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Posted:
00:00:57 on October 29 2001
By: Steve Krutzler
Dept: TrekWeb Features
STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE - THE DIRECTOR'S EDITION
DVD - $22.49
136 minutes/Rated PG
Two discs
Hits street Nov. 6
Buy Now and Support TrekWeb!
Written by Steve Krutzler
Note: After reading some of the other reviews of this spectacular DVD, I have endeavored to make this review much more interesting by both including lively analysis, humor, and by delving more deeply than a regular DVD-review site may have cared to. Be aware that there are spoilers about the new edition of the movie as well as the special features. However, since you're sure to have seen this film numerous times I don't think my colorful analysis will ruin it for you, and hopefully you'll want to buy this DVD more than ever after reading this review. When you do, I ask that you please support TrekWeb in these times of economic strife by purchasing your copy from the Amazon link above. Thank you and enjoy.
The Director's Edition
There was a time when watching ST:TMP in its full entirety seemed like a chore. But this is no more. With subtle improvements and additions in visual effects, a brilliant transfer, and a vibrantly remixed soundtrack, The Director's Edition truely realizes the ambitious story of STAR TREK's best film.
Presented in beautiful anamorphic widescreen, the presentation begins with the traditional musical overture accompanied by a dizzing starfield before the movie starts. Often regarded as a monochromatic massacre of mise-en-scene, the crisp and clear print reveals throughout a vibrance made dull only in comparison to the abuse of technicolor in THE ORIGINAL SERIES and subsequent features. Not only does the transfer bring out the subtle color differences in the aesthetically-challenged Starfleet costumes, but it removes them from the dismal dilution into the background suffered in previous versions. While the occasional celluloid imperfection or softness reveals that there are some things even modern technology cannot totally compensate for, the Director's Edition is in all likelihood the best this film has ever looked. One need only view some of the deteriorated footage in the plethora of authentic trailers and television spots included on the two-disc set to come to this conclusion.
Without the decadent excesses of other "special editions" that inject 21st century visual effects into their films for pure novelty, the team on the STTMP: DE keeps updated CGI to a minimum. In fact, despite various welcome nuiances that hardly draw attention to themselves -- such as new titles, more realistic images of Earth on the viewscreen, better detail and coloration on the Enterprise, and external views in set windows -- the film maintains its low-key dedication to delivering Robert Wise's twenty-year-old vision for the story by including only three major, entirely new CGI shots. Done at Foundation Imaging, the same company that has worked on the recent TREK series, the additions all serve to fill ambiguous gaps in the narrative that caused confusion from the mere fact that in 1979 the complexities of the film's story were not visually-achievable. The first visual delight is the brilliant rendering of the cite of Spock's ceremony on Vulcan. Realizing the fantastic sketches of the scene available in the Archives section of Disc 2, this single shot that includes a slow camera movement to allow you to take it all in, consists of huge Vulcan statues that convey the sacred location of the scene, which in previous versions seemed little more than a glorifed volcanic sauna due to its close photography and lack of such impressive and realistic establishing shots (I also believe TREK canon has it that Vulcan has no moons(?) and that the 1979 footage included several).
The other two instances of remastered excellence are left to surprise the viewer toward the film's conclusion. The mystery of V'Ger and its awesome construction is integral to the impact of the final act, and the Director's Edition creators have taken great pains to make sure that the ambiguity of this alien locale is preserved until the absolute necessary moment for injection of a point of reference. V'Ger's position relative to Earth has always been somewhat difficult to ascertain visually, despite dialogue hints; but in more than one spectacular shot, this new edition of the film presents the shedding of V'Ger's outer cloud to reveal at least a portion of the interior understood to be the vessel of V'Ger itself. The FX team resists the temptation to show a complete shot of V'Ger's core that might destroy the integral concept of V'Ger's imperceptible enormity. But these shots satisfy your curiosity and clearly show V'Ger's approach into Earth's orbit and its launch of the energy spheres at the planet.
The final treat manages to surpass even these and foreshadows the cathartic release of the film's climax for us as we gaze wide-eyed in pleasure. How the Enterprise reaches the "bridge" that the crew eventually traverses to reach V'Ger has also been a point of severe confusion visually. Previously, the crew merely walked outside to see a sort of roadway that gave the impression that the saucer of the Enterprise was resting on some sort of edge within V'Ger. This perception is clearly dispelled with delight as we see a startling computer-generated rendition of "blocks" flying into position outside the saucer section to form the path. Furthermore, as the crew begins to walk toward V'Ger, we're treated with a view that reveals the Enterprise still apparently floating while a narrow bridge mystically extends out to it like a beckoning finger enticing Captain Kirk and crew to take the plunge.
