Star Trek The Motion Picture/director's cut

This is probably my favorite Star Trek movie. I don’t have a P+ sub, but I might sign up for a month just for this.

 

Great film, watched it on April 5th on P+, and it's just as good as the first time. It feel like the original Star Trek series of the 60's I grew up with. I usually only purchase digital media, but I might get this on physical media. The last box set I bought was Gamera; anyWho, I like the first four Star Trek films, the others are ok, but not as good as the first. I'm also a fan of ANH, not because it's the first, but because it resonates with me more than the other 8 films. Currently playing Lego Star Wars ANH.

 

Undiscovered Country is good, I've watched it many times over the years. If you are a Star Trek fan, P+ is a must. If you are just a casual fan, I would not bother subscribing to it, just purchase the films and Tv shows that you enjoy on physical media. The Picard and Star Trek Discovery shows aren't any good, IMHOP (but i know those that like the shows).

There are 2 animated shows, Lower Decks, and Prodigy. I've only watched the first few episodes of both series, so I can't really give my take on them... all I can say is, I had no interest of watching further, to say the least.

Ironically, after May the 4th, on May the 5th, we get a new Star Trek show called Strange New Worlds. A Star Trek prequel, featuring Captain Christopher Pike, Number One, Spock, and Uhura (Captain Pike's hairstyle is laughable. He looks like Buck Rogers or Flash Gordon which to me is an indication that this is going to be another awful show... I hope I am wrong).

The Strange New World's trailers are intriguing, and look promising, but I'm not holding my breath. I guess Paramount heard all the gripes about Star Trek Discovery and Picard, so they created a new show to go back to the roots of Star Trek.

Personally, I really don't think the show runners know what makes Star Trek so special ( Star Trek is a show for me, that shows us how we have evolved and become better human beings. Star Trek Discovery shows us human beings going through the same problems we are going through today which is upsetting). If the Show runners understood what made Star Trek work, Picard and Discovery would be watchable. As a Star Trek fan, I give all iterations a chance, hoping for the best... oh well, we shall see come May the 5th.

 

oh, so good... it's a gorgeous cut.

Spock, Jim, Bones all looked good in this film as well... Rand didn't age well, she was so hot in the 60's show. I'm so happy they included her in the film though... feels like trek.

The first 4 Star Trek films work seamlessly together as you mentioned.

On another note, at the end of Star Trek into the Darkness, Jim gets killed off and he is abruptly brought back by the end of the film, Jar Jar Abrams strikes again... but I must say, if you watch Space Seed, the original Star Trek episode with Khan, then watch the Wrath of Khan, and finally watch Into the Darkness, Darkness isn't that bad, its forgivable. Its a great Khan trilogy that I decided to try.

The Empire Strikes Back is like Aliens or Terminator 2, a great sequel that some believe is better than the original. The Wrath of Khan is a Hornblower film, 2 ships in the heat of battle, an exciting film nonetheless but for me ST:TPM is trek. I think Robert Meyer Burnett breaks it down eloquently. He is the Isaac Asimov of sci-fi fandom. We both started watching Star Trek at the same age( Godzilla fan too, haha), his childhood fondly reminds me of mine. Both being members of the science fiction book club etc...

 

I've always liked TPM. The Director's Cut is better than the Theatrical but it's not a revelation of the movie that might have been. It's just a more polished, tighter version. I'd quite like to see the DC's "upmastered" effects in 4k.

A thing that always bugs me about this movie is about how it nearly killed the franchise and how it was a flop etc. It was a very successful film at the box office. It was just poorly managed through its development and didn't provide the template for future Star Trek success. It was clear that they would need to rev things up, and not waste so much money on second, third and fourth thoughts, for any further movies. It did lay the foundations for Trek's box office run.

 

It did okay at the box office but it severely underperformed against its budget and even the okay box office had some negative effects. Lots of people turned out for the big reboot and it was their shot at making a good first impression with returning and new audiences alike and what they got was a movie that's not everybody's cup of tea. It alienated a lot of fans of TOS as well as those who came out looking for something Star Wars-y. Regardless of how good or bad any of them were they wouldn't sell that many Star Trek tickets again until their next chance to make a new first impression on audiences and nostalgia junkies in 2009. That rollout was a little more successful because it at least pleased those looking for something Star Wars-y. I'll take TMP though.

 

I'll definitely pick up the first issue. The artist and color art looks amazing.

 

I got into comicbooks in the 5th grade, Chris Claremont, John Byrne, and Terry Austin were the creative team on the X-Men, at the time. I had a Catholic school teacher, Sister Teresa, who encouraged creativity. We created our own comicbook stories, and created films in her 5th grade class. Although, we are all grown up now, my friends and I have never forgot Sister Teresa. It was the same year, TESB was released. A student in class, who watched it before everyone, revealed that Darth Vader is Luke Skywalker's father before anyone else saw the film. We were all excited to watch TESB even though, we were thoroughly spoiled... fond memories indeed.

On the Star Trek front, I watched the original series before ANH was released. When ANH was released I knew it was for me, because of my fondness for Star Trek. I also watched Star Trek the Motion Picture in the theater, and also have fond memories of that as well. Its great to watch these films as an adult with a different perspective.

The reason I got into art and attended art school, The Fashion Institute of Technology, located in Manhattan NYC, Illustration degree, was solely for my passion for film and art which ANH has continued to inspire.

PS: Stan Lee, R.I.P., coined the term comicbooks, that's why I spell it that way.