Pre-Order Star Trek: The Original 4-Movie Collection (4k UHD Combo) Available for Preorder (1 Viewer)

[Walter Kittel]

I hate to keep piling on, but as been stated, you had to be there to see Star Trek The Motion Picture for the very first time. After a decade of only seeing Star Trek in syndication, this was truly the very first time we see a new Enterprise and on the large screen. I remember thinking back then there was nothing to compare to, there was no TNG, no other versions of Star Trek to compare the new design of the Enterprise to. I just soaked it in and was accepting what I was seeing and hearing as the Goldsmith score is playing. It was easy to get lost in the images you were seeing then! And on a large screen.

If you’re first exposure to this film is on a small screen watching the DVD or current blu ray, or streaming and you’ve had the decades of TNG and DS9 and other shows screening already, the effect of seeing Star Trek The Motion Picture will not have the same impact.

Nelson makes an excellent point. I had watched Star Trek on NBC during its initial run in the '60s and followed it again in the '70s when it was in syndication. I remember that news of the series coming to film in the latter '70s was a pretty big deal to this fan. Having only experienced Trek on modest B&W television sets through the years, seeing the first film on the biggest screen I could find was quite striking. I saw the films theatrically multiple times, but honestly can't remember how many times or even what venues.

Later, it was easier to find fault with the film (the pacing and the costume design immediately come to mind) especially if one considers Nicholas Meyer's ST II:WOK as a critique of the first film in terms of the changes to the franchise. But for a time, the first film was very special and I still feel a lot of nostalgia for that feature.

- Walter.

 

[Christian D66]

I get that the looooong opening shot of the "Enterprise" is partly there as a treat to the diehards, but it's still questionable filmmaking, as the pacing is awfully slow.


If "TMP" just wanted to appeal to those diehards, then mission accomplished, but I'm pretty sure all involved wanted it to appeal to a broad audience, and scenes like that didn't help its cause...

I don't see how an intended scene is "questionable filmmaking" because you perceive it be slow. The film is indeed a long trek but that scene is a highlight and I doubt any real ST fan yawns in that scene.

 

[Osato]

Nelson makes an excellent point. I had watched Star Trek on NBC during its initial run in the '60s and followed it again in the '70s when it was in syndication. I remember that news of the series coming to film in the latter '70s was a pretty big deal to this fan. Having only experienced Trek on modest B&W television sets through the years, seeing the first film on the biggest screen I could find was quite striking. I saw the films theatrically multiple times, but honestly can't remember how many times or even what venues.

Later, it was easier to find fault with the film (the pacing and the costume design immediately come to mind) especially if one considers Nicholas Meyer's ST II:WOK as a critique of the first film in terms of the changes to the franchise. But for a time, the first film was very special and I still feel a lot of nostalgia for that feature.

- Walter.

Film editing is always a product of its time too.

Star Wars 1977 could also have sequences run much quicker if it was made today.

2001 a space odyssey would be much shorter now too.

There is an artistic form with pacing and editing based on the directors creativity too.

Sergio Leone films and their pacing drive my father in law crazy but I love them.

 

[Osato]

I don't see how an intended scene is "questionable filmmaking" because you perceive it be slow. The film is indeed a long trek but that scene is a highlight and I doubt any real ST fan yawns in that scene.

Agreed. The scene is fitting for the film and the directors vision. We are looking at a film that is 42 years old with modern film views too.

 

[Osato]

For those that don’t care for the enterprise scene in tmp, here is your cut:

 

[Garysb]

I think the fact that almost the entire film, except for that long ride, took place on the ship equates the first movie to a bottle episode of a TV series except that they didn't save money, which is the point of a bottle episode.

 

[Osato]

I think the fact that almost the entire film, except for that long ride, took place on the ship equates the first movie to a bottle episode of a TV series.

Agreed. Khan was cheap in that regard too.

What drove cost up on search for Spock?

It’s hard to believe that final frontier had such a high budget as it looks so cheap. But they did a lot of location shooting too.

 

[Osato]

I think the fact that almost the entire film, except for that long ride, took place on the ship equates the first movie to a bottle episode of a TV series except that they didn't save money, which is the point of a bottle episode.

It’s funny that khan was so engaging that you don’t think about the lack of scope.