Some additional effects of note are the establishing shots of 23rd century San Francisco, which as Robert Wise explains in the commentary is the first-ever view of Roddenberry's future Earth. The shot is now digitally constructed in lieu of an incomplete matte painting and consists of three shots as originally envisioned by Wise. The shuttle bay is also digitally enhanced to add further depth and width. The Enterprise herself appears throughout the Director's Edition in equal-if-not-greater glory than in any of the following films, which could rely on more advanced visual effects technology. Several shots approaching the outer perimeter of V'Ger as well as once inside reveal the splendor of the digitally-created model of the Enterprise; among these are a new shot showing the dissipation of the second V'Ger energy ball in front of the ship, as well as a new shot showing the approach of a similar sphere that actually launches energy beams into the Enterprise which become the probe that visits the bridge. The Enterprise is depicted in a brilliance that leaves no doubt as to her aesthetic superiority in the annals of STAR TREK history and makes you drool for a new edition of the NCC-1701-A model kit.
The sound in this new version has been completely remixed digitally, and from the beginning overture Jerry Goldsmith's landmark score takes on new life. But after all these years its Goldsmith's supporting cues, rather than his bombastic and over-played main theme that truly astonishes. The ST:TMP theme (heard during the overture) is surprisingly original and romantic and moments like Spock's arrival really provide examples of an active score that conveys the mysteriousness of space and Roddenberry's future in ways that much of the composer's previous work has failed to accomplish. Sound effects have also been greatly enhanced. The bridge teems with vibrant TOS-era background sounds in every scene and several discussions in large rooms (like the Starfleet shuttle station in San Francisco) seem to have larger and more realistic echoes. But sound effects haven't been implanted where they don't belong, and the film is still clearly in the hands of Goldsmith's score, especially in memorable scenes like the initial penetration into V'Ger. If one thing is true about TMP, it is that it is Goldsmith's best TREK score; this is not surprising considering ST:TMP is the most challenging and intellectual of all the TREK films Goldsmith has worked on.
The film itself comes in at 136 minutes, with more footage than the theatrical version and less than the 1983 television broadcast. But most cuts are modest and only help move the story along more fluidly. Among those you'll recognize as missing in Wise's cut of the film are Kirk's second "viewer off!" in the recreation deck scene, Sulu's awkward interaction with Ilia when she first takes her station, and the Ilia probe's inquiry as to Kirk and Spock's entrance via spacesuits into V'Ger itself. Rest assured, however, that all these and more are provided on Disc 2, so you can revel in the fact that Wise has made the film less clunky than the version you're used to without pretending like these scenes don't exist.
The Goodies
Commentaries
First up are the bonus materials on Disc 1, chiefly the group commentary by Robert Wise, visual effects leaders Douglas Trumbull and John Dykstra, composer Goldsmith, and actor Stephen Collins, and the text commentary by long-time TREK fan and scenic artist Mike Okuda. The former is somewhat misleading as a "group" commentary, with the discussions clearly indicating that the interviews were not recorded together; this prevents some of the chemistry between commentators that you may be used to on other DVD's, resulting in the occasional overlap or sense that someone else should be talking during a particular scene when they aren't. Dominated mosly --and rightfully so -- by director Wise and Trumbull and Dykstra, the commentary proves to be quite engaging with only a few slow points. You may find yourself able to sit through the entire film yet again (as I did) just to continue listening. One caveat, however: do yourself a favor and select the Group Commentary, then go back into the menu and select the Text Commentary before finally selecting to play the movie. The latter complements the primary discussion well and watching it through with only the audio commentary only to discover that you could've had both on at the same time is somewhat of a bitter realization.
Goldsmith's contributions come mainly at the beginning during his overture, when he discusses his inspiration for what he describes as a more "romantic" theme than previous Sci-Fi movies. The composer also chimes in during the first trip through V'Ger to discuss how Wise asked him to fill-in for what he knew would be a lack of sound effects, allowing him to contribute some long, un-broken cues. One interesting point he reveals is that the V'Ger musical cue (bong!!!!!) was produced by a large aluminum pipe on the Paramount lot called the "blast beam", which similar to a guitar, produced varying pitches of that integral tone throughout the film. Collins chimes in principally twice, the first time to tell of the struggle shooting the 3-page wormhole scene in order to produce the trailing-light effect, and later to discuss his own personal identification with Decker's ultimate decision.
