Star Trek: The Motion Picture: Is it, well, good?
07-27-19, 04:51 PM
#126
DVD Talk Limited Edition
07-27-19, 04:57 PM
#127
DVD Talk God
Re: Star Trek: The Motion Picture: Is it, well, good?
If they released Star Trek II, III, IV and VI on 4K UHD, I would get those.
But, TMP is a chore to watch. I already have it on BD in TOS box set and that's good enough for me.
But, TMP is a chore to watch. I already have it on BD in TOS box set and that's good enough for me.
07-27-19, 06:02 PM
#128
Moderator
Re: Star Trek: The Motion Picture: Is it, well, good?
I think when someone is old enough to appreciate sci-fi such as The Day The Earth Stood Still, Forbidden Planet, The Andromeda Strain, Soylent Green, Blade Runner, and (of course) 2001: A Space Odyssey, then they might like Star Trek: The Motion Picture too. Too young, though, and they'll just think these are all boring.
07-28-19, 05:14 AM
#129
Re: Star Trek: The Motion Picture: Is it, well, good?
Always liked TMP a lot. I still think it's the better of the franchise. The V'jar concept is something great and still up-to-date IMHO. Beautiflu Goldsmith (blaster beam!) score morevoer.
07-28-19, 06:14 AM
#130
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Star Trek: The Motion Picture: Is it, well, good?
I like all the Star Trek movies, including the new ones, but my all-time favorite remains Generations (Special Collector's Edition, if there's any difference between it and the theatrical version). I think my least favorites would be The Final Frontier and Nemesis, with Insurrection taking runner up, but I'm glad I have them all.
Last edited by kd5; 07-28-19 at 06:24 AM.
07-28-19, 08:03 AM
#131
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Star Trek: The Motion Picture: Is it, well, good?
obligatory list
II
First Contact
JJ's Star Trek
VI
IV
III
Star Trek Beyond
Generations
I
Star Trek Into Darkness
Nemesis
V
Insurrection
II
First Contact
JJ's Star Trek
VI
IV
III
Star Trek Beyond
Generations
I
Star Trek Into Darkness
Nemesis
V
Insurrection
07-28-19, 08:07 AM
#132
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Re: Star Trek: The Motion Picture: Is it, well, good?
TMP has good elements, but as other have said, the pacing is just awful. It moves so slowly as you wait for the next key plot point. Some things I’d probably cut:
The beginning has always bugged me. I think you could cut the portions with the Klingons out entirely. All you need for exposition is the briefing that they get from Starfleet. There’s something out there, we don’t know what it is, go find out!
Id also probably cut the Ilia/probe scenes where she’s being shown the Enterprise. I don’t think it adds anything, and I never got the connection that the touring is why Vger shorted the circuits at the end to make the “connection” with the creator.
You could probably cut smaller things too like Spock on Vulcan and the wormhole torpedo. I think the wormhole is meant to show Kirk’s not up on the systems, that doesn’t really come back round.
Id absolutely NOT cut the segment from spacedock to the Enterprise reveal. Yes it’s long, but it’s one of the best segments from all the Trek films. I’d buy 4K just for that!
The beginning has always bugged me. I think you could cut the portions with the Klingons out entirely. All you need for exposition is the briefing that they get from Starfleet. There’s something out there, we don’t know what it is, go find out!
Id also probably cut the Ilia/probe scenes where she’s being shown the Enterprise. I don’t think it adds anything, and I never got the connection that the touring is why Vger shorted the circuits at the end to make the “connection” with the creator.
You could probably cut smaller things too like Spock on Vulcan and the wormhole torpedo. I think the wormhole is meant to show Kirk’s not up on the systems, that doesn’t really come back round.
Id absolutely NOT cut the segment from spacedock to the Enterprise reveal. Yes it’s long, but it’s one of the best segments from all the Trek films. I’d buy 4K just for that!
07-28-19, 08:26 AM
#133
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Star Trek: The Motion Picture: Is it, well, good?
I'd like them see them edit it down by about 1/2 an hour, and CGI color adjust the drab uniforms to the red, yellow and blue.
absolutely keep the big Enterprise reveal scene...
oh and the failed transporter scene is grim as fuck, and still gives me a shivers to this day.
absolutely keep the big Enterprise reveal scene...
oh and the failed transporter scene is grim as fuck, and still gives me a shivers to this day.
07-28-19, 02:18 PM
#134
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: Star Trek: The Motion Picture: Is it, well, good?
Like a lot of people posting here, I used to hate on ST:TMP, especially after "The Wrath of Khan" was out, but a friend convinced me to give the movie another chance. His view was Spock's story arc is the most compelling thing in the movie and I should mainly focus on that. And he was right. Spock's story arc in ST:TMP is great and the best thing in the film.
