ST "Trilogy" Blu Ray Set

[GulDucati]

On May 12th, Paramount is releasing two different sets of ST Blu Ray discs. One is a $100 set that includes all 6 movies, but only the theatrical (far inferior version) of TMP. There is also a 7th disc of a 90 min. roundtable interview with P. Stewart, J. Frakes, L Nimoy, and W. Shatner, hosted by Whoopie Goldberg.

To appease fans, and realizing that many will have a problem with this, they are releasing STII, III and IV as a "trilogy."

Now I realize that "trilogies" are all the rage, and the industry's "accepted" bundle for films for some odd reason, but I argue that STVI should be included in this smaller offering. There is no argument that II, III, and IV form a continuing storyline (although the A stories are completely different from one another and stand-alone). TMP and V are completely stand-alone in every way. However, VI carries threads from the "trilogy." The heavy use of the death of Kirk's son as a main plot motivation for example. Sarek's involvement in urging Spock to get involved (Sarek was only in III and IV). The large role of the Excelsior, which was introduced in III. The mention of Kirk's demotion at the trial, which occurred in IV... Moreover, VI, like II and IV is a fan favourite.

Of course, the true reason for the "trilogy" is that Paramount realizes the hard-core Trek fans won't buy their half-assed attempt at TMP on blu-ray, and nobody needs to see V in HD (no matter how much of a guilty pleasure it might be for some). Keeping the 7th disc only on the $100 package ensures some fans will buy it.

Personally, I'm going to buy the "trilogy," pick up VI on a certain auction site when someone splits them up for sale individually, and hopefully someone will post segments of the 7th disc interview on a certain streaming video site...

Then wait for the eventual director's cut of TMP on blu ray.

 

[BillJ]

I'm actually buying the complete box-set for the theatrical cut of The Motion Picture.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I won't buy the films on BR if they aren't the extended special editions. I definitely don't want the TMP theatrical cut. I'm confident the S.E.'s of all the films that have them will eventually make it to Blu-Ray.

As for the trilogy, I won't buy that either. Isn't ST II also a director's cut (with the scene about Peter Preston being Scotty's nephew)? That won't be on BR either. So I'll wait for that as well.

 

[cardinal biggles]

I don't have Blu-ray, so I'm not all that worried about this. I figure by the time I can afford it, Paramount either will have put out the director's editions of TMP, TWOK, and TUC, or we'll have moved onto a totally different format.

 

[JDF]

One is a $100 set that includes all 6 movies, but only the theatrical (far inferior version) of TMP.

Of course, you are aware that there are those of us who think differently - that the theatrical is far superior to the DE. Because of that, we very much welcome this version making it to Blu.

Personally, I don't mind the DE all that much, but I'm in the camp that was kind of disappointed in it. I'm okay with reinstating additional expositional dialog and scenes in the last act, but some other earlier edits, visual effects and sound effect changes just make me cringe and ruin it for me.

 

[Peach Wookiee]

I'm not converting to Blu-ray yet...

 

[USS KG5]

I'm not converting to Blu-ray yet...

Seems a lot of money - theres no way I'm buying Trek again when I have it all in a format that means the discs will still be playable when I'm dead...

 

[Tomalak]

The "roundtable interview" looks excellent, from the brief clips I've seen. By and large, the extras on the Trek series and films have been piss-poor, so it would be nice if the Blu-Ray set actually has some that are worth watching.

I'm quite pleased that TMP is getting a theatrical release. The DE is perhaps better in storytelling terms, but the CGI effects have aged badly over the last eight years. It was shortsighted to farm it out to Foundation, and only pay for SD-quality work. If you're going to do something...

I imagine I'll get this when I eventually upgrade to HD.

 

[ST-One]

I'm quite pleased that TMP is getting a theatrical release.

As am I. It will be nice to own the original version (even though it's the unfinished one) of that film in good quality.

The DE is perhaps better in storytelling terms, but the CGI effects have aged badly over the last eight years. It was shortsighted to farm it out to Foundation, and only pay for SD-quality work. If you're going to do something...

I imagine I'll get this when I eventually upgrade to HD.

The CG additions still look as good as they did when the DE was released, but it was indeed shortsighted to render these sequences only in such low resolutions.

 

[Garrovick]

ST "Trilogy" Blu Ray Set??

Not in my book. For those three movies to be a trilogy, We would meet Khan in movie one and he'd die at the end of three. Eaten by a Whale. A good example would be LotR.

And for me, Blu Ray is not even on my list yet. I'll be the guy buying the last of the regular DVDs in the bargain at Walmart.

 

[Data Holmes]

One is a $100 set that includes all 6 movies, but only the theatrical (far inferior version) of TMP.

Of course, you are aware that there are those of us who think differently - that the theatrical is far superior to the DE.

And while we do not fault these fans for their illogical and incorrect thought processes, we will remind them that they are in the wrong as to which version is the lesser of the two evils.

 

[Too Much Fun]

By and large, the extras on the Trek series and films have been piss-poor, so it would be nice if the Blu-Ray set actually has some that are worth watching.

I'm quite pleased that TMP is getting a theatrical release. The DE is perhaps better in storytelling terms, but the CGI effects have aged badly over the last eight years.

