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The Last Starfighter (1984) 6.7
A discouraged video-gaming boy finds himself recruited as a gunner for an alien defense force. Director:Nick CastleWriter:Jonathan R. Betuel (as Jonathan Betuel) |
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Title: The Last Starfighter (1984)
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4 nominations.
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
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Kay E. Kuter | ... | |
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Dan Mason | ... | |
| Lance Guest | ... | ||
| Dan O'Herlihy | ... | ||
| Catherine Mary Stewart | ... | ||
| Barbara Bosson | ... | ||
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Norman Snow | ... | |
| Robert Preston | ... | ||
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Chris Hebert | ... | |
| John O'Leary | ... | ||
| George McDaniel | ... | ||
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Charlene Nelson | ... |
Rylan Technician
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John Maio | ... |
Friendly Alien
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| Robert Starr | ... |
Underling
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Al Berry | ... |
Rylan Spy
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Plot Summary
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Plot Synopsis
Storyline
Alex Rogan lives in a trailer court where his mother is manager and everyone is like a big extended family. He beats the Starfighter video game to the applause of everyone in the court and later that day finds he has been turned down for a student loan for college. Depressed, he meets Centauri, who introduces himself as a person from the company that made the game, before Alex really knows what is going on he is on the ride of his life in a "car" flying through space. Chosen to take the skills he showed on the video game into real combat to protect the galaxy from an invasion. Alex gets as far as the Starfighter base before he really realized that he was conscripted and requests to be taken back home. When he gets back home, he finds a Zando-Zan (alien bounty hunter) is stalking him. Unable to go home and live, Alex returns to the Starfighter base to find all the pilots have been killed and he is the galaxy's only chance to be saved from invasion. To defeat the invaders, who are ... Written by John Vogel <jvogel@dgs.dgsys.com> & Spokavriel updated
Taglines:
He didn't find his dreams... his dreams found him. See more »Parents Guide:
View content advisory »
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Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
13 July 1984 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
El último guerrero espacial See more »Box Office
Budget:
$15,000,000 (estimated)Company Credits
Show detailed
company contact information
on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1
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(Craig Safan & Mark Mueller)
Performed by Karen Blake & Gregory Prestopino (as Greg Prestopino)
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Did You Know?
Trivia
Soon after Alex meets Grig for the first time, we see Grig adjusting a device with red beams rotating - this prop is a mainstay of engineering sets, most notably seen in Airplane! 2. See more »Goofs
When Alex first meets the Beta Unit, he already appears to have Alex's facial features and hair - albeit in silhouette. However, he is later taking form with skin and facial features growing over a robotic skeleton. See more »Quotes
Centauri: [driving the Starcar back to Earth, muttering to himself] Little brat. I invent the game, find the kid, drag him up there, and he doesn't wanna be a Starfighter. I give up!See more »
Soundtracks
Satisfy The Night(Craig Safan & Mark Mueller)
Performed by Karen Blake & Gregory Prestopino (as Greg Prestopino)
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None of the other reviews of this film (at least those that I have seen) understand what makes this movie so wonderful. This is one of the few movies I can recall that treat teenagers with some respect, instead of as cartoon characters. Alex has the same kinds of dreams and problems we all had at the age of 18, but he really does try to do the right thing, even when it goes against his desires. The film does not show the generation gap as a battlefield, but as a fact of life that Alex has to live with, and not one that is entirely negative.
This film is totally driven by the characters. The plot, and even the CGI, while groundbreaking for the day, are not the real magic here. It is the characters.