Star Trek 5 “This Other Eden”

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9.0 (16)
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Star Trek 5 “This Other Eden”
Faneditor Name:
Original Movie Title:
Franchise:
Fanedit Type:
Original Release Date:
1989
Original Running Time:
106
Fanedit Release Date:
Fanedit Running Time:
79
Time Cut:
27
Brief Synopsis:
BionicBob takes this recycled TOS plot and attempts to craft it into a darker, more somber adventure. Gone is the studio dictated humor, and in it’s place a story closer to writer/director William Shatner’s original vision.
Intention:
With this version BB has maintained his signature TV Style Cut but this time has forgone with the usual TOS music soundtrack and fully embraced the glorious film score of Jerry Goldsmith. Additionally, many of the poor F/X shots have been cut or replaced. With these changes, Bionic Bob hopes to have created an adventure worthy of the Star Trek Universe!
Additional Notes:
SYNOPSIS: A Madman hijacks the Enterprise in his quest to find GOD!
Release Information:
DVD
Cuts and Additions:
– added original Goldsmith score to Teaser
– added Goldsmith created Mind Meld sound f/x throughout movie
– added Starfleet title cards
– new opening credits
– restructured/altered Trinity Shore Leave
– trimmed out bad greenscreen from mountain fall
– cut out Marshmellons
– re-scripted all Klingon dialogue and used Klingon title cards to cover original subtitles
– altered Klaa’s introduction, no target practice, now in pursuit of a criminal fugitive
– cut Nimbus III Ambassadors introductions
– trimmed/altered return to Enterprise from Shore Leave
– cut Admiral Bob briefing
– altered Hostage Tape briefing slightly
– altered “Captain Chekov” gag slightly
– cut Uhura fan dance
– trimmed out some of the humor during Paradise City assault
– altered Klingon attack/Shuttle Craft manual landing
– trimmed Kirk/Sybok fight in Shuttle Hangar
– trimmed Trinity brig conversation
– altered Jail Break, no Turbo Shaft/Rocket Boots!!!!
– added music to Sybok’s observation room speech
– dialed up music slightly during McCoy’s Pain
– Legacy scene–Kirk’s secret pain revealed
– added additional barrier breach shots
– colour correction God Planet, added Blue tint
– trimmed planet walk and God-Thing reveal
– added lots of Earthquake filter f/x
– added Evil Red to God-Thing
– altered Klingon attack on Enterprise
– added additional shots of the God-Thing in pursuit of Kirk
– trimmed Bird of Prey reveal slightly
– trimmed Epilogue
– added new closing credit
– fade to black breaks

V2 Additions:
– cleaned up Earthquake F/X matte shots
– altered/clarified final encounter between Kirk and the God-Thing.
Cover art by Rogue-theX (DOWNLOAD HERE)
image

User reviews

16 reviews
 
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5-7 stars
 
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1-3 stars
 
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Overall rating
 
9.0
Audio/Video Quality
 
8.9(7)
Audio Editing
 
9.2(7)
Visual Editing
 
9.6(7)
Narrative
 
9.0(7)
Enjoyment
 
8.6(16)
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Overall rating
 
9.8
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
9.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
Boy did they made fun of this movie when it came out. It almost destroyed the movie franchises. I enjoy the Edit movie, less comical & more serious . I liked the Klingons where better & tougher. The subtitles were very good. That was a good idea to make the evil god red towards the end. The flashbacks and flashforward was a good idea. The only thing I would keep is the joke song Row Row Row Your Boat. The Audio Editing, Video Quality is good. The Visual is good too. The Enjoyment was fun.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
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Overall rating
 
8.2
Audio/Video Quality
 
8.0
Audio Editing
 
8.0
Visual Editing
 
9.0
Narrative
 
9.0
Enjoyment
 
7.0
This counts as my first ever viewing of a BionicBob edit. So I admit, I had no idea what to expect going in. I just know that Star Trek V is a film that, for lack of a better word, needs a good fixing. Now that I've seen this one, I can say that this is a much needed improvement over the theatrical release. It may not be suited to my personal taste, but when compared to the original film, it's fantastic!

It's refreshing to see this film without so many of the campy moments this film is known for. The infamous "Row row row your boat" song, the rocket boots escape and Uhura going naked are all gone here. And I also appreciate the restructure done on the Klingon warship subplot. These simple fixes are enough to make a lot of the more philosophical moments about religion easier to understand. I still wish the cat lady fight wasn't around, and I think the whole movie would've been improved if the whole Yellowstone adventure was cut out. But with my criticisms aside, I would still recommend this over the theatrical version in a heartbeat. If all you care about here is a better Star Trek V, this is a worthy fanfix.

However, I must stress what I said in paragraph one: It may not be suited to my personal taste. Why, you ask? Well, here's the deal. This edit takes a TV-style approach rather than a cinematic approach. In a lot of ways, this edit is like a really long episode of the original series. You can even see the points where the commercial breaks are supposed to occur. Reading previous reviews, it's clear to me that this is BionicBob's style of editing. My thoughts on this style are love-it-or-hate-it. If you're a trekkie who loves the idea of seeing these movies converted into TV episodes, then don't make me stop you. However, if you're a hardcore cinephile who wants to re-create the cinematic experience in your own living room and you have a weird love for the smell of 35mm film, like I am, this may not be the edit for you.

