TMP Directors Edition Bluray version vs DVD

[Qonundrum]

I was curious so I borrowed a couple of images from TrekCore and put them together. The Blu-Ray seems to be bigger and shinier, so it's got my vote. They've got galleries of the DVD version and the Blu-Ray version of the Director's Edition from start to finish so you can compare them for yourself.

> DVD gallery
> Blu-Ray gallery

Looks like they had the same models, re-rendered, and yet...

It looks like the blu-ray (left) has a different camera orientation, and with new llight sources - including what might be a big UV spotlight aimed at Ilia as she is absolutely dayglo, as are the rocks immediately in front of her. It's a good thing they don't have cats wandering on the saucer with bladder problems, metallic gray and yellow don't work well. Gray amd beige on the other hand...

The deflector dish also looks better on the DVD side despite lesser definition.

I don't care that they did it with CG. I care that it looks terrible. Just because of the realities of what is available to be altered, the best looking version of this scene is still the 1979 theatrical.



The one thing that was (not surprisingly) untouched was the edit itself from 2001. Because it was done by Robert Wise himself.

Chalk me up for the 1979 original, warts and all.

I liked some of the new ideas brought in (e.g. seeing VG'ers actual exterior added a badly needed sense of scale), and some exterior POV shots. But the amount of live action footage cut didn't do much for me. Yes, the Klingon ship Amar stuff is snipped but it lent a different idea to where the franchise could have gone, and otherwise even still adds into the multifaceted nature of the Klingon/Federation scuffles that culminated in TUC. Removing it just seems like a retcon. Then again, I'm one of the three people who doesn't take a nap while watching the extended TV cut (now on home video in widescreen, squeeeeeeeee!)...

And how could I forget the replacement red alert klaxon. From a proper alarm noise that really gets people to notice that, yo, it's a red alert and people are about go boom-boom in one if not two ways... to a wimpy wushy sound... So while paring down on the number of times the computer voice repeats "RED ALERT" is otherwise not a bad thing, but the alarm sound being replaced with that mouse squeal was a head-scratcher. Then again, everyone's wearing pyjamas and look like they'd fit in at Studio 54, so the new alarm sound's more alluring and relaxing and kinky tone may have been the original intent. I guess.

 

[Tallguy]

One thing that hasn't been discussed is that the 2021 DE has AMAZING sound. Better than the 2001 and WAY better than 1979. One of the biggest improvements is that they found the dubbing recordings that the cast made in 1979 and were never used. So all of the dialog sounds just a bit more natural than previous versions.

So someone gave me a like on this post (thank you) and I realized: I got it backwards! 1979 had better sound than the 2001 edition. That was the main barrier for me that kept me from making the 2001 DE my go to edition back then. They had the right ideas when they were making the DE and there needed to be much more of a completed soundscape than they had time to do in 1979. But they used so much pseudo-TOS. If it wasn't taken right from the Enterprise B in Generations then they went in exactly the same direction. Really, it SHOULD have sounded like the sound work that Howarth was able to expand upon in The Wrath of Khan. And the music edits were still fairly clumsy.

But it's OK because 2021 is damn near definitive. The things I might have kept from 1979 are far outweighed by the improvements. It's sonically amazing but still sounds like what they would have / might have done in 1979. There are still TOS sounds (which I object to categorically because the studio was doing everything it could to distance itself from the TV show at the time) but they're much more tastefully included.

The music edits benefit from Mike Matessino having learned a thing or two in 20 years. Goldsmith said he wrote the music in such a way that it could be cut down if needed and Mike did a more artistic job of it here.

 

[Mage]

Had the bluray for a while now, and yesterday finally got the chance to watch it.
As others have noted, there are certainly things that could still use some work, but what we got is just so damned amazing! Definitely my favorite version of TMP!!

One thing that really stood out.... After the fly-over of V'Ger we see a side shot of the Enterprise, and I don't know if this was ever in the DVD version and I just didn't notice, but it turns! We see the Enterprise turning to face V'Ger. Loved that shot.

 

[Ray Hardgrit]

One thing that really stood out.... After the fly-over of V'Ger we see a side shot of the Enterprise, and I don't know if this was ever in the DVD version and I just didn't notice, but it turns! We see the Enterprise turning to face V'Ger. Loved that shot.

