John Carpenter's Three Pack (Christine, Vampires, Starman)
Starring: John Carpenter
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Horror | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video

Sci-Fi & Fantasy | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

Horror | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

( J ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

ASIN: B00005LOV0
Release Date: 2001-08-07

Amazon.com

Christine
She can't (and won't) drive 55.... Stephen King's novel about the twisted love affair between a boy and his car gets transferred to the screen, courtesy of suspense master John Carpenter. Although lacking some of the more outré supernatural elements of the source material, this high-octane cinematic tune-up more than delivers the goods, horror-wise (Christine's midnight rampages will never be forgotten)--as well as being a sly exposé of the random cruelties within the high-school pecking order. Keith Gordon (who has gone on to become a stellar director in his own right, with films such as A Midnight Clear and Mother Night to his credit) gives a wonderfully controlled central performance. Carpenter's atmospheric original score is backed up by a well-chosen collection of rock classics, including George Thorogood's "Bad to the Bone" (the titular character's all-too-apt theme song). --Andrew Wright

Vampires
Talk about an opening. The first few minutes of John Carpenter's Vampires--in which James Woods's vampire killer leads a dawn raid on a New Mexico "goon nest" of bloodsuckers--not only suggests a horror movie that will not pull any punches, it even evokes some of the more disturbing dream-memories of American Westerns. Muscular and uncompromised, the sequence suggests a new Carpenter classic unraveling before one's eyes. Well, dream on. Things don't quite work out that way, but this is still a film to reckon with. There are a few serious (and surprising) misjudgments on the director's part, particularly a mishandling of Sheryl Lee's role as a prostitute poisoned by the bite of a "master vampire" (who pretty much wiped out Woods's team of goon terminators). But aside from some weaknesses, the action is jolting, the suggested complicity of the Catholic Church in destroying monsters is provocative, and the traces of Howard Hawks's continuing influence on Carpenter's storytelling are in evidence. --Tom Keogh

Starman
While most movie buffs are likely to call Halloween the best movie from John Carpenter, others--die-hard romantics and anyone who cried while watching E.T.--might vote in favor of the director's 1984 hit Starman. It's easily Carpenter's warmest and most beguiling film, and the only one that ever earned an Oscar nomination. That honor went specifically to Best Actor nominee Jeff Bridges for his performance as an alien visitor to Earth who is knocked off course and must take an interstate road trip to rendezvous with a mothership from his home planet. To complete this journey he assumes the physical form of the dead husband of a Wisconsin widow (Karen Allen) who responds first with fear, then sympathy, and finally love. Carpenter's graceful strategy is to switch the focus of this E.T.-like film from science fiction to a gentle road-movie love story, made believable by the memorable performances of Bridges and Allen. It's a bit heavy-handed with tenacious government agents who view the Starman as an alien threat (don't they always?), but Carpenter handles the action with intelligent flair, sensitivity, and lighthearted humor. If you're not choked up during the final scene, well, you just might not be human. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

Caveat Emptor-Package in error.......2007-08-29

One simple note to prevent anyone else from making the same mistake I did-Starman is NOT in widescreen, but is fullscreen only.

finally starman widescreen!.......2007-02-19

Vampires isn't one of my favorite Carpenters so I considered it a freebie. But to finally have a widescreen Starman dvd was the best ever (and I'd forogtten how good Christine was)

Good for your John Carpenter collection........2005-10-26

John Carpenter is one of the best and greatest filmakers of all time in my opinion as most of his films are highly influential, most of his films like Halloween, assault on precint 13 and escape from N.Y. have been imatated numerous times in other films but could not have been as great as these films. Even though he mainly does horror and b-movies he just makes them in his own exciting style which is alot better then an untalented and lazy hack who would rather do a remake these days. Anyway this boxset is a great and an affordable way to collect his films some that you would like and some that you wouldn't but then again its cheap and you can't complain, here is a summary of all three films:

Christine (1983), Christine is based on the best selling novel by Stephen King about a possesed car that somehow ends up changing the life of its owner a nerdy character who suddenly has a transformation into a cool leather jacket wearing highschool student, but bad things happen once the car starts killing people. I thought that the film was just average as it seems more like a coming of age drama than a horror film as the main character has difficulties with his parents and friends who are concerned about his obbsesion with this car, otherwise the film was slow and had a few dull scenes but also had some terrific music and some good setup and death scenes this film gets 3 and a 1/2 stars.

