Starman (1984)

In John Carpenter's romantic drama and tearjerking science fiction film, it told about a stranded Starman alien (who cloned himself into the likeness of a human body) in a race against time (with his hostage-turned-lover) to travel cross-country to Meteor Crater in Arizona, where fellow aliens in a mothership were scheduled to pick him up and take him back to his home planet.

After the box-office failure of director Carpenter's previous film The Thing (1982) - an amazing fact since it later became such a major cult favorite - he was chosen to helm this 'alien' picture that placed more of an emphasis on the love-story and its comedic "fish-out-of-water" tale than supernatural sci-fi elements, and with less emphasis on exploitative (and gory) special effects. Two taglines briefly described the film's premise:

"In 1977 Voyager II was launched into space, inviting all life forms in the universe to visit our planet. Get Ready. Company's Coming."

"He has traveled from a galaxy far beyond our own. He is 100,000 years ahead of us. He has powers we cannot comprehend. And he is about to face the one force in the universe he has yet to conquer. Love."

Columbia Pictures released the film, with Michael Douglas serving as its executive producer. The film received only one Academy Award nomination - Best Actor for Jeff Bridges' emotive role. [Note: It was the only film in Carpenter's career that received a nomination.] The film faced competition from two other sci-fi films released at the same time: director David Lynch's Dune (1984) and director Peter Hyams' 2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984)

On a huge budget of $22-24 million, the film performed weakly at the box-office, drawing in only $28.7 million (domestic) during its entire run. The film's screenplay - similar in some aspects to the fanciful friendly alien film E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) (from Universal) and to the old-fashioned road-movie and romantic comedy It Happened One Night (1934), was originally written by Bruce A. Evans and Raynold Gideon (and suffered years of rewrites by uncredited script-doctor Dean Riesner). It spawned a short-lived TV series from 1986-1987 starring Airplane!'s Robert Hays.

• the voice-over audio heard under the opening title credits (presented over a black starry sky) provided news commentary about Voyager II's launch from Cape Kennedy on August 20th in 1977: "Onboard the space probe are photographic images of Earth, verbal greetings and a medley of musical compositions. Voyager II is our invitation to other intelligent species in the universe. 'Please come and visit our planet Earth'"; the Secretary of the UN Kurt Waldheim also sent his personal audio greeting on a golden phonographic disc - a message of peace that invited alien civilizations to visit Earth
• as the Voyager II space probe - in the vacuum of space - flew past the camera (from left to right) and toward a huge reflective blue spherical planet with a ring around it composed of dots of blue light, the Stones' popular song: "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" - released in 1964 - was improbably heard [Note: In actual fact, Chuck Berry's song "Johnny B. Goode" was on board]; a video screen beneath Voyager II opened up, and the phrase: "Hello from the children of planet Earth" was heard in 54 multiple languages, accompanied by images depicting Earthly life

Voyager II Was Launched into Space Toward a Blue Spherical Planet - With Audio and Video Greetings

• in response, a small alien-scout "observation" spacecraft (shaped like a flat and pointed arrowhead with a round bubble on top) was launched from the spherical blue planet toward Earth; it was responding to the invitation of the Voyager II's probe to establish contact
• in her Wisconsin home late at night, recently-widowed and grieving Jenny Hayden (Karen Allen) was alone, drinking red wine and watching a projected home movie of her dead painter-husband Scott (Best Actor Oscar-nominated Jeff Bridges), as he strummed on a guitar and together they sang the Everly Brothers' 1958 hit "All I Have to Do is Dream"; the sad Jenny told herself: "Don't do this to yourself, Jenny. Go to sleep"

NSA Director George Fox (Richard Jaeckel)

Two Jet Fighters Targeted the Alien Spacecraft with Missiles

SETI Scientist Mark Shermin (Charles Martin Smith)

