Star Trek: The Motion Picture

[indelibleface]

Yeah, I know, no one likes this one. Star Trek: The Motionless Picture.

a.k.a. Star Trek: The Motion Sickness

That said...

I saw this film when I was little, and it basically inducted me into the wild, nerdy world of Trek. I was obsessed with the franchise because of this film by Robert Wise. So, maybe I'm biased a bit. But, honestly, I think this film deserved a lot more than it got. Apparently, Paramount thought so too, so they let Wise create a director's cut of sorts.

The cut adds back several character building scenes that were removed because of time constraints. They also finished many of the special effects that they couldn't complete originally, integrating them seemlessly using effects that would have been possible back in the seventies (take that George Lucas). If you remember, there were many scenes, the recreation room scene in particular, that have big blue panels on the walls instead of windows -- these are actually blue screens that were meant to have star effects on them! They added those back in, and they also created all new effects showing V'ger's spaceship in full, actually [finally] giving you a better idea of what the damn thing looks like. Among other minor tinkerings with the movie, it really made a better film, turning one of the arguably more average entries in the series to one of the best.

Anyway, I'm not sure why I liked this movie more than everyone else. Maybe it's the ethereal nature to some of the space scenes -- you can tell 2001: A Space Odyssey was an inspiration. I also liked the premise -- the idea of a great big confused child-like machine creature searching for meaning to his life and searching for his "creator", assimilating and collecting information across the universe. The concepts dealt with in the film were very deep, especially compared to some of the latter day films.

But I tended to like the ones everyone disliked in the series (I loved the critically slammed Generations, I feel like that was the best of the TNG movies), although I completely hated The Final Frontier like everyone else. The Wrath Of Khan is beyond a shadow of a doubt my favorite film in the series, but The Motion Picture definitely deserves more. It's quite the art piece, definitely visually if not conceptually. If you are a trekkie and disliked the film, give the director's cut a chance.

 

[Belisarius]

I must say, I haven't seen the director's cut of TMP yet. It seems like every Trekkie online, though, thinks it's a vast improvement over the original. For the theatrical version I've seen, I consider it good but not great.

Not-so-great:
--Slow.
--Absolutely hate the gray uniforms; they look like white scrubs accidentally washed with black socks.
--I didn't give a flip about Decker or Ilia.
--Spock was a robot. Yes, he had just gotten out of kolinarh, and was searching for himself, but the understated wit of the Spock from TOS and the later movies was sorely missed.
--Even as a kid, when I first saw V'Ger's "secret", I just didn't buy it. It made sense within the context of the film, but it didn't feel right--it's kind of hard to put into words. Though my opinion of the film has improved over time, the plot twist has only gotten worse.

Great:
--F/X that have aged well.
--An outstanding and suitably creepy musical score, arguably the best of the entire series.
--General "cool factor"--the beautiful new Enterprise, ships disintegrating in lightning-like sparks, glowing clouds, V'Ger (big, bigger, and biggest)--there's a lot to ogle in this film.

So, a mixed bag for me. If the director's cut shows me the light, I'll be the first to resurrect this thread.

Here's a thread on another board I frequent with some tangential discussion of TMP:

http://www.bautforum.com/small-medi...-more-i-hear-about-choices-they-making-5.html

 

[Spazzzz?]

I love pretty much anything with "Star Trek" on it, but IMO the movies just didn't do it for me. If I had to choose a movie with the original lineup, I'd probably go with IV, the humpback whale one. The movies are just missing something that the series have.

 

[silverwheel]

This is one of those movies that would be a lot better if it wasn't a franchise film (coincidentally, I feel the same way about Alien 3). As a Star Trek piece, it's a failure because it wastes the classic character dynamic from the show. But as a stand-alone piece of sci-fi, it's not that bad. I saw it late-night on TBS when I was eleven, and my mind was totally blown by the whole V'Ger/Voyager thing. I also knew next to nothing about Star Trek at the time, and I've liked this film less and less over time because it pales in comparison to many of the television episodes.

I'm inclined to give Robert Wise the benefit of the doubt on a lot of points. I like the slow tempo (of course, I was the weirdo who loved 2001 back in high school - slow movies and I have a thing going on). And I admire the philosophical ambition of the whole project. But I don't think that's a particularly wise strategy when making a Star Trek film. It has none of the charm or the fun of the show.

 

[Spazzzz?]

Silverwheel hit it right on the head.

What is V'Ger?