Starman (1984) ,Starman staring Jeff Bridges and Karen Allen is a very nice and touching Sci fi drama that is a change from his violent and gory sci fi horror film The thing as it was rated PG. As a result of the 1970s voyager 2 space probe, an alien ship is sent to study earth. The alien assumes the form of a woman's dead husband and together they go on a road trip and battle against the military and the authorities to send the alien back to his own world. Jeff Bridges performance in this film was fantastic and has earned him an oscar nomination, has an almost child like behaviour as he goes through all the human emotions like crying, laughing ect. 5 stars.

Vampires (1998), Vampires is one of John Carpenters more recent films and is a good one at that, this film is a sort of take from John Carpenter's perspective of the vampire legend or myth as James Wood's character says these aren't your euro trash pipe smoking fa**, the vampires are more evil and demonic and wouldn't mind ripping a guy in half. You should deffinently check this great vampire horror film if only for one reason alone and that would be James Woods tough guy and foul mouthed persona which I thought was cool. The vatican enlists a team of vampire hunters to destroy a group of vampires led by Valek who is basicly the ultimate powerful and indestructable vampire before they find the crucifix that enables them to walk out in the daylight. Yes the storyline might be cheesy but the film was a great gory vampire film with some great action scenes that only Carpenter could make, 4 stars and make sure that you don't see the sequal that has Bon Jovi lol that film sucks.

Starman, Vol. 1 - Attack from Space / Evil Brain from Outer Space

Average customer rating:

If Only Starman Were Here Today...
This sounds like an incredibly campy job for Starman
Starman Vol. 1 good, but get even weirder Vol. 2 first!
Kaiju Manna from Heaven
GREAT RETRO JAPANESE SCI-FI!!!

Starman, Vol. 1 - Attack from Space / Evil Brain from Outer Space
Starring: Ken Utsui , Junko Ikeuchi , Minoru Takada , Johji Ohhara , and Kami Ashita
Director: Akira Mitsuwa , Koreyoshi Akasaka , and Teruo Ishii
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video

Classic Sci-Fi | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video

Comedy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $14.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( S ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

ASIN: B0000714AE
Release Date: 2002-12-10

Amazon.com

Sci-fi enthusiasts from the baby-boom generation are sure to get a solid dose of nostalgia from this double bill of surreal adventures featuring Starman, who fought interplanetary evil on late-night TV in America during the mid-'60s and beyond. Known as Super Giant in his native Japan, the cowled crusader was featured in four 80-minute films that were culled from nine featurettes produced by the Shintoho Company (an offshoot of Toho) in 1957-58. Starman's trademark blend of frantic action and primitive special effects are on display in both features (the second and fourth in the series), which pit Starman against diabolical invaders (in Attack from Space) and an alien brain's mutant henchmen (Evil Brain from Outer Space). Kids may find the goings-on alternately corny and disturbing (the mutants are scary, and Starman racks up a considerable body count), but old-school monster movie fans will relish this chance to catch up with an old pal. --Paul Gaita

Description

Fasten your seat belts and prepare your brain for blast-off with these two hilariously insane sci-fi action epics! Inter-galactic superhero Starman battles alien evildoers in a scientifically-askew universe where you can easily breathe the fresh air of outer space. First two kids stumble upon an Attack from Space when they're captured by Space Fascists from the Sapphire Galaxy! These aliens called the Superians force the kiddies' scientist dad to build a giant spaceship which flies to the aliens' Supreme Headquarters. Fortunately, the concerned creatures of the Emerald Planet send Starman to save the universe! With his corny costume, super strength, and ability to fly from planet to planet like a guided human missile, Starman clobbers bad guys with a frenzied fighting style mixing martial arts and berserk ballet! Plus, "the most brilliant mind in the universe" tries to conquer the Earth with an army of mutants, monsters, mad doctors, and a "super germ" that turns into a white-faced, witch-like woman with killer-claws until Starman once again leaps into action and defeats the Evil Brain from Outer Space--who lives in a briefcase. Wow.

