What is the best star trek movie collection (1 Viewer)

[jim1174]

First do you think Paramount will ever release a 4k of the original 6 movies? I was looking on best buy and noticed they had a few movie collections on Blu ray like the stardate collection and the celebrate the 50th 6 disc collection. Are all these collections the same movies with the same picture and audio quality? would you recommend one collection over the other ?

 

[BobO'Link]

I don't think there's been a "definitive" set released in any HD format. Whether or not there'll be a 4K and/or truly "definitive" set on any HD format is rather unpredictable given the current state of things at Viacom/CBS/Paramount (whatever they call themselves now). There's been lots of talk about a HD remaster of the "Director's Edition" of TMP but nothing, yet, has apparently come from them.

A few years back I purchased "The Stardate Collection" as it has all 10 movies from both franchises (and that's in spite of me not much caring for the TNG series or movies). From what I read at the time it was nothing but a repackaging of the "bonus disc" versions of "Star Trek: Original Motion Picture Collection" and "Star Trek: The Next Generation Motion Picture 5-Movie Collection" (although why the latter is called a "5-Movie Collection" when it's 4 and a bonus disc is odd).

The biggest issue, at least for me, is these sets only include the original, non-director's cut, theatrical versions of the TOS movies. There's a combination of old (from the DVDs) and new "Special Features" that I've never watched (on the DVDs or BRs) as I'm not a "special features" type viewer (even for movies I love - like these). The transfers, AFAIK, are the same ones Paramount's used all along with only The Wrath of Khan receiving a remaster job (and it's the theatrical version) for these releases. That means somewhat lackluster transfers on the TOS movies, which *do* look better than the DVDs, that could, and should, have looked better.

When it came out, I supplemented that set with "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan [Director's Cut]" and, should they see fit to release them on BR as well, would upgrade all of the TOS movies, especially The Motion Picture, with their respective "Director's Cut." Until then, I'll keep the old DVDs of those editions for the times I really want to watch them.

That TOS "50th Anniversary Collection" collects the original series, the Animated Series, the 6 TOS movies, and some "collector" cards and a communicator pin in a single package. Both of the TV series are the original BR transfers in a single "EpikPak" case. The movies are the same transfers as in those previous sets, again in new packaging. It may have new "special features" but I never pay attention to those so couldn't say.

So... for now it comes down to what you have and what you want. You'll get the same transfers no matter which direction you select.

 

[Dave Moritz]

With the first four Star Trek titles now on 4K blu-ray now the question is when will the rest of the films see a 4K release? I am curious however why Paramount did not just make it a 6 film set to round off the original crew set instead of just including 4 films? And I also wonder if they are working on prepping the remaining films for 4K release or maybe this is to test the waters to see how well the 4 film set sells first? If anyone has the first four films on iTuens they have been upgraded to 4K.