Star Trek films on Blu-Ray... what we know so far (4 Viewers)

[Tino]

Ah, I see you weren't able to pick up the recent TOS season 1-3 combined box set which they were selling for the insane price of less than $85 a while back! The Original series Blu-rays are one of my prized possessions and I never go a week without watching at least one episode.Hi-def digest and Blu-ray.com both have reviews of the set--which unfortunately have no new features other than a pretty lame intro by Rod Roddenberry. But by all means, if you haven't experienced TOS on Blu-ray--they are fantastic.

I have all the Star Trek seasons on blu since day 1. Just haven't picked up the Origins collection yet as I am a completist and just waiting for that BB upgrade sale.

 

[Sam Favate]

But by all means, if you haven't experienced TOS on Blu-ray--they are fantastic.

I'll second that. Far from the middling quality of the Trek films on blu, the Original Series (and TNG & Enterprise) on blu is (are) outstanding.

 

[Ted Van Duyn]

We're fortunate that CBS takes great care of the Star Trek properties they own. They've recently said that they'll be handling the rest of TNG's three remaining seasons rather than outsourcing the work to other studios in response to the subpar quality that we've been getting. Sigh. If only CBS had the movies.

 

[Lockjaw]

We're fortunate that CBS takes great care of the Star Trek properties they own. They've recently said that they'll be handling the rest of TNG's three remaining seasons rather than outsourcing the work to other studios in response to the subpar quality that we've been getting. Sigh. If only CBS had the movies.

That would be a dream come true---as opposed to the nightmare that is the movie branch of Paramount

 

[Nelson Au]

I really want the Directors Cut of Star Trek The Motion Picture! I have to say that every now and then. Maybe someone will see it and make it happen.

 

[cineMANIAC]

I really want the Directors Cut of Star Trek The Motion Picture!I have to say that every now and then. Maybe someone will see it and make it happen.

Any theories as to why Paramount seemingly doesn't care about the original films? Just like the Friday the 13th films, Star Trek has been making the studio tons of money, so why do they keep shafting the fans? The Star Trek sets that were released on Blu-ray were very nice but they could've been better.

 

[Sam Favate]

Honestly, it seems like Paramount's whole DVD unit isn't operating on all cylinders. The company needs a new plan if they want to maximize their properties on physical media while there still is physical media.

 

[Nelson Au]

At a recent HTF meet in Hollywood, one of the members reported a very nice visit to Paramount. The Paramount rep answered one of our members asking about Star Trek and the reply was that we'd be very excited about what's coming in 2013. At the time, I think the assumption was referring to Enterprise and TNG and not the films. But as we know, the TV series are under CBS.

 

[Lockjaw]

At a recent HTF meet in Hollywood, one of the members reported a very nice visit to Paramount.The Paramount rep answered one of our members asking about Star Trek and the reply was that we'd be very excited about what's coming in 2013.At the time, I think the assumption was referring to Enterprise and TNG and not the films. But as we know, the TV series are under CBS.

Um, 2013 is nearly over.......

Do you mean he said 2014 would be exciting?

 

[Ted Van Duyn]

Um, 2013 is nearly over.......

Do you mean he said 2014 would be exciting?

The 30th Anniversary of Star Trek III??

Oh, come on. I love that one.

 

[Jason_V]

I've told this story in several threads here since the meet up back in October 2012. Apologies to anyone who has heard it multiple times.

During the meet up, each of our lunch tables had at least one Paramount (not CBS, mind you) executive and/or other personnel. We were free to ask any question we wanted and to talk honestly about what was going on. I did ask about Friday the 13th at the time (the Warner distribution announcement happened right around this time) and commented it was weird the series stalled on BD after #3. What do we have this year? A complete Friday the 13th boxset.

Anyway, I also mentioned Trek (being a big Trekkie). I asked the SVP and restoration expert to pass my thanks onto CBS for a quick resolution to the S1 problems. I also asked about a sneak peek into what they had planned for 2013. We were told fans should be happy with what was coming. At that time, we didn't know anything aside from TNG on BD. As it turns out, Enterprise started coming out in 2013, as did STID.

Now, at the time, there was speculation that there was something else coming. That was always unconfirmed and wishful thinking. The 35th anniversary of TMP is coming next year. That's one of the two chances I think we have for a Director's Cut on BD. The other is going to be 2016, the 50th anniversary of the franchise. Frankly, I think we're going to be waiting until 2016 at this point. I can't see Paramount (not CBS) not rolling out the red carpet in 2016 and re-releasing everything on disc. That's only my opinion based on nothing but past history. Studios love anniversaries and always try to celebrate them with "new" product on the shelf.

 

[Lromero1396]

Any theories as to why Paramount seemingly doesn't care about the original films? Just like the Friday the 13th films, Star Trek has been making the studio tons of money, so why do they keep shafting the fans? The Star Trek sets that were released on Blu-ray were very nice but they could've been better.

Honestly, it seems like Paramount's whole DVD unit isn't operating on all cylinders. The company needs a new plan if they want to maximize their properties on physical media while there still is physical media.

I've told this story in several threads here since the meet up back in October 2012. Apologies to anyone who has heard it multiple times.

During the meet up, each of our lunch tables had at least one Paramount (not CBS, mind you) executive and/or other personnel. We were free to ask any question we wanted and to talk honestly about what was going on. I did ask about Friday the 13th at the time (the Warner distribution announcement happened right around this time) and commented it was weird the series stalled on BD after #3. What do we have this year? A complete Friday the 13th boxset.

