HTF Blu-ray Review: Star Trek: The Original Motion Picture Collection

Star Trek: The Original Motion Picture Collection (Blu-ray)

Studio: Paramount Home Video
Rated: See individual titles
Aspect Ratio: See individual titles
HD Encoding: 1080p
HD Video Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Audio: See Audio section
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese; English SDH+
Time: See individual titles
Disc Format: 7 SS/DL BD
Case Style: Slimline keep cases in a cardboard sleeve.
Theatrical Release Date: See individual titles
Blu-Ray Release Date: May 12, 2009

Due to a ton of problems with Paramount getting these titles out to reviewers in a timely fashion, HTF Reviewer Matt Hough and I are splitting up the movies since he received the trilogy (Star Trek II-IV) first. His review of these movies can be found here:

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/...ml#post3557053

Since this is a pretty big set, I’m going to break from my usual review format and give only brief synopsis of the movies themselves. I believe most of the readership is familiar enough with these movies that they wouldn’t need a lengthy rehash of the plots. The following information about the set itself is culled from various sources including the original press release, Trekmovie.com and The Digital Bits.

Paramount’s seven disc Star Trek: The Original Motion Picture Collection includes the first six films, which have been digitally re-mastered in high definition. All the new Blu-ray transfers are based on the original theatrical releases. With the exception of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, the previously released first DVD versions of each film were the theatrical versions followed by a second special edition. However, for Star Trek: The Motion Picture, there has only been a “Director’s Edition” version released on DVD, but never the theatrical edition. All six films have new 7.1 Dolby TrueHD audio.

Each film has a brand new commentary track from noted experts and Star Trek fans, in addition to commentaries from the previous release (except for Star Trek: The Motion Picture, which only has the new commentary). The set has a total of over fourteen hours of special features, including two and a half hours of all-new material. Each film has a number of brand new special featurettes in HD, plus a “Library Computer” function (Blu-ray’s Java function for additional pop-up trivia and information), and a Star Trek IQ link to BD-Live. The new set contains almost all the extra features from the previous two-disc “director’s editions” or “collector’s edition” of each film, except for the Okuda text commentaries (the new “Library Computer” feature takes their place, which also involves the Okudas). There are also three special features on the Star Trek: The Motion Picture Director’s Edition DVD, that aren’t in the new set since it doesn’t pertain to this cut of the movie.

The collection includes a bonus disc entitled Star Trek: The Captains’ Summit that features a 70-minute exclusive round table discussion hosted by Whoopi Goldberg in which William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Patrick Stewart and Jonathan Frakes share candid moments and intimate details about life on the set.

As I said, I’m not going to go into too much depth about the movies themselves. These are the theatrical cuts of the movies. My initial plan was to note the differences editorially between these cuts and the previous DVD releases. However, after researching it for a while, I found these changes to be minor but numerous and it would make this review far longer than it needs to be. If you want specific information about the differences I suggest you do further research online. I will give you a SPOILER WARNING in advance now that there are key plot points mentioned in the synopsis of some of the movies. Also, since I believe everyone is very familiar with the actors, I’m not going to list each actor’s name after the character.

In response to the Star Wars phenomenon, Paramount decided to roll out their competing franchise and give us a big screen adventure, simply titled, Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979, Not Rated, 131 minutes, 2.35:1). The story dealt with Kirk reassuming command of the Enterprise, along with Spock, McCoy and the rest of the original cast, to head into space and head off the threat of a mysterious probe named V’ger. Two new crew members, Decker and Ilia came aboard to give Kirk and Spock a little grief, but ultimately, they wind up servicing the plot. While ST: TMP threw around plenty of money, it downplayed the humanity and humor of the original series, leaving us with a technically proficient movie more concerned with effects than story or character.

