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Star Trek: Reunion
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Faneditor Name:
Original Movie Title:
Genre:
Franchise:
Fanedit Type:
Original Release Date:
1979
Original Running Time:
132
Fanedit Release Date:
Fanedit Running Time:
104
Time Cut:
29
Time Added:
2
Available in HD?
Additional Links:
Brief Synopsis:
This is a cut of 'The Motion Picture' that attempts to get a little closer to the excitement and pacing of the Original-Series and the five Original-Crew films that followed it.
Intention:
'The Motion Picture' has always been a tie for my least favourite Star Trek film (With 'Nemesis'). It has little of the dramatic pacing of 'Wrath of Khan', little of the humour of 'The Voyage Home' and little of the emotional warmth of 'Final Frontier'. To me, it feels like a misjudged attempt to make a cerebral and serious film like '2001: A Space Odyssey', when they would have done better trying to replicate the fun of 'Star Wars'.
The pace of the editing is painfully slow, the quality of the VisFX various a lot and most serious for me, the characters just aren't right. Bones isn't humorous enough, Kirk acts confused and uncertain, new crew member Decker is whiny and petulant and all three of them think Spock will betray the Enterprise?!
I was never gonna be able to pull a thrilling 'Wrath of Khan' style adventure out of this thing, my intension was simply to bring it as close as I could to the spirit of the rest of the franchise. Still the same cerebral journey but at Warp-Speed instead of just Impulse-Power.
This cut is meant to be a "Fanfix" by a Star Trek fan who didn't love the source film but I hope longterm 'Motion Picture Fans' will still enjoy this alternate take.
The pace of the editing is painfully slow, the quality of the VisFX various a lot and most serious for me, the characters just aren't right. Bones isn't humorous enough, Kirk acts confused and uncertain, new crew member Decker is whiny and petulant and all three of them think Spock will betray the Enterprise?!
I was never gonna be able to pull a thrilling 'Wrath of Khan' style adventure out of this thing, my intension was simply to bring it as close as I could to the spirit of the rest of the franchise. Still the same cerebral journey but at Warp-Speed instead of just Impulse-Power.
This cut is meant to be a "Fanfix" by a Star Trek fan who didn't love the source film but I hope longterm 'Motion Picture Fans' will still enjoy this alternate take.
Additional Notes:
The main source for this edit is the 'Theatrical Cut' Blu-Ray but a few elements have been drawn from the lower quality 'TV Cut' and 'Director's Cut' sources when absolutely needed.
Other Sources:
Star Trek: The Motion Picture - Director's Cut (DVD)
Star Trek: The Motion Picture - TV Cut (Blu-Ray bonus source)
Star Trek: The Motion Picture - Soundtrack
www.freesound.org (Various free SoundFX)
www.trekcore.com/audio (Various Star Trek SoundFX)
Star Trek: The Motion Picture - TV Cut (Blu-Ray bonus source)
Star Trek: The Motion Picture - Soundtrack
www.freesound.org (Various free SoundFX)
www.trekcore.com/audio (Various Star Trek SoundFX)
Special Thanks:
This would not have been possible without the help, feedback and encouragement of BionicBob and Brumous. Plus in no particular order, thanks also to matrixgrindhouse, Zarius, ranger613, Neglify, Rogue-theX, JetSetWilly, kellenpure, Ken Poirier, addiesin, Vultural, dangermouse, Dwight Fry, ThrowgnCpr, reave, Jeffery Crayon, L8wrtr, darth-ender, SmellySkunk, Kal-El, Captain Khajiit, Garp, sgp1428 and LastSurvivor.
Release Information:
- Digital
- DVD
Special Features
1280x544 MP4
720x480 dvd (Animated-Chapter-Menus)
720x480 dvd (Animated-Chapter-Menus)
Editing Details:
- There are only 3 major removals totalling 5 minutes: The overture, Kirk/Sonac's introduction and Sonac's death (The rest of the 24minutes I've cut is from hundreds of tiny trims)
- One whole scene added from 'The Director's Cut' ('Spock's Tear'). Sadly this is in poor Standard-Definition but it's importance to the narrative, meant I had to use it
- Several brief moments and shots used from the 'Director's Cut' and the 'TV Cut' where absolutely necessary. I wanted to avoid using any CGI shots from the DC so I tried to "fix" the TC practical FX shots instead, but a few DC shots were used because the TC had no equivelants
- A large proportion of the FX shots have been improved by seperating out the elements and recompositing them to allow for seperate colour grading and contrast adjustment
- All footage regraded to be more colourful and less drab, plus grain added and slight sharpening (To counteract excessive DNR on the Blu-Ray). This has been achieved by painstakingly regrading most of the movie shot-by-shot
- The source film's colour grading was wildly inconsitent and every effort has been taken to correct this. However some shots were impossible to fully correct
- Many of the seemingly endless FXshots have been shortened by as much as a half. They are beautiful no doubt but staring at them for too long interupts the flow of the story IMO
- The Enterprise ramscoop is now blue in all FX shots. Instead of being sometimes orange when the engines are offline
- Kirk is more commanding and decisive and less confused and incompetent. He isn't always right but he instantly admits when he's made a mistake and with good humour. Just as he does in the rest of the franchise. When I could make him react quicker I did. He doesn't need to think, he acts
- Decker is much less bitter and argumentative with Kirk. There is still tension between the pair but it now doesn't spill over into unprofessional conduct
- Kirk, Decker and Bones no longer question Spock's loyalty. Why would they?
- The redundant Sonac subplot is removed. Why introduce a character that dies in the next scene? Plus his gruesome death was a real downer in the first act that I felt the film couldn't recover from
- A few areas have had additional music cues added, mostly to transition in and out of the new sequencing of scenes
- Many new SoundFX elements have been added as I felt the film's original soundtrack was "empty" at times. These include the sounds of doors, spacecraft, computers, voices, alarms, scanners, buttons, footsteps, tricorders, intercoms, torpedoes, breathing, impacts and various other things. I've used SoundFX from all eras of the franchise but mostly TOS. I won't mention most of them in the cutlist as there are too many
- One whole scene added from 'The Director's Cut' ('Spock's Tear'). Sadly this is in poor Standard-Definition but it's importance to the narrative, meant I had to use it
- Several brief moments and shots used from the 'Director's Cut' and the 'TV Cut' where absolutely necessary. I wanted to avoid using any CGI shots from the DC so I tried to "fix" the TC practical FX shots instead, but a few DC shots were used because the TC had no equivelants
- A large proportion of the FX shots have been improved by seperating out the elements and recompositing them to allow for seperate colour grading and contrast adjustment
- All footage regraded to be more colourful and less drab, plus grain added and slight sharpening (To counteract excessive DNR on the Blu-Ray). This has been achieved by painstakingly regrading most of the movie shot-by-shot
- The source film's colour grading was wildly inconsitent and every effort has been taken to correct this. However some shots were impossible to fully correct
- Many of the seemingly endless FXshots have been shortened by as much as a half. They are beautiful no doubt but staring at them for too long interupts the flow of the story IMO
- The Enterprise ramscoop is now blue in all FX shots. Instead of being sometimes orange when the engines are offline
- Kirk is more commanding and decisive and less confused and incompetent. He isn't always right but he instantly admits when he's made a mistake and with good humour. Just as he does in the rest of the franchise. When I could make him react quicker I did. He doesn't need to think, he acts
- Decker is much less bitter and argumentative with Kirk. There is still tension between the pair but it now doesn't spill over into unprofessional conduct
- Kirk, Decker and Bones no longer question Spock's loyalty. Why would they?
