Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Special Collector's Edition
Studio: Paramount Year: 1986 Rated: PG Film Length: 118 minutes Aspect Ratio: 16X9 Enhanced Widescreen (2.35:1) Subtitles: English |
How on Earth can they save the future?
Ask anyone that has ever had the slightest interest
in Star Trek as to what their favorite of all the
films are and most likely they'll answer, "The
one with the whales." Star Trek IV: The
Voyage Home is considered to be one of the best
(and the last) of the "golden age" of Star Trek films.
This lighthearted venture brought the 23rd century
to the 20th century and in the process managed to
make Star Trek fans out of those that never previously
saw a single show or film. The film was so successful
that it shattered all previous Star Trek box-office
records, raking in a whopping $109 million domestically.
It's no wonder that the film had such broad appeal
to both fans and newbies alike. Star Trek IV
revisits one of the favorite themes of the original
TV series --time travel-- bringing the 23rd century
crew of the Enterprise to the familiarities of 20th
century San Francisco where they just let themselves
loose on our "primitive and paranoid" culture. Filled
with terrific humor and sharp one-liners, you can't
help but enjoy how the characters play off of each
other in such a comfortable manner that would be
expected from many long years of working together.
Beginning where Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
left off, Captain Kirk (William Shatner) and his
crew are called back to Earth to face court marshal
after disobeying orders that led them to stealing
and destroying the Enterprise. Spock (Leonard Nimoy),
still coming to terms with his resurrection decides
to accompany the crew back to Earth, offering his
services as a witness that may help save the crew
from disgrace.
Now traveling to Earth aboard the hijacked Klingon
Bird-of-Prey, the crew receives a Mayday message
from Starfleet that Earth is under attack from a
mysterious probe that wreaking havoc on the
planet's climate. The probe is also scanning the
seas while sending out strange communication.
When Kirk and crew intercept the probe's strange
signals, they match it to the songs of humpback
whales, a now extinct species of ocean-dwelling life.
The crew decide that in order to save the 23rd
century, they must travel back to 20th century Earth,
capture a humpback whale and then return home.
Landing in 1986 San Francisco, the laughs begin as
the crew suddenly find themselves as fish-out-of-water,
as they attempt to deal with such matters as "exact
change," "colorful metaphors" and "nuclear wessles."
It's a comic romp funny enough for trekkies and
non-trekkies alike.
How is the transfer?
Overall, I would rate this transfer as being very
good, but it does comes across as being a mixed bag
of sorts. The opening shots on Vulcan suffer from
flesh tones looking a bit too orange. All the
scenes aboard the Klingon Bird-of-Prey seem to
look a little soft and hazy, losing a bit of sharpness
and detail. It's not until we get to 1986 San
Francisco that the transfer shows improved sharpness
and overall color saturation. There are a few bits
of film dirt and blemish scattered throughout, but
for the most part the print is in excellent condition.
I suppose the worst that can be said about this
transfer is that it looks a little dated, but
Paramount seems to have done a decent job here.
The DVD sports a pleasing 5.1 Dolby digital mix.
Dialogue is well pronounced and firmly placed in
the center channel with excellent stereo separation
across the fronts. The soundtrack is fairly robust
with excellent dynamic range. The rears are not as
active as I would have hoped, mostly supporting
Leonard Rosenman's score as well as many of the
film's effect noises such as the hums of the ship's
engines in the rear channels. LFE response is also
not as strong as I would have preffered, though there
is some nice deep bass support given to any scene
involving the menacing probe. All in all, I would
rate this sonic experience as being just above average.
Special Features
Spread across 2-discs, this brand-new Special
Collector's Edition seems to be a cut above all
the previous Star Trek Special Editions that have
come before it. I hate to make this sort of
comparing, but the first thing that will grab your
attention is the stylish menu design that can only
remind you of some of the stuff that Van Ling has
done on previous Fox releases. It all begins with
a flyover across the Golden Gate Bridge to Starfleet
Headquarters where we are taken into the main control
room where the sounds of various "red alert" messages
are heard across the entire soundstage. The three
overhead screens give us various menu choices. As
you make each menu selection, the angle of the room
suddenly changes.
Disc One contains the feature film with your
choice of a 5.1 surround or standard English Dolby
surround soundtrack.
One of the first things you might want to do here
during your initial viewing is to go into the
commentaries area and turn on the Text
Commentary provided by Michael and Denise Okuda,
co-authors of "The Encyclopedia of Star Trek." Those
of you who have purchased prior Star Trek CE DVDs
are certainly familiar with their text-based factoids.