Shatner took over the director’s chair from Nimoy for Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989, PG, 106 minutes, 2.35:1), and what we are given is a slapped together plot that feels more like Shatner pleasuring his ego instead of telling us a story. On Nimbus III, a planet in the Neutral Zone, a Vulcan prophet, Sybok (Laurence Luckinbill) uses his powers of persuasions to capture Paradise City and three emissaries, a human, a Romulan and a Klingon. The newly commissioned Enterprise NCC-1701-A is dispatched to retrieve the emissaries and barter a peace with Sybok, who turns out to be Spock’s half-brother, for no particular reason. Once they arrive, Kirk and the others are captured and some of them convert to Sybok’s vision. Sybok convinces Kirk to take the Enterprise to an Eden-like world past the Great Barrier. Once there, Sybok confronts his “God” while Kirk, Spock and McCoy question faith directly.

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991, PG, 113 minutes, 2.35:1) starts with an explosion on the Klingon moon Praxis. Labeled simply “an incident” by the Klingons, it is unexpectedly investigated by the Capt. Sulu and his ship, the Excelsior, when an energy wave threatens to destroy the ship. A couple months later, Spock and other muckety-mucks of Starfleet’s high command determine the Klingon Empire has less than 50 years of longevity, and they assign Kirk and company to rendezvous with the Klingon ambassadors and bring them to Earth. Once they meet up, things go poorly as the Enterprise unwittingly fires on the Klingon ship and two spacesuited and supposed Federation agents beam on board and kill the Klingon chancellor. Kirk and McCoy are at the mercy of an intergalactic council and with war threatening, will the truth be revealed before any hope of peace can be achieved?

Nicholas Meyer returns to the franchise with what is really a great movie outside of a couple annoying things (shapeshifter Iman, Kim Catrall’s pale Saavik imitation, for instance) and the story shares some similarities with the world politics of the time. Meyer says this movie is made in the shadow of Chernobyl, the fall of the Berlin wall and the end of the Cold War. It also serves as an ending to the movies featuring the full original cast, even though some of them still popped up in the Next Generation movies.

Movies: ***/*****


Video:
Note: I am watching these titles using a Marantz VP 11-S1 DLP projector, which has a native resolution of 1080p. I am using a Sony Playstation 3 Blu-Ray player while a Denon 3808CI does the switching and pass through of the video signal. I am utilizing the HDMI capabilities of each piece of equipment.

The Blu-Ray discs are encoded in the MPEG-4 AVC codec at 1080p with a 2.35:1 aspect ratio.

ST: TMP shows its age even through the use of DNR to cut down the grain to almost nothing. The picture looks as slick and space age as the sets and the costumes, making me think I’m watching HD video instead of a film. Grain does resurface in the optical effects, especially at the beginning when the Klingons are exploring the cloud; otherwise, it’s almost non-existent. I hadn’t seen the movie in a few years and I forgot how cold and impersonal the colors, or lack thereof, are, from the drab and white suits to the extensive use of grey’s, tans and pale oranges. It’s a huge palate difference between this picture and the far more lush subsequent films. Once some red is introduced into the picture it is well represented. Flesh tones still look good, if a little pale. Even though DNR has been liberally applied, there is some good detail in the image, especially in the numerous close-ups of the actors. Sharpness is acceptable, as are contrast levels. Print dirt and damage is apparent throughout the movie, and it’s especially present during the pan up of the saucer section of the Enterprise right before they leave space dock. Edge enhancement was very minimal.

ST V:TFF maintains the DNR of the other discs, showing a clean image devoid of most grain and texture. A more subdued color palate still gives us a more interesting visual image, with lush flesh tones and stable colors. Contrast, however, is not as good as the other movies as it came off more of a dark gray, thus making the image somewhat flat. Shadow detail was not very good either. Detail in the more lit scenes is actually very good here and I admired the work put into Sybok’s costumes as well as the details of the bridge of the Enterprise. Sharpness is good as well. The print shows minor print dirt and some edge enhancement.