- The redundant Sonac subplot is removed. Why introduce a character that dies in the next scene? Plus his gruesome death was a real downer in the first act that I felt the film couldn't recover from
- A few areas have had additional music cues added, mostly to transition in and out of the new sequencing of scenes
- Many new SoundFX elements have been added as I felt the film's original soundtrack was "empty" at times. These include the sounds of doors, spacecraft, computers, voices, alarms, scanners, buttons, footsteps, tricorders, intercoms, torpedoes, breathing, impacts and various other things. I've used SoundFX from all eras of the franchise but mostly TOS. I won't mention most of them in the cutlist as there are too many
Cuts and Additions:
These are just the major cuts (The tiny trims for pacing are too numerous to list)...
00.00.00 - Added FE.org and TM2YC titles
00.00.24 - Overture removed
00.00.26 - Corrected Paramount logo Aspect-Ratio error from TPM Blu-Ray
00.00.38 - Credit sequence "livened up" with slow-motion shots of V'Ger's interior (Also hopefully this unconciously builds V'ger in the mind of the audience). Footage slowed to 50% via frame interpolation using VirtualDub. Also credit composition corrected so all are now central on the screen.
00.00.51 - New 'Star Trek: Reunion' tilecard replaces the old one
00.02.09 - Establishing FX shot of Vulcan reworked. Black sky replaced with a moving cloud matte. Foreground elements recoloured to match. Also Spock is erased from the frame to match new continuity.
00.02.16 - Vulcan Statue FX shot also reworked in the same way. Plus this time the elements from background to foreground were all seperated and recoloured to improve consitency.
00.02.22 - Spock's intro moved to the front of the movie so there is now a slow build of the mystery/danger posed by V'ger. The scene is striped back to the bare minimum to up the pace and to establish the start of Spock's character arc before swiftly moving on to the next sequence. Subtitles also partly rewritten.
00.02.50 - Inserted shot of V'Ger to further convey what is giving Spock pause for thought
00.03.43 - Opening shot of Spock standing up and looking to the heavens is now moved to be the final shot. Hopefully this taken with the next shot shows that thoughts of V'Ger are troubling him
00.03.55 - Cut to V'Ger shot to transition from waht Spock is thinking of and also what the Klingon's face
00.04.02 - Klingon cruisers recoloured fromgrey to a warm green, something like the familiar Bird of Prey scheme. This also adds a bit more visual interest.
00.04.54 - Removed almost every shot from the Klingon sequence that wasn't essential to the plot to up the pace as much as possible. Subtitles are party rewritten and additional SoundFX are added including footsteps, alarms, computer chatter, sensor screen bleeps and button pressing
00.05.55 - Also removed almost every shot from the Epsilon 9 sequence that wasn't essential to the plot. Removed any nonsensical shots of Epsilon 9 crew seeing V'Ger after the Klingon vessels (and their onboard cameras?) are gone.
00.06.01 - 2nd establishing FXshot of Epsilon 9 seperated into top and bottom sections to correct miscolouring of the two layers
00.06.06 - 3rd establishing FXshot of Epsilon 9 fixed by seperating the interior and exterior and regrading them
00.06.06 - 1st Interior shot of Epsilon 9 fixed by seperating the interior and exterior and regrading them
00.06.31 - Inserted shot of "missing" 3rd Klingon cruiser onto left blank viewscreen (Thanks to BionicBob for that suggestion)
00.07.23 - Inserted reaction shot of Epsilon 9 crew to make it feel more "live"
00.07.53 - The Epsilon 9 crew's final mention of V'Ger heading for Earth is now followed by a cut to Earth. It's a really obvious cut to make the plot flow better IMO
00.07.59 - Heavily slimmed down length of Transfer Station establishing shots and rescored with Star Trek TMP Main Theme. Also added back some missing SoundFX
00.08.16 - Recomposited Transfer Station in 3rd shot to correct miscolouring of the two elements
00.08.20 - Recomposited windows to correct miscolouring of the two elements
00.08.30 - Removed shot of Scotty looking awkwardly at the Transporter operator
00.08.36 - Added brief transporter VisFX as Kirk steps off the pad (It was missing in the original shot)
00.08.45 - Added computer reading out Kirk's Starfleet details
00.08.56 - Crossfaded two different new colour-timings as Kirk and Scotty step into the pod. The only way to make sure both scenes stayed consistent.
00.09.03 - Heavily regraded all interior pod shots to remove as much of the browny-orange tint as possible.
00.09.17 - Recomposited cockpit to correct miscolouring of the two elements (I should note that the cockpit shots are so badly miscoloured in the source, that fully correcting them was impossible)
00.09.21 - Recomposited windows to correct miscolouring of the two elements. Plus added missing "uncoupling" soundFX
00.09.27 - Enlarged the Enterprise in the distance and animated the element to match the shot's movement. Allowing for the reduced journey time in this cut.
00.10.00 - Removed Kirk saying "You're right" or whatever it was. I prefer them laughing at Scotty's joke rather than at Kirk's joke. It plays to Kirk's relaxed/familiar relationship with his crew IMO
00.10.17 - Enlarged the Transfer Station in the distance and animated the element to match the shot's movement
00.10.27 - Heavily slimmed down the Enterprise flyby to the bare minimum and swapped around many of Kirk's reaction shots. It still feels grand and awe inspiring but doesn't go on for so long that we get bored and the story gets interupted. We just need to see how much Kirk has missed the Enterprise and no more. Almost every shot has been trimmed down.
00.10.54 - Enlarged the Transfer Station in the distance and animated the element to match the shot's movement
00.11.12 - Recomposited cockpit to correct miscolouring of the two elements
00.10.54 - Enlarged the Transfer Station in the distance, animated the element to match the shot's movement and corrected miscolouring
00.12.03 - Added missing shuttle flyby SoundFX
00.12.43 - Recomposited cockpit to correct miscolouring of the two elements
00.12.55 - Added missing docking SoundFX
00.13.00 - Removed Kirk thanking Scotty for the tour. It made too much of it IMO
00.14.31 - Cutdown the time Kirk looks worried about Decker's reaction
00.14.42 - Crossfaded two different new colour-timings as Kirk steps into the tubolift
00.14.44 - Added important scene from the DC. Uhura telling the new crew and the audience how awesome Kirk is. It really needs saying, as there is precious little evidence of it in the first half of the movie. The viewscreen graphic has been recomposited to correct the colour back to the pink of the Theatrical Cut bridge shots
00.14.59 - Removed shots of Kirk walking towards Engineering. It wasn't needed now and allows the removal of Kirk staring at Decker wondering what to say. It's Kirk, he knows what to do!
