The Last Starfighter
The Cult Classic Turns 40.
~ A look at the film’s buzz, history, video gaming and 4K/Blu-ray release. ~
“Greetings, Starfighter. You have been recruited by the Star League to defend the frontier against Xur and the Ko-Dan armada..”
Ahh the fabulous 1980’s…
Not only my favorite era for films but the one I grew up in. The 1980’s produced some of science fiction’s most memorable films.
I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world, as it was a time where imagination was the most important factor in making these incredible movies come to life.
When I was younger, one of the best things was the cinema. I practically lived at the theater, and my Dad would often take me and my brother to see movies on a regular basis as it was a passion we all had, that never wavered.
During those times, the theater was bustling with great films and the smell of popcorn filled the lobby as I walked in ready to see my fair share of the incredible films that were born in the best era for film, in my opinion.
I couldn’t get enough… as these films would reinvent themselves within my personal life and make me feel as though I could travel to distant worlds, become a superhero or go on an adventure unlike anything I’ve ever could’ve imagined.
That’s what films good do, they have the ability for creators to create imagination and make an impact on people who see them.
Back then, cinemas across the globe were quite different from today and often showed off great lobby posters and cards promoting the films and heightening the mood.
You don’t see that anymore. In fact, physical tickets to the show are something of rarity given the current digital age that we live in.
I miss that. It was part of the overall experience.
It created an atmosphere that was inviting and inspiring for film lovers and I was thrilled every time I stepped into a cinema.
One of the films, has been a movie that still resonates with me, a personal favorite and will always be considered an all time classic as far as I am concerned.
The Last StarFighter.
I was fascinated with film, and it spilled over to my other passions of collecting and playing with video games and space toys… that were mostly Star Wars, as my mind embraced traveling through the stars and seeing new galaxies far, far away.
Just take a look at the video trailers that I’ve included in this article, including the one right below, and I think you will be persuaded.
It was the best of times, as the films were accompanied by awesome toys, games and other entertainment that emanated from the films of the 1980’s and flooded the market, satisfying audiences’ hungry appetite in an effort to recreate the 60’s Space explosion, thus enhancing the experience with film merchandise.
During the 1960’s, toy makers capitalized on America’s fascination with space. Some of the most popular toys in the industry centered on kid’s desires to ascend to the stars and enveloping imaginary worlds through play.
In that late 70’s, thanks to George Lucas, Star Wars and other space themed merchandise came back in full force for kids everywhere.
It eventually continued into the awesome 80’s and continues today as a mainstream pop culture hobby for many including collectors that purchase merchandise, collectibles games and toys.
But it was the 1980’s that made this possible.
Alike, the toy industry, video game powerhouse and pioneer Atari Inc. produced tons of space games as part of the space craze.
The Last Starfighter was one of those games based on the iconic story and film from 1984 as it was invented for the film itself.
The world of entertainment was expanding on just more than making films… it offered so much more as we will now take a look at.
StarFighter Gaming and Entertainment.
In The Last StarFighter, one of the plot elements is that of the actual video game itself.
In the film, the arcade video game, StarFighter serves as what later becomes known as a real test for the main protagonist, Alex Rogan.
As the main character, Alex plays the game, in The Last StarFighter thinking all along that it’s just a game… even at one point playing it until he sets the all time record on it for points, and beating the game all together… the game’s true importance is integral to the storyline itself.
In essence, it becomes real.
The video game, StarFighter actually serves as a recruiting tool for Alex, we later find out which thrusts him into the world of becoming an actual StarFighter gunner aboard a Gunstar ship as featured in the video game.
What a concept!!
Atari Inc. created the game for the film, and from both a technical and commercial standpoint, it was an achievement in itself.
Atari’s most effective games were its 3D vector machines, which included Battlezone, Star Wars, and its sequel, The Empire Strikes Back amongst many others for arcade play.
At the time, these games offered players a sense of both thrilling speed, laser play and complete immersion that was unparalleled in terms of what other arcade cabinets were doing for video gaming.
Atari, had become the pinnacle of what great gaming should be.
And its StarFighter cabinet was no exception.
Atari ended up canceling The Last Starfighter (Starfighter) due to a collapsing market, even though both games were finished in time for the movie.
The game that appears in the movie did include an abundance of special effects, as such a game would have been expensive but not impossible to make in 1984.