I just checked, and it was not in my DVD of the Director's Edition. Seems like a sneaky edit.

 

[Mage]

I just checked, and it was not in my DVD of the Director's Edition. Seems like a sneaky edit.

Nice! I know they redid a few effects like they did for the DVD version before. So I wasn't to sure.

 

[Ssosmcin]

Yeah while they redid most of the new shots originally created for the DVD, they also dropped in a couple of more ambitious angles.

 

[Tallguy]

Had the bluray for a while now, and yesterday finally got the chance to watch it.
As others have noted, there are certainly things that could still use some work, but what we got is just so damned amazing! Definitely my favorite version of TMP!!

One thing that really stood out.... After the fly-over of V'Ger we see a side shot of the Enterprise, and I don't know if this was ever in the DVD version and I just didn't notice, but it turns! We see the Enterprise turning to face V'Ger. Loved that shot.

They did. While I'm not certain it was necessary I appreciate that they did it in such a way that matched the original well enough to be nearly invisible.

I think my favorite shots are (in no particular order)

• The shot of the asteroid exploding and the wormhole dissipating
• The intruder's whiplash bolt vanishing with Spock's transmission
• The intruder's probe being deposited on the Enterprise (this shot matches the surrounding shots perfectly in terms of lighting and atmosphere)

All of these are entirely story driven changes and the original cut of the movie noticeably tried to edit around them. You could actually tell they were missing.

Runner up:

• The new shot of Vejur firing on Earth. A massive improvement over the 2001 edition. And obviously the kind of shot that they wanted all along.

I will grudgingly accept the shot of Vejur coming out of warp. It looks way better in the theater. But it still doesn't capture that magic of light that the original shots had.

 

[trekfan_1]

Like some on this thread, I do not have a 4k player. But I do have a 4k tv and Apple 4k. So got it in 4k via Apple purchase. Will eventually back that version up with physical disc buy I'm not in a hurry

 

[CommanderTrip]

The Blu-ray contains the newest version. The old remaster was finished in standard def, so it all had to be done again for the HD version. The new remaster is "better" (it's of course got two decades worth of VFX advancement to draw on) than the old one for the most part, but it does introduce some new oddities and artifacts unfortunately.

This sums it up nicely. I have had the TMP DE DVD since it came out in 2001/2002. Held onto it because up until recently, they did not re-release TMP DE DVD in bluray /1080p+ resolution, so the only way to appreciate the DE and all of it's changes was to watch the DVD. Fun fact the TMP DE was the first time I had watched TMP, so to me, this was TMP.

Now owning the 4K TMP DE bluray package, I can say it was definitely worth the purchase. If you cant afford or find the bluray, the DVD will do. BUT you will be looking at a resolution of about 480p IIRC.

 

[Admiral Jean-Luc Picard]

I have the 2-disc DVD. Did all of the Special Features port over to the Blu-ray? What happened to the original Director's Cut? I read they made changes for the Blu-ray, so can it still be called a Director's Cut?

 

[Tomalak]

The original Director’s Cut is still on DVD, it hasn’t been remotely erased. But it is not included on the Blu-ray.

The new Director’s Edition uses the same cuts and new effects sequences that Robert Wise signed off in 2001, so yes it is his cut.

The only change is that it’s been remade in 4K and the effects have been re-rendered from scratch following the template from 2001. The sound mix is also new for Atmos and makes use of recently-discovered ADR stems which has allowed for some much clearer dialogue in some scenes.

 

[David cgc]

There is one minor editing change in addition to the new visual effects not being a 100% match for the... old new visual effects. When Spock first flies through the V'Ger iris in his spacesuit, there's a new shot from his POV of him passing through an extra set of those silver hula-hoop dealies (which was apparently a missing effect in the '79 cut, as there's a trim in the score there and the hula-hoops are visible behind Spock before he passes through them in the original version). It also makes it more explicit that the spikey tunnel added between the iris and the inner V'Ger chamber in the 2001 version is the projection mechanism for the images Spock sees of V'Ger's encounters.

Personally, I consider the 2001 and 2022 versions distinct enough that I've got them both ripped and archived as different cuts on my Plex server. The 2022 CG is missing a bit of a je ne sais quoi compared to the 2001 shots, which integrated into the vintage footage better.