ST VI: TUC also has the same DNR issues as the other discs, but it’s not quite as bad. Since the color palate shifted after the first film, color fidelity is excellent, rich and bold. The reds are dominant but there is no bleeding. Flesh tones are excellent and you can see subtle differences in the actor’s make-up. Contrast is excellent showing good detail. Sharpness and detail is good and better than the DVD. The print shows minor amounts of print dirt and very little to no edge enhancement.

DNR issues aside, the transfers make the films look quite good, certainly better than the DVD’s. I’ve seen many of the screen caps online and I implore you not to judge this set’s video quality on them. Some of images look far better than in these lousy screen caps.

Video: ***/*****


Audio:
The 7.1 Dolby TrueHD soundtracks were attained by the HDMI connection of the PS3 to the Denon 3808CI. However, I am watching them with only a 5.1 setup.

ST: TMP: English Dolby TrueHD 7.1; French 2.0 Dolby Surround, Spanish Mono

ST V:TFF: English Dolby TrueHD 7.1; French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish Mono

ST VI: TUC: English Dolby TrueHD 7.1; French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish Mono

I watched all three movies with the Dolby TrueHD 7.1 track engaged. I do not have a 7.1 set up so I’m not getting the true and full effect of the sixth and seventh channels. Where the video suffers due to the DNR, these soundtracks have no such issues. Each of them provides an excellent surround field, enough so on ST:TMP that had the video been better I may have used it for a demo piece. In that same film, the wormhole sequence gives the surrounds a workout and plants you right in the middle of the action with sounds seemingly coming above you again. The other two soundtracks match these qualities and each of them has excellent panning effects. LFE’s are very active and are more prevalent in the fifth and sixth discs as they are of more recent vintage. Tonality is excellent and they each exhibit a good dynamic range. ADR is apparent in ST:TMP, but not so much in the other ones.

Audio: ****/*****


Bonus Material:

All three of the movies have the Library Computer (BD Exclusive) option and BD Live: Star Trek I.Q. “The Library Computer is an interactive experience that allows you to access information about people, technology, locations and more at the moment each appears on the film. Switch to Index Mode to scan the entire database and jump directly to points of interest.” This is similar to the Starfleet Access portion of the Original Series discs and provides much more trivia and information for the casual Star Trek viewers. The BD Live feature is a trivia game is where you can “create and share trivia challenges over scenes from the movie.” It allows you to create and post your own trivia challenges and compete with others. You can choose several pre-made questions then it jumps to a video clip and question.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (Theatrical Release): since it’s the theatrical, none of the DVD features are here.

Commentary by Michael & Denise Okuda, Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens and Daren Dochterman: they provide a lot of good history on the movie itself and not so much of the history of the show and the time leading up to the movie. The Okudas provide a ton of trivia on the movie, characters, story, production and more. There are some long pauses in between the dialogues, but its well worth the listen.

The Longest Trek: Writing the Motion Picture (10:44) (HD): Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens, Walter Koenig, Associate Producer Jon Povill and Screenwriter Harold Livingston discuss what a long an arduous process it was to get the movie to the screen. When you hear some of these stories, it makes more sense why the movie has the problems it does. The participants explain the various versions of the scripts and there is some conceptual artwork. I would have liked to have more information on the actual shoot, release and reaction, and it seems kind of stunted without it.

The Star Trek Universe (HD): this is comprised of two different parts. The first is Special Star Trek Reunion (9:37) in which several extras get together to reminisce about there time on-set. The second part is Starfleet Academy SciSec Brief 001: Mystery Behind V’Ger, a female Starfleet officer explains the voyage V’Ger went through. It’s basically a nothing piece since we know all of this from the movie.

Deleted Scenes (8:02) (SD): there are eleven of them

This disc is rounded out with Storyboards (three different sets, Vulcan, Enterprise Departure and V’Ger Revealed), the Theatrical and Teaser Trailers (HD), and seven TV Spots (3:39) (SD) covering different aspects of the story.