 

[Sam Favate]

I hate to keep piling on, but as been stated, you had to be there to see Star Trek The Motion Picture for the very first time. After a decade of only seeing Star Trek in syndication, this was truly the very first time we see a new Enterprise and on the large screen. I remember thinking back then there was nothing to compare to, there was no TNG, no other versions of Star Trek to compare the new design of the Enterprise to. I just soaked it in and was accepting what I was seeing and hearing as the Goldsmith score is playing. It was easy to get lost in the images you were seeing then! And on a large screen.

If you’re first exposure to this film is on a small screen watching the DVD or current blu ray, or streaming and you’ve had the decades of TNG and DS9 and other shows screening already, the effect of seeing Star Trek The Motion Picture will not have the same impact.

As I have said before, when my wife and I saw the Downton Abbey movie in the theater a couple of years ago, she commented on how amazing the house looked on the big screen. I told her she was right, and that's how Star Trek fans felt upon seeing the Enterprise on the big screen for the first time in TMP. (She's a Star Trek fan too so she gets it.)

Then I told her: "I hope they don't blow up the house in the third movie."

IMO, not one second of the reveal of the ship in TMP is wasted. After only seeing Star Trek on the small screen (and not just small screens - we're talking about those crappy screens we had in the 70s), seeing it in a theater was truly amazing. I'm still disappointed that the Enterprise-D had no similar kind of reveal in the first TNG film. (They sure didn't wait long to blow that one up, did they? Morons.)

And in what I think was one of that show's best sequences, Lower Decks had some fun with the reveal in its first season:

 

[Lord Dalek]

Khan may have been shot nearly entirely on soundstages (and TBF the Star Trek crew wasn't allowed to "go outside" until Star Trek IV!) but at least the film spent 20 minutes in Regula One and the Genesis Cave instead of the Enterprise.

 

[ScottHM]

For those that don’t care for the enterprise scene in tmp, here is your cut:

Except that, thankfully, this "Enterprise" could only exist in an alternate universe.

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[Christian D66]

I'm just awaiting the scores of "WHY ST:TMP IS BETTER THAN YOU REMEMBER" and "TIME TO SHOW ST:TMP THE LOVE" articles after the 4k release. Trust me, they're coming.

 

[Christian D66]

Agreed. The scene is fitting for the film and the directors vision. We are looking at a film that is 42 years old with modern film views too.

I still think about watching ST:TMP as a geek/audience savvy 12 year old and even thinking at the time that the full theater was mostly bored including my crush/date until ALIEN. But it was an era where audiences were not 24/7 flooded with MTV cutting, state of the art fx and franchise building. Those two films back to back are an amazing hard 70's sci-fi bookend.

 

[Lord Dalek]

I'm just awaiting the scores of "WHY ST:TMP IS BETTER THAN YOU REMEMBER" and "TIME TO SHOW ST:TMP THE LOVE" articles after the 4k release. Trust me, they're coming.

They aren't but thanks for playing.

 

[Christian D66]

They aren't but thanks for playing.

I mean, why even release this since obviously everybody thinks it's so bad and boring!
I'll check back in a few months with the post-release results.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I mean, why even release this since obviously everybody thinks it's so bad and boring!
I'll check back in a few months with the post-release results.

It's just noise and it's best to just ignore it.

 

[Neil S. Bulk]

I'm just awaiting the scores of "WHY ST:TMP IS BETTER THAN YOU REMEMBER" and "TIME TO SHOW ST:TMP THE LOVE" articles after the 4k release. Trust me, they're coming.

They aren't but thanks for playing.

Or perhaps they're already happening.

 

[Garysb]

I mean, why even release this since obviously everybody thinks it's so bad and boring!
I'll check back in a few months with the post-release results.

I don't think it would have been such a bad thing to release 2, 3, and 4 as a box set in 4k and hold off on 1 until Paramount finishes working on the Director's Cut. Those 3 films have been released as a blu ray set. Fans of 1 will have to double dip to get the Director's Cut when it comes out on disc after playing on Paramount +.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

If that’s what Paramount feels they need to do in order to put this release on a path to financial viability, I’m ok with the double dip. They could have easily just put out the theatrical editions and called it a day. That they’re putting effort in, even if the product configuration isn’t everyone’s ideal, is a major step up from the status quo for the past 12 years.

 

[ScottHM]

Fans of 1 will have to double dip to get the Director's Cut when it comes out on disc after playing on Paramount +.

Why would they have to do that? I have every intention of waiting for the release of the STTMP DC before purchasing any of these films in HD.

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