 

[Admiral Jean-Luc Picard]

The original Director’s Cut is still on DVD, it hasn’t been remotely erased. But it is not included on the Blu-ray.

The new Director’s Edition uses the same cuts and new effects sequences that Robert Wise signed off in 2001, so yes it is his cut.

The only change is that it’s been remade in 4K and the effects have been re-rendered from scratch following the template from 2001. The sound mix is also new for Atmos and makes use of recently-discovered ADR stems which has allowed for some much clearer dialogue in some scenes.

All of the Special Features ported over? I read they made some edits. In the transporter room scene, after the horrific malfunction scene, Kirk says, "My God." I read that was cut out and other edits were made. Is that true?

 

[Tallguy]

All of the Special Features ported over? I read they made some edits. In the transporter room scene, after the horrific malfunction scene, Kirk says, "My God." I read that was cut out and other edits were made. Is that true?

I'm not sure about the special features. One day I should check.

My God was cut in 2001. The perception from Wise was that it got a laugh. I don't agree, but there you go. (I don't think it gets a laugh when he finds Chekov in Wrath of Khan either.)

Yes edits were made. That was the whole point.

 

[Tomalak]

I'm pretty sure all the extras were ported from both the DVD and the theatrical Blu-ray.

 

[Admiral Jean-Luc Picard]

I'm not sure about the special features. One day I should check.

My God was cut in 2001. The perception from Wise was that it got a laugh. I don't agree, but there you go. (I don't think it gets a laugh when he finds Chekov in Wrath of Khan either.)

Yes edits were made. That was the whole point.

I'm pretty sure it's on my 2-disc Director's Cut DVD. If Wise cut it himself, that's fine, his Director's Cut. I was just worried people screwed with it beyond updated HD effects.

 

[Tallguy]

I'm pretty sure it's on my 2-disc Director's Cut DVD. If Wise cut it himself, that's fine, his Director's Cut. I was just worried people screwed with it beyond updated HD effects.

It's not. I think they included all of the trims on the 2001 but it isn't in the main program.

 

[Admiral Jean-Luc Picard]

It's not. I think they included all of the trims on the 2001 but it isn't in the main program.

I just slapped my DVD into my laptop, let's check.
Watched the scene, and you are right. I must be remembering the original scene on the bonus disc. My brain likes to file deleted scenes as canon.

I don't care about changes to TMP from TC to DC, I was just worried that DC remastered made changes "just because," which would mean it's not a DC anymore. If they just redid the 2001 "HD effects" for 4K, no objections here, it's called a remaster for a reason.

This means there's 4 versions of the movie now, yes?
Theatrical Cut / Special Longer Cut / 2001 Director's Cut / 2020's Director's Cut

 

[Pauln6]

I just slapped my DVD into my laptop, let's check.
Watched the scene, and you are right. I must be remembering the original scene on the bonus disc. My brain likes to file deleted scenes as canon.

I don't care about changes to TMP from TC to DC, I was just worried that DC remastered made changes "just because," which would mean it's not a DC anymore. If they just redid the 2001 "HD effects" for 4K, no objections here, it's called a remaster for a reason.

This means there's 4 versions of the movie now, yes?
Theatrical Cut / Special Longer Cut / 2001 Director's Cut / 2020's Director's Cut

I also did my own hybrid cut, taking the new Bluray DC as the base and then adding in the key additional scenes from the SLV, a dodgy attempt to restore Bones' face from the TC in the lounge, the found footage of the killed security guard plus Decker and Ilia in engineering, and a hatchet job version of the Memory Wall. We can still milk this.

 

[Admiral Jean-Luc Picard]

I also did my own hybrid cut, taking the new Bluray DC as the base and then adding in the key additional scenes from the SLV, a dodgy attempt to restore Bones' face from the TC in the lounge, the found footage of the killed security guard plus Decker and Ilia in engineering, and a hatchet job version of the Memory Wall. We can still milk this.

How many cuts of the film are out there now?
On VHS, I had the Special Longer Cut.
On DVD, I have the Director's Cut.
I don't think I've ever seen the theatrical cut.
Now we have the remastered Director's Cut.