The Last Starfighter: Collector's Edition – Arrow Video (4k UHD)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1984
Director: Nick Castle
Writer: Jonathan R. Betuel
Cast: Kay E. Kuter, Dan Mason, Lance Guest, Dan O’Herlihy, Catherine Mary Stewart, Barbara Bosson, Norman Snow, Robert Preston, Chris Hebert

Release Date: May 30th, 2023
Approximate Running Time: 100 Minutes 29 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / Dolby Vision HDR10
Rating: PG
Sound: DTS-HD 5.1 English, DTS-HD 4.1 English, LPCM Stereo English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $49.95

"Greetings Starfighter! You have been recruited by Arrow Video to experience the 1984 sci-fi classic as you've never experienced it before! Directed by Nick Castle, the man behind the Michael Myers mask in the original Halloween, The Last Starfighter tells the story Alex Rogan (Lance Guest), an arcade game whizz-kid whose wildest dreams comes true when he finds himself enlisted to fight in an interstellar war." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5

Here’s the information provided about the transfer, "Brand new 4K restoration by Arrow Films from the original camera negative."

Here's additional information about the transfer, "The original 35mm camera negative was scanned in 4K resolution at EFILM. The film was graded and restored at R3Store Studios in London."

The Last Starfighter comes on a 100 GB triple layer 4K UHD

Disc Size: 88 GB

Feature: 72.6 GB

The transfer for Arrow Video’s 4K UHD release takes its foundation from their 2020 Blu-ray release, and as great as that transfer was, the 4K UHD’s transfer looks even better.

Here were my thoughts about Arrow Video’s 2020 Blu-ray release: "This is another solid transfer from Arrow Video that’s a noticeable improvement over this film’s previous home video releases. Colors look correct; contrast, black levels, and compression look solid throughout; and grain looks organic."

Audio: 4.5/5 (DTS-HD 4.1 English)

This release comes with three audio options, a DTS-HD 5.1 mix in English, a DTS-HD 4.1 mix in English, and a LPCM stereo mix in English. For this review, I listened to the DTS-HD 4.1 release. This track is in excellent shape; dialog always comes through clearly; everything sounds balanced; and range-wise, this track takes full advantage of the sound spectrum. Included with this release are removable English SDH.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a theatrical teaser (1 minute 33 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a theatrical trailer (2 minutes 47 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), image galleries: The Cast (20 images), Starfighter Arcade Game (32 images), Starfighter Command (179 images), The Starcar (65 images), The Gunstar (64 images), Ko-Den Armada (74 images), Alternate Ending (43 images), Anatomy of a Starfighter CGI (24 images) and Promotional and Merchandise (21 images), an archival documentary titled Crossing the Frontier: Making The Last Starfighter (32 minutes 2 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival featurette titled Heroes of the Screen (24 minutes 19 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with arcade game collector Estil Vance titled Greetings Starfighter! Inside the Arcade Game (7 minutes 24 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with sci-fi author Greg Bear titled Excalibur Test: Inside Digital Productions (7 minutes 46 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with special effects supervisor Kevin Pike titled Interstellar Hit-Beast: Creating the Special Effects (10 minutes 14 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with screenwriter Jonathan Betuel titled Incredible Odds: Writing The Last Starfighter (9 minutes 27 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with composer Craig Safan titled Into the Starscape: Composing The Last Starfighter (12 minutes 20 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with actress Catherine Mary Stewart titled Maggie’s Memories: Revisiting The Last Starfighter (9 minutes 28 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival audio commentary with director Nick Castle and production designer Ron Cobb, an audio commentary track is with actor Lance Guest and his son Jackson Guest, an audio commentary is with Mike White of The Projection Booth podcast, reversible cover art, a slipcover (limited to first pressing), and a 40-page booklet (limited to first pressing) with cast & crew information, an essay tilted “I’m a Kid from a Trailer Park”: Blue Collar Heroes in Outer Space and the American Dream written by Amanda Reyes, sci-fi author Greg Bear’s never-before-published Omni magazine article on Digital Productions, the company responsible for the CGI in The Last Starfighter titled The Machineries of Joy and information about the transfer.

Summary:

Where most 1980s sci-fi films were set in the future or in faraway galaxies. The Last Starfighter is a rare example of a sci-fi film that successfully mixes present-day Earth with beings from a faraway galaxy.

The narrative revolves around a teenager named Alex Rogan. His mastery of a video game gets him noticed by an alien being, who recruits him for an intergalactic war. Reluctant at first, Alex eventually embraces his destiny as the last starfighter.

When discussing sci-fi cinema from the past, it’s inevitable that the discussion will go towards special effects, or more precisely, how the special effects hold up by today’s standards. The Last Starfighter comes from an era when CGI was still in its infancy, and there’s no denying that most of the special effects look dated. Ultimately, the primitiveness of the special effects is actually easy to forgive since this is a character-driven film and the story at hand is immensely engaging.

Without a doubt, The Last Starfighters’ greatest asset is its well-developed characters’. Performance wise, the cast is all great in their respective roles, especially Lance Guest’s (Halloween II) enthusiastic portrayal of Alex Rogan. Other notable cast members include Robert Preston (This Gun is For Hire) in the role of Centauri, the alien being that recruits Alex, and Catherine Mary Stewart (Night of the Comet) in the role of Alex’s girlfriend.

From a production standpoint, there’s not an area where The Last Starfighter does not deliver and then some. The premise is superbly realized, and the narrative does a great job letting key moments resonate and building tension. Where other sci-fi films from this era have lost some of their magic, The Last Starfighter is a film that has not lost any of its sense of wonder.

The Last Starfighter makes its way to 4K UHD via an exceptional release from Arrow Video, highly recommended.

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a VLC player and lossless PNGs.

Written by Michael Den Boer