Dark Star (1974) Directed by John Carpenter starring Brian Narelle, Dan O'Bannon, Kal Kuniholm, Dre Pahich and Joe Saunders.
What do you get when you have director John Carpenter (Halloween, The Thing) and Dan O'Bannon (Screen writer for Alien) get together for a movie with a budget of $60,000 ( yes that number is correct, no missing zeroes). You get Dark Star, a hilarious black comedy that deals with the tedium and boredom of extensive space missions and the effects that it has on people.
Beginning as a 45 minute student film it was later sponsored by producer Jack H. Harris and was re-edited for theatrical release. Sporting the talents of Ron Cobb (Production designer for Alien and Back to the Future) and Modeller Greg Jein (Close Encounters, Star Trek Next Generation), the movie tells the tale of the crew of the Dark Star a scout ship designed to locate and destroy unstable planets that might threaten future colonization.
Much like the British comedy Red Dwarf Dark Star's cast is not exactly "The Right Stuff" and are portrayed more as working class stiffs rather than heroic Federation officers, much like the ensemble of the crew of Alien... only funnier. First we have Lt. Doolittle played by Brian Narrelle, the reluctant captain promoted due to the accidental death of Commander Powell, Boiler portrayed by Kal Kuniholm, and Sgt. Pinback played by O'Bannon, who pulls double duty as actor and scriptwriter.
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| Scout cruiser Dark Star. |
Beginning as a 45 minute student film it was later sponsored by producer Jack H. Harris and was re-edited for theatrical release. Sporting the talents of Ron Cobb (Production designer for Alien and Back to the Future) and Modeller Greg Jein (Close Encounters, Star Trek Next Generation), the movie tells the tale of the crew of the Dark Star a scout ship designed to locate and destroy unstable planets that might threaten future colonization.
Much like the British comedy Red Dwarf Dark Star's cast is not exactly "The Right Stuff" and are portrayed more as working class stiffs rather than heroic Federation officers, much like the ensemble of the crew of Alien... only funnier. First we have Lt. Doolittle played by Brian Narrelle, the reluctant captain promoted due to the accidental death of Commander Powell, Boiler portrayed by Kal Kuniholm, and Sgt. Pinback played by O'Bannon, who pulls double duty as actor and scriptwriter.
With the groundwork laid down, let's begin with the plot:
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| The Crew of the Dark Star: Far Right: Boiler. Middle: Doolittle, Near Right: Pinback |
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| We just can't afford to send a cargo shuttle out to you. |
It is also revealed the Commander Powell who was leading the mission had died due to an explosive malfunction in his seat and set about radiation leakage amongst the ship.
The crew's optimism is further buoyed when they find out that their request for radiation shielding has been denied and that the storage bay # 9 has self destructed destroying the ship's supply of toilet paper.
Once the message concludes we are introduced to the crew of the Dark Star in the middle of a planet demolition session. It is here that we find that the thermostellar bombs that the ship uses come equipped with an AI that can communicate with the crew. The purpose is that so vocal instructions can be given to the bomb and confirmed by the ship's occupants.
Problems start when the beleaguered ship encounters an electromagnetic storm further damaging the ship's systems and prematurely activating one of the onboard bombs to prematurely begin it's operation sequence which must be recalled ordering the bomb to return to the bay. Once the crises is averted, the audience is given a tour of the ramshackle conditions of the ship. The meat locker has been converted to the sleeping quarters due to the crews proper quarters being blown up in a previous asteroid storm, The ship's navigator has become a recluse after the death of his commander and many of the safety protocols have been compromised or jury rigged.
Problems persist as recurring malfunctions and interference from the alien mascot repeatedly activates the bomb, damaging it's release mechanism and drives it's AI to the point where it decides to ignore further orders and continue it's detonation sequence.
Writer Dan O'Bannon later expanded on much of the ground work laid out from this movie to produce the script of Alien.
The main attraction to Dark Star is that it stands as the directorial debut of John Carpenter, who was able to prove that with a little creativity, a lot of moxie and an aggressive work ethic one can make something from nothing.
The crew's optimism is further buoyed when they find out that their request for radiation shielding has been denied and that the storage bay # 9 has self destructed destroying the ship's supply of toilet paper.
Once the message concludes we are introduced to the crew of the Dark Star in the middle of a planet demolition session. It is here that we find that the thermostellar bombs that the ship uses come equipped with an AI that can communicate with the crew. The purpose is that so vocal instructions can be given to the bomb and confirmed by the ship's occupants.
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| The irksome bomb. |
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| Dan O'Bannon as Pinback. |
Writer Dan O'Bannon later expanded on much of the ground work laid out from this movie to produce the script of Alien.
The main attraction to Dark Star is that it stands as the directorial debut of John Carpenter, who was able to prove that with a little creativity, a lot of moxie and an aggressive work ethic one can make something from nothing.
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