Now watching, Star Trek, The Motion Picture Blu Ray

Good movie. I saw it at the theatre when it came out. We all wanted to see Star Trek again since we were fans of the TV show.

 

Is Star Trek The Motion Picture a slowly paced movie?: Yes it is. Is it on the groove on the groove of fantasy/action/adventure of Star Wars?: No, it wasn't.
I think of Star Trek The Motion Picture as a film on the the same groove (well, kind of) of 2001 but with the name Star Trek on it. I think that is why is so misunderstood.
Star Trek 2: The Wrath Of Khan is an adventure/action/Sci-Fy generical movie, it just hapenned to bear the name Star Trek on it, but it has nothing special. The usual Star Trek cast performs, well, the usual Star Trek roles, starting with Shatner which I consider a so so actor. Ricardo Montalban which I consider those fake muscles (in my opinion) are laughable, as well as the rest of his role. Script is not bad, it made, with the resources available, an entertaining movie, but nothing more.

 

I've written about my affection for STTMP before. I still contend that it has many things going for it:

1. A story more "epic" than any of the following films. The only ST movie that really focusses on exploring strange new alien life-forms.
1. The BEST musical score of any of the Star Trek films.
2. Gorgeous special effects, created without any sort of CG at all.
3. Unique production design (uniforms, bridge controls, weapons, etc.). This sets the first film apart from every other Star Trek movie or TV series.
4. The original cast before they got too old.
5. The prettiest Enterprise model, and the best warp-drive effect they ever came up with for it.

STTMP is important for Spock's development because it's here where he learns to embrace his human side. He never again seemed to be at war with himself in any future Trek film. Spock's encounter with V'ger really mellowed him out.

The first Trek movie is also were we hear the Klingon and Vulcan languages being spoken for the first time.

I've definitely seen STTMP more than any of the others because I enjoy its slower pace, the wonderful Jerry Goldsmith score, and its unique take on the Star Trek universe.

 

I pretty much agree with everything on your list. I'll also add:

6. Introduction of the iconic Klingon appearance/makeup used for everything Star Trek from that point on

And I'll augment #5: BEST ENTERPRISE DESIGN, EVER.

 

There was an enormous amount of build-up for the film before it came out. People forget, but there was little on the Star Trek front in the late 70s. We had the rarely published Gold Key comic series and the Ballantine novel series that published a handful of books. I probably re-read the Alan Deal Foster Star Trek Log books, which were adaptions of the animated series, and the James Blish adaptions of the TV episodes a dozen times, each. I still remember when Starlog published photos of the Enterprise and how it was to look in the new movie. You couldn't have kept me away from the theater. It's been 35 years, but I'm pretty sure I saw it opening weekend.

In retrospect, I still enjoy the movie and love the long, drawn out effects sequences and slow plot. I think the biggest problem is the dated costumes. I hope the next movie in the reboot series has some element of exploration in it.

 

I imagine it would be like The Beatles reuniting in 1979 and performing the 20 minute long version of Helter Skelter.

Amazing to have them back on the big stage, but a setlist that leaves one wanting.

 

As big of a deal that it was to me at the time, I'm surprised I have absolutely no memory of seeing this in the theater when it came out. Instead, all of my 1979 movie memories are of The Black Hole, Alien, Prophecy, and Dawn of the Dead

 

I'm pretty sure I saw the movie prior to actually seeing the original series, I was 9 years old when the movie came out and my Star Trek knowledge was confined to the animated TV series. I loved the movie so much I did start watching reruns of the original show afterward.

 

More like the Beatles reuniting and playing "Revolution 9"...

 

That's Star Trek V: The Final Frontier.

 

I like "Final Frontier"!

My defense of it, if you're interested:

http://www.dvdmg.com/startrek5br.shtml

 

which version of Star Trek the Motion Picture do you like better Theatrical or Directors Cut?

 

Well....I guess the Director's Cut, though I'd really like them to redo those FX again with a better budget and in HD this time.

 

I'm OK with the DC as it is...the BR does not contain the DC correct?

 

Correct, because the redone FX were not completed in HD thus could not be used for a blu-ray release. Thus my wanting them to do it again.

 

OK, gotcha i do not own the BR...

 

Was that the one where Scottie says 'I know this ship like the back of my hand' and gets boinked in the head by a low hanging beam? I liked it too...

 

Yeah, that's the one. The Scotty scene is stupid, and the film is certainly flawed, but I think its positives outweigh its negatives...

 

I agree. I think of it as the Season 3 of the movie franchise, if that makes any sense.

 

And it's interesting that when given the chance to restore the film to his original intention, he made a new cut that, whilst significantly tightening things up, actually ran four minutes longer than the theatrical... and a much better version too, as it happens; a flawed but noble attempt at cerebral sci-fi... try getting something like that made by the studios today...

 

The studios still shovel money at "cerebral sci-fi" - look at "Cloud Atlas".

And I never thought "ST:TMP" was 1/10th as "cerebral" as it wants to be anyway. Slow, ponderous and self-serious don't automatically equal "cerebral"...

 

Some years ago I read one of Nimoy's autobiographies and it was his opinion that The Wrath of Khan was more in the spirit of the original TV series than TMP. I agree with Nimoy on this one.

 

When I reviewed "ST:TMP" on DVD, I used some quotes from "I Am Spock".

Pertinent thoughts from Nimoy:

"Once filming commenced, it seemed like we actors stood forever on the bridge of the Enterprise, staring at a blank screen, which later would be filled with wondrous special effects. This work was very tedious, and frankly, not much fun. What was this gloom? This depressed atmosphere? This lack of attack, fun, élan?

I think it came out of a sense that we were doing something Historic and Important. Somehow, although the TV shows depended heavily on the day-to-day energy of the creative community - writers, directors and actors - the movie seemed to have been taken out of our hands. And our energy was sapped by an unwarranted reverence. We were passengers along for the ride on a voyage we could never quite fully manage or understand.

What do I remember of the movie that I saw? Incredible shots of the Enterprise, looking more massive and awesomely beautiful than she ever had.
And then more shots of the Enterprise, looking massive and beautiful.

And more shots…

Eventually, the special effects became downright tedious. A great cheer came up from the audience when the ship went into warp speed, but unfortunately the story never really took flight - and the chemistry between the characters was never taken advantage of."

 

Fair enough, horses for courses and all that. It's far from great, but it's worth a gander, especially Wise's director's cut DVD release, turns a decidedly meh film into a reasonably good one.

Regarding Cloud Atlas however, that wasn't a studio production; Warner Bros passed on making it but did agree to distribute it, the Wachowski's had to cobble together the $100m budget independently from all different sources... still haven't seen it though, but I'll get around to it sometime, any good?

 

Oh, I've given "ST:TMP" more than just a gander - I've probably watched it 10 times, and every time, I hope I'm finally going to think it's interesting.

I never do!

I have to disagree that the Director's Cut improves it. Still seems like the same old slow, boring movie to me!

I did like "Cloud Atlas". Again, it has flaws, but in the end, I think it's satisfying:

http://www.dvdmg.com/cloudatlas.shtml