Posted:
17:26:38 on September 09 2001
By: Steve Krutzler
Dept: General Star Trek
TrekToday has posted some answers from the 'Star Trek: The Motion Picture - The Director's Edition' production team, submitted by visitors to the site. Here are a couple excerpts:
Hector Lopez: Why did the release date change from Jan. to Nov. and [was] there any computer colorization done to the film to give it a more "Lively" look instead of the gray "Dull" look it had?
David C. Fein, Producer: There were some discussions about the release occurring on 1/7/01, specifically because of the importance of the NCC-1701 registry on the Enterprise. While the film was completed in August of 2000, the entire release was not ready.
In regard to the look of the film, its unfortunate that many films - including 'The Motion Picture' - have been viewed mostly on video, and the transfer of the film is inaccurate to how the film actually looked in the theater. When the film is prepared for theatrical presentation the Director and often the Cinematographer view test prints and have changes made to insure that what they originally designed and shot is how the film will finally appear on the screen. Video transfers of films are usually not given this same careful treatment. It is only over the past ten years or so that SOME film transfers been supervised by the Director and/or Cinematographer and match - as closely as video will allow - the look of the film in the theatrical presentation. Nowadays, the tools for transferring films and matching color have evolved tremendously over the technology employed on earlier transfers and offer superior quality.
Very early in the planning stages of this project, actually before we even approached Paramount about the project, we screened a print of the film and once again appreciated the way the film truly looks. 'Star Trek: The Motion Picture - The Director's Edition' was transferred under Bob's [Robert Wise's] supervision, and shown to and approved by Cinematographer, Richard Kline.
As for the old ‘gray "Dull" look it had, all I can say is that there was no computer colorization work performed on the film to change the overall appearance, however it is clearly more "Lively" and colorful - and accurate to the way it was intended - than ever before.
[...]
Brian Savoie: I am looking forward to the release of the Director's Edition in November. So far I have heard that the film is more intense (generating a PG vs. G) rating and is a tighter film in general. Has the plot direction of the film been changed or are the changes largely aesthetic and tonal? If the plot has changed what types of story elements have been added/removed to cause those changes? Thanks so much for your time, effort and vision devoted to a film you worked on over 20 years ago.
Michael Matessino, Restoration Supervisor: I'd like to answer this question by strongly urging everyone to study more carefully exactly what the ratings mean. A "PG" film does not exclude anyone from attending, it simply suggests that parents check the film out first and make a judgment as to the appropriateness for their own children. Even though 'Star Trek: The Motion Picture' was always a story about adults facing a mysterious, threatening entity, with some heady concepts and sexual undertones, I think its original "G" rating is reflective of the fact that the original film wasn't as engaging as was intended. We addressed this in doing 'The Director's Edition,' not with the goal of acquiring a "PG" rating, but once we evaluated the cumulative effect of the finished film, we expected a "PG" and we're very happy about it. So the plot hasn't really changed, but the characters have been emphasized a bit more, which makes what's happening to them more engaging. This, plus the tighter editing and the new sound mix, has resulted in a more intense feeling overall, and again, the "PG" simply means that parents should check it out first.
For the rest of the comments, check out this page.