Star Trek V: The Final Frontier: everything from the 2002 Collector’s Edition SD-DVD is here except the text commentary. The first group of items is new to this edition and in HD.

Commentary by Michael & Denise Okuda and Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens and Daren Dochterman: the four participants really delve into the trivia of the movie, not really commenting on the plot too much. They’re also forthcoming with the problems the picture had and discuss many of them.

Star Trek Honors NASA (9:56): Col. Terry Virts, who works at NASA in communications, as well as other scenic artists discuss the real world impact Star Trek has had on today’s scientists and artists. They also discuss more of the science of this movie.

Starfleet Academy SciSec Brief 005: Nimbus III (3:01) has a Starfleet representative telling us about Nimbus III, similar to the ones on the other discs.

Two Theatrical Trailers.


The following item were ported over from the 2002 SD-DVD Director’s Edition and they’re all in SD.

Commentary by William Shatner and Liz Shatner.

Harve Bennett’s Pitch to the Sales Team (1:42): Bennett appeals to the sales team to help promote the picture. Bennett throws around some Vulcan salute trivia before talking up his picture.

The Journey: A Behind-the-Scenes Documentary (28:55): at times, this is a strikingly candid piece about the production of a movie jokingly called “Bill’s Turn”. Executive Producers Harve Bennett and Ralph Winter, Shatner and others discuss the production, story and what everyone wanted out of the picture. The science behind the story and the effects are discussed and the story of the Rockman.

Makeup Tests (9:43): test footage of the made-up aliens and creatures to get an idea of how they will look on screen. Also included are other test shots of the more human characters and gods.

Pre-Visualization Models (1:40): pretty much the same as above, but this time with the models. Action figures always come in handy!

Rockman in the Raw (5:37): this is the raw footage of the test shots of the horribly expensive yet unconvincing and ultimately abandoned Rockman.

Star Trek V press conference (13:43): conducted in December of 1988 when production wrapped. Winter introduces the piece then we see the footage of the cast being interviewed in costume on the bridge set. Shatner toasts the cast and crew, then he and Bennett field questions.

The next part of the legacy material is under the heading The Star Trek Universe. First up is Herman Zimmerman: A Tribute (19:08) to the production designer who worked on this film and other versions of the property; next is an Original Interview with William Shatner (14:31): as he discusses the movie with a mountainous backdrop behind him. Cosmic Thoughts (13:05) is a piece about the philosophical and theological aspects of our universe and Star Trek stories linking the two. That Klingon Couple (13:00) spotlights two of the actors who played Klingons; A Green Future? (9:24) explains why Yosemite was used and the importance of going green. Finally, there is Hollywood Walk of Fame: James Doohan (3:10) video footage of Doohan getting his star.

There are four Deleted Scenes (4:05), a Production Gallery of on location stills, Storyboards, and seven TV Spots.

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country: everything from the 2002 Collector’s Edition SD-DVD is here except the text commentary. The first group of items is new to this edition and in HD.

Commentary by Larry Nemecek and Ira Steven Behr: these guys look at the picture more from a fanboy perspective since they had nothing to do with the movie itself. They reminisce about who they had met and worked with on the TV shows.

Tom Morga: Alien Stuntman (4:59): Morga has been a stand in for Nimoy and been in most of the movies and TV shows as a stuntman or alien extra, and he finally gets recognized here.

To Be Or Not To Be: Klingons and Shakespeare (23:03): So, there’s a troupe who does “Hamlet”… as Klingons. I really can’t think of anything more to say about it.

Starfleet Academy SciSec Briefing 006: Praxis (2:35): another Starfleet propaganda piece.

Teaser and Theatrical Trailers.


The following item were ported over from the 2002 SD-DVD Collector’s Edition and they’re all in SD.

Commentary by director Nicholas Meyer and screenwriter Denny Martin Flinn.

The Perils of Peacemaking (26:33): Meyer, Nimoy and others discuss politics in the 23rd century and how the Federation responds to it. They explain how the events of the time, the fall of the Berlin Wall, Chernobyl and the shifting political philosophies, influenced this movie. While it started out fairly interesting, it got dry quick.

