Star Trek: The Motion Picture - Underrated?

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by Ophelia, Jan 4, 2017.

  1. Richard--W

    Richard--W Forum Resident


    I have the theatrical cut and the director's cut but I never heard of
    a "Special Longer Version". What is this?
     
  2. HGN2001

    HGN2001 Mystery picture member

    When ABC-TV was going to show the film, they had Paramount look for any trims of the film that they could find, and they assembled a longer version of the film to air. This was the first time that we see Spock weep for V'ger. Some of these trims were put back into the Director's Cut.

    When Paramount first released the film to VHS, they issued the "Special Longer Version" and for a number of years, that was the only version in circulation. When a five-movie LaserDisc set was issued, they reverted back to the theatrical cut.
     
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  3. BeatleJWOL

    BeatleJWOL Senior Member

    I had it on this very cool VHS set:
    [​IMG]
    (image not mine, taken from this eBay listing)

    I believe the extra scenes have appeared as "deleted scenes" on both the Director's Cut DVD and the theatrical cut Blu-ray, but I can't confirm that.

    There's a pair of videos out there outlining the differences:



    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J390phDjyfs
     
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  4. czeskleba

    czeskleba Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    I see The Voyage Home as kind of the equivalent of one of the humorous season two episodes. And The Final Frontier is basically like an extended season three episode... it's got a fundamentally silly plot, and at times the characters do things that do not make sense. But the interaction between the characters is what makes it work in spite of that, just like with Spock's Brain or Journey to Eden.

    If The Motion Picture were edited down to an hour, it would flow much better and not be so tedious. But it still would have a weak, derivative plot that lacks any of the warmth or character moments that salvage The Final Frontier.
     
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  5. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    Except those were mostly funny, whereas much of "Voyage" is just painful in terms of "comedy".

    I do like "double dumb ass on you", though! :D

    Oh, and Catherine Hicks - the less said about her, the better! :help:
     
  6. Rocker

    Rocker Senior Member

    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    Those are some of my favourite shots in the film, and it bugs me that several of them were trimmed or broken up in the director's cut. :sigh:
     
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  7. SteveRes

    SteveRes Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    Love it.
    I can understand people finding it underwhelming at the time, after Star Wars. But I like its cerebral qualities, and for me it's a film about how awesome and awe-inspiring space can be.
    It's a love letter to the solar system and voyages of discovery.
     
  8. peteham

    peteham Senior Member

    Location:
    Simcoe County
    I thought IV was very funny, but also quite moving, and exciting - not to mention still relevant. Check out footage of The Grind that happens in the Faroe Islands off Denmark. Humanity at its ugliest.

    Other than II, Voyage is my favourite - and Hicks was excellent.
     
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  9. czeskleba

    czeskleba Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    You can't argue sense of humor, I guess. I found a lot of the film to be quite funny. But not the "double dumb ass" joke... that one seemed forced and unfunny to me.
     
  10. 2001 A Space Oddyssey has plenty of scenes that add nothing to the story yet it's a masterpiece.
     
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  11. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    That's a good point, but "2001" is the exception that proves the rule.

    "2001" was done in a skilled enough way that it could overcome the lack of strong plot - "TMP" wasn't.

    "2001" gets away with the deliberate pace and absence of much story emphasis but it's such a compelling experience in other ways. "TMP" just feels like a half-hearted imitation...
     
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  12. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    Hicks was excellent - if she intended to create a character who I wanted to see die a slow, painful death! :D

    Quoting myself:

    "I might be able to forgive those problems, however, were it not for the movie's most fatal flaw: the presence of Hicks as Gillian. Hicks offers one of the all-time annoying performances in Trek or anywhere else. She emotes her lines horribly and stands as a thoroughly unlikable character.

    Every time I watch Voyage, I almost start to wonder why I dislike it – until Hicks appears. That’s when the film starts to go into the toilet, and the fact that she’s nearly omnipresent once she hits the screen means the movie can’t escape the negatives she brings. There's nothing in the role that makes it necessarily problematic; it's all due to Hicks, as she appears to be in a permanent snit. Hicks’ turn is so miserable that she almost single-handedly ruins this movie for me; she makes Gillian one of the least-appealing characters I've seen."
     
