Rating: 
Summary: Not Quite as humorous as I remembered, but still good.
Review: I bought this movie, because I was working on modern real-world weapons being developed and some of the things these weapons will do reminded me of this movie. I remembered it being more humorous then it seemed it was this time, but the "alien" beachball scenes, talking with the frozen commander and the failed launch activity still brings a bit of a giggle. If you are a fan of John Carpenter or Just a Science Fiction Movie addict like me I highly recommend this film. If not, It is still good, but would no longer meet my top 10% list.
Rating: 
Summary: Thoughtful, funny low-budget sci-fi by USC filmmakers
Review: Dark Star was made on a shoestring by John Carpenter with the help of Dan O'Bannon, both graduates of the University of Southern California film department. This is a better film than most "B" sci-fi on late night cable because there is real ingenuity and intelligence at work here. And the beach ball alien loose on the ship is a precursor of things to come -- you see, Dan O'Bannon went on to conceive the story for ALIEN and to direct other darkly humored sci-fi classics like RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD, while John Carpenter went on to direct HALLOWEEN, THE FOG, THE THING, and others. An impressive little movie, shot partly on the USC campus by talented graduates only a few semesters after George Lucas was there.
Rating: 
Summary: This Sci-Fi is a DOG!
Review: I have been a sience finction fan for 40 years. Had not seen this movie. But, unless you are interested in Sci-Fi nostalgia, this movie is a DOG! Not worth the money.
Rating: 
Summary: A MUST SEE FOR ALL SCI-FI FANS
Review: This was the hit of the MOVIE ROOM AT THE WORLD SCIENCE FICTION CONVENTION-SEPT 1976 IN KANSAS CITY.This was one of over 70 movies over the five day Convention that featured some of the only prints remaining that were kept in the underground vaults in Kansas. It was the only one that was played more than one time-I believe five is correct,but it's been a long time since then. My favorite part is the big orange beach ball monster. This movie is the best I've seen for the small change spent to make it.Best chuckle for the buck by far.
Rating:
Summary: One of the funniest movies I've seen!!!!
Review: This movie is a must see for John Carpenter fans!!I first saw this movie close to 20 years ago and I still burst out laughing when I see it. Great cast of misfits that you really feel you can relate to. My twin sister and I Highly recommend it!!!
Rating:
Summary: Why does no one know this movie?
Review: I have to agree - this is a must-see. OK, it's a lott plodding at times, and obviously Carpenter's *first* foray into films, but worth watching if you like dark, sarcastic, very wry humor. Between the frozen dead captain, the punching-balloon alien and the intelligent bomb... what more to say? A cross between "Blade Runner" and "Firesign Theatre."
Rating:
Summary: Twisted, dark, and gut-splitting, but moms like it too!
Review: No fan of science fiction movies has any business claiming familiarity with the genre without viewing Dark Star. Repeatedly. Absolutely the quintessence of "dark" science fiction, the price of purchase is amply repaid with either the "Chasing the Alien" scene, or the "Philosophy 101: The Sentient Bomb and I" scene. I do not wish to give too much detail here, but for the price, better entertainment would be hard to find.
Rating:
Summary: Boredom Has never been so funny!!!
Review: Made with their own money! John Carpenter and Dan O'Bannon made this quite bizarre tale of boredom in space. The crews mission is to blow up planets but other than that they have no life, they have been doing this for so many years they can't even remember their first names. Their captain is dead, well frozen!, They have a beach ball for a pet, and their ship is falling apart. One of the most interesting bits in the film is when they have to philosophise with a talking bomb to stop it from blowing up the ship. The score is excellent and the special effects....well they were made on the cheap. :)Jack Harris wanted the original college film to be extended to 90 minutes, so that he could release it. So, John Carpenter and Dan O'Bannon completed the film but unfortunately their friendship did not survive the involvement of Jack Harris.
Rating:
Summary: Funny, funny..... funny again..
Review: This film, which is a debut film of John Carpenter, is quite preposterous. First, before this film, there is a masterpiece of SF film which is a Stanley Kubrick¡¯s work ¡°2001: A Space Odyssey¡±. Compared with Kubrick¡¯s, it is a directly opposite style. Contrast to Kubrick¡¯s carried weight and is very difficult, this film is funny and absurd. It is a feature of Carpenter¡¯s films; there are many funny scenes, which transcend an imagination. The plot of this film is nothing special. The spaceship crew who have a mission, but their life is a continuity of boredom, so as to their acting is very funny. Childish pranks of the crew and a pet alien which looks like a beach ball with claws, Ii makes people cannot help laughing. In addition, this film was made when Carpenter was a student of university. It was a low-budget film, so some special effects were little bit clumsy. Nevertheless, it deserves to watch because it is a comedy film, so it makes people feel funnier. As watching these scenes, I cannot help recognizing Carpenter¡¯s imagination is great. Dan O¡¯Bannon who co writes screenplay with Carpenter and played one of the crew, after that he created ¡°Alien¡±. This is also interesting thing. Anyway, this film is quite funny, and more, soundtrack that also matched with film, made well. John Carpenter usually took charge of music in own films as well as this film; he used amusing music for the soundtrack to make a funny scene.