Spock's arc is this: at the beginning, Spock is undergoing the Vulcan "Kolinahr" ritual in order to rid himself of all emotion and be purely logical. But he senses V'Ger and abruptly abandons the ritual just when he was about to "graduate" (or whatever Vulcans call completing it) and journeys out to meet V'Ger. When he then teams up with the Enterprise, Spock is completely cold and logical and doesn't even acknowledge how happy the crew is to see him again. Even Kirk is surprised by how distant Spock is to him and McCoy. Spock stays this way until he mind-melds with V'Ger. Doing that makes him see the futility of being purely logical without any emotion. This is because V'Ger is exactly what he intended to become via the Kolinahr ritual: all logic, no emotion. And due to being pure logic without emotion, V'Ger feels empty and is questioning "Is this all there is? Is there nothing more?"
After the mind-meld and thanks to V'Ger, Spock finally grasps that emotion is important and that logic alone without it would be a meaningless existence. Spock, who before this was always grappling with his more emotional human side in his wish to be more logical and hence more Vulcan, finally is at peace with who he is.
Anyway, I recommend watching the movie again (preferable either the "Director's Edition" or the "Special Longer Version" with certain crucial character scenes reinstated) and primarily pay attention to Spock. Like me, you may just like the movie more if you do.
Spock's arc is this: at the beginning, Spock is undergoing the Vulcan "Kolinahr" ritual in order to rid himself of all emotion and be purely logical. But he senses V'Ger and abruptly abandons the ritual just when he was about to "graduate" (or whatever Vulcans call completing it) and journeys out to meet V'Ger. When he then teams up with the Enterprise, Spock is completely cold and logical and doesn't even acknowledge how happy the crew is to see him again. Even Kirk is surprised by how distant Spock is to him and McCoy. Spock stays this way until he mind-melds with V'Ger. Doing that makes him see the futility of being purely logical without any emotion. This is because V'Ger is exactly what he intended to become via the Kolinahr ritual: all logic, no emotion. And due to being pure logic without emotion, V'Ger feels empty and is questioning "Is this all there is? Is there nothing more?"
Spoiler:
After the mind-meld and thanks to V'Ger, Spock finally grasps that emotion is important and that logic alone without it would be a meaningless existence. Spock, who before this was always grappling with his more emotional human side in his wish to be more logical and hence more Vulcan, finally is at peace with who he is.
Anyway, I recommend watching the movie again (preferable either the "Director's Edition" or the "Special Longer Version" with certain crucial character scenes reinstated) and primarily pay attention to Spock. Like me, you may just like the movie more if you do.
Last edited by dhmac; 04-19-22 at 06:15 PM. Reason: Added spoiler tag for video link
07-28-19, 04:56 PM
#135
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Star Trek: The Motion Picture: Is it, well, good?
Like a lot of people posting here, I used to hate on ST:TMP, especially after "The Wrath of Khan" was out, but a friend convinced me to give the movie another chance. His view was Spock's story arc is the most compelling thing in the movie and I should mainly focus on that. And he was right. Spock's story arc in ST:TMP is great and the best thing in the film.
Spock's arc is this: at the beginning, Spock is undergoing the Vulcan "Kolinahr" ritual in order to rid himself of all emotion and be purely logical. But he senses V'Ger and abruptly abandons the ritual just when he was about to "graduate" (or whatever Vulcans call completing it) and journeys out to meet V'Ger. When he then teams up with the Enterprise, Spock is completely cold and logical and doesn't even acknowledge how happy the crew is to see him again. Even Kirk is surprised by how distant Spock is to him and McCoy. Spock stays this way until he mind-melds with V'Ger. Doing that makes him see the futility of being purely logical without any emotion. This is because V'Ger is exactly what he intended to become via the Kolinahr ritual: all logic, no emotion. And due to being pure logic without emotion, V'Ger feels empty and is questioning "Is this all there is? Is there nothing more?"
This scene, post mind-meld, illustrates Spock's story arc in the film:
After the mind-meld and thanks to V'Ger, Spock finally grasps that emotion is important and that logic alone without it would be a meaningless existence. Spock, who before this was always grappling with his more emotional human side in his wish to be more logical and hence more Vulcan, finally is at peace with who he is.
Anyway, I recommend watching the movie again (preferable either the "Director's Edition" or the "Special Longer Version" with certain crucial character scenes reinstated) and primarily pay attention to Spock. Like me, you may just like the movie more if you do.