• as the alien 'observational' spacecraft entered the Earth's atmosphere, it was being monitored by NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) radar in Colorado Springs, CO; NSA Director George Fox (Richard Jaeckel), who was attending a formal function in Washington, DC, was notified; two F-20 fighter jets were dispatched to target the incoming, non-Soviet enemy vessel; they were given permission to launch missiles and shoot it down; it was estimated that the "point of impact" (crash site) would be in Northern Wisconsin near Chequamegon Bay; Fox's Assistant (David Wells) was ordered to contact SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Project) scientist Mark Shermin (Charles Martin Smith), a Cornell University graduate (wearing his orange college sweatshirt)
• the slobbish, single-male Shermin was introduced stuffing his face with food in his living room while watching the 1978 NBA Eastern Conference Basketball Finals on television (between the Washington Bullets and Philadelphia 76'ers in the Spectrum Arena in Philadelphia), when he received a phone call from NORAD headquarters; he was astonished to learn about a targeted, shot-down spacecraft crashing near Chequamegon Bay in Wisconsin; at the impact site, a large explosion erupted near Jenny's home and caused a raging forest fire
• a blindingly bright white orb (an oval-shaped, glowing ball of energy representing the alien visitor) floated over the crash site and then flew over to Jenny's nearby home; from its POV, it surveyed the exterior of the house and in the living room, it opened up a PHOTOGRAPHS album with pictures of Scott Hayden taken at various stages of his life; it dove down into one photo of Scott, and then after finding a preserved lock of hair on another page, it altered its appearance by creating a cloned duplicate or likeness of Jenny's deceased husband [Note: The growth sequence used a combination of animatronics and morphing animation]

Jenny's Photographs Album With Pictures of Her Deceased Husband Scott Hayden

The Orb Located A Preserved Lock of Her Late Husband Scott's Hair (with DNA)

Her View of Her Bluish-Glowing Living Room

• Jenny was stirred from her wine-induced slumber in her bedroom, due to strange gurgling noises and a bluish glow in her living room; she emerged with only a sweater and panties, and was terrified to discover a naked baby on the floor; she watched as it rapidly developed and grew into a child and then morphed into an adult; she saw it toss onto the floor seven, marble-sized silver spheres; to defend herself, she held her Colt Mark IV gun on the naked figure and intruder, but when it turned toward her and revealed itself as an exact, full-sized replica of Scott, she dropped the gun and blurted out in amazement: "Scott?" - but then realized in shock: "You're not Scott!"; the Starman innocently picked up the gun, held it gingerly, and repeated her name for him: ("Scott")
• then, he spoke to her by mimicking the basic greetings (in different languages) that he had learned from the recorded disc on the Voyager II (including the UN Secretary's invitation), and robotically spoke in rudimentary English to her; she was so frightened that she began reciting the Lord's Prayer before fainting onto the floor; he continued to examine the room, viewed himself in a mirror, turned on the projector and began to imitate (and learn) Scott's movements and facial expressions from the movie; he watched Jenny driving a vehicle, Scott firing at cans in his backyard (that taught him how to shoot the weapon), and the words of Jenny assuring and feeding a frightened raccoon: ("I mean you no harm"); he also listened as military helicopters flew overhead to the crash site

The Alien's Seven Spheres - One Was Used to Communicate With His Mothership

The Alien's Transmission of a Message About a Rendezvous in Three Days at a Landing Area