The real gems of the commentary are Wise and the FX leaders' inputs. Despite other reviewers' opinions, Wise genuinely reveals several key reasons that The Director's Edition has been put together in the first place. All of the major effects completions are addressed; Wise comments that the tilt downward in the new Vulcan view facilitates drawing a better connection between Spock and V'Ger; he acknowledges that the original never properly established the relationship between V'Ger and its approach into Earth orbit; and he discusses how the studio had pre-sold the film to theaters at 130 minutes, causing his team to deliberately cut dialogue (such as Spock's tear drop scene) to allow more of the expensive visuals to shine through in the allotted time. At one point he comments that he has directed 40 films and this was the only once for which he did not have a preview audience -- an audience which undoubtedly would've told him there needed to be more emphasis on the characters in the film. This is much of what he has tried to do with the various nips and tucks and visual completions.
For the technical-minded, both Douglas Trumbull and John Dykstra offer detailed and oftentimes lengthy accounts of how the film's complex effects shots were composited from work by their two separate teams. There is ample discussion on the inspiration for the visuals of the interior of the cloud as well as the construction of the various pieces of the V'Ger vessel itself. Several interesting observations include the slowing of the camera when moving toward some of the Starfleet space objects in the first act to convey their mass in a 2001-esque manner, the mounting of real people in space suits to achieve more realism than miniatures could offer, and the fact that all of the V'Ger interior was completely self-lit with fiber optics. Outsiders to the world of visual effects may find some of the details hard to digest, but rest assured that Robert Wise will pick up soon with more accessible remarks.
Finally, Mike Okuda's text commentary is a welcome addition, but as said above, I recommend watching it in concert with the audio even if you plan to span your enjoyment of this DVD over much longer than one weekend, as I unfortunately had to do. Many of the observations borderline on well-known information such as "William Shatner reprises his role as the hero, Captain Kirk," some of it repeats what is being said by Wise et al, but it has its share of humorous trivia-type observations about sets and scenes that you won't want to miss. At one point toward the end of the film, Okuda even begins spending a sizeable amount of time explaining why director Wise chose the generally colorless TMP uniforms.
Advertising and Archives
Disc 2 is absolutely chock full of candy and it really feels like Paramount went the extra mile to make up for its total lack of attention to the TREK DVD releases in the past. Starting off with advertising section, both the teaser and full trailer from 1979 are included, as well as new DE trailer; there are also 8 television spots, and all of these original materials are narrated by cinema great Orsen Welles. Entertaining for the very type of people who will be purchasing this DVD (the fans!), these old style promos almost make UPN look good. Ironically, the one trailer included for ENTERPRISE in this section (apprently from the UPN up front presentation in May) looks almost as if it was sewn together in 1979 as well! Most importantly, however, it's clear that while the narration to these trailers is somewhat cumbersome, it seems the first and only time that the intellectuality was used as a selling point for a STAR TREK film. One repeated line that resonates is "it will challenge your intellect!"; whether this reveals a more sophisticated audience twenty years ago, a better picture, or a studio with more confidence in its consumers, it's probably a combination.
Next up (going out of exact order now) is the Archive section that contains three sections of original storyboard drawings. Showing concept sketches for Vulcan, V'Ger, and the Enterprise in dock, this section is somewhat impressive at first but soon the drawings seem incredibly childish (no offense to the artist); whether most storyboard artwork is this simplistic, I honestly am not experienced enough to know, but this part of the DVD is a let down considering this is the only material that populates the Archives--no script, no production notes, no actual production drawings, or even behind-the-scenes stills. For those goodies, you'll have to wade through the three new Retrospective Featurettes.
Retrospective Documentaries
The first -- and shortest -- of these new documentaries is PHASE II: THE LOST ENTERPRISE. Perhaps spending too much time on the origins of PHASE II, it really gets going when it starts showing actual visuals of the proposed sets and actors for the series. Included are, to my knowledge, the first glimpses of this lost second television series: visuals of the character Xon (played by David Gautreaux, who became the Epsilon 9 station commander in ST:TMP), who was going to replace Spock when Nimoy declined to return for the second 5-year mission, Persis Khambatta as Ilia in a gold TOS-skirt costume, and the proposed engineering set. As others have commented, this is as far as the feature goes when it seems to approach the 15-minute mark and just as quickly as Michael Eisner (then a Paramount exec.) wiped PHASE II from the history books when he decided to turn the pilot into TMP, so too are any further tales of the series. But this seems more for lack of actual footage of PHASE II than for carelessness of the documentarist; however, these few visuals are quite exciting!