Spock's arc is this: at the beginning, Spock is undergoing the Vulcan "Kolinahr" ritual in order to rid himself of all emotion and be purely logical. But he senses V'Ger and abruptly abandons the ritual just when he was about to "graduate" (or whatever Vulcans call completing it) and journeys out to meet V'Ger. When he then teams up with the Enterprise, Spock is completely cold and logical and doesn't even acknowledge how happy the crew is to see him again. Even Kirk is surprised by how distant Spock is to him and McCoy. Spock stays this way until he mind-melds with V'Ger. Doing that makes him see the futility of being purely logical without any emotion. This is because V'Ger is exactly what he intended to become via the Kolinahr ritual: all logic, no emotion. And due to being pure logic without emotion, V'Ger feels empty and is questioning "Is this all there is? Is there nothing more?"
This scene, post mind-meld, illustrates Spock's story arc in the film:
After the mind-meld and thanks to V'Ger, Spock finally grasps that emotion is important and that logic alone without it would be a meaningless existence. Spock, who before this was always grappling with his more emotional human side in his wish to be more logical and hence more Vulcan, finally is at peace with who he is.
Anyway, I recommend watching the movie again (preferable either the "Director's Edition" or the "Special Longer Version" with certain crucial character scenes reinstated) and primarily pay attention to Spock. Like me, you may just like the movie more if you do.
When ones looks at it that way, it makes what he does in Wrath of Khan more pertinent.
07-28-19, 04:59 PM
#136
Moderator
Re: Star Trek: The Motion Picture: Is it, well, good?
As Spock would say, "Fascinating." I will consider this.
07-28-19, 05:37 PM
#137
Re: Star Trek: The Motion Picture: Is it, well, good?
I was fortunate enough to watch this on the big screen a few years ago. It makes a big difference and a lot of the scenes that some say are boring on home video take on a wondrous quality on the big screen. And that's what this film has in spades compared to all the other films put together--a sense of wonder. I'll take this over the three Kelvinverse movies (and twice on Sunday).
07-30-19, 04:40 AM
#138
07-30-19, 06:32 AM
#139
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Star Trek: The Motion Picture: Is it, well, good?
I wouldn't change a thing with TMP, wouldn't trade the sense of wonder I experienced the first time I saw it for anything.
07-30-19, 06:47 AM
#140
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Star Trek: The Motion Picture: Is it, well, good?
Star Trek: TMP has aged pretty well. It's still bloated, but it's more "Star Trek" than what we've been living with in Discovery and the Chris Pine films.
07-30-19, 08:57 AM
#141
Challenge Guru & Comic Nerd
Re: Star Trek: The Motion Picture: Is it, well, good?
I fell in love with TOS in the early 1970s on the near daily syndication repeats. Having little but it for almost a decade, made the spectacle of seeing Star Trek: The Motion Picture in the theater perhaps the highlight of my theater life to this day.
07-30-19, 12:02 PM
#142
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Star Trek: The Motion Picture: Is it, well, good?
Fathom Events is doing a 40th Anniversary screening of this. It's playing September 15th and 18th only. I might try and go but it'll depend if I have to work or not. Not sure if it's the director's edition or theatrical.
07-30-19, 01:31 PM
#143
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Star Trek: The Motion Picture: Is it, well, good?
The new FX for the director's edition were only rendered at 480p back in the day for the DVD release. There's a push to get them redone at 4K resolution and it seems to be gaining some steam. There's a Facebook group trying to get it done, if you look them up you can sign their petition.
Any theatrical screenings will be the theatrical cut since that's what they have a hidef transfer of (for the existing Blu).
Also of note, there's a version out there that's cut down to less than half an hour and has no dialog, only music from Tron: Legacy. It's worth a watch if you're into experimental editing and all that.
Any theatrical screenings will be the theatrical cut since that's what they have a hidef transfer of (for the existing Blu).
Also of note, there's a version out there that's cut down to less than half an hour and has no dialog, only music from Tron: Legacy. It's worth a watch if you're into experimental editing and all that.
07-31-19, 01:16 AM
#144
DVD Talk Hero
Re: Star Trek: The Motion Picture: Is it, well, good?
Reading up on this -- I'm gonna have to watch that Sam Elliot "I killed Bigfoot and Hitler" movie. I see that Douglas Trumbull executive produced and did the visual effects for the film. My interest has just peaked for the film since he did the fx for this first Star Trek film.
07-31-19, 05:19 AM
#145
Re: Star Trek: The Motion Picture: Is it, well, good?
As new movies and shows in the Star Trek franchise have gotten worse (IMO) with the J.J. Abrams movies and Star Trek Discovery, none of which have any sense of wonder and instead are mostly full of over-the-top action, my appreciation for ST:TMP has only grown.
And RedLetterMedia did a re:View of ST:TMP last year that I think is the best review video I've ever seen of the movie.
And RedLetterMedia did a re:View of ST:TMP last year that I think is the best review video I've ever seen of the movie.
