Critic Reviews
Dark Star (1974) Rank 3 Reviews
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based on (40) reviews
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Appreciating Great Trash
Reviewing Dark Star as a commercial film is somewhat unfair, as it began life and was intended to be seen as a graduate-school thesis. Considering that it was created in its entirety by UCLA students, the production quality is remarkable. However, ...read the complete Dark Star movie review at Appreciating Great Trash
Goatdog's Movies (Michael W. Phillips, Jr.)
t started off as a spoof of 2001: A Space Odyssey, which screamed for spoofing from the first second it was onscreen. John Carpenter and Dan O'Bannon, who were film students at USC (although Carpenter had already written an Oscar-winning short film), ...read the complete Dark Star movie review at Goatdog's Movies (Michael W. Phillips, Jr.)
filmcritic.com (Christopher Null)
Largely a goof on 2001, John Carpenter's super-low-budget sci-fi pic gets a really slow start but becomes tons of fun for its last couple of acts. Borrowing from H.A.L.'s conflicted nature, Star Trek's world view, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, ...read the complete Dark Star movie review at filmcritic.com (Christopher Null)
Dragan Antulov
These summers Hollywood's most commercial films tend to belong to science fiction genre. Few decades ago that wasn't the case; science fiction wasn't the part of mainstream, not only in Hollywood, but also in other areas popular culture. Science fiction ...read the complete Dark Star movie review at Dragan Antulov
Sci-Fi Movie Page (James O'Ehley)
Made in 1974 as a student project on a practically non-existent budget, Dark Star went on to garner a minor cult following as the years passed by. Its distributors saw its potential, but didn't exactly know what to do with it and so Dark Star disappeared ...read the complete Dark Star movie review at Sci-Fi Movie Page (James O'Ehley)
Digital Monkey Box
I originally came across this film by randomly picking it up at a store and reading the box. The plot and campy quality intrigued me to the point that I had to make a purchase. It’s hard to explain Dark Star as anything else but as a low budget student ...read the complete Dark Star movie review at Digital Monkey Box
DVD Authority.com ("Fusion3600")
As mankind reaches the middle of the 21rst century the need for interstellar colonization and exploration is great, but with all the abandon planets and junk floating around how are folks supposed to know which places are safe to establish colonies? ...read the complete Dark Star movie review at DVD Authority.com ("Fusion3600")
Edinburgh U Film Society (Stephen Cox)
Space is boring. Kubrick's 2001 makes a point of exploring the tedium of space travel, as do many other films; but Dark Star remains the only one to exploit this key fact for laughs. It concerns the attempts by four astronauts, who are hysterical with ...read the complete Dark Star movie review at Edinburgh U Film Society (Stephen Cox)
The Digital Bits
In the far future, mankind is spreading out in the galaxy, in great colony ships. But before a region of space can be settled, it must first be made safe from the scurge of "unstable planets". So a new breed of space men is required to destroy them. The ...read the complete Dark Star movie review at The Digital Bits
The Stop Button (Andrew Wickliffe)
Dark Star is probably John Carpenter’s second finest film (after The Thing). It’s the John Carpenter film I’ve always been saying he should make--a funny one. I have seen Dark Star before, probably nine years ago, back when it was somewhat rare (it ...read the complete Dark Star movie review at The Stop Button (Andrew Wickliffe)
Planet Confusion
Der Weltraum, unendliche Weiten: Schon seit Jahrzehnten durchstreift das Raumschiff "Dark Star" den Weltraum. Die Besatzung arbeitet dabei quasi als intergalaktische Müllmänner. Ihre Aufgabe ist es, instabile Planeteten, die beispielsweise drohen, in ...read the complete Dark Star movie review at Planet Confusion
Sci-Fi Movie Page (James O'Ehley)
