Star Trek - The Motion Picture (The Director's Edition) (Widescreen)

Star Trek - The Motion Picture (The Director's Edition) (Widescreen) | William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy | What Could (Should) Have Been

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Star Trek - The Mo...

	Star Trek - The Motion Picture (The Director's Edition) (Widescreen) William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy Paramount, 2001 average customer review:based on 410 reviews view larger image
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Back when the first Star Trek feature was released in December 1979, the Trek franchise was still relatively modest, consisting of the original TV series, an animated cartoon series from 1973-74, and a burgeoning fan network around the world. Series creator Gene Roddenberry had conceived a second TV series, but after the success of Star Wars the project was upgraded into this lavish feature film, which reunited the original series cast aboard a beautifully redesigned starship U.S.S. Enterprise. Under the direction of Robert Wise (best known for West Side Story), the film proved to be a mixed blessing for Trek fans, who heatedly debated its merits; but it was, of course, a phenomenal hit. Capt. Kirk (William Shatner) leads his crew into the vast structures surrounding V'Ger, an all-powerful being that is cutting a destructive course through Starfleet space. With his new First Officer (Stephen Collins), the bald and beautiful Lieutenant Ilia (played by the late Persis Khambatta) and his returning veteran crew, Kirk must decipher the secret of V'Ger's true purpose and restore the safety of the galaxy. The story is rather overblown and derivative of plots from the original series, and avid Trekkies greeted the film's bland costumes with derisive laughter. But as a feast for the eyes, this is an adventure worthy of big-screen trekkin'. Douglas Trumbull's visual effects are astonishing, and Jerry Goldmith's score is regarded as one of the prolific composer's very best (with its main theme later used for Star Trek: The Next Generation). And, fortunately for Star Trek fans, the expanded 143-minute version (originally shown for the film's network TV premiere) is generally considered an improvement over the original theatrical release. --Jeff Shannon

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Surprisingly Good After the Re-edit

Like most others, I eagerly anticipated the release of ST:TMP during the late 70s and was disappointed.

No longer.

The Director's Cut restores more even pacing to a story that is rather simple on the surface [think The Changeling Part II] but has multiple layers and a depth of complexity that no other movie in the franchise could hope to touch.

Have no doubts- if you're looking for fast paced action, well-developed characters or chemistry from the Big Three [Kirk, Spock, McCoy] look elsewhere.

But if you want a movie that discusses big issues in a serious way then you won't do better than Star Trek the Motion Picture. Consciousness, the meaning of life, religion and even love are addressed in extremely subtle ways that make this movie the most "adult" franchise science fiction movie out there and is far more in the spirit of 2001: A Space Odyssey than say Star Wars for example.

Highly recommended.

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What Could (Should) Have Been

Timing is everything.

The snarls and delays in getting the screenplay from paper to film made the journey for this picture very difficult; there was this "little" movie made - Star Wars - that revolutionized the Sci-Fi genre and placed a heavy premium on visual effects.

So, what appeared to be a trade-off with a major part of the Star Trek TV series - the dialogue of the actors - was jettisoned for visuals that looked impressive, but looked to be playing catch-up to Darth and his pals.

The Director's Cut shows what should have been and is a very satisfying mixture of visuals and the personal touch by the cast. This is where the motion picture journey should have began and it was well worth the wait.

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Has gotten better with time !

When I watched STTMP in 79 I dosed off a couple of times and thought it was very boring.
The acting was stiff and the uniforms looked liked pajamas.

As an adult now, I appreciate the movie a bit more and enjoy the special effects.

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

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