  13. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    My issue with "Trek" humor in general is that it tends to be cutesy and forced. "Trek" comedy rarely feels organic - it's more like someone said "let's do a funny episode/movie!" and they scrambled to fit in jokes around that concept.

    From my review:

    "There's just something about the forced humor of the story that wears on me. Trek comedy tends to be broad and unsophisticated in general, and most of its appeal comes from the fact that the Enterprise crew reads it. Like a wisecrack from an octogenarian, it's the incongruous nature of the lines that make them ostensibly funny. That kind of humor doesn't hold up well over time, especially since many of the comedic topics in Voyage seem dated. Unlike the original series itself, this movie appears welded to the middle Eighties and it hasn't made a strong transition into future generations. "
     
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  14. peteham

    peteham Senior Member

    Location:
    Simcoe County
    I could venture a few guesses as to why you have it in for Hicks, but what would be the point? I thought she created a multi dimensional character and played off Shatner beautifully. In fact, I found their relationship pretty sophisticated, in part, due to her choices. The final scene between the two where she kisses him on the cheek was particularly poignant and classy.
    As I mentioned before, the themes of the film as well as the potency of the ensemble work and the adroit direction, has allowed IV to age quite gracefully and maintained its relevance. But, I put II and IV against any movie, they are that strong - to me they transcend their origins.
    As for the humor of Star Trek - I honestly have no idea what you’re going on about. But I loathe the expression, ‘forced’ - it’s cheap and just wreaks of presumption and arrogance. It takes criticism, already a subjective form, to new heights of pretension.
     
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  15. Rocker

    Rocker Senior Member

    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    I've never had any real issues with Gillian -- I don't think she's anything special, and she's certainly not the greatest character in movie history -- but she was fairly likeable and doesn't detract from my enjoyment of the film. I can think of a dozen other characters from other movies that I found infinitely more annoying than her! (And who I wanted to see "die a slow, painful death!") ;)
     
  16. polchik

    polchik Forum Resident

    i think u might find this interesting ... it very much articulates what i like about ST:TMP

     
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  17. polchik

    polchik Forum Resident

    shouldve CC’d you lol, on my post above

    have a look see

    post#291
     
  18. MikeJedi

    MikeJedi Forum Resident

    Location:
    Las Vegas
    Paramount needs to get off their butt and complete a 4k restoration set. There was some work going on and has stopped ... get going Paramount !!!!! :)
     
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  19. curiously I remember seeing some of the scenes in the extended version yet I never saw the extended version except for a couple of scenes with unfinished visual effects years later.
     
    Last edited: Dec 29, 2020
  20. SirCandy

    SirCandy Forum Resident

    No- it's too long and slow in parts.
     
  21. The Director’s Cut works best for me.
     
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  22. Remurmur

    Remurmur Music is THE BEST! -FZ

    Location:
    Ohio
    That same cut shows Kirk leaving the Enterprise on his way to rescue Spock and besides the fact that it is a raw shot with no special effects added, you can actually see the wood framework of the set near the top corner.

    Real classy, Paramount.
     
    Last edited: Dec 30, 2020
  23. Remurmur

    Remurmur Music is THE BEST! -FZ

    Location:
    Ohio
    Having said that, it is indeed a flawed film but The Director's Cut does improve on the original more than enough enough to find it not only watchable but also enjoyable.
    Besides, that 5 minute look over of the redesigned Enterprise is a bit excessive but as a fan, I love every minute of it !
     
    wayneklein likes this.
  24. Yeah you would have expected them to at least pay for a matte painting or reframe the shot.
    When I saw the film in theaters (and I’m a fan) I thought “ok that’s enough of that’ after about 1 minute.’
     
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  25. geetar_await

    geetar_await I heart Linux.

    Location:
    USA
    I've gotten to appreciate it more over time, but didn't care for it at first. Maybe I should revisit other films I didn't care for at first a long time ago; my opinions might've changed.
     
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