Jenny Watching the Alien Starman Outside

• outside with the seven spheres, the Starman used one of his seven energized spheres (that glowed a bright bluish white, similar to his original alien form) to transmit a distress message (subtitled) to his 'mothership' about being picked up in three days at a specified landing spot: "OBSERVATION CRAFT DESTROYED. ENVIRONMENT HOSTILE. COMPLETED SYMBIOTIC TRANSFORMATION. RENDEZVOUS THIRD DAY LANDING AREA ONE"
• meanwhile, Jenny revived consciousness and mumbled to herself: "Oh, boy, what a weird dream," but then saw the Starman outside with his hair standing straight up, as his second sphere levitated from his hand; she attempted to flee from the back door to her car, after hurriedly putting on her boots before her jeans; she screamed when he suddenly appeared behind her and bluntly demanded: "We go..."; in her orange and black 1977 Ford Mustang Cobra II after he touched the ignition key, the car started and they drove off (both had clothed themselves off-screen - he was wearing Scott's familiar red and black checked flannel shirt); with the second of his spheres, he miraculously pulled up a holographic map with red outlines of the US states reflected onto their faces, and directed her with a robotic voice: "Want to be driven. Arizona, maybe"
• as they drove from screen-right to screen-left, an ARMY helicopter commanded by black Sgt. Lemon (Tony Edwards) flew in the opposite direction to the devastated, blackened crash site about ten minutes away; on board was SETI worker Mark Shermin, who admitted after landing to Hazmat-suited Major Bell (Robert Phalen) that he was working as a consultant for NSA (not very "attached" but "on loan"); at the site, Shermin was told that there was "no radioactivity, no readings on bacteria"; Shermin theorized that the crash object was not a meteorite, since it changed course twice and slowed down, making NORAD suspicious and thus ordering missiles to be fired at it; after drilling into the damaged spacecraft to take a "core sample," it was determined that it was just a hollow sphere

SETI Consultant Shermin at the Crash Site with Major Bell (Robert Phalen)

While Taking a "Core Sample" - The Spacecraft Was Determined to be Hollow

• while listening to their car radio, WDLU - a Madison, WI station at 6 AM reported that it was a meteor that flashed through the sky: "It wasn't the end of the world, and it wasn't a burning airliner. No, sir. According to the AP wire, one of the biggest meteorites to strike the planet Earth in 80 years...hit last night near Ashland, not far from Chequamegon Bay"; after hearing the report, Jenny suspected that the Starman was a "Martian" and began demanding answers: ("What do you want here? What are you doing? What do you want with me? Where are you taking me? Why do you look so much like Scott?"); the Starman could only respond with a repetition of another recording on Voyager II ("I can't get no satisfaction")
• exasperated by his cryptic responses, she deliberately swerved her car into an oncoming 1973 Chevy van, and yelled for help at the startled driver - carpenter Brad Heinmuller (John Walter Davis) - that she was a kidnap victim; as Brad approached to defend her and attack the alien with a large tire iron, for the third time, the Starman used another of his spheres to melt the weapon into molten steel and cause a tree to explode, frightening the man away; Jenny was astonished and asked: "How'd you do that? Those little gray jobs?"; shortly later, she nervously noticed her gun sitting on his lap and told him it made her "a little bit jumpy"; he attempted to allay her fears about the gun by wearing Scott's red cap: "I look like Scott, so you do not be little bit jumpy"
• the burnt and hollow spaceship was airlifted from the crash site to airfield-warehouse in Madison, WI for further examination; Shermin had instructed Sgt. Lemon to monitor police calls and transmissions, and he reported a recent incident in Ashland, WI regarding a driver named Heinmuller, who had a weird encounter with a suspected kidnapper and his victim: ("The kidnapper yelled 'Greetings' and melted his lug wrench"); the car's plates (Papa-XRay-Victor-237) were being run through the DMV to determine its owner
• Shermin was summoned to the spacecraft in the warehouse, and entered the round and hollow space-vehicle, where he found the Voyager II's golden phonograph disc: ("A sort of an invitation, Major"); he reminded Major Bell: "You remember that package we sent up with the Voyager probe? There was a gold, anodized disk with greetings from Earth in 54 different languages...complete with a nice, little speech from Kurt Waldheim: 'To whom it may concern. Come and see us sometime' ")
• Jenny made a 2nd attempt to escape by stopping at an AMOCO gas station for fuel-energy, and insisting that she had to use the rest-room; after he followed her, she instructed him on the two different areas: ("Women. Me. Men. You. Understand?"); he had a hilarous encounter with a trucker (Mickey Jones) in the mens' room, and learned from the ticked-off guy how to flip the middle finger and what to say: ("Up yours!");
• during the stop, she left a "KIDNAPPED-HELP" note (with the car description, location and license plate) on the ladies' room mirror, and although the Starman barged in and didn't appear to notice it, he later asked her in the car: "What is Kid-nap-ped?" and pulled out the crumpled note; she came to a dead stop, and complained how he had taken her from her home, and seemed like he was threatening to shoot her ("If you're gonna shoot me, go ahead, 'cause I'd rather be shot than go on being scared to death"); he pointed the gun at her head, but then released the ammo clip, and rassured her: "I mean you no harm, Jenny Hayden" - quoting her words from the home movie
• while Jenny napped, Starman took over the driving, and after hearing Sinatra's rendition of "New York, New York" on the radio, he imitated "Ole Blue Eyes"; Jenny asked if he was "hungry" like she was feeling ("Empty here. Like a car needs gas"), and he answered: "Yes. This body has a terrible emptiness. This is called 'hungry'?"; he then imitated Jenny gunning through a "yellow light" turning "red" - causing minor car crashes at an intersection with a truck carrying straw bales; he explained how he had learned from her: "Red light stop, green light go, yellow light go very fast"
• after reading Shermin's full report, NSA Director Fox spoke to the researchers in the warehouse about the incredulity of the alien assuming the identity of Jenny's confirmed-dead husband Scott and kidnapping her; in response, Sherman and another white-coated Scientist (Russ Benning) in a wheelchair theorized about the possibility of "cloning" - that Jenny's kidnapper was a living being that had been cloned by the alien via hair (of Jenny's dead husband) found in her home; according to the scientist and Shermin, the alien was using an advanced technological "replication" process that was "100,000 years ahead of us"; Shermin also hypothesized that the alien's knowledge of rudimentary English was derived from the Voyager II gold disc, evidenced by the kidnapper's use of the word "Greetings" when he spoke to Heinmuller out on the road; Fox doubted Shermin: "It is also what the cannibal said to the missionary just before he ate him," but Shermin debated back and asked for clarification about who was the greater threat or danger - the aliens or Earthlings: "The question in this case is, who is the missionary and who are the cannibals?"