The next feature, A BOLD NEW ENTERPRISE: THE MAKING OF ST:TMP, runs considerably longer and is much more satisfying. If you don't plan to watch the film with either of the commentaries any time soon, this featurette offers an apt summary of some of the high points yet plenty of new material from new individuals to make watching it a must for everyone. Particular inputs from executive Jeffrey Katzenberg, Robert Wise, and others including William Shatner make this a treat. The segment includes concept sketches, behind the scenes photos of the shooting, even brief glimpses at the script. One point of interest includes the original sketch for the new engine room; the production designer explains how the set was built with "forced perspective", meaning that for lack of space, the depth of the enormous room is simulated in the construction of the set itself; the shooting team even placed children in engineering suits in the rear of the set to fulfill the illusion of depth. By far, however, the most tantalizing morsel included is the original music cue for the first unobstructed view of the Enterprise in space dock. Composer Goldsmith originally had a different orchestration prepared for the part, which this documentary plays for you along with the scene; you are then shown the final version, with what has become Goldsmith's most famous TREK theme -- a piece that originally wasn't even intended to be written!
Some of the BOLD NEW ENTERPRISE segment repeats information from the group commentary, but again, the new material is more than enough reason to watch both. For those interested in a quick perusal of the new Director's Edition augmentations to the film, check out the shorter featurette, REDIRECTING THE FUTURE. An excellent summary of the creation of the Director's Edition, the feature shouldn't be watched until AFTER you've seen the new cut of the film in its entirety, lest it spoil the new visuals for you. But when you're ready for a closer examination, this program presents most of the new visual effects and juxtaposes them next to their 1979 counterparts, making it easy to see the vast improvement. Most satisfying, however, is the revelation that all the new FX were based on original storyboards from 1979 -- from Vulcan to V'Ger -- that simply never made it to the screen. In fact, this feature provides looks at the more interesting storyboard drawings that the Archives section omits. You are also treated to early screen tests of the new effects, showing how they evolved and eventually made it into Wise's cut. We even see a completely new V'Ger interior made entirely for the DE that fits between when the Enterprise is sucked into the main V'Ger interior and when it reaches the V'Ger island; in the original, the ship merely came through and landed on the island. In here you'll also see the construction of another key effect sequence redone for the DE: the explosion of the asteroid and the dissipation of the wormhole in the first hour of the film.
Deleted and Additional Scenes
Finally comes the section of the DVD that at first glance seems like an afterthought. Be warned: this section is not for the faint of heart! Every scene that has been changed in the DE from the 1979 version is included here -- IN ITS ENTIRETY; from Vulcan to San Francisco to V'Ger, it's all here and you can see exactly how things have changed. Additionally, there is a lengthy assemblage of all the scenes that were nipped and tucked from the 1979 version to create the Director's Edition. Here you'll find things like Kirk's announcement that "we can only hope there is a life form... that reasons the way we do," which Wise explains during his commentary pre-empted the dramatic discovery of the central object at the heart of V'Ger and was cut from the new version. This particular assemblage is sewn together roughly and contains several scenes that you cannot navigate independently; there is also no pause between scenes so sometimes it is difficult to get a bearing of what scene you're viewing the tail-end of.
Of particular interest to most fans in the 1979 section will be the inclusion of the raw screen tests of what was originally going to be the Memory wall sequence ('Outtakes'). As Robert Wise discusses thoroughly in his commentary (and the DVD menu design summarizes here), this sequence was originally intended to provide the impetus to discover V'Ger's vast digitization of universal knowledge and its nature as a living machine. In the final film, it is replaced with Spock's more exciting travel through V'Ger's "hard drive". Visual effects leader Douglas Trumbull talks in the commentary about how this sequence was not going to work visually and this is another prime example of how the commentary makes clear the various problems while making the film and the reasons for the DE. The included footage here is without sound and really only contains an impressive set that would've been the Memory Wall. While it is impossible to gauge the effectiveness of a completed Memory Wall sequence, the footage here seems to indicate that the filmmakers' instincts about it causing an unnecessary slowdown in the film were right. View it here for the first time and you'll be glad it was excised.