It's actually scary to see the amount of little-known
material that is presented here, from how many of
the ILM Special Effects were done to how some of
the storylines and filming locales are similar to
those from original Star Trek series. I was most
interested in learning about the radio controlled
whale models that were powered by motor jets, and
despite the fact that the humpback whale population
seems to be recovering, some countries are looking
to repeal the ban on hunting them.
Also a joyous first here is the audio commentary
by William Shatner and director Leonard Nimoy.
Nimoy begins by stating that after all the deaths and
heart-aches associated with the prior film storylines,
he wanted to do something more light-hearted and fun.
Shatner was all for a change of pace, but not too
initially thrilled with the idea of doing a time
travel film. Both admit that Paramount never set
out to make Star Trek IV part of a trilogy
(the sets of Star Trek III were sold or burned after
their initial use), but things just happened to fall
in place as they did. Interestingly, Shatner and
Nimoy talk about the importance of the actors carrying
the responsibility of keeping the integrity of the
series alive -- especially with the ever-revolving
door of writers and directors who come in and out
of the series. As a matter of fact, we learn how
several writers (Meerson, Krikes, Bennett and Meyer)
contributed to different stages of this film and how
all those stages fitted together so perfectly. Nimoy
also talks about some of the budget restrictions
he had to deal with -- especially when it came to
film effects. Both Nimoy and Shatner are a pleasure
to listen to for the fact that these are two friends
are enjoying each other's company and the work that
they have done together for so many years.
Let's take a look at Disc Two that contains
the wealth of supplemental material....
Once again we are treated to a nicely animated
menu sequence that brings us across the Golden Gate
Bridge and down into the waters below where the
Klingon Bird-of-Prey resides. As you make each
menu choice, you are submerged or risen to menus
that reside below the water's surface or way above
upon the red arches of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Let's begin with The Star Trek Universe....
Time Travel: The Art of the Possible poses
a question to three prominent Quantum Physicists:
Is Time Travel Possible?. Nick Herbert, Jack
Sarafatti and Fred Alan Wolf give their own individual
theories filled with diagrams and explanations of
black holes, stargates and wormholes. Speed looks to
be the essential tool in time passage, as it is
suggested that the faster you travel, the faster your
clocks slow down. To be honest, I was a little dizzy
by the end of all this, but learned that time travel
is indeed "possible."
(length: approx. 11 minutes)
The Languages of the Whales introduces us to
Marine Biologist Ree Brennin who admits that Star
Trek IV is responsible for renewed interest in
the humpback whale. This is quite an informative
look at the different species of whale including
blue, pilot, killer, sperm and humpback. Surprisingly,
science has no idea if the whale calls are indeed a
language or perhaps just something simpler.
(length: approx. 5 minutes)
Geek Alert! A Vulcan Primer dwells a little
too deeply into the Star Trek culture as author
Margaret Bonanno gets well over-her-head into the
Vulcan culture's and logic. A bit nerdish, but some
will find it interesting.
(length: approx. 7 minutes)
Kirk's Women takes a look at the biggest "HO"
in the universe -- James T. Kirk. Here are interviews
with actresses Katherine Brown, Catherine Hicks,
Celeste Yarmell and Louise Sorel who give all the
Enquirer gossip on the actor and his character. One
of the women compares working with Shatner to be
as memorable as working with Elvis. Eghad!
(length: approx. 8 minutes)
Let's move on to Production....
Future's Past: A Look Back is a brand-new
featurette that reunites just about everyone involved
with the film. There's Harve Bennett, Leonard Nimoy,
Nicholas Meyer, Catherine Hicks and William Shatner.
Notably absent are the film's regular co-star cast.
This featurette takes us through the initial idea of
doing a time travel movie and how multiple writers
came up with creative ways to support that idea.
Some rare treats embedded in here is an interview
with Associate Producer Kirk Thatcher who played the
punk rocker on the bus and a screen test with actress
Catherine Hicks. There are also a few behind-the-scenes
footage here, mostly involving Catherine Hicks who
admits she knew very little about Star Trek when she
came aboard. Look out for some cute bloopers as well.
My favorite part here is the footage of the "B" tank
(aka Paramount parking lot) and skyline background
that I have often seen during my visits to
Paramount studios.
