Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

The Last Starfighter Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 28, 2020

1962 had one of the most competitive races in the Best Actor category of the Academy Awards of that decade. While Gregory Peck deservedly was recognized as the winner that year for his performance as Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird, he had considerable competition from the likes of Peter O'Toole as Lawrence of Arabia, Burt Lancaster as the Birdman of Alcatraz, Jack Lemmon's troubling portrayal of alcoholism in Days of Wine and Roses and the one perhaps unusual inclusion, Marcello Mastroianni in Divorce Italian Style. There's a perhaps glaring omission in this list, one made all the more glaring due to the fact that the film which featured the overlooked performance, The Music Man, racked up more than a few Oscar nominations that year, including one for Best Picture. But somehow Robert Preston, who had originated the role of maybe, maybe not huckster Harold Hill on Broadway, taking home a Tony Award for his efforts, did not receive a Best Actor nomination for his equally splendid work in the film version (I'm sure there are some fans out there who feel strongly that Preston should have replaced Mastroianni in the "final five".) Preston in fact had to wait until 1983 to score his one and only Academy Award nomination, in the Best Supporting Actor category, for his wonderful performance in Victor/Victoria (he ended up losing to Louis Gossett, Jr., for An Officer and a Gentleman. Two years later, there was quite a bit of scuttlebutt that Preston would finally not just be nominated for, but might actually win, an Oscar for his turn in The Last Starfighter, but, alas, the awards gods were not with him, and he was overlooked yet again. Even if a statuette wasn't to be part of Preston's career, The Last Starfighter offers Preston to strut his stuff as what might even be thought of as a kind of galactic Harold Hill, in this instance using his perhaps lugubrious charms to recruit one young man to do a bit more than play a trombone.

The Last Starfighter was released on Blu-ray way back in 2009 by its parent studio Universal, and for those wanting a plot recap, I refer you to Martin Liebman's The Last Starfighter Blu-ray review of that version. Marty's review is also a good resource for screenshot comparisons and lining up the array of supplements between the two versions (I'll just cut to the chase and say the Arrow version is a clear winner in both categories). As often happens with these re-releases, my score for the actual film varies just a bit from Marty's.

The Last Starfighter Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Last Starfighter is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. Arrow's insert booklet contains the following information on the restoration:

The Last Starfighter has been exclusively restored by Arrow Films and is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1 [sic] with 2.0 stereo, 5.1 audio and a 4.1 mix created for the film's 70mm release.

The original 35mm camera negative was scanned in 4K resolution at EFILM. The film was graded and restored at R3Store Studios in London. Audio remastering on all audio mixes was completed at Deluxe Audio, Los Angeles.

All materials for this restoration were made available by NBC Universal.

I frankly can't imagine any fan of this film not being over the moon (no pun intended) about the uptick in clarity and detail levels across the board in this presentation when compared to the pretty lackluster video on the old Universal Blu-ray. The detail levels are noticeably improved in both live action and CGI elements, and in that regard some of the effects have not aged particularly well and do show some digital anomalies at times. That aspect, along with some very minor remaining nicks and the like, are about the only things that I can imagine some may not be totally pleased by. One of the most noticeable differences between the two presentations is the retention of grain in the Arrow presentation, something that at last provides the imagery a more organic appearance than the often smeary looking Universal Blu-ray did. There's a slight but noticeable difference in color temperature as well, with a slightly warmer ambience in the Arrow version. All in all, this is another fantastic upgrade of a cult item by Arrow which should certainly be appreciated by most fans.

The Last Starfighter Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

As outlined above, there are three audio options on this disc, DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, DTS-HD Master Audio 4.1 and DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Marty wasn't especially thrilled with the engagement of the surround channels on the Universal disc, but I found this Arrow rendering to be nicely immersive in its two surround offerings, although admittedly not in the more hyperbolic ways that contemporary science fiction outings can tend to be. That means that, much as Marty mentioned in his review of the Universal version, rear channels may come into play less than might be expected. Despite that sound design element, fidelity is excellent across the board, and there are some fun if subtle differences between the 5.1 and 4.1 mixes. Dialogue and Craig Safan's score both resonate strongly and clearly, and the inventive sound effects offer consistent interest. Optional English subtitles are available.

The Last Starfighter Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Maggie's Memories: Revisiting The Last Starfighter (1080p; ) is an interview with Catherine Mary Stewart.


• Into the Starscape: Composing The Last Starfighter (1080p; 12:20) features Craig Safan. Semi-tangentially, for those who may be interested, there's a rather charming musical version of the film by Skip Kennon and Fred Landau that fans of the film might enjoy checking out.


• Incredible Odds: Writing The Last Starfighter (1080p; 9:27) is an interview with screenplay author Jonathan Betuel.


• Interstellart Hit Beast: Creating the Special Effects (1080p; 10:14) features special effects supervisor Kevin Pike.


• Excalibur Test: Inside Digital Productions (1080p; 7:46) is an interview with sci-fi author Greg Bear, who discussed Digital Productions, the company which did the film's CGI.


• Greetings Starfighter! Inside the Arcade Game (1080p; 7:24) features arcade game collector Estil Vance.


• Heroes of the Screen (1080i; 24:19) is an archival making of featurette.


• Crossing the Frontier: Making The Last Starfighter (720p; 32:02) is another archival making of featurette.


• Image Galleries

  The Cast (1080p)

  
  

  Starfighter Arcade Game (1080p)

  
  

  Starfighter Command (1080p)

  
  

  The Starcar (1080p)

  
  

  The Gunstar (1080p)

  
  

  Ko-Dan Armada (1080p)

  
  

  Alternate Ending (1080p)

  
  

  Anatomy of a Starfighter CGI (1080p)

  
  

  Promotion and Merchandise (1080p)

• Trailers

  Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 2:47)

  
  

  Teaser Trailer (1080p; 1:33)

• Audio Commentary with Lance Guest and Jackson Guest


• Audio Commentary with Nick Castle and Ron Cobb


• Audio Commentary with Mike White

Additionally, Arrow has provided their typically well appointed insert booklet, along with a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Matt Ferguson, and a folded poster.

The Last Starfighter Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Though I actually have had a soft spot for The Last Starfighter since I saw it in a theater years ago, I may not be quite the fan of it that Marty evidently was, based on our slightly different scores for the film. That said, there's absolutely no question that fans of this film, whatever their enthusiasm level, will do better by this Arrow release than the old Universal release. Highly recommended.