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| Last Starfighter, The |
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Genre:Fantasy Adventure
Reviewed In Issue 33 Of Widescreen Review®
Stars:
Lance Guest, Dan O’Herlihy, Catherine Mary Stewart & Robert Preston |
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| Supplementals |
| Includes audio commentary by the director and the production designer and an extensive making-of featurette with behind-the-scenes insights and interviews. |
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 DVD General Information |
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| (Studio/Distributor): |
Universal Studios Home Video |
| (Catalog Number): |
44420 |
| (MPAA Rating): |
PG |
| (Retail Price): |
$34.98 |
| (Running Time In Minutes): |
101 |
| (Color Type): |
Color |
| (Chaptered/Scene Access): |
Yes |
| (Closed Captioned): |
Yes |
| (Theatrical Release): |
1984 |
| (LD Release Date): |
06/99 |
| (THX® Digitally Mastered): |
No |
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| Credits Information |
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| (Director): |
Nick Castle |
| (Screenplay/Written By): |
Jonathan Betuel |
| (Story): |
NA |
| (Music): |
Craig Safan |
| (Director Of Photography): |
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| (Production Designer): |
Ron Cobb |
| (Visual Effects): |
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| (Costume Designer): |
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| (Editor): |
C. Timothy O’Meara |
| (Supervising Sound Editors): |
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| (Re-Recording Mixers): |
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| (Executive Producers): |
NA |
| (Co-Producers): |
NA |
| (Producers): |
Gary Adelson & Edward O. Denault |
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| DVD Picture Information |
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| (Principal Photography): |
Panavision |
| (Theatrical Aspect Ratio): |
2.40:1 |
| (Measured LaserDisc Aspect Ratio): |
2.45:1 |
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| DVD Sound Information |
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| (DVD Soundtrack): |
Dolby Digital Surround |
| (Theatrical Sound): |
Dolby Stereo A & 70mm 6 Track Dolby |
| (Theatrical Re-Issue Soundtrack): |
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| (Remastered Dolby Digital): |
Yes |
| (Remastered DTS Digital Surround): |
No |
| (Additional Languages): |
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| WSR Narrative Review |
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Story Synopsis:
From an isolated trailer-park town emerges an unlikely candidate to become The Last Starfighter. Recruited by Centauri (Preston), Alex Rogan’s (Guest) prowess on a video game makes him the perfect choice to fight the evil Kodan and save the universe.
LaserDisc Picture:
The 2.45:1 LaserDisc exhibits generally good quality. Color balance is fully saturated, with accurate fleshtones, rich and vibrant colors, but is wanting in deeper black rendering. Images are generally wanting in sharpness and clarity, with colors often appearing smeared. Contrast and shadow delineation are nicely rendered. Aliasing problems and excessive noise are distracting.
LaserDisc Soundtrack:
The remastered Dolby® Digital discrete soundtrack is terrific. Aggressive .1 LFE enhancement is engaging, with deep and powerful bass impact below 25Hz. While credited as a 5.1 mix, surround remains monaural for a 4.1 mix. Dialogue is not particularly natural sounding, and is wanting in spatial integration. But the music score is terrific with an expansive soundstage and superb recording quality that images wide and deep. This is nicely crafted soundtrack, even though dialogue is the least effective element. Nonetheless, the sonic experience is sure to please.
| (Surround Bass Below 50Hz): |
Yes |
| (Aggressive System Surround): |
Yes |
| (Intense 25Hz Bass): |
Yes |
| (Deep Bass Challenging): |
No |
| (Aggressive 0.1 LFE): |
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| (Holosonic Soundfield): |
Yes |
| (Aggressive Split Surround): |
No |
| (Center Back Surround Imaging): |
No |
| (Directionalized Dialogue): |
No |
Superb Sound Effects Recording Quality: |
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Superb Music Score Recording Quality: |
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Superb Special Visual Effects Quality: |
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Superb Color Fidelity: |
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Superb Cinematography: |
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Reference LaserDisc: |
No |
Collector Edition: |
Yes |
DVD To LaserDisc Comparison:
The LaserDisc and anamorphically enhanced dual layered DVD exhibit good quality, but the DVD excels in resolution and clarity. Aliasing problems and excessive noise are apparent and distracting on the LaserDisc, while the DVD is solid with fine detail. Color balance is fully saturated, with accurate fleshtones, rich and vibrant colors and pure blacks. The LaserDisc, while generally natural exhibits slightly smeared colors and is wanting in deeper black rendering. Contrast and shadow delineation are nicely rendered on both formats, but appear more refined on the DVD. There are no distracting artifacts or noise on the DVD for a picture that is quite pleasing throughout. While the LaserDisc is framed at 2.45:1, the anamorphic and letterbox DVD measures 2.32:1. The remastered Dolby® Digital discrete soundtrack is terrific. Aggressive .1 LFE enhancement is engaging, with deep and powerful bass impact below 25Hz. While credited as a 5.1 mix, surround remains monaural for a 4.1 mix. Dialogue is not particularly natural sounding, and is wanting in spatial integration. But the music score is terrific with an expansive soundstage and superb recording quality that images wide and deep. This is nicely crafted soundtrack, even though dialogue is the least effective element. Nonetheless, the sonic experience is sure to please.
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