00.15.07 - Added missing SoundFX of Kirk's lift
00.15.48 - Heavily cut down Kirk conversation with Decker. To make Decker less angry and petulant and make Kirk appear more decisive
00.16.43 - Removed the transporter malfunction and the entire grissly Sonac death scene. Also this allows the removal of Kirk getting lost and confused on his own ship, plus let's the brief awkward silence between Kirk and Scotty play out uninterupted
00.16.45 - Heavily trimmed down the rec-deck briefing scene and rearranged many of the reaction shots. There is now only one transmission. All insane exterior shots of Epsilon9 after it's been destroyed are gone. All viewscreen shots recomposited to correct colours. Transmission interference added to all viewscreen shots. Kirk's speech trimmed down to be decisive, to the point and almost a little angry.
00.18.54 - Rearranged Decker's reaction to Ilia's arrival to make it more sudden. Removed the nonsense about Ilia being celibate. Why does Ilia need to tell Kirk this? Why do we the audience need to know this? If you want to build romantic tension between Ilia and Decker, why would you want to say this at all?!
00.19.10 - Uhura now interupts Ilia and Decker. Partly to remove dialogue I didn't like and partly to make the terrible continuity when we cut to Kirk a bit less obvious
00.19.28 - Shortened Bones beeming up and then later trimmed a lot of the silence to make his reunion with Kirk warmer
00.19.31 - Heavily recoloured the Bones beeming scene to remove aggressive purple tint. This required separting many elements out and grading them differently. Also audio replaced with DC version as the TC has a loud omnipresent hum
00.20.54 - Shortened the amount of time in takes to get the Enterprise ready
00.21.15 - Recoloured the ramscoop blue in two shots including a gradual powering up
00.22.00 - Recoloured the ramscoop blue as the Enterprise pulls out of drydock
00.22.23 - Removed beauty shot of Enterprise orbitting earth. It's lovely but gets in the way of the flow of the action
00.22.49 - Recomposited viewscreen to allow me to correct over exposure
00.22.59 - Added Saturn in the distance to the otherwise blank viewscreen, correcting an obvious continuity error
00.23.04 - Removed random radar shot and replaced it with cutaways to Decker and Ilia smiling at each other. This is a similar cut to what is used in the DC. It works so well with music bringing some real positive vibes to the first act
00.24.14 - Moved Bones telling Kirk he's 'pushing the crew' until after Kirk has actually messed up with the Warp drive. It seemed like nagging, now it's friendly advice
00.24.48 - Recomposited Wormhole, Sulu and Kirk to allow me to retime all three. Now Kirk sees the wormhole and reacts, instead of being surprised while his back is turned to bicker with Decker.
00.24.52 - Recut and flipped shot of Kirk so he is always facing forward
00.24.54 - Cut down as much of the goofy slowmo Wormhole stuff as I could
00.26.03 - Retimed Kirk being jostled around to time with Decker doing the same. This allows Decker to cover the distance quicker
00.26.26 - Added new Photon sound as the original was a bit weak
00.26.30 - Added FX shot of the Asteroid exploding from the DC. The TC had to finished element.
00.26.35 - Added slowly receeding slowmo effect to two shots to smoothly transition out of the wormhole wierdness
00.27.16 - Recut Kirk's conversation with Scotty so Kirk reacts instantly
00.27.34 - Reversed shot of Decker to create new match cut with next wide angle
00.27.33 - Added missing bridge sounds
00.27.56 - Added brief moment of Sulu in command as Ilia gazes at Decker. Rescored with 'Ilia's Theme'
00.28.00 - Heavily recut 'Decker Dressing Down' scene to make Decker less of a d*ck to Kirk and make Kirk more commanding and professional
00.29.20 - Recut scene to allow Chekov's message to be brought forward to before Decker's meeting with Ilia. Reworked some sound elements like footsteps and intercom sounds
00.30.22 - Slimmed down the FX shots of the Vulcan shuttle and intercut it with Chekov walking to the airlock
00.30.53 - Added Chekov's footsteps t rescored scene
00.30.57 - Recomposited foreground and background on both shuttle/window shots to correct miscolouring
00.31.02 - Added docking sounds, more footsteps and general spaceship noises
00.31.22 - Added Sulu reaction insert shot that I cut from an earlier scene with Ilia. It works better here and sets up Sulu's next off-camera line
00.32.23 - Added Tricorder sound and general missing button pushing on Spock's console
00.32.30 - Reprised the 'Total Logic' music from the Kolinahr sequence to underline where Spock's mind is at in the story arc
00.33.24 - Added more Tricorder and warpcore sounds
00.34.29 - Combined the low-res window VisFX from the DC with the hi-res live forground from the TC in all four officer's lounge shots. This required frame-by-frame rotoscoping to seperate the actors from the blank starfield. Due to heavy miscolouring of the original elements, it was impossible to completely match them to the rest of the sequence.
00.34.43 - Recut officers-loiunge sequence to cut down on much of the awkward silence. A few reaction shots rearranged to convey different emotions and make Kirk less angry with Spock
00.36.17 - Intercom now interupts the end of the scene (and Kirk's thoughts) to allow the removal of Kirk and Bones questioning their best friend's loyalty. Why would they do that?!