Rating:
Summary: In space no one can hear you yawn
Review: John Carpenter's claim to fame rests largely on his contributions to the horror film genre. He's responsible for the hugely influential 1970s slasher flick "Halloween," of course, but he's also made several other noteworthy horror movies. His remake of "The Thing" still impresses over twenty years later thanks to a great cast, incredible special effects, and scads of claustrophobic atmosphere. "The Fog," starring Adrienne Barbeau, is Carpenter's attempt at a good old-fashioned ghost story. I could go on and on, mentioning the killer car film "Christine," the satanic "The Prince of Darkness," and the Lovecraftian horror of "In the Mouth of Madness." Fortunately, Carpenter occasionally made films in other genres, such as the science fiction classics "Escape From New York," "Starman," and the hilarious "They Live" starring none other than one time pro wrestler Roddy Piper. In his prime Carpenter had the Midas touch, and it all started with a little film called "Dark Star" way back in the early 1970s. Donald Pleasance doesn't appear to make a speech about Michael Myers, there is no canister containing an evil fluid in the basement of a church, and no Kurt Russell shooting up the bad guys in this movie. "Dark Star" is a comedy set in deep space.
Pinback (Dan O'Bannon), Talby (Dre Pahich), Doolittle (Brian Nerelle), and Boiler (Cal Kuniholm) are four poor saps on a rather boring mission. Their assignment takes them into the outer reaches of the universe in search of unstable planets, which they then blow up with talking bombs in order to clear pathways for human colonization. You heard correctly: not only do the bombs talk but they also possess personalities and voices capable of conveying happiness, sarcasm, and can partake in complex philosophical discussions. We come into the story shortly after the demise of Captain Powell, and the crew is looking slightly demoralized. One can only blow up so many cold balls of rock before boredom sets in. One of the crewmembers does nothing but peer at the stars through a glass bubble on top of the spacecraft. Another plays a strange looking instrument made of jars and other acoustically viable pieces of hardware. All of the crewmembers bicker incessantly over the most mundane issues. In "Dark Star," the tagline won't read, "In space no one can hear you scream" like it does in "Alien," but rather "In space no one can hear you yawn." If you think this little joke is funny, it's even funnier because Dan O'Bannon is the guy who wrote the screenplay for "Alien."
A significant portion of the film deals with an odd situation between Pinback and his pet alien, which resembles in no small way a huge beach ball that shakes and chitters. This ball has a bad attitude, however, and soon escapes from its chamber when its master arrives to feed it. Pinback chases the creature through the ship, dodging the beastie's attacks while getting angrier and angrier. This alien means to stay loose, however, and nearly kills Pinback by knocking him down an elevator shaft. Meanwhile, the entire ship faces imminent danger in the form of an activated bomb that fails to deploy due to a malfunctioning piece of machinery. The bomb sits firmly in a locked position on the ship, refusing all attempts by the crew to convince it to carry out its prearranged task. Things look so deadly serious that the crew consults the cryogenically frozen body of Captain Powell, which can talk and answer questions, to come up with a few options. Carpenter manages to turn what would normally be a grim ending into something clever and rather amusing. Then again, most of the film is quite amusing in numerous ways.
The funniest character is Pinback, and he's also the one with the most screen time. Although I thought the sequence with him and the beach ball alien ran on longer than necessary, the scenes were amusing. Watching him try to climb up the elevator shaft, as well as an extremely close call that almost costs him his head, is to witness an amazing feat of physical comedy. Just as worthy of a few chuckles is watching him go back through his video diary. We soon learn that these guys have been on their mission for so long that this poor fellow's name isn't even Pinback; it was something else once but for some reason now lost in the mists of time he assumed his current moniker. Fans of horror and science fiction movies recognize O'Bannon's name thanks to "Alien" and a few other films, but his performance in "Dark Star" shows that he possesses some fine acting chops. I also commend John Carpenter; he made his budget go a long ways in this film. While some of the set pieces look quite cheesy, most of what we see appears very convincing considering the era in which he made the movie. It's difficult to critique this movie without taking into consideration how successful Carpenter became later, but the movie looks great and just exudes a feeling that here is a guy who would go places. Well, he did.
The disc contains two versions of the film, an uncut one as well as a special edition print. A trailer for the movie, cast and crew biographies, and production notes round out the supplements. Carpenter went on to make a few other extremely low budget films, most notably "Assault on Precinct 13" and "Halloween," before studio executives woke up and realized he was a talent they could throw money at by the bucketful. Ultimately, I think Carpenter did his best work with lower budgets. Fans of the man will definitely want to check this disc out posthaste, and those interested in seeing what the creator of "Halloween" did before that film came out should see this as well. It's a great way to spend a couple of hours.
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