Remastered Star Trek films anytime soon? (1 Viewer)

[Carter of Mars]

It was planned. It was even announced. But the post production schedule on the movie ran so far down to the wire that the 70mm release was scrapped. Remember, this was the movie where Robert Wise personally delivered a wet print to the premiere. There simply wasn't time to make the 70mm prints, which required more time to manufacture because of the magnetic soundtrack.

 

[Lord Dalek]

So in a way you are partially correct. Emphasis on partially.

 

[Sam Favate]

As someone who owns neither Blu-Ray or HD-DVD hardware, I can say from a fairly neutral point of view that I don't see any way HD-DVD can survive. Star Trek, as with all film series, will eventually be issued on Blu-ray.

Yeah, a Superman-type package with all the Trek films in it would be outstanding. Paramount has not yet released a box set of that calibur that I am aware of, but there is always a chance they will improve, especially if the Abrams film reinvigorates the franchise.

 

[JediFonger]

has paramount released any franchise/box sets of films that are well remastered compared to WB? WB's Blade Runner: The Final Cut and Matrix Trilogy (both SD and HD discs) come to mind.

i can't remember the last time paramount ever did that for anything. even the Godfather collection was mired by reissue issues.

that is not to say that paramount doesn't make movies, it's just they don't treat their reissued movies the same way studios like WB or remaster studios like Criterion does.

 

[mike kaminski]

Well the boxset of ST special editions is technically a 12-disk or 20-disk collection (depending on whether its just the TOS films or the TOS+NG set), which is pretty damn impressive. The only thing they didn't do was provide the alternate cuts (which was not common back in 2002). I thought Paramount was pretty generous with their treatment of ST, whether it be the series or the films.
If you want to talk to Paramount franchise fans with chips on their shoulders--go talk to Friday the 13th fans!

 

[Jeff Robertson]

I'm glad that it appears Paramount will be shifting to Blu-Ray prior to the release of the Trek films. I've read a number of complaints about some of their catalog HD-DVD releases not being up to par, so I'm hoping the switch back to Blu-Ray will place more emphasis on getting it right the first time. I suppose an indication of how well the HDM versions of the films will look can be guaged by how well the ST:TOS HD-DVDs turned out. I have heard mostly positive things. One review states that a lot of dirt and debris has been digitally removed but not 100% of it. I would hope that the services available from Lowry/DTS would be utilized to give the films a cleaner look (without removing detail).

ST:TMP is the best example of a Trek film needing a cleanup job. While I am very pleased with the Director's Cut DVD, it won't cut it for Blu-Ray. I am also very curious about what will be done with the new CGI. The artificial grain will be too obvious in HD. Frankly, the one shot where Starfleet Headquarters is introduced was just fine in the original release. All it needs is dirt removal.

Please Paramount, release ST:TMP on Blu-Ray without compromises! Heck, you can even include multiple versions (a la Blade Runner) if you really want to but I'm satisfied with the DC version.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I'm pretty satisfied with the current editions of the the Trek films, with a few minor quibbles. I know some people think TWOK disc looks awful, but it looked perfectly fine to me. I saw a print of it not too long ago at the Brattle Theater in Cambridge, MA, and then checked my DVD against it. The DVD appears to be faithful to the original look of the film, at least from my recollection. I think maybe we're all a little conditioned to expect films to look a certain uniform way, when in fact that's not the case... TWOK was never supposed to look pretty or sleek or glossy. It's essentially a gritty war movie about a naval battle, only in space. Some of the opticals look a little dirty, but they always did; that's just the nature of the beast. Sure, I guess you could go and digitally polish that, but it doesn't bother me the way it is now.