Stories from Star Trek VI (57:09): this piece is split up into six separate parts, It Started with a Story, Prejudice, Director Nicholas Meyer, Shakespeare & General Chang, Bring it to Life and Farewell & Goodbye. They can be played separately or together. Again, we get a recap of the history of the show and its theatrical history then there is some information on the original idea of doing the origin story of Kirk and Spock. This is kind of interesting in light of the 2009 movie. We then move into the story and its revisions, the racial theme and the actor’s response to it, Meyer’s issues during production and how he held it all together. Plummer chimes in about his role, Meyer and the cast in the next piece, followed by the history of the blue food and why Meyer is a liar. The shoot itself then takes the spotlight, including inherent problems in the locations. Another small piece talks to the musical composer and his excitement over the finale of the movie and the series with this cast. Finally, the cast, Meyer and others discuss the closing of the movie and the series and some sweet final words about Gene Rodenberry from Shatner.

The next big set of docs comes under the heading The Star Trek Universe. Starting with Conversations with Nicholas Meyer (9:31), a brief piece on Meyer’s thoughts on moviemaking, art, actors, dealing with Shatner and more. Klingons: Conjuring the Legend (20:45) discusses the Klingons and how they evolved over the course of the TV shows and the movies via changes in makeup, clothing and attitude. Federation Operatives (4:53) is a piece about actors who have been in different movies and TV shows as different characters. Penny’s Toy Box (6:05) introduces us to the Star Trek archivist at Paramount and some of the props, and Together Again (4:56) has Plummer and Shatner discussing each other and their careers.

A Production Gallery of on-set stills is here along with Storyboards, original cast interviews, a DeForest Kelley Tribute and a 1991 Convention Presentation by Nicholas Meyer.


Bonus Disc:

Star Trek: The Captains’ Summit (1:11:12) (HD): Shatner, Nimoy, Jonathan Frakes and Patrick Stewart partake in a very loose roundtable discussion hosted by Whoopi Goldberg. It’s really a fun time with these guys as everyone is very loose and energetic, ripping on each other, their respective series and characters. All of them poke fun at Star Trek conventions and fans and it’s interesting to hear just how big and rabid fandom can be. This summit is well worth the viewing!

Bonus Material: *****/*****


Conclusions:
While Paramount has gone all out with the extras and the audio on this set, they really missed the mark in the video by applying too much DNR. Had that not been the case, this set would come highly recommended, yet I still recommend it for the wealth of information on it and video that still looks pretty good even with the DNR issues.

Special thanks to Matt Hough for the assist, and Mac Mclean and Scott Neumyer for putting up with me!

Re: HTF Blu-ray Review: Star Trek: The Original Motion Picture Collection

I'm not sure I'm getting your position on the screen caps line...

I called the video, in the end, "pretty good". Not exceptional, excellent, or any other highly positive words. I rated it 3/5. It has its issues and I've detailed that in the video portion of the review. The image, besides the DNR issues, does look pretty good, certainly better than the DVD's, but I did not rate them on that criterial alone. The colors are better, it is sharper and detail is better. Grain alone does not an image make and while it was a big component missing here, the image still looks pretty good. I could not put a "Recommended" on the set because of the video issues.

Paramount is very aware of the issues with this set. I've spoken to my reps who send me the discs and they know everyones thoughts and opinions on the DNR. Paramount botched one major component of this set in tampering with the image, but the rest of the set is exceptional, great audio and great extras. Some people can live with the DNR in exchange for the quality of the rest of the set.

Alex, my suggestion to you is to keep up your fight to make your voice heard regarding the issues with this set and its video quality. If you are this upset about it DON'T BUY IT. Further, email and write a letter to Paramount expressing your dismay with how they handled this release. I know for a fact these emails and letters make it to the people responsible for putting these things out.