Customer Reviews:

If Only Starman Were Here Today..........2006-07-13

Starman (Ken Utsui) flies in from the Emerald planet, just in time to battle the evil, disembodied brain of Balazar! Look out! Hordes of mutants and mad scientists are out to assist Balazar in his bid for world conquest! Will Starman be able to defeat these hideous creatures? Watch as he jumps, leaps, flies, and does some sort of kung-fu dance routine, all in the name of a free and peaceful earth!...

This sounds like an incredibly campy job for Starman.......2006-01-09

Starman really should have bought himself a home on Earth. That would have saved him all the trouble of flying all the way back to the Emerald Planet just to turn around and come save the Earth from hostile aliens time and again. Of course, that would have denied us the privilege of seeing the utterly ridiculous High Council of Emerald Planet at the start of every Starman movie (which actually consist of footage from episodes of the Japanese Super Giant television serial). They're always worried that aliens using nuclear weapons will not only destroy the Earth but the rest of the universe as well - which makes it especially peculiar that none of the alien attackers ever seem to use nuclear weapons at all. This time the threat comes from a brain in a pan - yes, it's Balazar, the most intelligent person in the universe, who figured out a way to keep his brain alive after he was assassinated. Balazar's Brain is basically indestructible, we are told, and he already has hordes of Zimerian spies infiltrating science institutes and governments all over the Earth.

Naturally, Balazar's Brain lives in a briefcase, one which has been stolen by a lab assistant in an attempt to kill the brain and save the Earth - ah, but that would just be too easy. No, we have to have a big production with secret bases all over the place full of bad guys wearing rejected Batman suits, hybrid monsters able to materialize out of nowhere and kill people with the power of their supremely ridiculous costumes, and plenty of chances for Starman to dance with (uh, I mean fight) the bad guys. If you've never seen Starman fight, you have no idea just how bad fight choreography can be. All Starman does is wave his arms and dance around, never doing anything more than pushing his enemies away from him. That's why his fights take forever - he pushes guys down, and they just keep getting back up. At least it gives him plenty of exercise - and, judging by the paunch he carries around with him, he needs all he can get.

Let's talk about these hybrid monsters. The first mutant looks sort of like the Swamp Thing if he had vampire teeth and some kind of mutant sombrero on his head. At least he does look a little dangerous, which is more than can be said of the witch woman with a makeup job that would frighten even Tammy Faye Bakker. Then there's Balazar's Brain, which is less than impressive once we finally get to see the darned thing at the end.

These Starman movies are just about the campiest things you'll ever come across. They stink to high heaven, yet you just can't help enjoying yourself while you watch them.