 

[Swerlz]

^ its either Voyager 1 or 2.. i believe its 1

 

[Belisarius]

Voyager 6, n00bz.

j/k

 

[DigitalDuality]

i never really liked any of the movies. At most Wrath of Kahn and First Contact.

 

[L2R]

poll here now go

 

[indelibleface]

Wrath Of Khan, I'm tempted to say, is possibly one of the great sci-fi movies of all time. It's nearly perfect, and non-trekkies can appreciate it as well. Khan is the ultimate villain, and William Shatner gives the performance of his career. I mean, jeez, the funeral scene at the end, I never thought Shatner had it in him to deliver such a touching scene.

But, again, the first movie is creepy, deep, and powerful, at least in my opinion. Easily my second favorite of the whole series. Although, The Voyage Home was great too. None of the TNG movies came close to the original films -- but Generations was close. They all felt pretty hokey.

I'm eagerly anticipating the new film.

 

[indelibleface]

This basically explains my views on the film (the director's cut):

So why is this version better than its theatrical sibling? The first, and most obvious, reason is that the pacing is better. Some of the new effects transform the V'ger trip into a more involving experience, and the inclusion of several character-based scenes that were previously edited out (Spock weeping for V'ger, Kirk ordering Scotty to prepare for a self-destruct) subtly shift the focus away from technical elements and back to the players. Wise's decisions about what to eliminate and what to add are inspired. The entire second act feels completely different. Secondly, the improved sound allows the audio to pack a punch that the original never did. And, finally, there's an intangible - because the movie explores ideas, it has aged better than many of its action-oriented contemporaries.

The "idea" aspect of Star Trek - The Motion Picture is enhanced in this version. The film spends more time exploring those unique qualities that make human beings special, and the importance of tempering logic and knowledge with emotion. Spock's breakthrough comes when he embraces his human half instead of rejecting it. For V'ger to grow, it must find a way to move beyond the cold machine logic of its programming. To do that, V'ger wants to "join" with its creator, and, in this, the film illuminates our need to strive for new goals and seek to attain the previously unattainable. And, while Star Trek - The Motion Picture doesn't answer the questions of "Who am I? Why am I here?", it isn't afraid to ask them.

It's interesting to note that the new special effects (produced by Foundation Imaging) - including an improved vision of Vulcan, a more impressive end to the wormhole sequence, our first view of the entire V'ger ship from the outside, and a change in the approach "walkway" to V'ger at the end - are done in such a manner that they blend seamlessly with the work done by Douglas Trumbell and John Dykstra 22 years ago. Nothing in Star Trek - The Motion Picture: Director's Edition seems out of place. A casual viewer who hasn't seen the film in more than two decades might assume that little or nothing had changed.

Jerry Goldsmith's score, which has since become a staple in the Star Trek musical lexicon, represents one of the film's strengths. It's the music, as much as the visuals, that makes the shuttle's initial approach to the Enterprise such a majestic moment. The sequence is overlong, but the thrill of hearing Goldsmith's score allows us to enjoy the moment rather than fall asleep. The ominous, ethereal strains of his V'ger themes enhance the sense that the Enterprise is penetrating ever deeper into a wondrous and dangerous realm as it moves deeper into the aliens' vessel.

...

Re-visiting Star Trek - The Motion Picture via this director's cut is like seeing a familiar story unfold in a new way. Wise's picture was an ambitious effort from the beginning, striving for a greatness that it never attained. In this new version, it still falls short, but not by as much. It has taken more than 20 years for Robert Wise to return to his chapter of the Star Trek saga and fulfill his vision. With no hesitation, I can say that it has been worth the wait. Star Trek - The Motion Picture: Director's Edition vaults this movie from a position as one of the weakest entries in the long-running film series to a perch as one of the strongest.

http://www.reelviews.net/movies/s/st-tmp.html

 

[dr.strangelove]

Persis Khambatta - one hot bald chic!

 

[indelibleface]

The flaws that the movie did have might have been solved had they gone through with Star Trek: Phase II, which was the unproduced Star Trek series based upon the characters in The Motion Picture. It was supposed to have begun production in 1979, and they have all sorts of concept art and test footage that was never really put to use. They even wrote an entire first season of episodes (a couple of which were reused as TNG episodes -- "The Child" and "Devil's Due"). The first episode, "In Thy Image", was converted into The Motion Picture when the studio execs decided to make a film instead. Now that might have been interesting.

 

[Belisarius]

^
Interesting...I heard that some set work from that series was in fact used in Wrath of Khan.