Star Trek: Reunion

Star Trek: Reunion

First off, the editor removed the prelude--this is actually the only edit I disagree with, and fairly strongly. The prelude sets the tone for the whole movie, setting it apart from that other adventure/space opera franchise. It gives it an introspective 2001 feel and I really miss it. Fortunately, that's easy enough to fix, and even more fortunately, that's the only negative I really have for this edit!

The credits have been re-worked and instead of text on a black background, the text is now overlayed on top of the moving V'ger cloud visuals (no doubt cut from elsewhere in the movie). It's a nice touch and modernizes things a bit without looking out of place.

The next change is one of the more major ones. The main feature opens with Spock on Vulcan instead of the Klingon encounter with the cloud. There are several reasons why I like this change--it allows the movie to continually build from Vulcan to the Klingon encounter instead of leading with Klingons and then dropping the pace back down for Spock and Starfleet HQ (which has also been cut). We now progress from a dose of mystery to a little more mystery with some action on top. Opening with Spock also instantly places the focus of the movie on his journey.

The Vulcan sky is completely repainted and looks great, and I appreciated the cuts to the cloud to emphasize spock's connection, even at this stage, with V'ger.

Several more cuts ensue, the most important of which is the transporter accident. The music was a little jarring at the top of Kirk's leaving the space dock scene, but it works alright. (The original feature had much more subdued music, very slowly building to the introduction of the gorgeous new Enterprise). There's a really nice shot of the sun rising behind the Enterprise as it departs which has been cut. I miss that shot, but conceptually, I understand why this was done and don't exactly disagree with it.

I should mention that I'm a fan of this movie even in its original, unedited form--I love all the drawn out visual scenes, but the editing has been tastefully done. So well, in fact, that despite knowing it had been shortened, I couldn't really tell just how. The end results are clear, though: the Enterprise leaves space dock a scant 22 minutes into the movie. The original version? 33 minutes! (That's 36 including the prelude!)

Ilia's character has been significantly edited, and considerably for the better. There is nothing (ok, other than "she's bald!") to say she's anything other than a normal humanoid female, who aparrently has a bit of history with Decker. No more healing powers, wierd over-sexualization, etc. A very welcome change.

The wormhole sequence has been significantly trimmed, the most noticeable part being Chekhov's line "tooooorpeeeeedooooooo... awayyyyyyyy!", which I always found a bit humorous (and thus distracting from what was supposed to be a very tense situation).

There are several other changes, many of them subtle modifications to characters rather than visuals--you can read about them in the changes log. The bottom line is, if you wanted to love the original version of this movie but couldn't get past the pacing, give this edit a try--it may be just what you're looking for. If you're looking for an action-packed adventure, I'm afraid Star Trek 1 will never be that, no matter how much editing you throw at it.

This is a near flawless edit, both technically and artistically. It tightens things up while staying true to the original concept. Highly, highly recommended.

What can I really say that hasn't already been said honestly...??
This is a great edit and completely replaces my blu-ray of this film, I loved it!
I will never watch the original cut again...

Only negative I have is - sometimes the added music is a little louder than the vocals.

Thanks so much for finding the great movie within this film.

Highly recommended for any Star Trek fans..

Great job TM2YC..

An absolutely delightful edit. I haven't yet managed to convince my wife that there's a good movie hidden inside TMP, but I have at least proved it to myself. I watched the original once more simply to make sure I knew what I was losing, and I don't think I will ever watch it again. This is a superior product, for all the many reasons others have enumerated.

I gave a few points off in the audio department, because a number of the sfx the editor added were wrong -- really, really wrong. Why is an Enterprise-D beep sequence playing on the bridge? Why is the computer console in Engineering making the beepboops from Voyager? (And not just Voyager, either -- a few of those sfx are from one specific episode of Voyager, though I've forgotten which one, and are never heard again.) I don't expect most other people will notice or care, but I found it profoundly jarring, and I just had to train my ear not to care anymore.

But, before my qualms cause you to hesitate in your decision to watch this edit (and, make no mistake: you SHOULD watch this edit!), you should know that I am a producer for a Star Trek fan audio drama (Starship Excelsior), and so I am more attuned to this sort of thing than sane people are. And you should know that most of the sound effects the editor used were downloaded from TrekCore... which obtained most of their sound library from me in the first place, which is why I know them very, very well. And you should know that it is almost impossible to get this stuff right: even my show sometimes makes a mistake, or simply uses the "wrong" effect because it sounds better in context. We know that only the most anal-retentive Trek audio nerds out there will notice or care, and that's a price we're willing to pay for a rich audio soundscape.

So, if you're not a huge Trek audio nerd, don't worry about it. If you are, just prepare yourself going in for some jarring moments. But don't turn it off the first time it annoys you! You'll get used to the anachronistic fx, and, by the time the Enterprise reaches V'Ger, you won't notice them at all anymore. The important thing about this fanedit is how it streamlines and reshapes the narrative of Star Trek TMP, while staying true to its feel and intent. If you own a copy of TMP, watch this.

Whoa!

I still recall goosebumps at the first teaser poster and the cheers at the Empire Leicester Sq when the music started and the caption STAR TREK THE MOTION PICTURE appeared....and this edit had a near similar effect. Perfection.

It would be easy to over trim this or to saturate it with excessive sound FX, but here is where TM2YC excels in showing creativity with restraint.

This edit nails it!...all.

The AV is solid, the editing crisp and the audio super. The colour and visual FX fixes are marvelous. The narrative; engaging. I've done 2 edits of this for my own consumption...a 50 min and a sound enhanced one...and this is far better. I found that this just perfectly extracted the story and tone of classic trek like no other edit even though original music from the series was avoided...and rightly so.

I for one will have trouble watching the originals now and this now sits in the BD case with the original (of which I have 3 versions on DVD and one on BD).

If you are a STTTMP maligner, you owe it to yourself to watch this...on a big TV and big sound system at full pelt. It is the definitive version in my humble opinion.

I can't add to what has already been said apart from BRAVO!
W

I have always had a soft spot for this film, having seen it when it first came out with my family at the cinema. As a pre-pubescent boy, I was slightly scared by a briefly bearded McCoy and slightly turned on by a near naked bald woman. Having watched it several times since, both emotions still remain, strangely.

So it is with great relief to discover that TM2YC has done an amazing job with this film. Reading the cutlist and having followed the in-the-works thread, I'm in awe of what has been achieved here. It looks great, with only a couple of noticeable SD elements - but I have to agree with their inclusion. Plus it sounds even better. It's a superbly polished edit, and it zips along much better for the cuts. The Kirk/Decker dynamic is particularly good.

If, like most people, ST:TMP left you a bit cold, you should do yourself a favor and check this edit out. If nothing else, you might find yourself being slightly turned on (bald woman or bearded medic. Your choice. I won't judge).