Atari’s Battlezone was an extremely popular game which placed the player at the helm of a tank, complete with a first-person view of the battlefield and took advantage of its unique control design.
Star Wars Arcade went even further, placing a booming generation of young arcade gamers into the actual cockpit of an X-wing fighter just like the films.
The action may have been depicted with little more than utilizing vector lines, but thanks to Atari’s creative and innovative graphics designs, coupled with an amazing hardware speaker design for sound, there was no question that these games captured the imagination and fun factor in recreating unparalleled Space simulation and battles for all.
Even on the Atari home consoles like 2600 and 5200, kids like me were buying, playing and enjoying these games as if the films had come to life for us to be a part of.
And for StarFighter and other space arcade and early console and computer games, it really sold the film and the films in turn sold the games.
The Game becomes real.
The Last StarFighter comes to the big screen in 1984.
With some of its effects sequences using the latest in cutting edge computer graphics, The Last StarFighter was positioned as one of the big summer movies of 1984.
Except things didn’t quite work out the way Universal Studios had planned and while The Last StarFighter made good money at the box office, it wasn’t quite the George Lucas-level STAR WARS blockbuster its producers had expected.
So what really happened?
Well, as it turned out… money and the Studios were to blame.
Against a 15 million budget and a projected huge take at the box office, The Last StarFighter underperformed in theaters and thus the video game that was planned as well as other merchandise failed to come to fruition.
Style and Substance…
A hidden cinematic gem.
Like most arcade space games, The Last StarFighter was a shooting game in which the player moved an aiming reticule around using two controls of a joystick and fire button and yoke and shot alien craft out of a star-filled void on screen.
Atari created enemy ships that were built out of solid, shaded polygons, giving them a solid presence and movement that Atari’s earlier games paled in comparison.
With the already booming video game craze and early positive reviews by many critics, Atari and Universal were poised to make a big push for marketing both the film and game.
According to arcade-history.com, it was the big expense that caused the game to never be released in arcades and delayed and ultimately ended the home versions as well.
Coupled with the fact, that many were already spoiled with the incredible films, like Star Wars — its family oriented and feel good story didn’t persuade audiences like Universal thought it would.
With the price of the completed cabinet at a whopping estimated $10,000… it was the overall cost in 1984 for the actual cabinet (an unusually high figure for the time) which put a knife in the plans to make the game widely available.
Atari’s corporate strategists deemed it too expensive for most arcade owners of the era to be able to afford… so ultimately it was scrapped.
And so that was that, and with The Last Starfighter arcade game about 75 percent finished, it had its plug abruptly pulled and disappeared into thin air.
Interestingly, the arcade machine wasn’t the only videogame tie-in affected by the movie’s sub-par performance and it altered what was to be releases for computer and Atari console players as a licensed product.
Atari’s 8-bit home computer was originally set to get a Last Starfighter game, but it was reworked and released as Star Raiders II in 1986.
Licensed versions for the Atari 5200 and the Atari 8-bit computers were developed in ‘84, although those were never officially released as well.
A complete failing to capitalize on the it’s fair popularity at the time considering the games that were available for Atari’s computers and home consoles.
However, in 1990, a side-scrolling game under the license for the film, where the player controls a Gunstar and fights enemy fighters and battleships was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System.
The game is actually a remake of the Commodore 64 game Uridium, with modified sprites, title screen, and soundtrack from the film.
Although, it sounded like a recipe for sure-fire success… another space opera in the vein of Star Wars, but for the ’80s video game generation… The Last Starfighter never really took off.
And that’s a real shame.
Because I think this film is timeless.
Because it told the story of an ordinary teenager whose shooting game prowess saw him whisked away by aliens to fight an interstellar war on the other side of the galaxy.
And if you ask me… that’s everything kids wanted to experience, especially in the 1980’s.
Special effects and the birth of CGI computer graphics in film.
Back in the 80’s, special effects were making tremendous strides in the dawn of what would become the grandfather era for such.
The era had a wonderful balance of Sci-fi movies that took us on journeys to far away places, planets and galaxies and reinvented human contact with alien lifeforms.
The great thing about the era of the 1980’s and the 90’s for that matter, was the fact that directors and studios took creative chances in bringing in a new generation of films filled with flair, unique creativity and style.
By today’s standards, this is a lost art. Many of the films nowadays are reboots, remakes and reinventions of what much was already produced in the decade of decades for film.