00.36.28 - Recomposited Red- Alert screen to correct massive overexposure of VisFX element
00.37.15 - Reversed shot of Kirk so it appears that he is turning his head to listen to Spock's council
00.37.17 - Brought Spock's "I suspect..." line forward to link into the rest of his scanner readings
00.37.39 - Recut Kirk a lot in this area to make him react quicker to events and to his crew's advice. Plus admit when he has mispoke instantly
00.39.37 - Recomposited overexposured view-screen VisFX element
00.40.23 - Heavily recloured shot of Scotty. It was massively desaturated in the original source for some reason
00.40.31 - Added extra hypo-spray soundFX
00.40.34 - Added TOS viewscreen soundFX
00.41.29 - Swapped around shots of Spock sending the transmission and played one backwards to try and minimise the original continuity errors
00.41.32 - Recomposited overexposured view-screen VisFX element
00.41.31 - Added exterior VisFX shot from the DC as again the TC shot was never completed
00.42.25 - Placed shot of Spock raising his eyebrow at Decker suggesting caution. This now plays in support of Kirk's decision. He originally raised his eyebrow while Kirk was speaking, casting Kirk's actions into doubt
00.43.00 - Heavily recut Enterprise voyage into the cloud as the VisFx shots went on far too long. Almost every shot has been recut, trimmed or rearranged. I tried to time it to the rhythms of the music. Slow 'Valley' sequence removed entirely
00.43.40 - Added missing turbolift sound that Decker now reacts to
00.46.04 - Heavily recut Enterprise voyage into V'Ger's interior as again the VisFx shots went on far too long. Almost every shot has been recut, trimmed or rearranged. As before I tried to time it to the rhythms of the music
00.46.47 - Recomposited tiny Enterprise to correct drastic green miscolouring
00.48.44 - Replaced annoying TC "Intruder Alert" soundFX with simple alarm sounds from the DC
00.48.45 - Replaced mismatched viewscreen VisFX and recoloured elements seperately
00.48.49 - Added exterior VisFX shot from the DC as again the TC shot was never completed
00.48.57 - Heavily recoloured Probe scene to remove much of the pastel-pink tint. Plus cut it down to the minimum and made Kirk more commanding
00.49.26 - Removed Chekov's flippant remark about the probe. As funny as it was, if you truly fear for your life, you don't make sarcastic comments
00.49.58 - Placed Kirk's line about "Running our records..." over shot of Spock so it appears as a prompt for action, rather than Kirk just saying it and Spock acting on his own iniative
00.50.01 - Added missing sparking electrical soundFX and other elements when Spock hits the console
00.50.05 - Recut Spock being zapped to make it appear more violent and less choreographed
00.50.24 - Reworked sund and visuals of Decker so he now only shouts to Ilia once
00.50.30 - Recut abduction to be more sudden and violent
00.50.38 - Added slow zoom in on Kirk across two wide bridge shots to pull a little focus away from Decker
00.50.49 - Added shocked reaction shot of Uhura that I cut from the earlier trip through V'Ger. This adds to the emotion and covers my removal of Decker once again being a d*ck to Kirk. Additional breathing and chair SoundFX added
00.51.16 - Recomposited overexposured view-screen VisFX element
00.52.54 - Removed Decker questioning Spock's motives and rescored the moment
00.52.58 - Split shot of Kirk and Bones and played the two halves back at different speeds and one in reverse to create a new shot showing there reactions to Spock's warning
00.52.59 - Recoloured the ramscoop blue as the Enterprise moves through V'Ger
00.53.11 - Recomposited shot of Enterprise to improve colour-grading
00.53.38 - Recomposited overexposured view-screen VisFX element
00.55.35 - Recomposited badly miscoloured view-screen VisFX element
01.00.54 - Added extra tearing-of-metal SoundFX to Ilia ripping through the wall
01.01.38 - Recomposited shot of Enterprise to improve colour-grading
01.03.49 - Composited the V'Ger Interior window shots from the DC into the TC HD shots
01.04.42 - Added extra zoom in on the computer console to help hide the actors obviously ducking out of shot
01.05.06 - Moved the Dr Chapel Ilia mirror scene back until after Spock's Odyssey and brought Kirk discovering Spock's action forward. This makes the action appear more immediate and makes Kirk look more on-the-ball
01.05.35 - Removed end of Kirk bridge scene to give the impression he is rushing off after Spock
01.05.57 - Combined both halves of Spock's pre-launch into one scene and removed all the pointless exposition.
01.06.20 - Recoloured the ramscoop blue as the Enterprise disappears into the distance
01.09.00 - We now cut from Spock's vision of Ilia to Ilia herself. This also gives a nice gap of time for Spock to float back and Kirk to get suited up. Inserted wide shot from the TV cut to establish that Dr Chapel is present (It was unclear originally IMO)
01.09.23 - Inserted reaction shot of Dr Chapel from the TV Cut. It shows the recognition of the name, more than just the Bones shot alone
01.11.04 - Overlayed animated reflections onto Spock and Kirk's helmet in a similar style to those used in Spock's Odyssey sequence. Also replaced black background with correct blue V'Ger interior by compositing it in frame-by-frame
01.14.40 - Removed Kirk inquiring about Decker and Ilia's whereabouts. This wasn't needed information
01.15.04 - Added TOS computer chatter to otherwise bland and slightly confusing console shot. Plus recomposited badly overexposured central screen. Rescored it as well with the music breaking on the "radio" revelation
01.18.57 - Added powering-off SoundFX as Spock closes the bridge down
01.20.28 - Remade viewscreen VisFX shot to properly match other sequences
01.20.34 - Added final V'Ger interior to originally blank black Iris
01.20.59 - Added powering-up SoundFX as Spock turns the bridge back on
01.21.16 - Added 'Spock's Tear' scene from the DC. It's plainly in a much lower resolution to the rest of the HD edit and the colour-grading was impossible to fully correct but it's narrative importance meant I had to include it despite those flaws. Partially rescored as well
01.23.55 - Recomposited overexposured view-screen VisFX element
01.24.08 - Recomposited overexposured view-screen VisFX element
01.24.53 - Removed extremely slow start to saucer-walk shot as the lift rises
01.25.02 - Split cloesup into two and rearanged sequence of shots, so we get a closeup before the first wide of V'Ger. Also regraded the two closeups as they did not match in anyway to the blue lighting of the rest of the sequence
01.25.14 - Recomposited the sky to correct "rough-halo" around the characters
01.25.29 - Added correct blue tint to closeup walking shot
01.26.11 - Added correct blue tint to closeups of crew looking towards V'Ger satellite
01.26.19 - Added Tricorder SoundFX
01.32.16 - Regraded wide shot to the correct reddish hue, one of the worst in the whole movie. I also had to individually recomposite all of the lighting elements to switch them from light-blue to the correct neon-green
01.35.04 - Removed Decker's final mention of his conflict with Kirk. We don't need to dredge this all up again in such a positive scene
01.37.42 - Crossfaded two seperate colour-grades as the original flyby's colours were inconsistent
01.38.39 - Coming out of V'Ger's rebirth we don't need Uhura spoiling the positive vibes by mentioning "casualties". We the audience also don't need to be told that Decker's actions were a good thing. Rescored transition to Scotty arriving and added new SoundFX
01.40.02 - Replaced original "The human adventure continues" titlecard with my own "Star Trek will continue in... The Wrath of Khan". TMP felt disjointed from the rest of the other 5 original-crew movies to me. So this is my own small personnal gesture of welcoming it back to the fold
01.43.33 - Added fanedit titlecard with thanks to all that helped... I hope I didn't forget anyone
Original Length: 132 Minutes
Fanedit Length: 104 Minutes
Time Added: 2 Minutes
Time Cut: 29 Minutes
Scenes Added: 1 (2 Minutes)
Scenes Cut: 3 (5 Minutes)
00.00.00 - Added FE.org and TM2YC titles
00.00.24 - Overture removed
00.00.26 - Corrected Paramount logo Aspect-Ratio error from TPM Blu-Ray
00.00.38 - Credit sequence "livened up" with slow-motion shots of V'Ger's interior (Also hopefully this unconciously builds V'ger in the mind of the audience). Footage slowed to 50% via frame interpolation using VirtualDub. Also credit composition corrected so all are now central on the screen.
00.00.51 - New 'Star Trek: Reunion' tilecard replaces the old one
00.02.09 - Establishing FX shot of Vulcan reworked. Black sky replaced with a moving cloud matte. Foreground elements recoloured to match. Also Spock is erased from the frame to match new continuity.
00.02.16 - Vulcan Statue FX shot also reworked in the same way. Plus this time the elements from background to foreground were all seperated and recoloured to improve consitency.
00.02.22 - Spock's intro moved to the front of the movie so there is now a slow build of the mystery/danger posed by V'ger. The scene is striped back to the bare minimum to up the pace and to establish the start of Spock's character arc before swiftly moving on to the next sequence. Subtitles also partly rewritten.