That statement about the extras really surprises me. What bothers you so much about them? I love the plethora of interviews on the DVDs of the movies and TV series. I don't know what else someone could ask for in DVD extras. The interviews manage to track down and get tons of great insight and stories from just about every cast member out there, having them discuss just about anything you could possibly want to know about the episodes/movies being addressed. As if that wasn't enough, they provide fascinating behind-the-scene details from talks with countless crewmembers, directors, producers, and writers. I can't think of any other DVD sets with such a satisfyingly high volume of detailed and extensive extras.

And to those singing the praises of the director's cut of "Star Trek: The Motion Picture", does anyone really think it would be a major change as a viewing experience for someone who has only seen the original? I saw some of the movie on TV (which I assume is the theatrical release) and couldn't get through it because I thought it was too boring. Is the director's cut truly a huge improvement or just the same thing with some different special effects and a few added scenes?

 

[RoJoHen]

ST "Trilogy" Blu Ray Set??

Not in my book. For those three movies to be a trilogy, We would meet Khan in movie one and he'd die at the end of three. Eaten by a Whale. A good example would be LotR.

I've always viewed them as sort of a loose trilogy, simply because of how each story leads into the next and because you need them together for them all to make sense. You need to see 2 to watch 3 to get an idea about Genesis and, of course, to know that Spock is dead. And you need to watch 3 before 4 to understand why the hell Spock is acting so weird and why they're flying around on a Klingon ship.

That said, I don't think releasing them as an "official" trilogy makes a whole lot of sense.

 

[Tomalak]

That statement about the extras really surprises me. What bothers you so much about them? I love the plethora of interviews on the DVDs of the movies and TV series. I don't know what else someone could ask for in DVD extras. The interviews manage to track down and get tons of great insight and stories from just about every cast member out there, having them discuss just about anything you could possibly want to know about the episodes/movies being addressed. As if that wasn't enough, they provide fascinating behind-the-scene details from talks with countless crewmembers, directors, producers, and writers. I can't think of any other DVD sets with such a satisfyingly high volume of detailed and extensive extras.

I suppose I've been spoiled by the classic Doctor Who releases. I love Who as much as I love Trek, and it pains me that Paramount's approach is so slapdash.

Every Doctor Who release is meticulously restored - and it's all in far, far worse condition than Star Trek. I watched the Generations DVD recently, and for a fairly recent film, there are a surprising amount of dirt and scratches on the print. The rest of the films obviously haven't received much attention either, except TMP. The TOS DVDs were fairly shoddy, until they finally went and did a proper job for the HD versions. Star Trek has a huge cult following. Why doesn't it recieve the same attention that these guys give to Doctor Who on a tiny budget?

Paramount is notoriously cheap, so I shouldn't be surprised. The majority of the extras are off the shelf, EPK stuff from the film's release, which are designed to be vapid and complimentary. There are some new interviews, but rarely any actual opinion or interesting anecdotes. Most of this stuff has been seen or heard before, and it's all drowned in constant, inappropriate music. Where are the deleted scenes and out-takes? Generations had four deleted scenes, which is just a fraction of those available, and they were very poorly presented. Where was the Quark scene on Insurrection - the one I actually wanted to see?

There are exceptions. The visual effects features are usually very good, and Shatner's interviews for the WOK and SFS discs were fantastic. The commentaries are pretty good, especially the two Moore-Braga films and Nick Meyer's WOK commentary, because they actually criticise the film's shortcomings, and give some understanding of what they were aiming for. The new "roundtable" looks like it might offer more of this.

But why aren't there any commentaries on the episodes? The boxsets are poor in comparison with shows like Battlestar Galactica, which have commentaries, extended episodes, the works.

Basically it annoys me that they get away with the bare minimum they can possibly offer. Star Trek deserves better than an adequate selection of half-arsed featurettes.

 

[Oso Blanco]

For all those who don't want to convert to BluRay just yet, both sets will be available on DVD as well.

It seems that the DVDs/BluRays are also being sold seperately, except for TMP and TFF.

 

[donners22]

Love the sound of that interview, but I'm not converting to blu ray just for that.

I'm also not going to get the DVD version - bit pointless given that I already have those films on DVD...

 

[Doug Otte]

I'm quite pleased that TMP is getting a theatrical release.

That sentence really confused me for a second. You mean...it's going to be released in theatres again? Then, I realized that you meant to write: "...is being released in its original theatrical version."

Doug

 

[Doug Otte]

For all those who don't want to convert to BluRay just yet, both sets will be available on DVD as well.

It seems that the DVDs/BluRays are also being sold seperately, except for TMP and TFF.

Indeed. All these posts get tiresome. OK, we understand some people are happy w/ DVD and want to stay with it. Do we need a tally of everyone on the planet who's refusing to upgrade to the best available format?

Doug

 

[Oso Blanco]

Indeed. All these posts get tiresome. OK, we understand some people are happy w/ DVD and want to stay with it. Do we need a tally of everyone on the planet who's refusing to upgrade to the best available format?

I can only speak for myself, but I am in no way refusing the best available format. I just can't afford it. An HDTV set is just out of reach for me at the moment.

 

[cardinal biggles]

^I think most people are in the same boat, especially in the middle of a recession.