The making of Dark Star is pure movie legend by now: how it was made by the young John Carpenter and Dan O'Bannon while still film school students at USC Film School for a mere $60 000 in the early-1970s. In case you were wondering: even back then it was ...read the complete Dark Star movie review at Sci-Fi Movie Page (James O'Ehley)
Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
"Dark Star" is one of the damnedest science fiction movies I've seen, a berserk combination of space opera, intelligent bombs, and beach balls from other worlds. It has a checkered history. It began as a student project by John Carpenter (later to direct ...read the complete Dark Star movie review at Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
Movie Reviews UK
Welcome to the deep-space cruiser Dark Star; charged with the objective of destroying unstable planets and filled with a top-notch crew of dedicated astronauts. Hmmm. Well the first part is true enough but the pilots have enough trouble with anarchy, let ...read the complete Dark Star movie review at Movie Reviews UK
Kult Movie Maximus
Okay, umm this is one crazy-ass film indeed. The first film for big time sci-fi/horror director John Carpenter as well as writer/director Dan O'Bannon (Alien, Return of the Living Dead, Life Force). It also was a very low budget film by John Carpenter ...read the complete Dark Star movie review at Kult Movie Maximus
Reel.com
Much of the humor in Dark Star derives from the characters, none of whom come close to resembling the heroic archetypes seen in Apollo 13 or The Right Stuff. These guys are barely working stiffs, each a little squirrelly from his time in space. ...read the complete Dark Star movie review at Reel.com
DigitalVD.de (Jan Heesen)
Vier Astronauten befinden sich auf zwanzigjähriger Dienstreise durchs Weltall und sprengen mittels selbständig denkender Atombomben aus der Umlaufbahn geratene Planeten, auf daÃź sie nicht den Verkehr behindern. DaÃź der Kommandant ihrer Mission seit ...read the complete Dark Star movie review at DigitalVD.de (Jan Heesen)
a jpoc review
Nobody knows what makes a movie into a cult classic. Of course, being a quirky, low budget SF picture seems to be a big help but it is not always enough. ...read the complete Dark Star movie review at a jpoc review
DVD Town (John J. Puccio)
eFilmCritic Reviews
John Carpenter's first feature film Dark Star, a production created during his time in film school, is definitely a small taste of what this amazing director had in store. Years before 'The Great Horror Director' gave us "Assault on Precinct 13" ...read the complete Dark Star movie review at eFilmCritic Reviews
The Film Asylum
There is little doubt that overall, John Carpenter’s career has been extremely uneven. And yet, few can agree on which films of his are bad, and which are good, aside from “Halloween”. For every person like me who regards “Big Trouble in Little ...read the complete Dark Star movie review at The Film Asylum
Cinema Laser (Derek M. Germano)
While it may enjoy a large cult following, DARK STAR ($30) actually began its existence as a 68-minute student film directed by John Carpenter (HALLOWEEN) and written by Carpenter along with Dan O'Bannon (ALIEN). DARK STAR is a sci-fi spoof that that is ...read the complete Dark Star movie review at Cinema Laser (Derek M. Germano)
DVD Verdict (Erick Harper)
Case dismissed! Dark Star's ultimate guilt or innocence largely depends on one's point of view. If one views it in terms of a normal movie experience, it will be a disappointment. On the other hand, taken as a historical artifact and as an ambitious, ...read the complete Dark Star movie review at DVD Verdict (Erick Harper)
CineScene.com (Ed Owens)
There's a defining moment in John Carpenter¹s first film, Dark Star, when the acting captain of the space ship must somehow disarm a bomb that is ready to explode while still attached to the ship. The captain decides to talk the bomb down, and begins ...read the complete Dark Star movie review at CineScene.com (Ed Owens)
DVD Net (Andrew MacLennan)
Having spent twenty years in space, with nineteen destroyed planets under their belt, the crew is as dilapidated as the ship. Having died in a freak accident, the ships captain Commander Powell is now stored in cryogenic hibernation, leaving the other ...read the complete Dark Star movie review at DVD Net (Andrew MacLennan)