00.02.50 - Inserted shot of V'Ger to further convey what is giving Spock pause for thought
00.03.43 - Opening shot of Spock standing up and looking to the heavens is now moved to be the final shot. Hopefully this taken with the next shot shows that thoughts of V'Ger are troubling him
00.03.55 - Cut to V'Ger shot to transition from waht Spock is thinking of and also what the Klingon's face
00.04.02 - Klingon cruisers recoloured fromgrey to a warm green, something like the familiar Bird of Prey scheme. This also adds a bit more visual interest.
00.04.54 - Removed almost every shot from the Klingon sequence that wasn't essential to the plot to up the pace as much as possible. Subtitles are party rewritten and additional SoundFX are added including footsteps, alarms, computer chatter, sensor screen bleeps and button pressing
00.05.55 - Also removed almost every shot from the Epsilon 9 sequence that wasn't essential to the plot. Removed any nonsensical shots of Epsilon 9 crew seeing V'Ger after the Klingon vessels (and their onboard cameras?) are gone.
00.06.01 - 2nd establishing FXshot of Epsilon 9 seperated into top and bottom sections to correct miscolouring of the two layers
00.06.06 - 3rd establishing FXshot of Epsilon 9 fixed by seperating the interior and exterior and regrading them
00.06.06 - 1st Interior shot of Epsilon 9 fixed by seperating the interior and exterior and regrading them
00.06.31 - Inserted shot of "missing" 3rd Klingon cruiser onto left blank viewscreen (Thanks to BionicBob for that suggestion)
00.07.23 - Inserted reaction shot of Epsilon 9 crew to make it feel more "live"
00.07.53 - The Epsilon 9 crew's final mention of V'Ger heading for Earth is now followed by a cut to Earth. It's a really obvious cut to make the plot flow better IMO
00.07.59 - Heavily slimmed down length of Transfer Station establishing shots and rescored with Star Trek TMP Main Theme. Also added back some missing SoundFX
00.08.16 - Recomposited Transfer Station in 3rd shot to correct miscolouring of the two elements
00.08.20 - Recomposited windows to correct miscolouring of the two elements
00.08.30 - Removed shot of Scotty looking awkwardly at the Transporter operator
00.08.36 - Added brief transporter VisFX as Kirk steps off the pad (It was missing in the original shot)
00.08.45 - Added computer reading out Kirk's Starfleet details
00.08.56 - Crossfaded two different new colour-timings as Kirk and Scotty step into the pod. The only way to make sure both scenes stayed consistent.
00.09.03 - Heavily regraded all interior pod shots to remove as much of the browny-orange tint as possible.
00.09.17 - Recomposited cockpit to correct miscolouring of the two elements (I should note that the cockpit shots are so badly miscoloured in the source, that fully correcting them was impossible)
00.09.21 - Recomposited windows to correct miscolouring of the two elements. Plus added missing "uncoupling" soundFX
00.09.27 - Enlarged the Enterprise in the distance and animated the element to match the shot's movement. Allowing for the reduced journey time in this cut.
00.10.00 - Removed Kirk saying "You're right" or whatever it was. I prefer them laughing at Scotty's joke rather than at Kirk's joke. It plays to Kirk's relaxed/familiar relationship with his crew IMO
00.10.17 - Enlarged the Transfer Station in the distance and animated the element to match the shot's movement
00.10.27 - Heavily slimmed down the Enterprise flyby to the bare minimum and swapped around many of Kirk's reaction shots. It still feels grand and awe inspiring but doesn't go on for so long that we get bored and the story gets interupted. We just need to see how much Kirk has missed the Enterprise and no more. Almost every shot has been trimmed down.
00.10.54 - Enlarged the Transfer Station in the distance and animated the element to match the shot's movement
00.11.12 - Recomposited cockpit to correct miscolouring of the two elements
00.10.54 - Enlarged the Transfer Station in the distance, animated the element to match the shot's movement and corrected miscolouring
00.12.03 - Added missing shuttle flyby SoundFX
00.12.43 - Recomposited cockpit to correct miscolouring of the two elements
00.12.55 - Added missing docking SoundFX
00.13.00 - Removed Kirk thanking Scotty for the tour. It made too much of it IMO
00.14.31 - Cutdown the time Kirk looks worried about Decker's reaction
00.14.42 - Crossfaded two different new colour-timings as Kirk steps into the tubolift
00.14.44 - Added important scene from the DC. Uhura telling the new crew and the audience how awesome Kirk is. It really needs saying, as there is precious little evidence of it in the first half of the movie. The viewscreen graphic has been recomposited to correct the colour back to the pink of the Theatrical Cut bridge shots
00.14.59 - Removed shots of Kirk walking towards Engineering. It wasn't needed now and allows the removal of Kirk staring at Decker wondering what to say. It's Kirk, he knows what to do!
00.15.07 - Added missing SoundFX of Kirk's lift
00.15.48 - Heavily cut down Kirk conversation with Decker. To make Decker less angry and petulant and make Kirk appear more decisive
00.16.43 - Removed the transporter malfunction and the entire grissly Sonac death scene. Also this allows the removal of Kirk getting lost and confused on his own ship, plus let's the brief awkward silence between Kirk and Scotty play out uninterupted
00.16.45 - Heavily trimmed down the rec-deck briefing scene and rearranged many of the reaction shots. There is now only one transmission. All insane exterior shots of Epsilon9 after it's been destroyed are gone. All viewscreen shots recomposited to correct colours. Transmission interference added to all viewscreen shots. Kirk's speech trimmed down to be decisive, to the point and almost a little angry.
00.18.54 - Rearranged Decker's reaction to Ilia's arrival to make it more sudden. Removed the nonsense about Ilia being celibate. Why does Ilia need to tell Kirk this? Why do we the audience need to know this? If you want to build romantic tension between Ilia and Decker, why would you want to say this at all?!
00.19.10 - Uhura now interupts Ilia and Decker. Partly to remove dialogue I didn't like and partly to make the terrible continuity when we cut to Kirk a bit less obvious
00.19.28 - Shortened Bones beeming up and then later trimmed a lot of the silence to make his reunion with Kirk warmer
00.19.31 - Heavily recoloured the Bones beeming scene to remove aggressive purple tint. This required separting many elements out and grading them differently. Also audio replaced with DC version as the TC has a loud omnipresent hum
00.20.54 - Shortened the amount of time in takes to get the Enterprise ready
00.21.15 - Recoloured the ramscoop blue in two shots including a gradual powering up
00.22.00 - Recoloured the ramscoop blue as the Enterprise pulls out of drydock
00.22.23 - Removed beauty shot of Enterprise orbitting earth. It's lovely but gets in the way of the flow of the action
00.22.49 - Recomposited viewscreen to allow me to correct over exposure
00.22.59 - Added Saturn in the distance to the otherwise blank viewscreen, correcting an obvious continuity error
00.23.04 - Removed random radar shot and replaced it with cutaways to Decker and Ilia smiling at each other. This is a similar cut to what is used in the DC. It works so well with music bringing some real positive vibes to the first act
00.24.14 - Moved Bones telling Kirk he's 'pushing the crew' until after Kirk has actually messed up with the Warp drive. It seemed like nagging, now it's friendly advice
00.24.48 - Recomposited Wormhole, Sulu and Kirk to allow me to retime all three. Now Kirk sees the wormhole and reacts, instead of being surprised while his back is turned to bicker with Decker.