Anyway, I also mentioned Trek (being a big Trekkie). I asked the SVP and restoration expert to pass my thanks onto CBS for a quick resolution to the S1 problems. I also asked about a sneak peek into what they had planned for 2013. We were told fans should be happy with what was coming. At that time, we didn't know anything aside from TNG on BD. As it turns out, Enterprise started coming out in 2013, as did STID.

Now, at the time, there was speculation that there was something else coming. That was always unconfirmed and wishful thinking. The 35th anniversary of TMP is coming next year. That's one of the two chances I think we have for a Director's Cut on BD. The other is going to be 2016, the 50th anniversary of the franchise. Frankly, I think we're going to be waiting until 2016 at this point. I can't see Paramount (not CBS) not rolling out the red carpet in 2016 and re-releasing everything on disc. That's only my opinion based on nothing but past history. Studios love anniversaries and always try to celebrate them with "new" product on the shelf.

I think that either 2016 or the release of the next Star Trek film (which could well be 2016, but what do I know?) will be when we get remastered releases. In the meantime, I'm going to pick up the OOP 2-disc DVDs.

 

[Lockjaw]

I've told this story in several threads here since the meet up back in October 2012. Apologies to anyone who has heard it multiple times.

During the meet up, each of our lunch tables had at least one Paramount (not CBS, mind you) executive and/or other personnel. We were free to ask any question we wanted and to talk honestly about what was going on. I did ask about Friday the 13th at the time (the Warner distribution announcement happened right around this time) and commented it was weird the series stalled on BD after #3. What do we have this year? A complete Friday the 13th boxset.

Anyway, I also mentioned Trek (being a big Trekkie). I asked the SVP and restoration expert to pass my thanks onto CBS for a quick resolution to the S1 problems. I also asked about a sneak peek into what they had planned for 2013. We were told fans should be happy with what was coming. At that time, we didn't know anything aside from TNG on BD. As it turns out, Enterprise started coming out in 2013, as did STID.

Now, at the time, there was speculation that there was something else coming. That was always unconfirmed and wishful thinking. The 35th anniversary of TMP is coming next year. That's one of the two chances I think we have for a Director's Cut on BD. The other is going to be 2016, the 50th anniversary of the franchise. Frankly, I think we're going to be waiting until 2016 at this point. I can't see Paramount (not CBS) not rolling out the red carpet in 2016 and re-releasing everything on disc. That's only my opinion based on nothing but past history. Studios love anniversaries and always try to celebrate them with "new" product on the shelf.

Also they just repackaged the first 10 movies in a new set---which they wouldn't have done if they were going to do something special for 2014.

 

[Jason_V]

I think that either 2016 or the release of the next Star Trek film (which could well be 2016, but what do I know?) will be when we get remastered releases.

I think a new movie in 2016 is a "must." It would be the height of foolishness not to have a new movie in theaters to celebrate the 50th anniversary. I wouldn't put it past Paramount (any division) to mess this up, but come on. If they can't get this new movie into production for a release sometime in 2016, there's a massive problem in the studio.

 

[Nelson Au]

Thank you Jason for proving my story. And forgive me for a lapse in memory.

 

[Jason_V]

Always happy to help, Nelson!! I'm just sorry I haven't been more active around here lately. It's been a lot of late work nights. I'm trying to do better!

 

[Nelson Au]

I've been putting in some long hours myself the last couple of weeks. Don't burn yourself out Jason!I think I may just write Paramount an old fashioned snail mail letter and ask for them to consider new blu-rays, especially TMP.

 

[FrancisP]

Interesting slideshow from the Wall Street Cheat Sheet. It talks about the fact that paramount's top 5 grossing films this year have made little money in the way of profits for Paramount. The section on the latest Star Trek movie is typical of the issues Paramount faced on many of their films.
1. Star Trek Into Darkness - $228 million domestic
Star Trek Into Darkness was released on May 16; it made $228 million domestically and $238 million overseas for a worldwide total of $466 million. Directed by J.J. Abrams and starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, and Benedict Cumberbatch, the film actually made more money than its predecessor, 2009′s Star Trek, which took in $385 million worldwide. But with a production budget of $190 million, Star Trek Into Darkness was a risky play to turn a profit.

While there’s no doubt the film will ultimately be a moneymaker for Paramount and Viacom when home media profits are factored in, the film was not nearly the kind of success the studio had hoped for. The general rule of thumb in the modern age of Hollywood blockbusters is to take a film’s production budget and double it to factor in the monstrous price of advertising — using that estimate, Star Trek Into Darkness would barely come out on top.

And while the film made more money worldwide than its predecessor, it actually made about $20 million less domestically, an area that can hugely affect a studio’s bottom line. Because overseas distributors take much higher percentages of the gross, every dollar made domestically is worth more than a dollar made overseas.

 

[Ted Van Duyn]

And while the film made more money worldwide than its predecessor, it actually made about $20 million less domestically, an area that can hugely affect a studio’s bottom line. Because overseas distributors take much higher percentages of the gross, every dollar made domestically is worth more than a dollar made overseas.

Not to mention the fact that the film was also released in 3D with inflated pricing, so if you were to take the inflated price away, I bet that number would be a bit bigger. Also, I don't think anyone can say that what made this film perform better overseas was the good reviews or the fact that it was another Star Trek movie.

 

[Tino]

The biggest contributor overseas was China..which accounted for nearly $60 million. While not as successful as Paramount would have hoped, it was successful enough. And considering that it was better reviewed than the first film, we'll thankfully be seeing Star Trek films for a looong time. And since JJ is out as director, chances are good that new screenwriters will be brought in to quell the cries of those unhappy with this one.