I agree with this. Star Trek was always about discovery, not space battles. That RLM video is fantastic and I have watched it a number of times ("My vow of celibacy is on file." always cracks me up.) Funny what Mike says about seeing the original TV series as more horror than anything else, and I feel there is a lot of truth there. He also says something very interesting which is that in a time when Star Wars was so popular ST:TMP instead followed in the steps of the success of Close Encounters.
Whilst I enjoyed the first JJ Trek, Into Darkness was weak and Beyond was awful. The TV shows seem to look nice but sound they have also lost their way. Spectacle replaces wonder, and that's what Trek always was to me. The Motion Picture I think did this very well. It has aged pretty damn well in all these years.
Oh, and I would love the RLM guys to do videos for each movie in the series.
08-01-19, 11:34 AM
#146
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: Star Trek: The Motion Picture: Is it, well, good?
While I like the Special Longer Version, one short scene in it is notorious for having incomplete special effects: when Kirk is leaving the Enterprise in his spacesuit and all the soundstage scaffolding is clearly visible around him. This deleted scene looks so bad that I'm surprised that it even made the cut for the SLV.
But now with available editing tools, a fan fixed that scene so it looks good:
But now with available editing tools, a fan fixed that scene so it looks good:
Spoiler:
Last edited by dhmac; 04-19-22 at 06:19 PM. Reason: Added spoiler tag
08-01-19, 11:46 AM
#147
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Star Trek: The Motion Picture: Is it, well, good?
I agree with this. Star Trek was always about discovery, not space battles. That RLM video is fantastic and I have watched it a number of times ("My vow of celibacy is on file." always cracks me up.) Funny what Mike says about seeing the original TV series as more horror than anything else, and I feel there is a lot of truth there. He also says something very interesting which is that in a time when Star Wars was so popular ST:TMP instead followed in the steps of the success of Close Encounters.
Whilst I enjoyed the first JJ Trek, Into Darkness was weak and Beyond was awful. The TV shows seem to look nice but sound they have also lost their way. Spectacle replaces wonder, and that's what Trek always was to me. The Motion Picture I think did this very well. It has aged pretty damn well in all these years.
Oh, and I would love the RLM guys to do videos for each movie in the series.
Whilst I enjoyed the first JJ Trek, Into Darkness was weak and Beyond was awful. The TV shows seem to look nice but sound they have also lost their way. Spectacle replaces wonder, and that's what Trek always was to me. The Motion Picture I think did this very well. It has aged pretty damn well in all these years.
Oh, and I would love the RLM guys to do videos for each movie in the series.
04-14-22, 02:10 AM
#148
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Re: Star Trek: The Motion Picture: Is it, well, good?
The 4K director's cut dropped on Paramount+ on first contact day 4/5/22 but the really exciting thing (for me anyways) is it's coming back to theaters on 5/22 and 5/25. I've never seen this on the big screen and I've always wanted to see the awesome glory shot of the refit Enterprise on a big screen. Unfortunately my local theater is playing it on the smallest screen they have. But it should still be great experience.
https://www.fathomevents.com/events/...ate=2022-05-22
https://www.fathomevents.com/events/...ate=2022-05-22
04-14-22, 08:00 AM
#149
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Star Trek: The Motion Picture: Is it, well, good?
I saw ST:TMP in theaters in 1979. I was 8 years old and a huge Star Trek fan, but still a little kid. ST:TMP kind of bored me, but even then I was blown away by the sheer scope of the movie. It looked HUGE and CINEMATIC on screen compared to the Technicolor cardboardy sets of the TV show. Plus it was great to see all my favorite characters on the big screen.
I love the movie now. I mean, it's a total mess, and you can tell they were writing the script on the fly, and why is everyone running around in pajamas? But it's the only one of the Star Trek movies that really felt like a science fiction movie worthy of the cinema. The Director's Edition goes a long way in making the movie more interesting and visually exciting, but I think the overall film is worthwhile and notable.
I love the movie now. I mean, it's a total mess, and you can tell they were writing the script on the fly, and why is everyone running around in pajamas? But it's the only one of the Star Trek movies that really felt like a science fiction movie worthy of the cinema. The Director's Edition goes a long way in making the movie more interesting and visually exciting, but I think the overall film is worthwhile and notable.
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Kurt D (04-14-22)
04-14-22, 09:00 AM
#150
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Star Trek: The Motion Picture: Is it, well, good?
I watched the new version on Paramount+ last weekend and it's gotten even better since the 2001 director's version. The FX got the full 4K upgrade and there's some more dialog and pacing trims. This has always been a deliberately paced movie, but watching it this most recent time it actually felt like it had a good rhythm now.
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tanman (04-14-22)