Star Trek- the Motion Picture 1979

[MIB41]

If you liked the theatrical version, you would flip over the director's cut. The director's cut is just flat brilliant. Talk about giving a film a complete makeover. Edited so much better with current special effects including seeing V-ger itself, makes this one a keeper. I can't even watch the theatrical version after watching this one. Everything about it works. They even fixed the pacing where the original was painfully slow in places.

[The Toyroom]

Haven't seen it in a long while but it's ok from what I recall...

[jds1911a1]

If you liked the theatrical version, you would flip over the director's cut. The director's cut is just flat brilliant. Talk about giving a film a complete makeover. Edited so much better with current special effects including seeing V-ger itself, makes this one a keeper. I can't even watch the theatrical version after watching this one. Everything about it works. They even fixed the pacing where the original was painfully slow in places.

maybe I have to put it in the old netflix queue, I still have the films on laserdisc so I never looked at 1-6 or generations on dvd

[Mikey]

When I seen TMP in the theatre I was around 15 and huge Trek fan.

Half of me was let down by the CRAZY BORING pacing, but the other half of me loved the new Star Trek theme music and new Enterprise.

So it balanced out to be an ok experience but worse than what I had expected.

[HardyGirl]

I remember when this movie came out and our neighbor took her kids, me and another kid to see it at the drive-in. We were so bored, we went to play in the playground. (I was 13).

I do have the letterbox set of the first 7 Star Trek movies on video, and I gotta say, this one is my least fave, to this day.

[Mikey]

I also remember really hating their new uniforms thinking it figured they would go for the late 70's sci-fi modern look

[ctc]

Hmmmm....

I was kinda lukewarm on it, even as a kid. It's pretty much the Nomad story again. (Maybe superpowerful aliens can't drive?) It LOOKED nice though.

Don C.

[Hector]

I don't hate it but...it is not really honest Star Trek. It is like a re-telling of 2001 adapted for a Trek film.

Yes...it's a mesh of both Star Trek and 2001...and that's why I love it...lol.

Star Trek is as fantastical as any other sci-fi film...but the Motion Picture would be the closest to a realistic Star Trek world if it existed.

I love the slow pace...like real space travel would be...and it's always nice to see the old crew still in their primes.

The Enterprise is beautiful...the best-looking of all of them...including the original series one.

...and yes...the theme music...it actually replaced the original as a fan favorite...lol.

One of my favorite Star Trek films for sure.

[Hector]

I rather watch a MILLION viewings of ST the Motion Picture...than one single viewing of that absurd and silly Star Trek V: The Final Frontier crapfest...and no...I'm NOT joking.

[Hector]

I'd agree, if you compared the threads on any of the original cast movies, TMP would probably be one of the most-talked about Trek movies here. It's my personal favorite as well, for a lot of reasons.

Quite simply, it's the only one that actually 'went somewhere' and tried to strive to be a 'event'. It has aged quite well and still holds a lot of interest, even after repeat viewings, being more 'space phenomena'-centered that the other original cast movies.

I guess when I say it 'aged-well', that would be still very subjective. Part of my fondness for it, as with most of us older folk, was all the excitement which was generated throughout the mid/late 70s about 'cast reunions'. After all the years of write-ups in Starlog, 'will Nimoy and Shatner ever work together', etc, etc.., seeing the movie finally done brought a lot of smiles to fans faces. For the younger audiences, more familiar with the later movies, ST-TMP probably is considered more of an 'obsure' or 'artistic entry' than anything else.

I love the more subtle acting, loved most of the uniforms and sets, and yes, the Directors Cut really brought a lot of it together quite well.

david_b

Couldn't agree with you more...

[Mikey]

It's really unusual for a franchises first movie to be one of the least popular in the series.

[Hector]

It's really unusual for a franchises first movie to be one of the least popular in the series.

Says you...not me...or many in this thread...




P.S. Oh...and least popular?

I don't think so...

http://boxofficemojo.com/franchises/...d=startrek.htm

[johnmiic]

It's the least popular film when you ask ST fans but it made it's money like almost 4x's over. It cost $40 million and made like $175 million, ( per The World Of Star Trek by David Gerrold, 1983). If I had to guess I would say fans saw it and figured this would be the only film. So they saw it many times over because the update look, the modern SPFX and the new music were great. Every Trek film made, at the end of each production, they always thought they would not make another one. After #4 they thought they would go for many more films. Then #5 came out, and Shatner blamed Batman, 1989, for the fifth film's failure. With the Next Gen cast waiting to take the big screen they would let them do only the last film, #6.

[jimsmegos]

I haven't watched it in a very long time. As a kid it was very slow to me and I just couldn't get past the uniforms and how Captain Kirk had funny looking curly hair.

[The Bat]

That line is definitely in the Director's Edition DVD.
(But I think it was absent from the theatrical cut.)

I must be losing my Marbles. I just watched it a couple of months ago...and I'd swear it was cut. I'll be checking it out again soon.