Films like E.T, Enemy Mine, Alien Nation, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Flash Gordon were just a handful of the best films side by side with blockbuster franchises like Star Wars, Star Trek and Aliens.
Among the lineup of awesome space adventures that dominated the silver screen back then, The Last StarFighter was a film that in my opinion was very under appreciated, underrated and unfortunately overlooked as it did not perform at the box office quite as well as some of the bigger films of the era in the Sci-Fi genre.
The film was released in July of ’84, and had a decent stay at the box office.
Going up against other box office hits during that summer were films like Conan the Destroyer and The Karate Kid, which were released just weeks prior, The Last Starfighter grossed 30 Million against a cost of around 15 to make against heavy competition.
It remains a classic today, and has gained cult status as rhetorical years have passed.
This year, The Last Starfighter turns 40 and for those who have yet to see the film, now is the time as it is a story that has remained timeless even in its simplicity, all these years later.
The Last StarFighter goes HD
Now available on Blu-Ray and for the first time on 4K UHD, The Last StarFighter is a film that I think defines the era of which it was born in and deserves to be seen and appreciated more than when it was in theaters and by more people that have possibly missed this absolute gem.
One of the joys of the modern era is the ability to enjoy movies at home and reuniting with films you enjoyed in the long-ago on personal theater setups.
I’m physical movie collector and have amassed a collection of films in dozens of genres in the thousands on VHS, DVD, Blu-ray and the glorious new 4K UHD, so I couldn’t wait to get my hands on another copy of one of my favorite films.
One of my most favorite things is to make sure that most of movies get the love they deserve and I find.
I find myself quite often sitting back in my home theater setup and reliving those moments again onscreen as I did when they first came to cinemas.
Often, as I do, you will find out if they were just as good as you remember and offer more than a nostalgic experience for many.
The Last StarFighter is one of those films.
It has held up well since its 1984 release and although it clearly showcases its age in terms of special and digital effects quality, its charming and innovative design is something to marvel.
I still get goosebumps when I watch it, and that’s something only few films can do.
With all of these factors in mind, for the The Last Starfighter’s 40th anniversary, Arrow Video has decided to offer it in a special Collector’s Edition 4K Ultra HD format.
Both the Blu-ray and 4K UHD is gorgeous in a newly restored 4K scan of the original film negatives and features a dynamic Dolby audio mix, enhancing the original for the film’s 70mm release.
Adding to it all, these discs feature a ton of extra features on disc and the CE includes a collector’s booklet with archival bonus features and interviews included in the special features on the disc.
Technically speaking, the film has an incredible transfer and boasts solid color, detail and deep contrast on the film’s transition into high definition.
The HDR and Dolby Vision in the 4K offering are very similar materially to the Blu-Ray release (25th Anniversary) upscales although though bright reds and greens in particular look amazingly vivid in the 4K version.
Flesh tones look amazing and blacks look amazingly deep and the color jumps off the screen in a clean look for the already 40 year old movie in this remaster.
In the audio department, there are 3 audio options on disc with DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, DTS-HD Master Audio 4.1 and DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0.
During viewing my subwoofer and surround sounded amazing with clear dialogue and perfectly balanced stereo sound effects during viewing.
Never has this movie looked and sounded so spectacular and it’s the definitive way to see this classic film.
The Last StarFighter… Conscientious design and imagination.
One of the most unique aspects of the film, The Last StarFighter is the style of computer graphics that make up most of the special effects in the film.
While some efforts were made for practical effects at creating some of the set pieces and the Space Car in some scenes, StarFighter replaced traditional models usage, as commonly used by filmmakers.
It was one of the first films to use “integrated CGI” where the effects are supposed to represent real world objects (asteroids on background window of starship), although clearly computer generated and add to the charm of the film.
Some of the early films like Star Trek II (Wrath of Khan) and Tron also showcased the same early computer concepts that would give rise to modern technology in CGI.
In fact, as one of the first films to feature the extensive use of CGI — and most importantly, the integrated use of photo-realistic, computer-generated (CGI) models for all spaceships, planet shots, and the high-tech hardware and weapons used in the film, The Last StarFighter stands among the very first to do it and do it well.
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.
At first glance, it’s immediately apparent that the effects are very computer generated and give off an almost intentional effect of appearing glaring unrealistic in some scenes.
The beauty of it, is that I think it does a great job of not only keeping the film’s vibe intact but also expands on the video game concept from earlier in the film.
