Star Trek: The Motion Picture 40th Anniversary theatre release 2019.

The Director's Edition released in 2001 (only available on DVD) has a few new CGI effects shots. They endeavored to match the aesthetic of the rest of the movie.

Kor

 

I had never seen this on the big screen, and it was a totally different experience than watching it on TV. The Enterprise model looked amazing -- possibly the best I've ever seen it. It had a scale and grandeur that made it worth sitting through the boring shuttlepod sequence. Discovery could learn a thing or two from the azteking.

The first half of the movie moves along at a good clip, but it bogs down once we get inside V'ger. That said, I was impressed with how layered and nuanced the dialogue and parallel plotting was. A lot of stuff went over my head when I first watched as a kid, like the possibility that Spock may not be trustworthy. His character arc, mirroring V'ger's, is well done, even in this abbreviated form. (I did miss his tears.)

The bridge looked, well, bad. The tradeoff to have the video displays was, to modern eyes, not worth it. They're dark and have hardly any presence. It just looks washed out and dull. But the movie does a lot of really cool world-building. I noticed all sorts of small details that I never paid attention to before, like all the announcements playing in the background.

I wondered why Nimoy got the collared undershirt and no one else did. The uniform looked so much better with it. Though I do love Kirk's admiral uniform and even the short-sleeve sports shirts.

Overall, very glad I went. It made me see the movie in a new light, and I'd recommend going to anyone who hasn't seen TMP on the big screen.

 

Religious/cultural reasons. It’s the same collared undershirt as on the black Vulcan robes he wears when he arrives on the ship. I’ve heard it suggested he wears more layers with his uniform because the ship is chilly for him, being from a desert and all.

 

I'm going on Wednesday. I wish it was the directors cut, but I'm excited to finally add another Trek film I've seen on the big screen. This will mean the only ones I won't have seen on the big screen was 2-5.

 

Here's a question: Is Kirk's admiral uniform the only time we've gotten the metal Starfleet delta in the empty circle, with nothing more? 'Cause it looks great.

 

His badge looks great, and yesterday the thing I found most annoying were the sewn on patches on the rest of the uniforms. They looked cheap compared with everything else in the movie.

 

The only STARSHIP in interception range. There's not that many ships (Roddenberry tells us the Enterprise is the only starship to survive a five year mission) with the Enterprise's capabilities and since it's already at Earth it can travel out to meet the Intruder. Vejur gets from the edge of Federation space to Earth in about three days. Actually, by the time Kirk tells Scott that the intruder is less than three days it hasn't even reached Epsilon Nine. So any other Starships might not be able to reach the intruder before it flashed past them. Now how the Enterprise was able to keep up with the intruder once they met up is a another matter.

 

That was a wonderful experience. I think they were only about five or six other people in the theater with me. On a gigantic screen, it’s easy to see how empty this film actually is of content. However, visuals are still amazing.

This didn’t feel like a Blu-ray being projected. The scenes needing them had the original film’s subtitles rather than the generic blu-ray versions. There was also a great deal of film grain. I didn’t feel like I was watching a film with heavy digital noise reduction. It was a very satisfying visual experience. I really felt like I was watching a projected film. The sound mix was on the loud side but it was great, dialog was crisp and clear. The Jerry Goldsmith score was apparent (man those blaster beams!) and I heard stuff that’s not as apparent at home. Like the air conditioning on the bridge and the total lack of ambient boops and beeps and were over the top on other films. When the transporter accident happened, the screams echoed out and there was utter silence. I know Shatner's "oh my God" gets derision, but in the auditorium, totally engulfed in the film, it works. That scene is brutal.

But man, you really notice the dead space between reaction shots on the bridge.

I still love this film to death.

I tried to watch it through the eyes of the 10-year-old who was it originally. At certain points, I still got chills. This was really amazing.

 

I don't know why Kirk's "Oh my God" gets derision. Just a figure of speech (like saying "Hey, guys" in mixed company.