Shermin's and Another Scientist's Explanation to NSA Director Fox that Jenny's Kidnapper was the Alien Cloned as Her Dead Husband

Voyager II's Gold Phonographic Disc with "Greetings" for the Aliens

Shermin Describing How the Disc Was Created to Help Aliens Learn Rudimentary English

• as they continued their road trip westward to Arizona, the Starman explained that if he didn't reach Arizona's rendezvous point by 12 noon in three days (based upon the sun's transit), he would miss his space ride ("They will go") and he would expire with his very limited life-span as a cloned creature
• at Bowdarks Bus Stop and Restaurant where FINA Gas was 99 cents per gallon, a deer hunter (Ted White) had parked with a dead deer strapped to his car hood; the Starman asked Jenny "Why?", and she simply responded: "People hunt them to eat for food"; the alien asked pointedly: "Do deer eat people?...Do people eat people?"; he criticized her primitive race: "I think you are a very primitive species"; the hunter interrupted by asking: "What are you, softhearted? You cry when you saw Bambi?"; Jenny called the hunter a "bozo" - further confusing the Starman
• at one of the booths inside the restaurant, Jenny discussed their route to Arizona on a paper map, but the Starman was still upset about the deer; he specified that he had to meet his "friends" at Barringer Crater (or Meteor Crater) 20 miles west of Winslow, Arizona; she planned to leave the Starman to travel on his own by giving him her credit cards (for gas or food); she rationalized: "The way you drive, traveling with you could be detrimental to the health"
• after the Starman became curious by seeing a honeymoon picture of Jenny with her late husband Scott two years earlier, she was compelled to describe to him what she meant by getting married and falling in love: ("Love is -- it's when you care more for someone else than you do for yourself. But it's not just that. It's when someone is a part of you"); and then she admitted to him, haltingly: "Scott is dead. He was killed in an accident. When someone you love dies..."; she broke down and said: "Oh, s--t"; he leaned forward and inquisitively and naively asked: "Define s--t"
• they were interrupted during their 4-letter expletive word-lesson by the friendly waitress (Lu Leonard) who brought their food and gave her opinion of his learning of English: "He's got a hell of a start on it"; the Starman had ordered deviled egg on white toast with fries, and Jenny had a Super Burger and fries, while both were also served chocolate malts and Dutch apple pie with whipped cream; Jenny instructed him to eat with a fork, and not to eat his dessert first; the Starman was ecstatic about the dessert and repeated the waitress' earlier recommendation: "It's terrific!"

