Star Pilot Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

Star Pilot Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov August 14, 2023

Pietro Francisci's "Star Pilot" a.k.a. "2+5: Missione Hydra" (1966) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Raro Video. The supplemental features on the release include alternate international version of the film; exclusive new audio commentary by film historian David Del Valle; and vintage German trailer. In English or Italian, with optional English subtitles for the Italian version. Region-Free.

One of the following statements is true: Pietro Francisci was a huge sci-fi/horror fan and he made Star Pilot to pay tribute to a few of his favorite films. Francisci made Star Pilot because like a lot of Italian directors that were active between the 1960s and 1990s he was a talented copycat maker. If I had to pick one of these statements and declare that it accurately describes Francisci, I would go with the first because there is a lot in Star Pilot that an indifferent copycat maker would not have bothered with. (For a sample of the material that an indifferent copycat maker would produce, see Alien 2: On Earth). But I could be wrong. It is possible that Francisci was a talented copycat maker who was also unusually passionate about his work. In post-war Italy, and particularly between the late 1960s and late 1980s, there were many such directors and they left us some of the all-time greatest genre films.

I am going to break down Star Pilot into three sections and identify the three classic films it borrows from.

In the first section, Francisci copies material from The Blob but carefully embellishes it to make it look different. In a remote corner of Sardinia, something falls from the sky. Soon after, a professor, a couple of his closest associates, and his very sexy daughter who dreams of being a great actress begin examining the area, perplexed by unusual magnetic activities that have impacted the local environment. While the men gather information and the girl works hard to distract them, a couple of Chinese spies arrive in the area as well.

In the second section, all curious parties and the girl are taken hostage by several visitors from the constellation Hydra and quickly relocated to their damaged spaceship. The visitors then use the knowledge of their captives to repair the spaceship and declare their intention to bring back a few of them to Hydra so that their scientists can study them. Only the wannabe actress does not think that the proposed journey is a bad idea because she has started flirting with one of the hunky visitors. While tensions rise, the leader of the visitors, an elegant female, explains that the captives do not have much of a choice and the spaceship takes off. This section and the next borrow heavily from Planet of the Vampires.

In the final section, the travelers encounter another spaceship, quite possibly Bulgarian, broadcasting urgent messages about an incoming nuclear conflict. While trying to figure out if Earth has gone to hell, the travelers then have another unexpected encounter with some very angry apes, and eventually reach Hydra. But it turns out that Hydra might have irreversibly changed, so the entire group is once again forced to debate the merits of another unpredictable journey. Despite the presence of the angry apes, this section still borrows material from Planet of the Vampires and mixes it with additional material from When Worlds Collide.

Knowledgeable film buffs could and likely will conclude that Francisci might have been inspired by a few other classic genre films as well, but in the grand scheme of things it would not matter because it is beyond obvious that Star Pilot was conceived as a copycat project. But guess what? Even though it is a B-film and was clearly made with a modest budget, it works very, very well. Or at least as well as a B-film done on a budget could.

Everything that makes Star Pilot enjoyable has something to do with its energy and sense of humor. If there is plenty of the former, the latter is toned down. If there is plenty of the latter, the former is toned down. I found this simple and very transparent formula to be surprisingly effective because it allows Star Pilot to blend the different material it borrows with plenty of flexibility that makes it look more diverse than it actually is. It is not a straightforward sci-fi or horror gem, it is not a serious drama or a cheeky comedy. There are different flavors floating in it, adding to contrasting moods and thrills.

The cast includes several actors that made a career of contributing to Italian sword-and-sandal films but they are most likely unknown on this side of the Atlantic. Kirk Morris is the biggest name that I was able to immediately recognize.

Stgar Pilot was lensed by two cinematographers with impressive filmographies. The first, Giulio Albonico, lensed The Year of the Cannibals and the iconic Zorro. The second is Tinto Brass' favorite collaborator, Silvano Ippoliti, who lensed Caligula, Salon Kitty, and the legendary spaghetti western The Great Silence.

*Raro Video’s release makes it possible to view Star Pilot in Italian and English. I chose the English track because I noticed that several actors utter their lines in English. However, all of them are overdubbed. On the Italian version, all of the actors are overdubbed too, including the ones that utter their lines in Italian. The Italian version is approximately 92 minutes long. The International/English version is approximately 87 minutes long.

Star Pilot Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Star Pilot arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Raro Video.

The film has been recently restored in 4K and looks tremendous on Blu-ray. There are two areas of the presentation that I am not fully convinced were handled right, though to be honest I do not think that they are handled improperly either. First, I thought that the film probably should have been framed in 1.85:1. However, there is a lot of material that would look extremely tight and even awkward if it is framed in 1.85:1. Screencapture #10, for instance, will definitely not look right in 1.85:1. Second, there is quite a bit of stylization that affects primaries and supporting nuances, and I felt that perhaps there should have been a bit less of the yellow(ish) hue. However, reds are not affected, and this is a primary that would have suffered if it was destabilized by an improper yellow(ish) digital cast. So, I think that the film looks very good, though I cannot tell if the current presentation is one hundred percent accurate. The rest I like a lot. Delineation, clarity, and depth range from very good to excellent. Stability is outstanding. There are no traces of problematic degraining corrections. The entire film looks spotless as well. My score is 4.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

Star Pilot Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

THere are two versions of the film on this release: International, which can be viewed with an English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track, and Italian, which can be viewed with an Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track. Optional English subtitles are provided only for the Italian track.

I viewed the International version. The English track uses standard overdubbing that can be a bit uneven at times. This is an entirely predictable limitation that is inherited. Clarity is still very good, so you should not worry about missing any dialog. I did not encounter any pops, hiss, distortions, or audio dropouts to report in our review.

Star Pilot Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• International Version - a fully restored in 4K English-language version of the film. In English, not subtitled. (87 min/1080p).

• German Trailer - presented here is a vintage German trailer for Star Pilot. In German, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by film historian David Del Valle.

Star Pilot Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Only a fan of genre cinema could have directed a low-budget anything-goes gem like Star Pilot. An Italian fan of genre cinema, too. Indeed, Star Pilot borrows material from a couple of big films but its authentic energy and cheeky sense of humor make it impossible to think of it as yet another Italian copycat. It will not impress anyone that expects it to be a visual stunner, but these types of B-films are often a lot more attractive when they are not ashamed of their limitations. Raro Video's release is sourced from a lovely recent 4K master and is Region-Free. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.