Still, I kept an open mind while watching it, and what I got was a satisfying take on what is arguably the worst film to feature the original series crew. And for me that's all that matters. I could complain about the style if I wanted, but that doesn't change the edit as a whole. Bottom line: this is a great edit! It may not be for everyone, but it is a worthy change of pace from the theatrical version, and well worth your time if you're willing to go back to Star Trek's TV show roots.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
DVD
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0
Overall rating
 
9.4
Audio/Video Quality
 
9.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
9.0
Enjoyment
 
9.0
I notice that several of the weaker reviews here are from viewers who watched this in isolation and not as part of BionicBob's series. I think they may not have fully grasped what he was going for, and of course it's nearly always better to watch earlier films in a series first (unless you have seen them recently enough to remember well.) Well, I had the opposite experience: watching these in order, in a short span... and this edit fares VERY well in that context.

As much as I appreciated what BB was going for in editing these films to be similar to ST: TOS episodes, this was the first one where I felt he really NAILED it. And it's fitting, too. STIV wraps up the "Spock Trilogy" and sees the crew all back in place with a new ship and a new commission. So here when we get a new, better-looking intro and new, better-sounding theme music, it's perfect. And as much as I liked the old intro, the style of this one is much better for the "TV series" feel. This is also the best yet of BB's edits in terms of the commercial breaks being evenly-timed throughout the film, the fades out and establishing shots back in having the perfect feel, and the music not being too jarringly grand and filmic. More so than any of his other edits, this one is the best realization of his idea of making the movies feel like double episodes. I've also been rewatching ST: TNG and this could easily fit alongside one of their grander 2-parters from season 4 or 5.

In terms of shoring up the weaknesses of the original film, I also think BB does the best job yet on this edit. Whereas he wanted to trim a lot of the goofy humor from STIV, I still found that film grating and dumb. But here he actually does manage to excise all the worst offenses and stupidest, most out-of-character moments. There is a little bit of humor still left, but it wasn't over-the-top for me, and I see that some other reviewers really liked it. I also haven't seen the theatrical cut recently enough to remember how bad the FX shots were, but here they didn't stand out to me at all. In fact, I was thinking how much better they looked than in the previous ST edits! BB has clearly done great work replacing them, and I did not notice any A/V issues that others have mentioned. It was all smooth sailing for me. The one weak point may be that the subtitle banner style is a bit large and off-putting. It would've been ideal to simply remove them from the original and find a way to type new ones in or add a sub file, but if this was what was required to rewrite the Klingon dialogue and other bits: it's worth it.

Unfortunately, there's only so much BB could do about the overall story and ending. Saibok is still poorly explained, the ending is messy and rushed, and Kirk overacts about half his scenes. But there's a lot of good here with all the worst bits cut out. (My review of the theatrical film on its own is here: https://letterboxd.com/film/star-trek-v-the-final-frontier/) So far, I think this is BB's most successful ST edit, and it makes the biggest improvements over the original film. I'd highly recommend this, not only for the TV conceit, but just as a replacement for the theatrical version.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0
Overall rating
 
9.0
Audio/Video Quality
 
7.0
Audio Editing
 
8.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
So, Bionic Bob's "Star Trek: This Other Eden" was fantastic. It fixed nearly all of the problems I had with Star Trek V. All of the bad humor was removed, while still leaving in some fitting whimsical moments. All of the bad special effects were either replaced or trimmed. Some light flashbacks and flashfowards were added to give just a bit more depth at times. Of course, the final act was still too quick and lacking, but it was easier to forgive it. Everything that could've been improved was improved. I wasn't huge on commercial breaks and location cards, but it is what it is. Other than that the editing was fantastic, and every cut was done so skillfully and unnoticeably. I didn't think it would be possible to cut out everything about the Enterprise being in bad shape and nothing working, but he managed to without feeling like anything was missing.
This may not be peak Star Trek, but it's plenty enjoyable. I will definitely revisit this edit in the future.

AV Quality: 7, it's standard DVD quality, not especially good, not bad.
Visual editing: 10, the fixes to the poor special effects really helped, and the cuts were seamless.
Audio Editing: 8, music changes and cuts were perfect, but I found myself constantly adjusting the volume.
Narrative: 10, the narrative is greatly improved, leagues better than the original cut. It's still Star Trek 5, but any left over flaws in the plot were ones that couldn't be fixed, so I don't fault the editor.
Enjoyment: 10, I think this is the most enjoyment anyone could possibly get from Star Trek 5.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
DVD
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 1 0
Overall rating
 
9.6
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
9.0
Enjoyment
 
9.0
At this point my reviews of BionicBob's Star Trek edits are borderline embarrassing, but once again, I enjoyed the heck out of this.
I can't imagine anyone is going to start with this edit instead of watching them in order, so I will just direct you to my previous 4 reviews---they are all great. These are fantastic edits of flawed movies and, in every single case, BionicBob's edit lessens the flaws and makes the movie more enjoyable.
Anyone who is/was a fan of TOS on TV or of TOS of movies will NEED to watch these. I've nothing negative to say, and I have already gushed enough in my previous reviews.
These are awesome; I wish I could share them with every trekkie out there. :-)

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
DVD
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