The Starman Mimicked the Waitress' Recommendation about the Dutch Apple Pie Dessert in the Restaurant: "It's terrific!"

• Jenny overheard a driver announcing a Trans-Continental bus departure soon leaving for its final destination of Chicago; in the back of the restaurant, Jenny gave their friendly waitress a map, her car keys, and her credit cards to give to her companion as she attempted to abandon him; then, Jenny noticed the Starman in the parking lot where he miraculously resurrected and healed the dead deer with his 4th sphere, and she was deeply moved; the deer's resuscitation and flight angered the hunter and his three buddies who proceeded to beat up the Starman; Jenny intervened by firing the gun and helping him to the car, where she had a change of heart and gave up her plan to leave him ( the waitress returned her things); Jenny drove them off in her car by cleverly maneuvering in front of the departing Express bus; two cops (Dirk Blocker and M.C. Gainey) heard a radio bulletin about the '77 Mustang with Wisconsin plates, and spotted the vehicle [Note: Their police car door revealed they were from the Mansfield (OH) City Police Dept - highly unlikely given the geography of the film]
• in the next scene at the restaurant, Shermin and other federal agents questioned the waitress and the hunter (and his buddies) and were baffled that the victimized Jenny remained with her kidnapper: ("She had every chance in the world to get away from him, but they left together with her driving. Does that sound like any kind of kidnapping you ever heard of?")
• bonding between the two increased during their drive as Jenny described how she first met Scott and how their honeymoon two years earlier was so "beautiful"; they were pursued by the two cops to a Holiday Inn, but the officers were ordered to not approach them, but to keep them under surveillance ("Wait for the Feds!"); Jenny absent-mindedly began undressing for a hot bath in front of him, but caught herself ("What am I doing?"); as she slept, the intrigued Starman watched TV - and viewed the classic Hawaii beach love-scene from From Here to Eternity (1954) between Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr; he imitated their romantic kissing scene by attempting to kiss Jenny while she was sleeping
• they were interrupted by knocking on their door - one of the other guests, a college student Letterman (David Daniell) (who supported the NC Tarheels), warned that the cops were attempting to jimmy the lock and break into their parked car out front; he and another Letterman (Randy Tutton) pushed a Coke vending machine down a flight of stairs as a way to distract the cops and allow them to escape
• during a police-chase and pursuit, with the Starman wilding waving Jenny's gun, Jenny was shot and critically wounded; to escape, the Starman - using his 5th sphere to protectively shield them from harm - drove the Mustang through a roadblock and deliberately crashed into a gas tanker-truck that exploded; he then carried their blue-glowing bodies away from the flaming blast; Shermin's subsequent investigation of the wreckage found no bodies, so it was presumed that the two were alive and still headed westward; he alerted the Army to set up further roadblocks
• the two 'fugitives' hid out in a pre-fab Fleetwood mobile home being transported or towed on a WIDE-LOAD tractor-trailer, where the Starman continued to attempt to revive Jenny, using an additional sphere (his 6th); unexpectedly, he then left her (assuming that she was safe) after kissing her goodbye; when she regained consciousness, she realized that he was missing, and the mobile home was parked at a truck stop

In the Pre-Fab Mobile Home, the Starman Used His 6th Sphere to Revive the Wounded Jenny Before Kissing Her and Leaving Her - Assuming That She Was Safe

