Star Trek: The Motion Picture World Premiere (1 Viewer)

Catherine Pierce · Nov 3, 2001

Pictures of the World Premiere of STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE - THE DIRECTOR'S EDITION are up on Bill Hunt's site - www.thedigitalbits.com. Many of the original cast members: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, George Takei, Walter Koenig, Grace Lee Whitney and Dreamworks partner, Jeffrey Katzenberg joined Robert Wise for an evening of celebration at the Paramount Theatre. The Director's Edition production team, producer, David C Fein, restoration supervisor, Michael Matessino, and visual effects supervisor, Daren Dochterman also attended the event with Mr. Wise. They recently won the 2001 award for Best New, Enhanced, or Reconstructed Movie Scenes at the Video Premiere Awards for their work on this film.

Nelson Au · Nov 3, 2001

Catherine-
Thanks for the heads up. That was great to see how well Paramount is treating this film. I hope Mr. Hunt gets more shots up. I can't wait to get that DVD!
Nelson

GerardoHP · Nov 3, 2001

Kind of disappointing to hear that the video quality is lacking, what with dust, grain and scratches present throughout. We'll have to wait and see.
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Gerardo

Erika von Tiesenhausen · Nov 3, 2001

Kind of disappointing to hear that the video quality is lacking, what with dust, grain and scratches present throughout.

I suppose that just means that none, or very few, of the original VistaVision elements shot by Trumbull and Dykstra were available for digital recompositing (it has been two decades, after all), hence the grain and dirt visible during many of the visual effects shots.
Of course, The Director's Edition is not at all the film that we would have got had Robert Wise been given another year of post-production time in 1979, but merely a vague representation of what ST:TMP should have been.
EvT

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Jack Briggs · Nov 3, 2001

SoCal fans may be interested to know that director Robert Wise will be autographing copies of the new DVD at the Virgin Megastore on Sunset in West Hollywood.
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Lewis Besze · Nov 3, 2001

When?
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"You Hungarians always disagree"

Jack Briggs · Nov 3, 2001

I think on Tuesday, the sixth--the street date for the disc.
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Robert George · Nov 3, 2001

Of course, The Director's Edition is not at all the film that we would have got had Robert Wise been given another year of post-production time in 1979, but merely a vague representation of what ST:TMP should have been.

Erika:
On what do you base this assumption?
I feel it is made quite clear in the interview and documentary material with this disc that this represents Wise's original vision. The areas that were rushed were final editing and some of the visual effects. Those areas have been addressed now.

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Erika von Tiesenhausen · Nov 3, 2001

quote: On what do you base this assumption?[/quote]
I based this assumption simply on the fact that the team behind The Director's Edition (Fein, Matessino, Dochterman, and Michael) were NOT in anyway involved with the production of the original film. Beyond that, Robert Wise cannot be the same person he was in 1979. I am not questioning his undoubted good mental and physical health for someone of his advanced years, but the simple fact is that over two decades have passed since the original release of ST:TMP. We have no idea how Mr. Wise's ideas on what kind of film ST:TMP should be have changed over that period of time.
Please don't misunderstand me. I am absolutely thrilled that one of my favorite science-fiction films is at long last finished (more or less), but I would have infinitely prefered that Mr. Wise been given the same opportunity to complete ST:TMP immediately after its initial theatrical release, in the same way that Speilberg was permitted to "fix" CE3K in 1979 with the Special Edition.
EvT
[Edited last by Erika von Tiesenhausen on November 03, 2001 at 06:19 PM]

Anton Ruzic · Nov 3, 2001

"More or less"? What exactly do you think has been left incomplete in the DE, Erika?
Anton

Mike Matessino · Nov 4, 2001

You underestimate the care with which this project was done. Firstly, many of the changes made to the film were well documented in correspondence between Mr. Wise and Mr. Roddenberry, and this, along with original designs for unrealized work, served as a basis for the creation of "the Director's Edition." Also, Mr. Wise's "original vision" included the opportunity to show the film to audiences and get their responses. He doesn't believe a film can possibly be finished until that process takes place. In lieu of a preview that didn't happen in 1979, two decades of reviews and commentary have now served that purpose. There is nothing in "the Director's Edition" that wasn't a goal in 1979.

