I know (think?) this has been posted before...but this fan trailer is absolutely stunning and gives me goosebumps every time I watch it. Despite kind of sweeping it aside during my teen years, I've come to be absolutely in love with this version of Star Trek. Yes, it was different (and I'm a huge, unapologetic TOS fan)...but it was so awesome in scale and scope. And the history and story behind the film is so fascinating. It seems like the fans have a very polarizing "love/hate" relationship with TMP. I am amazed at how much MARKETING there was for this back in 1979. The number of tie-in products is really uncanny. Just looking through eBay demonstrates the sheer diversity of interesting products and marketing tie-ins. Let's talk TMP.
As a boy in the '70s, I was a fan of both the reruns of TOS and TAS, so on December 7th 1979 I was there with others to see TMP. It was unforgettable seeing the original cast and the updated production designs including the majestic 1701-Refit. Of all the current thirteen Star Trek films, it is the only one that aspired to be epic like Stanley Kubrick's 2OO1(1968).
This I wholeheartedly agree with. While this wasn't my favorite movie for story reasons I absolutely love hearing about the production and all the work that went on behind the scenes. Plus I can't hate too much on a movie that gave us the beautiful Constitution-refit. For the story I like the sense of exploration without necessarily having a villain that would become the norm after WOK. I just wish they would've had a few more cuts in the editing room and uniforms that didn't look like a pair of pajamas.
I remember seeing this the weekend it opened in 1979 with my parents and brothers. I was 7 years old, and having seen TOS with my parents, this was exciting for them to see! I remember being awed by the scope and feel of it on the big screen, things like seeing the one Klingon warp engine right at the front of the screen when they were going to evasive maneuvers, the music being very lush and grand (and hearing the applause when the TOS theme played during Kirk's Captain's Log narrations), the gasps and applause when Spock returned to the Enterprise. That first showing I remember not hearing much about the movie being slow or dull. Most of the audience was in awe of how much bigger in scope Star Trek just got. Around that time, I remember wanting to get the Star Trek Happy Meals at McDonald's (and we lived a short walk away from one, so lunch for me on a weekend was decided for a while!) as well as getting the Peter Pan book and record sets that had TMP images on the covers (still have most of the Happy Meal stuff as well as the book and record sets!) I still love this movie, still watch it quite a bit. When I do, I remember that chilly December night, my mom helping me get my coat off when we got to seats in the theatre. I just sat in the middle of typing that, smiling and remembering that night. I've lost one brother since, and everyone else has gotten older and maybe not wiser. But TMP was an awakening for me. It opened my mind to good Science Fiction on a big screen.
I'll join in just to say that "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" is my favorite film of all time. I loved everything about it: the costumes, models, sets, effects, characters, story, and music were all perfect. I'm also one who prefers the original theatrical cut, because it really takes you back to the time the film was made. Last but not least, I strongly believe this film saved my life: at the age of 14 and after my first case of unrequited love, this film reminded me that there was a future to look forward to, and that it was better than whatever I may be going through at the time.
I would also add that as I got older, I appreciated this movie more. It felt more like a continuation of TOS to me, like an attempt to make up for the third season by having a more subdued tone. Not too long ago, I was excited when a local TV station showed TMP, and it turned out to be the theatrical version. No extra footage, just the original film. Hadn't seen it that way in a while and loved it!
One of the things that always astounds me is the sheer number and diversity of the tie-in products. For a short time, Star Trek looked like Star Wars. I mean, TMP had silly putty, underwear, wallets, happy meals, mugs, puzzles, lunch boxes, sew-on patches, bubble gum cards, action figures, play sets...the list goes on and on. Pretty interesting stuff, really.
I had (and over time was able to find again): the Silly Putty, the plush Kirk and Spock figures (that had the velcro hands and plastic heads), and a few other things like promo posters (the Proctor and Gamble series of posters, the double-sided one that had a 3-D image on the back). From when I was little, I still have the Mego figures, the water pistol (which is a very good reproduction of the phaser), the Happy Meal stuff (including a couple of the cardboard boxes) and some other things that I kept over time. I need to go back and see what else I can find on ebay that I may not have! The TMP merchandise was amazing and fun!
Star Trek's imperfect masterpiece. Not only my favorite Star Trek movie, one of my favorite movies ever.
I think I still have my 3-foot tall coloring book also. That thing's enormous but so incredibly cool!
Well said. Agree with your thoughts here. As much as I am a fan of all thirteen Star Trek films including J.J.s. TMP was epic and different from TOS, but with TOS cast. Whereas TOS cast's other films WOK-SFS-TVH-TFF-TUC-GEN felt like good or great episodes of the series but with a bigger budget.
TMP is a movie I repeatedly come back to in the franchise; I think I've come to love and appreciate it more than TWOK. It aims so high in scope and story, and I really think it doesn't falter all that much. It's not just a good example of Star Trek for me, it's a damn good all-round movie - possibly my favorite of Robert Wise's oeuvre. I've also used this film as a tool to help me figure out the process of screenwriting since I was a teenager, even to the point of amassing a significant collection of script drafts and revisions. I've even recently taken a pass through the script as a writing exercise to try to enhance some of the weaker aspects of the movie - Decker's characterization, Kirk's character arc, changing the wormhole sequence to something that I think enhances the conflict between Kirk and Decker.
I love the movie! The only Trek movie to feel as if it is on a grand scale. I love the scene where Spock walks on the bridge...the return of the king an epic moment. The character of Spock evolved throughout the rest of the movies and it is in TMP where Spock acts very much like he did during the run of TOS.