• wearing his leather jacket, she entered the truck stop, where the helpful waitress (Betty Bunch) told her that a person with a handsome male with a red-plaid shirt had hitched a ride a half-hour earlier in a 1950 Chevrolet Styleline Special with the truck stop's friendly and talkative night-shift fry cook (George 'Buck' Flower); during a phone call with Shermin from the truck stop, he tried asking Jenny if she knew who or what had kidnapped her; she denied that she was a kidnapping victim: ("There's been a mistake. There hasn't been a kidnapping"), and she assured him: "He doesn't want to hurt anybody. Really, can't you just leave him alone?"
• Jenny quickly hitched a ride westward in a customized black 1932 Ford V8 Roadster convertible with its Hotrodder driver (Sean Faro/Stanek) with Colorado plates; both of their vehicles were stopped at a military roadblock, and both Jenny and the Starman exited their cars; when Jenny saw the Starman in a line-up about to be questioned, the Hotrodder helped to create a diversion for her by blowing up a Molotov gas can and then speeding off; in the confusion, Jenny grabbed the Starman and they both jumped into the back of a light-blue, 1964 Ford F-100 pickup carrying a family of migrant Mexican workers (Braceros), and sat next to a Bracero Wife (Pat Lee) with her baby
• while on State Route 340 west of Grand Junction, CO, they soon passed through the picturesque sandstone formations of the Colorado National Monument (actually Monument Valley, AZ), on their road-trip westward to Interstate I-70 through Utah before heading south into Arizona; Jenny explained her upset that he left without saying "Goodbye" to her - and she told him about the custom of kissing someone: ("It's how you tell somebody that you miss them, that you wish them well, that you hope..."); when asked about babies, Jenny told him how she was infertile: ("No babies...Scott and I wanted to have a baby. It just turned out I couldn't")
• after driving through a rainstorm and getting soaked in the open pickup, the two were dropped off at a trainyard and sought shelter in a box-car on a freight train bound for Las Vegas; they both stripped off their clothes to avoid catching pneumonia, and then made love; afterwards, the Starman told Jenny: "I think I am becoming a planet Earth person," but then confirmed that he had to leave her: ("I must go back"); he told her that he had impregnated her ("I gave you a baby tonight"), but Jenny was understandably skeptical and disbelieving: "No, that's impossible, I can't have a child"
• he continued, describing how the child would be human, but would possess all of the Starman's knowledge: "Believe what I tell you. A boy baby. He will be human. A baby of your husband, but also he will be my baby. He will know everything I know, and when he grows to manhood, he will be a teacher"; Jenny was given the option to terminate the pregnancy: ("If you do not want this baby, tell me now, I will stop it"), but she refused his option and delivered her answer with an embrace and kiss; to later show her unborn child where his father came from, he pointed to his home star low in the night sky

Starman to Jenny After Making Love: "I gave you a baby tonight"

Jenny Refusing the Option to Stop the Pregnancy with an Embrace and Kiss

Looking into the Night Sky at the Starman's Home Star

• meanwhile, the military had moved their search operations westward; Shermin was briefed about how the spacecraft's original trajectory was toward someplace in Arizona, and that they could anticipate that the alien visitor would return there: ("The visitor is on his way here to make a rendezvous"); Shermin was distressed after realizing that NSA Director Fox, with plans to capture the alien (dead or alive), had set up a makeshift, emergency autopsy room with restraining leather straps; he sarcastically voiced the Voyager II's invitation: "Welcome to planet Earth!"
• the couple found that the freight train had taken them, not to Winslow, AZ, but to Las Vegas, NV - 300 miles NW beyond their destination; they had only until noon the next day to get him to his rendezvous point; she reassured him, but then realized that she had lost her wallet; she was utterly distressed: ("No credit card, no money, no car. No car, we're never gonna get there on time"); inside one of the casinos, the Starman used his miraculous superpowers and Jenny's last quarter to win big at two slot machines, including a giant Binion's Horseshoe Casino jackpot of $500,000 dollars; and they drove off in a brand-new 1984 Cadillac Eldorado toward the crater near Winslow, AZ
• Shermin criticized Fox's ultimate, heavy-handed goal to capture the alien (on a "combat mission" with "live ammo") and conduct research in an autopsy room; he mentioned how hypocritical it was, given the fact that the Voyager II had invited the alien to make contact: ("What the hell ever happened to good manners? We invited him here!"); Fox threatened Shermin with being fired and sent back to be an instructor at his alma mater Cornell at a lower salary if he didn't "shape up"; a report came in that the alien and Jenny had been sighted in Las Vegas; Shermin was ordered to immediately get to the command post set up in Winslow, AZ
• on their drive to the rendezvous-point, the Starman described to Jenny what life on his planet was like: "It is beautiful. Not like this, but it is beautiful. There is only one language, one law, one people. There is no war, no hunger. The strong do not victimize the helpless. We are very civilized, but we have lost something, I think. You are all so much alive, all so different. I will miss the cooks and the singing and the dancing, and the eating, and the other things"
• in the Meteor City Trading Post (Indian Country), a combination store and diner/restaurant very near to the crater where they stopped for "cherry cobbler," the two found themselves confronted by a State Trooper (Robert Stein) who identified their Cadillac parked outside; they were soon surrounded by federal authorities
• Shermin arrived and flashed his SETI credentials (both outside and inside the store) to be able to privately speak to Jenny and the slowly-dying Starman before Fox arrived; Shermin asked why the alien had come there to the crater; he listened to the Starman's eloquent speech about the human race - described as both combative and "savage," but also exceptional under difficult circumstances: ("We are interested in your species...You are a strange species, not like any other, and you would be surprised how many there are. Intelligent but savage. Shall I tell you what I find beautiful about you? You are at your very best when things are worst")