allesfilm.com (Ingo Brune)
Wurde in 2001 - Odyssee im Weltall die kühle Schilderung einer möglichen Raumfahrt noch triumphal umgesetzt, so herrscht hier an Bord das Chaos. Es gibt kein Toilettenpapier, Graffitis schmücken die Wände. Ein Fremdwesen tobt durch das Schiff und das ...read the complete Dark Star movie review at allesfilm.com (Ingo Brune)
Close-Up Film (Dave Smith)
Dark Star follows the misadventures of four bored astronauts, Doolittle (Narelle), Pinback (O’Bannon), Boiler (Kuniholm) and Talby (Pahich) in deep space, the frozen body of the commander (still able to give advice), an alien mascot, and a rubber ...read the complete Dark Star movie review at Close-Up Film (Dave Smith)
Harvey's Movie Review (Harvey O'Brien)
Trippy parody of 2001 Â A Space Odyssey from director John Carpenter and writer Dan O'Bannon is most interesting as a preview of the subsequent careers of the two. A cheap and fairly enjoyable exercise, it hardly ranks among the classics of the genre, ...read the complete Dark Star movie review at Harvey's Movie Review (Harvey O'Brien)
VideoVista
Thirty years have passed since the release of John Carpenter's first feature film, Dark Star. Thirty years and yet, Carpenter had already collected his first (and only) Oscar, that for his 1970 short film, The Resurrection Of Bronco Billy. So 1974 it is, ...read the complete Dark Star movie review at VideoVista
Vice Central (Austin Hambrick)
User Reviews
by R. L. Sadler on November 30, 2009
Dark Star is a 1974 science fiction classic, set in the distant future.
The story takes place upon a futuristic scout ship that goes exploring for unstable planets to blow up, so that these planets will not be accidentally colonized . They use ...
by NonyaBeesWax on July 08, 2009
It is what it is but I love it! Seriously, it is a cheezy, low budget, slapstick, sci-fi flick that is definitely not for everyone but what a classic. More ...
by Walter B. Shepher... on May 05, 2009
Whoduh thunk that Sergeant Pinback would oneday go on to help write and create one of the greatest sci-fi- franchises still going strong today - of course, I'm talking about the Alien franchise. Which pretty much comes from the same structure played out ...
by John P. Cole on November 20, 2008
If you ...
by booboo bear on June 15, 2008
Four seventies style burn outs roam the galaxy in what seems like a weaponized version of a Volkswagen bus searching for unstable planets. Their government mission to destroy these planets with the help of a HAL style computer (undoubtedly running MS) ...
by Elliot Malach "Th... on May 26, 2008
Who says you have to have a big budget to make a very funny 70's Sci-Fi movie spoof. The instrument panel on the spacecraft was egg cartons with lighting underneath. I have not seen many films before or since where the space alien is an oversized beach ...
by Joe Sixpack -- S... on May 23, 2008
I first saw "Dark Star" at a mid-1970s sci-fi convention, not long after it had come out. I was a kid back then, but I was instantly hooked, and 30+ years later I still appreciate the intelligence and mordant, dark humor of the script. The film is ...
by Amaranth "music f... on April 13, 2008
"Dark Star" isn't a movie version of the beloved Grateful Dead song (just as "The Passenger" isn't a Phil Lesh biopic). It's John Carpenter's directorial debut, a darkly hilarious comedy about boredom in space. It was made on a shoestring budget, and ...
by Ken Jensen "Autho... on March 23, 2008
SciFi cult movie from the 70's. You're either onboard or not. I was onboard. The tacky sets, bad acting, overtly ridiculous or pointless plot flow here and there, the simplistic special effects, evidence of 70's tech dressed up to look futuristic; Loved ...
by Pamela J. Sharp on February 08, 2008
I know that this movie isn't for everybody, but I knew, after my first viewing, that if I could find a man who found this movie to be as funny as I did, that we would be a perfect match (and I did, and it is!). Whenever I hear those magic words, "It it ...
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