Starman - Limited Edition 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray SteelBook

John Carpenter’s Starman certainly has traveled the gamut of releases over the years. Sony did a Blu-ray. Shout Factory did a Collector’s Edition Blu-ray. Sony popped it out on 4K with the Columbia Classics 4K UHD Collection Vol. 4 set. Now Sony is delivering the film to fans again on 4K but now as a solo-title 4K UHD SteelBook release. Our former colleague Peter Bracke reviewed it. I reviewed it. Our own Mr. Duarte reviewed it. Three reviews all with fairly similar thoughts and feelings about the film. Rather than rehash what I already said, I’ll repaste my review below and then link to the others so you can meticulously read through everything HDD has to say about this film! 

"Tell me again - how to say goodbye."
As the story of John Carpenter's Starman is well-known and a fan favorite, I'll be forgoing my usual plot recap since it's redundant at this point. I feel this space is better suited for me to explain why Starman is one of my favorite films. While I admittedly have many favorites, under the hypothetical situation where if I were stranded on an island and I could only bring 10 movies with me, I would be hard pressed to make room for this one. There's a beautifully calming nature to the tone that I wouldn't be able to leave it behind - even though I would more likely bring something like They Live or The Thing to fill my Carpenter quota. Between Carpenter's steady direction, Jeff Bridges' and Karen Allen's performances, and the incredible Jack Nitzsche score - I've always connected with this movie's optimism.

When you look back at the canon of Carpenter films, he's not exactly known for a bright and sunny outlook. Aside from Big Trouble in Little China and Memoirs of an Invisible Man, Carpenter was very rarely playful or allowed his stories to end in a way that wasn't steeped in cynicism or nihilism. Starman is a thematic outlier in his incredible career. Primarily a love story, this one is ultimately about what makes people - good or bad - human. Even when certain characters are at their worst there is an understanding of where they come from and what makes them tick. There's a reason for their behavior and aren't one-note caricatures. 

Stylistically Starman is a true Carpenter show but I feel the key performances from Jeff Bridges and Karen Allen that makes it something unique. This isn't to say that Carpenter's other films are populated by unmemorable performances or actors - it's the heart and chemistry shared by these two actors that allows you to connect to the material. From the get-go it's clear to see how and why Bridges got his Best Actor nomination - his alien is an intelligent being trying to fit in and appear to be one of us. He's learning how to be a better human. But his performance works because Allen plays such a terrific teacher. Her character has a wounded heart and by showing him how to be human she gets to live again and see that the world is worth being a part of. 

Starman is sentimental without being sappy. It's sweet-natured and human without being saccharine. It's got a heart but not so dopey that you'd find it stuffed onto the Hallmark channel. As I said, it's John Carpenter as his most optimistic. There's a genuine appreciation of the world and the people that populate it. While I love all of his horror/sci-fi movies, I love Starman in its own unique way. It's different from anything else he did and it's a pleasant standout in his catalog that I love to come back to again and again. 

M. E. Duarte's 4K UHD Review

Peter Bracke's Blu-ray Review

Vital Disc Stats: The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray 
Starman returns to visit Earth’s home video shelves with a brand new 4K Ultra HD SteelBook release from Sony. This Two-disc 4K UHD + Blu-ray + Digital set is essentially a repressing of the 4K and Blu-ray discs of the Columbia Classics 4K UHD Collection Vol. 4 discs. Flipping between them I saw nothing new or different, just what we’ve seen before already. The same BD100 for the 4K, and the same BD50 for the 1080p and extra features. The difference between releases is this Steelbook does not have the two BD100 discs reserved for the 22-episode single season of the Starman television show. That remains a Columbia Classics set exclusive for the time being. Otherwise, main menus are the same.

As this is the same disc from the Columbia Classics set the Dolby Video transfer remains the same. Here's what Mr. Duarte had to say. 

Carpenter's sci-fi drama makes a smooth landing on Ultra HD with a stunning, near-reference HEVC H.265 encode thanks to a fresh remaster of the original 35mm camera negatives. The native 4K transfer boasts significantly sharper details in the clothing, various desert locations and the many vehicles, displaying the fine stitching of the interior of the '77 Chevy Camero and exposing more of the unique features in the rock formations. A spot-on contrast and brightness balance showers the action with vivid, brilliant whites, inky rich blacks and crisp, radiant specular highlights throughout, making the 40-year-old movie look fresh and rejuvenated. The Dolby Vision HDR presentation bathes the visuals in sumptuously animated primaries, particularly the dynamic reds in the clothes, and a lovely, energetic array of secondary hues, from the fiery oranges of the car and explosions to the variety of tans, browns and sepias. Facial complexions appear healthy, true to life and highly revealing, exposing pores, minor wrinkles and negligible blemishes in the cast. Awash in a fine layer of natural grain, the 2.35:1 image is the best the movie has ever looked in any format.

Audio options remain the same as before, Dolby Atmos, DTS-HD MA 5.1, and DTS-HD MA 2.0. You can’t really go wrong with either track, but I have to give an edge to the Atmos track for opening things up and delivering a wonderfully immersive mix. Here’s what Me. Duarte had to say about this new Atmos option:

The non-corporeal alien crashes into home theaters with a surprisingly competent and first-class Dolby Atmos soundtrack, presumably from a remaster of the original 70mm 6-track Dolby Stereo mix. Imaging feels broad and spacious with outstanding channel balance, as background activity convincingly and flawlessly pans between the three front channels and into the top height, creating a highly engaging half-dome soundstage. An impressively extensive mid-range displays a great deal of warmth and fidelity while maintaining distinct clarity and definition into the higher frequencies. Dialogue reproduction is precise and well-prioritized at all times, even amid the loudest segments. Rear activity is marvelously busy with excellent directionality as various atmospheric effects smoothly move from one side of the room to the other and across the overheads, from the sounds of the wildlife and traffic to the swarm of helicopters, generating an immersive hemispheric soundfield. A shockingly robust and potent low-end adds an unexpected weight and commanding sense of presence to the action, occasionally rumbling the walls and couch during several scenes.

Once again bonus features are relegated to the included 1080p disc, including the excellent audio commentary. And, as previously mentioned, the TV series is not offered here, so if that’s something you need to have, keep that Columbia Classics Vol 4 set. 

Blu-ray Disc

• Audio Commentary with star Jeff Bridges and director John Carpenter
• They Came From Hollywood (HD, 24 min)
• Making-of Featurette (1080i/60, 11 min)
• Behind the Scenes Time Lapse (1080i/60, 10 min)
• Music Video (SD, 4 min)
• Deleted Scenes (HD, 18 min)
• Still Gallery (HD)
• Trailers (HD)

I’m just going to reprint what I said previously because I already said what I needed to say about this one:
Starman is one of my favorite John Carpenter films because it's so different than anything else he made before or since. When you look at most of Carpenter's classics there is an underlying feeling of cynicism that's either reflexive of society or how the director views the industry he's working in at the time. There isn't that cynicism in Starman. It's optimistic and hopeful for the world and the people in it. With Carpenter's subtle directorial touches and the terrific performances from Bridges and Allen, I feel like this film doesn't get as much credit as it deserves. 

As for the 4K release, this was one of the highlight films of the Columbia Classics Vol. 4 Collection for me as it offered a magnificent 2160p Dolby Vision upgrade over the previous Blu-ray releases and the new Atmos track is dramatic dynamite material. The loss of the TV series discs may be negligible to some, a deal-breaker for others, but otherwise, this SteelBook release gives fans a chance to own the film on its own without having to buy a boxset of films they may not need or want. So for that reason, I’m calling this one Highly Recommended