The scenes are almost made to look like that purposely as it intends to show onscreen that same imagination of the story that fuels its fantastical narrative.
Nostalgically Speaking
Just as enjoyable as the first time I saw it in a theater, The Last StarFighter was legendary actor, Robert Preston’s last film and features him in a role specifically written for him.
As the Alien character Centauri, (Preston) an alien intergalactic con-man, recruits Alex Rogan (Lance Guest) to join the StarFighters in the Rylos Star League to defend the Frontier and galaxy against an enemy threat.
If you’ve never seen the film, the premise is really quite simplistic in its plot — Alex Rogan (Lance Guest: Halloween II 1981, Jaws: The Revenge 1987) is a young man preparing to make his next move in life, and dreams of the perhaps becoming an astronaut at some point in his life.
He’s very infatuated with the concept of Space but is somewhat skeptical about himself.
Alex struggles with whether or not to go off to college, and is also torn between leaving his family and his sweetheart, Maggie (Catherine Mary Stewart: Night of the Comet 1984, Weekend at Bernie’s 1989).
Alex is a character many can relate with and comes across as authentic and genuine.
And those dreams of leaving the trailer park and someday journey to the stars are something that will inevitably come true.
The only entertainment in the trailer park comes from an Atari arcade game called “Starfighter”, in which the player defends “the Frontier” against Xur and the Ko-Dan Armada in a space battle simulation.
Alex learns that the StarFighter arcade game represents a real-life conflict between the Rylan Star League and the Ko-Dan Empire; the latter is led by Xur, a native Rylan traitor and son of Ambassador Enduran, the Starfighter commander, to whom the Ko-Dan Emperor has promised control of Rylos.
Starfighter is, in fact, an elaborate recruiting tool, designed as a test to find those “with the gift to become a StarFighter” (Centauri is actually criticized in one scene for placing the game on Earth, as humans were not considered capable of becoming Starfighters).
Alex, expected to be the gunner for a Starfighter spacecraft called the Gunstar, is partnered with a reptilian pilot named Grig.
He also learns that the Frontier is actually a stellar forcefield protecting the planet Rylos and its surrounding planets from invasion; Xur has given the Ko-Dan the means to breach it.
To the average person this is really mind blowing… Alex learns that that the game is from another world looking to scout the next great starfighter to defend the galaxy.
Alex is taken to a world beyond the stars where he is asked to save tbe galaxy from enslavement and destruction…
as a real life StarFighter. The stuff dreams are made of for the adventure hearted.
The Last StarFighter was crafted in a way that larger audiences can enjoy it. In fact, it is perfect for both adults and children of all ages and doesn’t stray too far off the path of promoting a fabulous family film that can be enjoyed by everyone.
Director Nick Castle does a fantastic job at making a film that has stood the test of time and still provides a great glossy, space-age fairy tale that’s sure to please fans of the genre and the 80’s era of Sci-Fi films still, all these later.
Celebrating its 40th anniversary, The Last StarFighter’s BluRay and 4K are quite nicely put together, with an impeccable the 4K transfer that is among the best of the big films on the market released in HD and UHD.
Known and celebrated for its groundbreaking digital effects, The Last Starfighter is a film that shouldn’t be missed and explores the tale of a reluctant hero, and it’s executed with a warmth that is sometimes lost in films today.
I love everything about this film.
So, if you are looking to escape this world and launch off into one beyond, I cannot recommend this film enough.
The Last Starfighter is a must see for fans of ‘80s Science Fiction, for people that like feel good films… as it does what few films are able to do do effortlessly… and that’s being a Definitively Original Movie that transcends the test of time.
It’s stellar in every way possible and steeped in history, technology and a reflection of the pop culture of the 1980’s … and era that stood out as a pioneer in movie making magic.
The Last StarFighter will always have a very special place in my heart.
With stellar performances by Lance Guest, Robert Preston, Catherine Mary Stewart and Dan O’Herlihy, I highly recommend seeing those film and taking that journey to the stars as it’s one that is memorable and worth taking.
Godspeed.
•CJ
5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
💢 A beloved masterpiece and a heartwarming sci-fi classic. 💢
The Last StarFighter — 1984.
Director Nick Castle- Lorimar Productions/ Distributed by Universal Studios.
Starring Lance Guest, Barbara Boston, Dan O’Herlihy, Robert Preston and Catherine Mary Stewart.