But it doesn't stop here, as there is still the 1983 television version to wade through. Here you'll find 11 scenes that were injected into that version and are absent from Wise's final version. Included here are Sulu/Ilia on the bridge, Ilia's "sexually-immature species" line, an extended first-V'Ger attack sequence where Uhura frantically communicates to Starfleet that "we are under attack!", and two extended Ilia's quarters scenes. It isn't until you've watched all of these materials that you get a sense for just how much slower the previous ST:TMP cuts were, and yet it is impossible to term the final Director's Edition version "fast-paced" in any modern sense of the word. Despite the near perfect preservation and implementation of a pace more akin to Wise's original intent, there are a few scenes that may have deserved final insertion. Among the enormous volume of deleted materials, I can find only three scenes that may have enhanced the film without slowing the film by any more than an additional 45 seconds. First is the crew's reaction to the enormity of V'Ger upon early scans; McCoy's witty remark "... or a crew of a thousand ten-thousand feet tall..." provides humor and welcome characterization. Second, the exchange between Kirk and McCoy while Kirk suits up to pursue Spock into V'Ger; while the extra footage of Kirk emerging from the airlock is unnecessary, the continuance of McCoy's concern about Spock being influenced by V'Ger seems useful. Finally, Decker's brief remark toward the end where the Ilia probe talks of V'Ger's creator, "Of course, we all make god in our own image," is brief and seems intengral to the theme of the film; wish it could've stayed. But no one can ever be completely satisfied and to over-state my desire that these scenes be included at the expense of sounding the least bit negative would be a gross error.
DVD Menus/Packaging
This wouldn't be a DVD review without a quick overview of the basics. The menus on Disc 1 and Disc 2 are different, one being the inside of V'Ger where Spock ventures and the other being the actual Voyager VI satellite and its cradle. The interactive menus are beautifully well done and conveniently return with the pointer on the next item in the list after you've watched an item. The case utilizes the traditional TMP movie poster and inside the tiny pamphlet details the chapter assignments and includes a new collage sort of image on its cover. On the reverse side is an intro to the DVD by director Wise, who makes it clear why the Director's Edition has been produced and is a great read before plopping the disc into your machine; it almost seems rude to do so without first reading what this legendary filmmaker has to say to you.
The Final Word
There has never been much doubt in my mind that ST:TMP is the only "real sci-fi" STAR TREK film; in fact, it's story was written by sci-fi author Alan Dean Foster. Even the fan-favorite STAR TREK II reduces TREK to a more personal, intimate human story; this may make for better drama, but does it make for better STAR TREK? With the Director's Edition, ST:TMP now seriously challenges ST2 for the title of best STAR TREK picture; associate producer Jon Povill sums it up best when he says that TMP was truly a story that could only have been done in the universe of STAR TREK. But even ST2 was a replay of MOBY DICK -- an earthbound tale -- transposed into the future. TMP is about challenging your senses and your mind; it is ironic that this film ends with the mantra "the human adventure is just beginning," and yet so few later STAR TREK installments actually deliver a comparable science fiction tale that at the same time illuminates the human condition far better than any more personalized story like THE WRATH OF KHAN. If you've watched the new TREK series, ENTERPRISE, with positivity and enjoyment as I have in the last few weeks, you may be surprised to watch STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE in its now-complete form and come away thinking that this is the ultimate pinnacle of what STAR TREK can and should be. It is truly a peak that STAR TREK has yet to -- and may never -- reach again.
Specifications (from DVD File)
- DVD-Video
- Two-Disc Set
- Region 1
Aspect Ratio(s): 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Dolby Digital Formats:
- English 5.1 Surround
- English 2.0 Surround
Subtitles/Captions:
- English Closed Captions
- English Subtitles
Standard Features:
- Interactive Menus
- Scene Access
Additional Features:
- Screen-specific audio commentary with director Robert Wise, effects supervisors Douglas Trumball and John Dykstra, actor Stephen Collins and composer Jerry Goldsmith
- Subtitle fact track
- "Phase II: The Lost Enterprise," "A Bold New Enterprise" and "Redirecting The Future" featurettes
- Deleted and additional scenes
- Storyboard archive
- Liner essay by Robert Wise
- Theatrical trailers
- TV spots