Robert George · Nov 4, 2001

Thanks for adding your comments, Mike. We are pleased you would use the Forum to offer some of your expertise on the background of this production.
This also allows me the opportunity to personally thank you, David Fein, and the rest of the crew responsible for putting this project together for a very good job on a film that was in true need. As a fan of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and movies in general, I appreciate your efforts.

Nelson Au · Nov 4, 2001

Thank you Mr. Matessino for your comments and contributing to the forum.
It's great to see the people in the business come here and comment. I have not seen the disc yet and I wish I could get a copy of the DVD now, but sight unseen and from what I do see in the Trek magazines, it looks like a spectacular job by yourself, Mr. Wise and the team.
It was interesting that I saw Mark Altman's name appear somewhere connected to this DVD project. I recall an editorial he wrote in his now defunct magazine, Sci-Fi Universe in 1997 calling for a campaign to see this film restored for it's 20th Annivesary. I digress, but it looks like a lot of people were in this effort for the love of this Star Trek film and the film industry.
What an exciting time for Trek fans like myself. It seems the only topic I care to comment on here these days! Thanks again for finally completing Robert Wise's film!
Nelson

Neil S. Bulk · Nov 4, 2001

What an exciting time for Trek fans like myself. It seems the only topic I care to comment on here these days! Thanks again for finally completing Robert Wise's film!

Agreed totally!
Thank you Mr. Matessino for making this project happen. I know it won't dissapoint.
Neil
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"Conspiracy theorists don't live on the same flat Earth as the rest of us." -- astronomer Stephen Maran

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Erika von Tiesenhausen · Nov 4, 2001

"More or less"? What exactly do you think has been left incomplete in the DE, Erika?

Nothing major. I have noticed that the viewports behind Mr. Scott and the transporter operator in the "Space Office Complex" during Admiral Kirk's beam-up are still opaqued. Although this minor detail is not vital to the narrative structure of the film, seeing other habitation modules and the Earth itself through the windows would have added a greater sense of verisimilitude to the scene in question.
EvT

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Anton Ruzic · Nov 4, 2001

I have noticed that the viewports behind Mr. Scott and the transporter operator in the "Space Office Complex" during Admiral Kirk's beam-up are still opaqued.

Fudge! How much could it have cost to at least put in a moving starfield?

Mr. Matessino, is there a chance that this oversight will be corrected if and when the time comes to re-render The Director's Edition CGI for HDTV/Cinema resolutions? Beyond that, I must congratulate you and your team for the absolutely dazzling amount of care and craftsmanship that obviously went into the production of ST:TMP-TDE.
Anton

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Lou Sytsma · Nov 4, 2001

I thank you as well sir! Mr. Matessino please pass along my thanks to you and the rest of the DVD production team!
It's amazing what a few edits can do overall to a movie. There are really no major changes and yet as an entity the movie has a more cohesive flow and a greater impact!
The new effects merge nicely with the old.
The cloud entry and V'GER fly-by(over?) sequence is vastly improved. I remember in the theatre feeling like this part took forever. Now intercuts with the crew make this sequence flow much better.
Job well done!

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Every man is my superior, in that I may learn from him.
MyHTSetup

Erika von Tiesenhausen · Nov 4, 2001

Fudge! How much could it have cost to at least put in a moving starfield?

Not as much as inserting that absolutely superfluous classic-series shuttle in the new San Francisco Skytram Terminal shot, I suspect.
EvT

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Anton Ruzic · Nov 5, 2001

Not as much as inserting that absolutely superfluous classic-series shuttle in the new San Francisco Skytram Terminal shot, I suspect.

Anton

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GregK · Nov 5, 2001

Ah the hell with the starfield.

..I for one am glad
Mr. Wise was willing and allowed to go back and do the
fixes he did, and the conditions he placed upon himself
and his team when it came to 'spiffing up' the film. If
all the right people and circumstances hadn't happened when
they did, the 'rough-cut' 1979 version may have been it
forever. I'm not saying don't point out flaws, but let's
keep it in perspective.

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