Starman

After the disappointing box office returns from his horror classics The Thing and Christine, John Carpenter departed from his usual style with Starman as a way to ensure his bankability in Hollywood, and created something emotionally moving and visually accomplished. Shot throughout the American West, this sad-toned sci-fi love story tells the story of an alien (Jeff Bridges) who takes the form of the deceased husband of a young Wisconsinite (Karen Allen), whom he forces to take him to Arizona. All the while, government agents chase them. Starman is alternately a warm romance and a melancholic ghost story with the breezy pacing of a road movie, and earned Bridges a Best Actor Oscar nomination. Screening from an original release 70mm blow-up print!

“Quite a pleasure to screen a Carpenter in 70mm, from his big studio period. Starman not only gave us our opening credits but also something that I personally carry with me in ways I can’t help. The man is for me as influential as Hitchcock, Scorsese, Verhoeven, and Leone. We even play ‘Night,’ one of his amazing music tracks, in a key sequence. I love John Carpenter.” —Kleber Mendonça Filho