00.24.52 - Recut and flipped shot of Kirk so he is always facing forward
00.24.54 - Cut down as much of the goofy slowmo Wormhole stuff as I could
00.26.03 - Retimed Kirk being jostled around to time with Decker doing the same. This allows Decker to cover the distance quicker
00.26.26 - Added new Photon sound as the original was a bit weak
00.26.30 - Added FX shot of the Asteroid exploding from the DC. The TC had to finished element.
00.26.35 - Added slowly receeding slowmo effect to two shots to smoothly transition out of the wormhole wierdness
00.27.16 - Recut Kirk's conversation with Scotty so Kirk reacts instantly
00.27.34 - Reversed shot of Decker to create new match cut with next wide angle
00.27.33 - Added missing bridge sounds
00.27.56 - Added brief moment of Sulu in command as Ilia gazes at Decker. Rescored with 'Ilia's Theme'
00.28.00 - Heavily recut 'Decker Dressing Down' scene to make Decker less of a d*ck to Kirk and make Kirk more commanding and professional
00.29.20 - Recut scene to allow Chekov's message to be brought forward to before Decker's meeting with Ilia. Reworked some sound elements like footsteps and intercom sounds
00.30.22 - Slimmed down the FX shots of the Vulcan shuttle and intercut it with Chekov walking to the airlock
00.30.53 - Added Chekov's footsteps t rescored scene
00.30.57 - Recomposited foreground and background on both shuttle/window shots to correct miscolouring
00.31.02 - Added docking sounds, more footsteps and general spaceship noises
00.31.22 - Added Sulu reaction insert shot that I cut from an earlier scene with Ilia. It works better here and sets up Sulu's next off-camera line
00.32.23 - Added Tricorder sound and general missing button pushing on Spock's console
00.32.30 - Reprised the 'Total Logic' music from the Kolinahr sequence to underline where Spock's mind is at in the story arc
00.33.24 - Added more Tricorder and warpcore sounds
00.34.29 - Combined the low-res window VisFX from the DC with the hi-res live forground from the TC in all four officer's lounge shots. This required frame-by-frame rotoscoping to seperate the actors from the blank starfield. Due to heavy miscolouring of the original elements, it was impossible to completely match them to the rest of the sequence.
00.34.43 - Recut officers-loiunge sequence to cut down on much of the awkward silence. A few reaction shots rearranged to convey different emotions and make Kirk less angry with Spock
00.36.17 - Intercom now interupts the end of the scene (and Kirk's thoughts) to allow the removal of Kirk and Bones questioning their best friend's loyalty. Why would they do that?!
00.36.28 - Recomposited Red- Alert screen to correct massive overexposure of VisFX element
00.37.15 - Reversed shot of Kirk so it appears that he is turning his head to listen to Spock's council
00.37.17 - Brought Spock's "I suspect..." line forward to link into the rest of his scanner readings
00.37.39 - Recut Kirk a lot in this area to make him react quicker to events and to his crew's advice. Plus admit when he has mispoke instantly
00.39.37 - Recomposited overexposured view-screen VisFX element
00.40.23 - Heavily recloured shot of Scotty. It was massively desaturated in the original source for some reason
00.40.31 - Added extra hypo-spray soundFX
00.40.34 - Added TOS viewscreen soundFX
00.41.29 - Swapped around shots of Spock sending the transmission and played one backwards to try and minimise the original continuity errors
00.41.32 - Recomposited overexposured view-screen VisFX element
00.41.31 - Added exterior VisFX shot from the DC as again the TC shot was never completed
00.42.25 - Placed shot of Spock raising his eyebrow at Decker suggesting caution. This now plays in support of Kirk's decision. He originally raised his eyebrow while Kirk was speaking, casting Kirk's actions into doubt
00.43.00 - Heavily recut Enterprise voyage into the cloud as the VisFx shots went on far too long. Almost every shot has been recut, trimmed or rearranged. I tried to time it to the rhythms of the music. Slow 'Valley' sequence removed entirely
00.43.40 - Added missing turbolift sound that Decker now reacts to
00.46.04 - Heavily recut Enterprise voyage into V'Ger's interior as again the VisFx shots went on far too long. Almost every shot has been recut, trimmed or rearranged. As before I tried to time it to the rhythms of the music
00.46.47 - Recomposited tiny Enterprise to correct drastic green miscolouring
00.48.44 - Replaced annoying TC "Intruder Alert" soundFX with simple alarm sounds from the DC
00.48.45 - Replaced mismatched viewscreen VisFX and recoloured elements seperately
00.48.49 - Added exterior VisFX shot from the DC as again the TC shot was never completed
00.48.57 - Heavily recoloured Probe scene to remove much of the pastel-pink tint. Plus cut it down to the minimum and made Kirk more commanding
00.49.26 - Removed Chekov's flippant remark about the probe. As funny as it was, if you truly fear for your life, you don't make sarcastic comments
00.49.58 - Placed Kirk's line about "Running our records..." over shot of Spock so it appears as a prompt for action, rather than Kirk just saying it and Spock acting on his own iniative
00.50.01 - Added missing sparking electrical soundFX and other elements when Spock hits the console
00.50.05 - Recut Spock being zapped to make it appear more violent and less choreographed
00.50.24 - Reworked sund and visuals of Decker so he now only shouts to Ilia once
00.50.30 - Recut abduction to be more sudden and violent
00.50.38 - Added slow zoom in on Kirk across two wide bridge shots to pull a little focus away from Decker
00.50.49 - Added shocked reaction shot of Uhura that I cut from the earlier trip through V'Ger. This adds to the emotion and covers my removal of Decker once again being a d*ck to Kirk. Additional breathing and chair SoundFX added
00.51.16 - Recomposited overexposured view-screen VisFX element
00.52.54 - Removed Decker questioning Spock's motives and rescored the moment
00.52.58 - Split shot of Kirk and Bones and played the two halves back at different speeds and one in reverse to create a new shot showing there reactions to Spock's warning
00.52.59 - Recoloured the ramscoop blue as the Enterprise moves through V'Ger
00.53.11 - Recomposited shot of Enterprise to improve colour-grading
00.53.38 - Recomposited overexposured view-screen VisFX element
00.55.35 - Recomposited badly miscoloured view-screen VisFX element
01.00.54 - Added extra tearing-of-metal SoundFX to Ilia ripping through the wall
01.01.38 - Recomposited shot of Enterprise to improve colour-grading
01.03.49 - Composited the V'Ger Interior window shots from the DC into the TC HD shots
01.04.42 - Added extra zoom in on the computer console to help hide the actors obviously ducking out of shot
01.05.06 - Moved the Dr Chapel Ilia mirror scene back until after Spock's Odyssey and brought Kirk discovering Spock's action forward. This makes the action appear more immediate and makes Kirk look more on-the-ball
01.05.35 - Removed end of Kirk bridge scene to give the impression he is rushing off after Spock
01.05.57 - Combined both halves of Spock's pre-launch into one scene and removed all the pointless exposition.