(length: approx. 30 minutes)
On Location features Executive Producer Ralph
Winter and Associate Producer Kirk Thatcher talking
about filming on location in San Francisco. This is
a real treat to see city traffic come to a halt as
costumed Star Trek celebrities parade across the
street during rush hour. On to San Diego where most
of the naval base shooting was done with the full
cooperation of the U.S. Navy. We also briefly look
at some of the effects magic that ILM did for the
aquarium scenes. Very nice!
(length: approx. 7 minutes)
Dailies Deconstruction gives us a two-angled
split-screen comparison of "A" and "B" camera
footage shot on the San Francisco streets. Easily
skippable.
(length: approx. 4 minutes)
Below-the-Line: Sound Design is an interview
with sound designer Nick Mangini who takes us through
the process of creating sounds for the alien probe.
A little too long-in-the-tooth to be overly interesting.
(length: approx. 11 minutes)
Time to move on to Visual Effects....
From Outer Space to the Ocean is an
original 1986 featurette that looks at the challenges
of not only effectively creating time travel, but
making robotic humpback whales look and move as
realistically as possible. Despite its age, this
is a really cool look at the making of this film.
You'll see original test footage that was done for
the whale models as well as the time travel sequence
where "busts" had to be made of each of the actors.
We also get a look at the various "probe" models that
were used in filming as well as how filmmakers
were able to fly a Bird-Of-Prey under a model of
The Golden Gate Bridge. Excellent stuff!
(length: approx. 14 minutes)
The Bird of Prey features an interview with
Leonard Nimoy who talks about his original ideas for
the Klingon ship including how its wing position
should be placed and the way it should sweep itself
into an attack position. Included are some
original blueprint designs and conceptual drawings.
(length: approx. 3 minutes)
Let's move on to Original Interviews which were
all taken in 1986 just prior to the film's release...
We catch Leonard Nimoy in the editing room as
he gives an inquiring reporter a jovial description
of the film's entire plot (minus the essentials).
Leonard talks fondly about working with William
Shatner and DeForest Kelley and talks about what it
is like to direct a film rather than just acting in
it. (length: 15 minutes). We find William
Shatner with a huge bug up his ass as he gives
one of the biggest "I couldn't give a shit" interviews
of his lifetime. Shatner talks about the film and
how he views the character of Captain Kirk . (length:
14 minutes). Finally, DeForest Kelley gives
a warm interview about the "family" that he has become
part of during all the years with Star Trek. (length:
12 minutes).
Let's move on to Tributes....
Roddenberry Scrapbook introduces us to
EugeneRoddenberry, son of the late Gene Roddenberry.
Eugene was only 17 when his Dad passed away, but
talks fondly of him as both a father and the "great
bird of the galaxy." This is a really touching
tribute that gives great insight into the man that
created the Star Trek universe.
(length: approx. 8 minutes)
Featured Artist: Mark Lenard is yet another
touching tribute that comes from the actor's wife Ann
and their two daughters Roberta and Catherine. Not
only is he regarded as a fine father, but it is noted
that fans often regarded him as a fatherly figure who
often showed up to the many Star Trek conventions.
Really worth a watch!
(length: approx. 12 minutes)
Let's move on to Archives.....
I was pleasantly surprised that the Production
Gallery wasn't a set of sometimes ho-hum still
photos. Instead, we get a really terrific 3-minute
collage of pictures and live footage set to music.
A rather extensive Storyboard section
provides more than 140 original storyboards for
eight key sequences in the film.
Finally, the film's original theatrical trailer
is included.
Phew!
Let me give great praise for Paramount not only for
including subtitles in all their supplements, but for
also presenting the material as an anamorphic
presentation.
Final Thoughts
You know, it took me hours this morning to go
through all this supplemental material and get a
real feel for this latest Star Trek Collector's
Edition. Suffice to say, I am very impressed with
not only the amount of material presented here,
but the overall production quality of this DVD.
Those that own the original bare-boned DVD release
may want to think twice about a repurchase based
on the fact that this seems to be the exact same
transfer. However, the fact that some etailers
are selling this 2-disc DVD for about $17 does
make the prospect of upgrading very tempting.
Finally, I didn't want to leave all of you without
talking about something that really touched me in
an odd way while watching this film. It's kind of
a strange coincidence that nearly a month since
the Columbia space shuttle disaster, I have just
watched a film dedicated to the astronauts of
the doomed 1986 space shuttle Challenger. It is
my hope that one day a film like this one will come
along with a just as fitting dedication to the
fallen Columbia astronauts.
Release Date: March 4, 2003
All screen captures have been further compressed.
They are for illustrative purposes only and do not
represent actual picture quality