Starman Vol. 1 good, but get even weirder Vol. 2 first!.......2003-01-03

Longtime fans of Starman must be dizzy with disbelief that these are actually out on DVD (beating hundreds of revered film classics to the format), although Something Weird has wisely (from their perspective anyway) not grouped the movies chronologically, but essentially give you one of the two better features on each disc, with one of the lesser efforts second-billed. All four movies (heavily reedited from the original late-1950s serial episodes) open with the same scene of the ruling council on the Emerald planet in the Marpet galaxy, one of the all-time bizarre set pieces in film history. An indescribable menagerie of alien mutants on a papier mache background gesture, nod, and sway as a large cutout of Saturn swings to and fro. If the movies could have somehow sustained the unsettling imagery and strange mood of these opening scenes they'd be revered as surrealist classics. A narrator sets up the plot, which always involves sending Starman, a "creature made of the strongest steel," to Earth to stop some menace or another. Stonefaced Ken Utsui wears a white spandex winged, hooded costume, with sometimes augmented codpiece, and a "Globemeter" on his wrist, which allows him to 1) fly in space, 2) detect radioactivity, and 3) speak and understand any earth language. Starman movies remain a curious melange of 1930s/40s American serials, comic-bookish martial arts action, A-bomb paranoia, gangster/film noir thrillers, kabuki theatre, freaky monsters, and cutesy kids. The odd, stylized choreography and lame-but-amusing camera tricks utilized in Starman's battles with the alien monsters (sometimes decked out in garish, Ben Cooper-on-acid costumes) and hilariously inept flying scenes, complete with clearly visible harness, create a specialized brand of cinematic cheese that simply must be experienced for full effect. SW's digitally remastered transfers look as good as these movies ever have, and Starman fans likely will never see a more definitive release than this pair of discs. While all four flms suffer from varying degrees of speckling and lining, all have good tonal values and crisp detail, except in some of the stock footage.
Evil Brain from Outer Space is the better of the two pictures on Volume 1, but still finishes second to the even crazier Invaders from Space on Volume 2. After a robot assassinates Balazar, the most brilliant mind in the universe, his brain is kept alive by agents from the planet Zemar. Seeking conquest, the Zemarians infiltrate Earth, and plan a follow-up attack with nuclear weapons. Concern about ensuing leakage of radiation into space prompts the ruling council to send Starman to the rescue. The brain is sought by gangster-look Zemarian agents, and fanged, reptilian mutants wreck trains and ships at sea. The Zemarians, who have established a clandestine base behind a secret passageway in a hospital (discovered by a little boy, of course), all wear black tights and wide belts with bat symbols on their chests. The alien leaders also sport capes and hoods, making them look like shlumpy Batman knockoffs. Zemarians disguised as humans commit robberies to finance the invasion, and a freaky, smoke-spewing, glowing-eyed, chirping mutant with "solid cobalt nails," huge eye on his belly, ugly veins on chest and arms, and large fanlike ears shows up to do kabuki battle with Starman. The mutant escapes and replicates, showing up again for the climax at the Zemarian base. Plenty of oddball gymnastics, reverse filming, and dummy-tossing ensues. Print quality is pretty solid, with very good to excellent tonal values, brightness, sharpness, and detail, marred somewhat by recurrent light to moderate speckling and blemishing and some occasional light lining. Still, quite watchable overall, probably better than you remember from Saturday afternoons.
Attack from Space gets my vote as second-least of the four Starman features. It opens with a leisurely interstellar voyage by Starman, who happens onto a Superian warship loaded with enough radioactive material to destroy Earth. Astronomers and scientists feverishly work in secrecy preparing a spaceship, while traitorous Earthlings cooperate with the Superians on another one. After observing one of the Superians' thuggish agents descending a secret passage in a graveyard to their underground base, astronomer's kids Kaoru and Ryuichi are kidnapped at gunpoint and held as ransom for engine blueprints the Superians need to make their rocket work. Starman, in street clothes, addresses a group of military brass, then flies off on highly visible wires to retrieve the stolen blueprints and rescue the hostages. The Superians launch their rocket, Starman detects their supreme headquarters (a space station), kicks Superian ... in a typical display of gymnastics/acrobatics, rescues Kaoru, and flies her through the void of space (maybe she's holding her breath). Although we get more plentiful cheesy spaceship sequences than in the other three films, the bad guys just look like humans in military uniforms, and there are no appearances of the bizarre mutants that make Evil Brain and especially Invaders from Space so delightfully demented. Print quality overall is, ironically, a bit cleaner than Evil Brain or Invaders, with the usual light to moderate speckling/blemishing and sporadic light lining, but otherwise quite watchable.
Volume I extras include an approximately 25-minute B&W Prince Planet episode (ca. 1965) in old-school manga style, and a 20-minute color 1950s "educational" short, My Milkman Joe, produced by the Denver Dairy Council, in which a creepy, annoying puppet from outer space helps Milkman Joe propagate dangerous misinformation about dairy products. Both volumes include an extremely detailed essay on the Starman/Super Giant phenomenon, packed with all the information about Starman you probably need. While this is a solid set for serious Starman freaks, I would recommend Volume 2 first to the uninitiated, casual fans who only want a 'sample' for their movie collections, or anyone with limited funds.