01.06.20 - Recoloured the ramscoop blue as the Enterprise disappears into the distance
01.09.00 - We now cut from Spock's vision of Ilia to Ilia herself. This also gives a nice gap of time for Spock to float back and Kirk to get suited up. Inserted wide shot from the TV cut to establish that Dr Chapel is present (It was unclear originally IMO)
01.09.23 - Inserted reaction shot of Dr Chapel from the TV Cut. It shows the recognition of the name, more than just the Bones shot alone
01.11.04 - Overlayed animated reflections onto Spock and Kirk's helmet in a similar style to those used in Spock's Odyssey sequence. Also replaced black background with correct blue V'Ger interior by compositing it in frame-by-frame
01.14.40 - Removed Kirk inquiring about Decker and Ilia's whereabouts. This wasn't needed information
01.15.04 - Added TOS computer chatter to otherwise bland and slightly confusing console shot. Plus recomposited badly overexposured central screen. Rescored it as well with the music breaking on the "radio" revelation
01.18.57 - Added powering-off SoundFX as Spock closes the bridge down
01.20.28 - Remade viewscreen VisFX shot to properly match other sequences
01.20.34 - Added final V'Ger interior to originally blank black Iris
01.20.59 - Added powering-up SoundFX as Spock turns the bridge back on
01.21.16 - Added 'Spock's Tear' scene from the DC. It's plainly in a much lower resolution to the rest of the HD edit and the colour-grading was impossible to fully correct but it's narrative importance meant I had to include it despite those flaws. Partially rescored as well
01.23.55 - Recomposited overexposured view-screen VisFX element
01.24.08 - Recomposited overexposured view-screen VisFX element
01.24.53 - Removed extremely slow start to saucer-walk shot as the lift rises
01.25.02 - Split cloesup into two and rearanged sequence of shots, so we get a closeup before the first wide of V'Ger. Also regraded the two closeups as they did not match in anyway to the blue lighting of the rest of the sequence
01.25.14 - Recomposited the sky to correct "rough-halo" around the characters
01.25.29 - Added correct blue tint to closeup walking shot
01.26.11 - Added correct blue tint to closeups of crew looking towards V'Ger satellite
01.26.19 - Added Tricorder SoundFX
01.32.16 - Regraded wide shot to the correct reddish hue, one of the worst in the whole movie. I also had to individually recomposite all of the lighting elements to switch them from light-blue to the correct neon-green
01.35.04 - Removed Decker's final mention of his conflict with Kirk. We don't need to dredge this all up again in such a positive scene
01.37.42 - Crossfaded two seperate colour-grades as the original flyby's colours were inconsistent
01.38.39 - Coming out of V'Ger's rebirth we don't need Uhura spoiling the positive vibes by mentioning "casualties". We the audience also don't need to be told that Decker's actions were a good thing. Rescored transition to Scotty arriving and added new SoundFX
01.40.02 - Replaced original "The human adventure continues" titlecard with my own "Star Trek will continue in... The Wrath of Khan". TMP felt disjointed from the rest of the other 5 original-crew movies to me. So this is my own small personnal gesture of welcoming it back to the fold
01.43.33 - Added fanedit titlecard with thanks to all that helped... I hope I didn't forget anyone
Original Length: 132 Minutes
Fanedit Length: 104 Minutes
Time Added: 2 Minutes
Time Cut: 29 Minutes
Scenes Added: 1 (2 Minutes)
Scenes Cut: 3 (5 Minutes)
Screenshot Comparisons:
Trailer
User reviews
25 reviews
Overall rating
9.4
Audio/Video Quality
9.4(25)
Audio Editing
9.4(25)
Visual Editing
9.6(25)
Narrative
9.4(25)
Enjoyment
9.2(25)
Overall rating
8.6
Audio/Video Quality
8.0
Audio Editing
9.0
Visual Editing
8.0
Narrative
9.0
Enjoyment
9.0
As others here have done, I'm now adopting this is as my go-to version of the film. It's about as definitive as I'm ever likely to see it.
So much so that I just re-watched in lieu of the fancy (and expensive) 4K UHD copy I've had sitting, unwatched, on my shelf for many months now.
I'm old enough *Sigh* to remember the pre-Star Wars Days when there was NO Trek other than the original show. Sure, there were some comics, a couple of books and a few toys and models...but that was it. For fans of the fantasy and sci-fi in the UK there was mostly just Doctor Who, Blake's 7, the odd Trek repeat and whatever Hammer Horror or vintage monster movie you could catch late on Friday BBC 2.
Its funny to think of now but in the pre-VHS days I would ask my school librarian to order in the ST Episode 'Fotonovels' and (like many other fans) record the occasional repeat on these things called ''Cassette Tapes.' Then I could experience a full-length audio episode whenever I wanted - better still, be lucky enough to have an audio recording COMBINED with a Fotonovel...Audio Visual heaven!
As Long as you didn't mind instances of your dad piping up about how this was 'A lot of rubbish' as he passed through the room!
I waited with GREAT anticipation for the Motion Picture to the reach our local screen and when I finally saw it my reaction was, well, complicated, to say the least. It was certainly great to see the old cast back and it really did look great. It felt bigger and more epic. But I was still a kid and, once you'd seen a Death Star trench battle, the pace just felt waaaay too sloooow.
Growing up, my appreciation of the film has grown considerably. I've read a great deal about its troubled, time-constrained production and very much enjoyed Wise's Director's Cut which was a step in the right direction. Especially as I was now ready to view the MP not as a long-form episode of the TV show but as a cerebral 2001-esque science fiction film in the truest sense.
TM2YC has perfected STMP for me and its now fulfilled its potential. THIS was the way it should have been seen originally. Its been tightened up even more and there are all sorts of subtle touches and grace notes which enhance it while keeping its DNA related to the original show. I loved this and if you've always been sniffy about the first ST movie then you should see this and consider a serious re-appraisal.
So much so that I just re-watched in lieu of the fancy (and expensive) 4K UHD copy I've had sitting, unwatched, on my shelf for many months now.
I'm old enough *Sigh* to remember the pre-Star Wars Days when there was NO Trek other than the original show. Sure, there were some comics, a couple of books and a few toys and models...but that was it. For fans of the fantasy and sci-fi in the UK there was mostly just Doctor Who, Blake's 7, the odd Trek repeat and whatever Hammer Horror or vintage monster movie you could catch late on Friday BBC 2.
Its funny to think of now but in the pre-VHS days I would ask my school librarian to order in the ST Episode 'Fotonovels' and (like many other fans) record the occasional repeat on these things called ''Cassette Tapes.' Then I could experience a full-length audio episode whenever I wanted - better still, be lucky enough to have an audio recording COMBINED with a Fotonovel...Audio Visual heaven!
As Long as you didn't mind instances of your dad piping up about how this was 'A lot of rubbish' as he passed through the room!
