machetemassacre I wouldn't consider myself a rabid fan of Gigers work, I don't have anything besides the Alien movies and a poster packed away somewhere to show my love of Giger. That being said you can't deny the genius that is Giger and this documentary had everything I could hope to see from the man and his small crew of loyal followers. In Dark Star the filmmakers give us more than just a peek at Gigers expansive often discussed home. Giger is a gentle man, a quiet and humble eccentric who puts you through a range of emotions in his amazing yet sometimes tragic life. Everything Giger owns and has surrounded himself with has his biomechanical signature on it. I'm very happy Dark star was completed while Giger was still alive I don't think anything can beat seeing his life through his eyes. Absolutely fascinating from start to finish, get lost in the disorienting Nightmare Labyrinth of this genius.

MrGKB ...of the surrealism of its subject's artistic output and the rather unassuming, almost prosaic, nature of the autumnal man he became. The brief glimpses we get of Swiss artiste H. R. "Alien" Giger's younger, active self are, indeed, almost a surreal contrast to the somehow fragile elder we see poking about his home throughout most of this somewhat melancholic bio-documentary. Giger proves to be a polar opposite to expectations: congenial and unassuming (though much subdued by failing health--he died shortly after filming wrapped), not at all moody or dark as we might imagine. It might have been nice if writer/director Belinda Salin had explored Giger's younger days in more depth (the loss of his first love, Swiss actress/model Li Tobler, was undoubtedly a major influence), but the tale she spins still fascinates, ably abetted by the precise editing of Birgit Munsch and evocative image-crafting of cinematographer Eric Stitzel, with Peter "More Than Honey" Scherer's music providing suitably somber counterpoint as needed. Very much worth a watch by Giger fans, despite its biographical sketchiness, as well as students of the documentary form. This one goes into the plus column of my local library system video buyer's reputation.

gavin6942 He feels at home in places we would flee from and lives his life among the very things we fear. Throughout his life, H. R. Giger had inhabited the world of the uncanny, a dark universe on the brink of many an abyss.Most of us know Giger from "Alien" if we know him at all. His work is very recognizable and has been emulated by many artists over the last thirty years or so. But we may not know much about him beyond his aliens. What of his personal life or other work? This film digs into that and we see just what sort of person he is (or was). People may even be surprised to find that Giger was European. This was no secret, but perhaps not common knowledge. We also learn how he got his start, really relying on posters to get his work in font of audiences. Not your typical method.

jdesando Just what you might have expected: HR Giger's home is a museum of the macabre. The celebrated creator of the Alien monster and a painter, sculptor, and architect as well, Giger inhabits a world of gargoyles and monsters, straight from his imagination to us. Dark Star: H R Giger's World is an intriguing documentary sometimes as weird and inscrutable as his mind. It certainly doesn't burden the audience with analysis.As director Belinda Sallin tracks us through the baroque museum that is his Zurich house, we see a phantasmagoria of monsters from Egyptian-monarch-looking portraits to old skulls, one of which he dragged around by string when a young boy. While the camera passes his Oscar on a shelf, the spare narration overall gives no nod to this achievement (Oscar for best visual effects for Ridley Scott's Alien), typical of the documentary's minimalist approach.Appearances by his collaborators like Gabriel Fischer, a metal musician, sometimes refer to the artist's kindness, and they occasionally give insight into the psycho-sexual, violent undertow of his startling images. The now humble man appears as if in the aftermath of a stroke, moving and speaking slowly and deliberately, but always kindly as he autographs body parts and throws off a sly smile or two.Perhaps the purpose of limiting explanation about his work is to let the array of deeply symbolic creations out of his subconscious speak for themselves, almost defying analysis. Although Freud would have a holiday assessing Giger's innermost demons, Giger's expressionism remains delightful impressionism for viewers.