My quibbles, which seem for the most part to be shared by other fans:

- I wish the DVD of TMP included the original theatrical version (which, having not been born in 1979, I've never actually seen) and the extended home video version (which is what I grew up with). I'm glad the deleted footage was preserved in the bonus features, but I wish they had elected to use seamless branching. Yes, I know Robert Wise never really got to make a final cut the way he wanted to, and yes, I understand what the DVD producers were going for. But the new effects (for the most part) stick out like a sore thumb to me. I hate, hate, hate the new shots of V'Ger that reveal the full ship for the first time; it actually seemed smaller and less threatening than I imagined it to be in the original film. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad Robert Wise got to finally see a version of the film that was closer to what he wanted, but in my opinion, no amount of tinkering is going to fix the major flaws the film has. I wish I had the option of seeing the theatrical version for the first time, and the special edition I grew up with. That this new version is the only version in print on DVD just seems...wrong.

- I'm happy that the director's version of TWOK includes the little trims that appear during TV broadcasts, most of which enhance the film. But again, I wish seamless branching had been used so both versions could have been presented on one disc. I never bought the single-disc DVD because I knew that they'd be doing special editions at some point, and I didn't want to buy it twice. I'm still not gonna go out and spend the money to get the theatrical version, but it should have been included. I'd definitely watch it.

- The Undiscovered Country. The aspect ratio isn't my issue with it; I remember when the special edition DVD came out that was a big controversy, and I had guessed that Nicholas Meyer wanted the DVD to be closer to the aspect ratio of the 70mm prints. No picture information is really lost, the framing looks OK to me, and it's director approved, so I'm cool with that. But I'd like the original theatrical version, please. And the original home video version. I hate the stupid flash frames during the mind-rape scene. I don't need to see pictures of those people to know who they're talking about. Hell, Star Trek VI was my very first exposure to Star Trek, period, and I did OK without those flash frames there. Totally distracting and not in sync with the style of the rest of the film. Again, this wouldn't be an issue if seamless branching had been used.

Seriously... all Paramount needed to do was use a little seamless branching and I would have been satisfied with the releases. I have no problem with Meyer and Wise wanting to make little fixes on things that always bothered them, and I don't even have a problem if it's their preferred version. Not even a problem if that's the default version the DVD would play when you hit start. But the other stuff should have been there.

Particularly with the first movie, I loved the long, expansive special effects, how mesmerizing they were. It's like, no wonder everyone is so still and subdued and bland: there's a giant, unexplained thing coming right at Earth, they've got a couple days to figure it out, it's massive, and no one knows what the hell it is. Just looking into the abyss is almost paralyzing. The DVD makes a lot of little trims on the effects that I wished were optional rather than forced on me.

 

[Jay Pennington]

STII has always been grainy. That's just the way it is.

 

[LCD22]

Josh, I hope CBS/Paramount seriously considers what you suggested in your post when they bring these out on HD.

 

[JediFonger]

re: HD DVD vs. Blu-Ray. paramount is cheap. they don't like to remaster things for both HD DVD & Blu-Ray. so we'll be getting the same exact titles on BD as it was on HD DVD. NO CHANGES.

we hope for the best but will get the worse. it's like paramount's Godfather release, could be better. there isn't a single release from paramount that makes u gasp and thank them. it's always not perfect. on the other hand, WB makes you gasp and wonder how the hell they managed to make an old film look brand new.

 

[mike kaminski]

I think your judging too harshly here--keep in mind that the Godfather set was put out in 2001. At the time it was better than the Alien set, better than the Superman collection, better than the Man With No Name trilogy, better than a lot of things, the only sets that surpassed it were maybe the Hitchcock and Die Hard five-star both of which came out the same year as Godfather, and to this day its still as good if not better than any of the Star Wars or Indiana Jones DVD sets. So could it be better, yes, but I think we need to keep things in perspective here. When it was made there was no Superman Ultimate Set, no Alien Quadrilogy, no Wizard of Oz set, no Ben Hur set, no Harryhausen set, no Star Wars set, no Indiana Jones set, no Sergio Leone Anthology, no Back to the Future set, no LOTR Extended Edition, no Matrix Ultimate Edition and no Blade Runner set. When its put out on Blu-ray in the next few years you'll get a nice, new transfer that compares to anything made since and maybe some nice new extras.