I waited with GREAT anticipation for the Motion Picture to the reach our local screen and when I finally saw it my reaction was, well, complicated, to say the least. It was certainly great to see the old cast back and it really did look great. It felt bigger and more epic. But I was still a kid and, once you'd seen a Death Star trench battle, the pace just felt waaaay too sloooow.
Growing up, my appreciation of the film has grown considerably. I've read a great deal about its troubled, time-constrained production and very much enjoyed Wise's Director's Cut which was a step in the right direction. Especially as I was now ready to view the MP not as a long-form episode of the TV show but as a cerebral 2001-esque science fiction film in the truest sense.
TM2YC has perfected STMP for me and its now fulfilled its potential. THIS was the way it should have been seen originally. Its been tightened up even more and there are all sorts of subtle touches and grace notes which enhance it while keeping its DNA related to the original show. I loved this and if you've always been sniffy about the first ST movie then you should see this and consider a serious re-appraisal.
User Review
Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
DVD
A
(Updated: March 17, 2023)
Overall rating
8.8
Audio/Video Quality
9.0
Audio Editing
9.0
Visual Editing
8.0
Narrative
9.0
Enjoyment
9.0
The biggest tragedy regarding Star Trek: The Motion Picture is that it had the potential to be a masterpiece. If it hadn't been for its slow pace and 130-140 minute running time, I truly believe TMP could've been a worthy theatrical entry for the Star Trek franchise. Some people feel that the reason for the excessive length was because it was trying too hard to be the next 2001. I'm not so sure about that, as the logic that goes on in this movie is pretty faithful to the show. My personal opinion is that Robert Wise was simply the wrong person to direct a film about the Enterprise crew, talented though he may be. Musicals like The Sound of Music and West Side Story are Wise's bread and butter, and while the slow pacing may work for a musical, it wasn't necessary or appropriate for an adaptation of a popular sci-fi TV show.
Whatever the reason, the 103-minute runtime of TM2YC's edit was a big drawing factor for me in deciding to see this edit. Did TM2YC's cut finally give this film the justice it deserved? Well, in answer to my own question, just about.
I should note, though, that even in this edit's truncated form, there are still a few instances where the scenes go on for longer than they should. The introduction to the enterprise, for example, now only contains 6 wide establishing shots of the Enterprise, and yet, I still felt like the scene only needed two. There's another scene that occurs later on that suffers from the repetitive reaction shot/establishing shot/reaction shot/establishing shot/reaction shot/establishing shot editing pattern that was so deadly to the original cut. Still, these incidents happen so much less that it's hard to call it a problem anymore. I'm also curious to see if a second viewing will make these two issues invisible.
Overall, this is a true improvement over the original version, and if I want to prove that Star Trek: the Motion Picture really could've been a watchable movie, Reunion is one edit I'm happy to use as proof.
Whatever the reason, the 103-minute runtime of TM2YC's edit was a big drawing factor for me in deciding to see this edit. Did TM2YC's cut finally give this film the justice it deserved? Well, in answer to my own question, just about.
I should note, though, that even in this edit's truncated form, there are still a few instances where the scenes go on for longer than they should. The introduction to the enterprise, for example, now only contains 6 wide establishing shots of the Enterprise, and yet, I still felt like the scene only needed two. There's another scene that occurs later on that suffers from the repetitive reaction shot/establishing shot/reaction shot/establishing shot/reaction shot/establishing shot editing pattern that was so deadly to the original cut. Still, these incidents happen so much less that it's hard to call it a problem anymore. I'm also curious to see if a second viewing will make these two issues invisible.
Overall, this is a true improvement over the original version, and if I want to prove that Star Trek: the Motion Picture really could've been a watchable movie, Reunion is one edit I'm happy to use as proof.
User Review
Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
E
Overall rating
9.8
Audio/Video Quality
10.0
Audio Editing
10.0
Visual Editing
9.0
Narrative
10.0
Enjoyment
10.0
Loved it, far superior. I think you could have cut even a little bit more out for pace, but love it as is.
User Review
Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
M
Overall rating
9.4
Audio/Video Quality
10.0
Audio Editing
10.0
Visual Editing
10.0
Narrative
9.0
Enjoyment
8.0
This is an edit that I've had on my hard drive for many years, yet for some reason never watched. Well, now I have & it's as technically well crafted as any TM2YC fanedit.
However, I think it could've been pushed one step further, since a lot of shots of special effects for the sake of special effects still exist. For example, Spock is still shown sensing V'Ger out in space, so that likely could've been used to cut around some of the longer shots of the Klingons firing on it.
I also don't completely agree with the removal of the "is Spock still loyal" subplot. When he's on the ship, it's properly conveyed by the crew that, even for Spock, Spock is being uncharacteristically anti-social. That subplot (and the payoff of Spock's single tear) feel organic to Spock's arc. Similarly, I could've stood to see Kirk being a little more argumentative. Kirk's protective of the enterprise & is out of practice, so likewise dealing with those character tics plays well into Kirk's arc.
All in all, I probably prefer BionicBob's version since it gets us to Ilia's assimilation faster, but as a movie-length edit. this was pretty good. It's a TM2YC edit, after all, and the technical acumen injected into the movie is worth the watch alone.
However, I think it could've been pushed one step further, since a lot of shots of special effects for the sake of special effects still exist. For example, Spock is still shown sensing V'Ger out in space, so that likely could've been used to cut around some of the longer shots of the Klingons firing on it.
I also don't completely agree with the removal of the "is Spock still loyal" subplot. When he's on the ship, it's properly conveyed by the crew that, even for Spock, Spock is being uncharacteristically anti-social. That subplot (and the payoff of Spock's single tear) feel organic to Spock's arc. Similarly, I could've stood to see Kirk being a little more argumentative. Kirk's protective of the enterprise & is out of practice, so likewise dealing with those character tics plays well into Kirk's arc.
All in all, I probably prefer BionicBob's version since it gets us to Ilia's assimilation faster, but as a movie-length edit. this was pretty good. It's a TM2YC edit, after all, and the technical acumen injected into the movie is worth the watch alone.
User Review
Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
N
(Updated: October 06, 2021)
Overall rating
8.8
Audio/Video Quality
10.0
Audio Editing
10.0
Visual Editing
9.0
Narrative
7.0
Enjoyment
8.0
Haven't watched TMP in years (decades!) but this was so much less painful than the last time I watched the extended director's cut. In fact, the virtues of this movie are on full display, including the delight at getting the cast back together, the lavish production design, groundbreaking score and the stunning visual effects. TM2YC's editing highlights each of these and makes it easy to see how this was Roddenberry's vision for an entirely new Star Trek series. With how different it is from the rest of the film series, it's tempting to view TMP as a non-canonical hiccup, but this edit makes it impossible to reject the film outright, particularly with how much its tone shares with early seasons of The Next Generation (which also borrowed liberally from the abandoned Phase II series). If, like me, your favourite TOS character is Bones, there's a lot to love here, with his more caustic lines from the original version stripped away in favour of good old fashioned irrascibility.
User Review
Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
R