Store-Diner/Restaurant Scene: Slowly-Dying Starman's Eloquent Speech to SETI Scientist Shermin About the Human Race

• after being moved by the speech, Jenny begged Shermin to let the alien go home, since he was dying: ("Let him go, Mr. Shermin, please. If he stays here, he'll die. Can't you see he's dying now?"); Shermin agreed to help - the grateful Jenny gave a 'thank-you' kiss to Shermin - imitated by the Starman; the State Trooper was told that the couple were the "wrong ones" ("The guy we're lookin' for is a lot older") - as they were allowed to drive away toward the crater; Shermin had determined it was best to have the Starman freed and released rather than having him captured, studied and vivisected by the Army

Jenny's Thank-You Kiss to Shermin

Starman's Imitative Kiss to Shermin

• moments later, Fox arrived by helicopter at the store and threatened Shermin that his career would be ruined: ("Shermin, you are finished. I will have you eviscerated for this"); Shermin blew cigar smoke into Fox's face: ("Well, as much as I hate to stoop to symbolism")
• the duo drove to Meteor Crater, parked and then began to scramble down the steep and rocky sides of the crater, to get to the middle of its bottom; they were horrified to see that NSA director Fox had pursued them with a squadron of Army military helicopters that were ordered to attack, and were warning them that they would be fired upon; everyone watched at the rendezvous point as the two was met by an alien search party in a giant, mirrored spherical craft; it was viewed in the sky before it settled above Arizona's Barringer Crater (or Meteor Crater)

The Giant Alien Spacecraft at the Rendezvous Point Inside the Crater

• as snow fell down on them, the dying Starman was rejuvenated by a red light emanating from the sphere; he bid farewell to Jenny and told her again: "I must go"; Jenny hugged him and begged to go with him from Earth: ("Take me with you"), but it was not permitted, since he knew she would die on his planet: ("I cannot...You will die there"); he requested a 'human' goodbye that she had taught him: ("Now, tell me again how to say goodbye"), and she gave him a simple reply: ("Kiss me and tell me you love me"); he told her: "I love you" and kissed her; she was saddened: ("I'm never gonna see you again, am I?"); they kissed again; he requested: ("Tell the baby about me"), and gifted her with his 7th and last small silver sphere: (Jenny: "What should I do with this?" Starman: "The baby will know"); his last words to her were: "Good-bye, Jenny Hayden"

Starman's Final Wave and Farewell to Jenny Before Walking Into the Projected Red Light

Jenny Watching the Starman's Departure - The Film's Closing Image Before a Fade to Black

• the final lingering, tearjerking close-up shot was of Jenny's face as she watched the healed Starman walk away, wave goodbye, step into the projected red light, and then rise up into space - departing on his starship to return home, to the sounds of Jack Nitzsche's swelling score; the film ended with a fade to black on her majestic face followed by the scrolling end credits (white letters on a black background)