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

Paramount did a good job the first time out with the "Adventures of Indiana Jones" box set. They have also been slowly circling back and substantially improving the transfers of films like "Breakfast at Tiffany's", "To Catch a Thief", and "Funny Face".

Regards,

 

[Jeff Robertson]

I agree. The Indy Trilogy is top notch. I also like the recently re-released Braveheart. Paramount is improving. I just really hope the ST films on HD are all done right the first time. There's no need (or time for that matter) for an ultra-special box set later on.

 

[JediFonger]

Amazon.com: The Godfather (Widescreen Edition): Marlon Brando,Al Pacino,James Caan,Richard S. Castellano,Robert Duvall,Sterling Hayden,John Marley,Richard Conte,Al Lettieri,Diane Keaton,Abe Vigoda,Talia Shire,Gianni Russo,John Cazale,Rudy Bond,Al Mar
^that 2004 remaster of part1 was also poorly done. there's simply no excuse for poor masters in light of everyone else.

 

[Lord Dalek]

The 2004 "remaster" you are referring to is a repackaging of the dvd made in 2000 for the box set as its own separate disc. RAH's restoration of the film rumored for release sometime this year will be first new transfer the film has received in about 10 years.

 

[Jason_V]

If they're really going balls to the wall with them in prep for the new movie, let's home ALL the versions end up on the same disc (original and director's cut of I, II, VI...for instance). Branching deleted scenes, trailers (all movies, thankyouverymuch), ports of the existing extras, some new docs...load these bad boys! You've got all the room you can possibly want on the discs with BD 50's...heck, make these two disc sets both on BD 50's if you need to.

But this IS Paramount. Probably bare bones...

 

[Nelson Au]

See post 10 of this thread:

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/...d-blu-ray.html

There is a report on Trekmovie.com from a story on The Digital Bits that the films are being readied for a re-release with new digital clean-up and remastering for HD. The release of the 10 films are reportedly being released as DVD and BD and could coincide with the new JJ Abrams film. There will be extras and one includes interviews with David Gerrold, Chris Doohan and Bjo Trimble for their appearance in The Motion Picture.

No news if the new CGI on The Motion Picture will be re-rendered at 1080p, but I'm sure it will happen if they are doing this. Daren Dchterman has not been contacted yet though.

Sorry if this causes a double thread discussing the same topic here and the HD software section!

 

[Joel Fontenot]

It's bound to happen when you're discussing coincident SD and HD releases of the same material - and as it happens, that appears to be what's happening in this case.

But I don't think anyone thought for sure that this was going to happen when you started this thread over a year ago.

All I can say is: please, Paramount, at least give us a decent HD transfer of the original theatrical cut of ST:TMP. They can do all the re-rendering in 1080p of the DC CGI material they want, just let us have the original version as well. My widescreen laserdisc copy can't last me forever.

Oh, and I'll second the request for original cuts, directors cuts, and any other variations of all the other films too.

 

[Nelson Au]

Thanks Joel. Two threads also occurred for the Star Trek TOS season 1 set!

Regarding The Motion Picture and getting a theatrical cut. It would be a nice extra or additional version to have, such as was done with Blade Runner. I have found that for me, I don't want to watch that version anymore. I much prefer the Robert Wise final cut on the DE disc. The visuals of Vulcan is preferred for the corrected Vulcan Kolinar sequence. (Vulcan has no Moons, Miss Uhura) And I feel that once Mr. Wise recut the film, it flows better as does the added CGI to clarify and complete the effects make it much more satifying.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I go back and forth about how I feel about it. I like the concepts for the "director's edition" but I think the new effects are pretty terrible. Whenever there's a new CGI shot, it just sticks out like a sore thumb and takes me out of the movie.

...also, with the Vulcan sequence, I know that the original visuals are "wrong" based on what they've made up about the planet, but it's still how I remember seeing the movie originally.

I'm glad there's a version that Robert Wise was finally happy with, and I think in many ways it's superior to any other cut that's out there, but I grew up with the theatrical cut and the "special longer version", and I'd like to have those on DVD too. I'd definitely watch still watch them. That's about the only way you'd get me to rebuy it.