Kaiju Manna from Heaven.......2003-01-01

STARMAN Vols. 1 and 2 offer fourheretofore frustratingly rarefilms with lots of extras and thecustomary Something Weird quality(though don't expect the prints tolook as though they'd been released yesterday).All fans ofJapanese psychotronica NEED thesetwo DVDs...nothing more need be said.

GREAT RETRO JAPANESE SCI-FI!!!.......2002-11-12

These took me back many years, about 30! Made in the l950's as Japanese sci-fi episodes-and called SUPER GIANT-it starred Ken Utsei as a space going caped superhero from the Emerald Planet. These were originally made by Shintoho Company-a small studio made up of people who originally worked for the more-famous Toho Motion Pictures and left due to disputes and set out on their own. In the mid 60's these mini-movies were edited together to make four films for US distribution to TV. They showed up in the Mass/RI area on the old low-output UHF Channel 27 in Worcester, usually on the 6:30pm "Early Show" weeknite movie. Until now, I'd only seen them on those fuzzy "adjust the rabbit ears" showings. Those strange four films were more or less lost over the years until brought back on VHS tape and now, DVD. They are an absolute gas to watch, and you can hear dubbing done by Peter "Speed Racer" Fernandez. The quality of the films vary, with some skips, and scratches typical of old films of these types. But, honestly, I feel lucky we have that to watch and they are truly artifacts of a by-gone time.

Average customer rating:

Very captivating movie, a must see.
One of the best movies rarely seen
WHERE IS THE SEQUEL ???????
A Hidden Gem of a Movie
The Starman

Starman [Region 2]

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video

( S ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

ASIN: B00005N52M

Amazon.com essential video

Customer Reviews:

Very captivating movie, a must see........2007-09-15

One of the best movies rarely seen.......2007-07-01

WHERE IS THE SEQUEL ???????.......2007-06-28

A Hidden Gem of a Movie.......2007-06-14

The Starman.......2007-05-29

This filf has sentimental value to me, so that's why I'd ordered it. The acting's great but the story is alright.

Great seller. Overall, I'm satisfied.

Average customer rating:

Unauthorized and unwatchable

Origins of a Starman
Starring: David Bowie
Manufacturer: Mvd Visual
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Progressive Rock | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music

Glam | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

General | Music Video & Concerts | Genres | DVD | Video

Art & Artists | Special Interests | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $9.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( O ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

ASIN: B00026L8TO
Release Date: 2004-06-15

Description

Bowie: Origins of a Starman' tells the full story of the man who fell to earth and rocked the world. Packed with interviews, this documentary film points the cameras where they have never previously preyed, revealing how even through all his images, characters and personas, there is only one David Bowie. A must for any fans collection.

Customer Reviews:

Unauthorized and unwatchable.......2004-06-25

First of all, let me say that I am a huge fan of David Bowie's. I own all of his CDs, have seen him in concert six times, and have followed his career for thirty years. This DVD is a rip off. It consists primarily of middle-aged people who knew Bowie way back when reminiscing. No music of David Bowie's is featured in this release. No concert footage is featured on this DVD. What you will see are old school chums talking about David trying to get everyone to play baseball with equipment provided by the American Embassy.

The only material of interest is in the interview footage of John "Hutch" Hutchinson, who performed with Bowie before and during the Spider from Mars's era. Other than Hutch, there's nothing positive to be said about this release, it is poorly produced, and extremely overpriced.

Average customer rating:

Very captivating movie, a must see.
One of the best movies rarely seen
WHERE IS THE SEQUEL ???????
A Hidden Gem of a Movie
The Starman

Starman [Region 2]

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video

( S ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

ASIN: B00005O5A0

Amazon.com essential video

Customer Reviews:

Very captivating movie, a must see........2007-09-15

One of the best movies rarely seen.......2007-07-01

WHERE IS THE SEQUEL ???????.......2007-06-28

A Hidden Gem of a Movie.......2007-06-14

The Starman.......2007-05-29

This filf has sentimental value to me, so that's why I'd ordered it. The acting's great but the story is alright.

Great seller. Overall, I'm satisfied.

DVD:

DVD

DVD