Starman

While most movie buffs are likely to name Halloween as John Carpenter's best movie, others—including diehard romantics and those who cried during E.T.—might opt for the director's 1984 hit Starman, which is easily Carpenter's warmest and most beguiling film. Jeff Bridges earned a Best Actor Oscar nomination 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. In order to complete this journey, he assumes the physical form of the dead husband of a Wisconsin widow (Karen Allen) who responds to the 'starman' initially with fear, followed by 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 credible by the memorable performances of Bridges and Allen. True, it's a bit heavy-handed with the subplot involving tenacious government agents who view the starman as a threat (don't they always?), but Carpenter handles the action with intelligent flair, sensitivity, and lighthearted humor, while successfully tugging the heartstrings during the moving finale. Debuting on Blu-ray with an impressive-looking transfer but (unfortunately) no extras, Starman is highly recommended. (J. Shannon) [Blu-ray Review—Jan. 15, 2019—Shout! Factory, 115 min., PG, Blu-ray: $34.98—Making its latest appearance on Blu-ray, 1984’s Starman features a fine transfer with DTS-HD 5.1 audio. Extras include the retrospective featurette 'They Came from Hollywood: Remembering Starman' (24 min.), a vintage 'making-of' featurette (12 min.), and a stills gallery. Bottom line: a fine edition of one of John Carpenter’s best films.]