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Starman

Starman

Science Fiction · Romance · Drama · 1984

When an alien takes the form of a young widow's husband and asks her to drive him from Wisconsin to Arizona, the government tries to stop them.

Movie details

Starman

“In 1977 Voyager II was launched into space, inviting all lifeforms in the universe to visit our planet. Get ready. Company's coming.”

1984 Science Fiction · Romance · Drama 1h 55m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.9 / 10

Community rating

When an alien takes the form of a young widow's husband and asks her to drive him from Wisconsin to Arizona, the government tries to stop them.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Starman?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Where it lives

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Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

John Carpenter

Written by

Raynold Gideon · Bruce A. Evans

Jeff Bridges

Jeff Bridges

Starman / Scott Hayden

Karen Allen

Karen Allen

Jenny Hayden

Charles Martin Smith

Charles Martin Smith

Mark Shermin

Richard Jaeckel

Richard Jaeckel

George Fox

Robert Phalen

Robert Phalen

Major Bell

Tony Edwards

Tony Edwards

Sergeant Lemon

J

John Walter Davis

Brad Heinmuller

Court is in session

Put Starman on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.