But, yeah, I get the chills, too, for the same reason (I was 8 y/o when I say TMP).

 

sounds like this is well worth the experience. the original Star Trek movie on the big screen again (showing alongside all the latest movies), I only ever saw TMP on big screen back in 87 as part of a I-IV all day screening. too long ago. but this Fathom thing isn't for UK

 

I always thought it was horrifying. I know Wise wanted it cut. I disagree.

I'm getting pretty psyched.

That's interesting about the subtitles. That means there's a digital scan that is NOT what is available on the DVD. For some reason... (Fingers crossed.)

 

I always assumed the high collared undershirt was to make Spock look uptight and isolated, which he was. It really works that way.

 

The DE sound edit REALLY helps more than folks realized. The lack of background noise on the bridge (in the theatrical cut) has never been more apparent to me than when I saw the film in the theatre on Sunday.

 

Kirk's dress grays in STID had the same metal badge as his admiral's uniform in TMP as a nod; IIRC, he's the only character who gets the circled badge. There's also McCoy wearing a much, much smaller version of his TMP medallion at the end of STB.

 

There are so many I started to feel bad for George and Nichelle — how many ways can a person look shocked? At least George had that weird stick shift to show off his forearm musc-u-lay-ture.

Odd that they get rid of the bridge sounds when they added so many background announcements. Those really leapt out at me, both in number and volume. Mind the space gap!

 

They should have given them to everyone, just because it looks better. And as a nice nod to the TOS undershirts.

 

Your explanation is no doubt true. All these years, I thought it was because Nimoy's neck was longer, and the higher collar makes it less obvious. Maybe not...

 

By the way, it's probably already been documented somewhere, but the scar on Nimoy's right cheek really stood out in TMP. I didn't notice it during the series, nor in subsequent movies. I really noticed it the other day, when it was two feet high on the screen!

 

I had the pleasure of taking my stepson to see Star Trek: The Motion Picture this past Sunday afternoon. It was the original cut and it reaffirmed my opinion this film has gotten a bad rap. The score was magnificent. The story was solid. Yes, there was a bit of stiffness and it felt a bit like a patchwork quilt at times. However this re-release, within the context of the BIG screen, has shown it is not the worst of Trek films. It is not even the worst of The Original Series movies (that distinction goes to Star Trek V: The Final Frontier).

In fact, I would rate The Motion Picture ahead of The Search for Spock [1) The Wrath of Kahn 2) The Voyage Home 3) The Undiscovered Country 4) The Motion Picture 5) The Search for Spock and 6) The Final Frontier].

It also brought the context of the time in which it was released, December of 1979, back into focus. The grass roots fandom had pulled off something historic. With all the ups and downs and curves Star Trek had endured to get to this point. We fans of that day felt very much as though we had a vested interest. Sure, our excitement may have gotten the better of us and led to us develop some rather unrealistic expectations, however, it didn't take long for the fog to clear and for us to be able to clearly see the virtues of what was actually presented.

Unfortunately the internet loves naysayers and tends to give their voice a disproportionate loudness due to its salacious nature.

Now in the context of hindsight, The Motion Picture also holds up really well and reinforces my opinion that when one views the TOS movies from the focus of Mr. Spock it becomes one of the greatest stories ever told. Spock's arc from TMP through TVH and ultimately to TUC is incredible. He goes from lost soul to the wise man, and we got to witness this growth and transformation. It wasn't necessarily intended to be this great umbrella of an arc to frame and contextualize the films but it sure turned out that way. It makes the sum of those first 6 movies greater than their individual films.

Of course I also wanted to applaud Deforest Kelly when he first came aboard. He really was a brilliant presence. His humanity in this movie often goes unsung as it was through his character, Dr. McCoy, that we got that special magic of the TV series chemistry that we fault the film for not giving us more of.

Anyway, I hope folks who didn't get to see it this past Sunday take advantage of the opportunity to see it tomorrow (Wednesday September 18, 2019). FathomEvents.