Ahhh!

[Ssosmcin]

Funny, I was one of those fans who said "oh come on, don't waste my two year wait on a fricking comedy adventure." All I could think of was Superman III. But, to my surprise, it was pretty fricking hysterical and had some great moments. But it's far from my favorite Trek film. Classic Star Trek, in movie and TV form, is extremely rewatchable. This is the core of its success. However, jokes go stale very quickly, and since this film was primarily a comedy, it doesn't get the rerun value out of me. As bad as the humor got in TFF, there was a strong action plot going on, so I revisit that film a lot more.

I enjoyed Thor earlier this year, but not for all the FX and anything in Asgard, but for Hemsworth's honest portrayal of a fish out of water. Much of that section of the story is funny and clearly inspired by the middle section of the Voyage Home.

"Clearly" inspired? Nah, there have been plenty of fish out of water films and books, both before and after Star Trek IV. To suggest the writers of Thor thought "hey let's make it like Star Trek IV" is a bit of a stretch. I can see a gag or two - maybe - but unless they cut a scene where Thor bellows "well a double dumbass on you!" I'd have to say it was just simply another take on the FOOW genre that is so ripe with humor.

I really enjoyed Thor a lot. As an old school fan of Journey into Mystery and Tales of Asgard, the film really did right by the characters. As for the opinion that the film may have worked better in the 80's: meh, maybe. But without today's technology, Asgard would not have been done justice. All we would have gotten in the 80's was an unconvincing ILM matte painting or two. Besides, wasn't Thor already done in the 80's in (ugh) The Incredible Hulk Returns. They made him a scrappy biker dude.

 

[cooleddie74]

Just re-listened to Leonard Rosenmann's score for TVH...say what you will about it, but its certainly unique in the TREK universe and I really, really dig it because its so playful-sounding and different without being TOO playful and different. The End Titles score is particularly amazing, starting off with the crew seeing the Enterprise-A for the very first time and the brief but powerful use of Alexander Courage's TOS music.

 

[Arista-hime]

The End Titles score is particularly amazing, starting off with the crew seeing the Enterprise-A for the very first time and the brief but powerful use of Alexander Courage's TOS music.

TVH's end titles score is one of my favorite out of all the scores from the TOS movies (other than the TUC)

I found the movie to be lots of fun and often enjoy it but I have to be in the right mood to pop in the DVD

 

[cooleddie74]

Of all the TREKs I have issues with or dislike, TFF has the best soundtrack...hands down. While the movie itself can be a chore to sit through, the music is infinitely enjoyable and one of Jerry Goldsmith's prime achievements for the franchise.

 

[Oso Blanco]

If TVH had been scored by James Horner, TWOK/TSFS/TVH would have made a perfect trilogy.

 

[The Dominion]

If TVH had been scored by James Horner, TWOK/TSFS/TVH would have made a perfect trilogy.

So the music makes the trilogy?

 

[cooleddie74]

Rosenmann did a masterful job with the score of TVH. It wasn't *supposed* to sound like the scores of the previous films. It matched the tone of the film, which was considerably lighter and more freewheeling than either KHAN or SPOCK could ever have hoped to be.

 

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

Rosenmann did a masterful job with the score of TVH. It wasn't *supposed* to sound like the scores of the previous films. It matched the tone of the film, which was considerably lighter and more freewheeling than either KHAN or SPOCK could ever have hoped to be.

I agree. His score is part of the film, I can't imagine watching it without the score. I absolutely love it. I might not love it as much to listen to on it's own on my CD player, but as part of the film it is essential.

 

[gottacook]

Rosenmann did a masterful job with the score of TVH. It wasn't *supposed* to sound like the scores of the previous films. It matched the tone of the film, which was considerably lighter and more freewheeling than either KHAN or SPOCK could ever have hoped to be.

A Google search on the names Rosenman and Nimoy brought up the following interview with Rosenman on his Voyage Home score: www.runmovies.eu/index.php?option=c...enman-on-star-trek-4&catid=37:scoring-session

I agree that there was good reason to diverge from the two Horner scores. Nonetheless the particular music Rosenman wrote still ruins TVH for me.

To focus on one passage that I mentioned in my earlier comment, the appearance of the descending circle-of-fifths sequence in the opening (and closing) titles took me right out of what Star Trek should be; it was like suddenly stepping into brightly colored sticky bubblegum. Sure it's sort of Christmasy, as someone noted above (actually the picture opened around Thanksgiving '86), but it's also a cliche going back to the Baroque era and used more recently in pop music (for example, "Early in the Morning" by Vanity Fare, especially the chorus, at www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hN9YRo7y1s).

In contrast, Star Trek music cues in the TV series and in the first three movies were characterized by (in retrospect) an aversion to cliche. One of the earliest cues, Fred Steiner's "Black Ship Tension" (written for "Balance of Terror" and featured often in that episode), appeared in all three seasons and is a compressed example of everything Rosenman's music is not.

(I saw most of season 3 during its original run, and the first eight movies on or near their premiere dates. Also I have two music degrees, in composition and in harpsichord performance. Although my experience may have colored my perception of what constitutes unTrek music, I don't mean to suggest that my opinion is worth more than that of anyone else here.)

 

[Oso Blanco]

If TVH had been scored by James Horner, TWOK/TSFS/TVH would have made a perfect trilogy.

So the music makes the trilogy?

In this case, it does. The different music is cutting TVH apart from the two previous movies in a rather annoying way. It has been bothering me ever since I saw the movie for the first time.

 

[cooleddie74]

^
Sometimes different is still good.

Look at the differences in feel and execution between two films of another trilogy/saga. THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK and RETURN OF THE JEDI. The first was a much more ominous and foreboding film and the music reflects that. JEDI is more playful and tongue-in-cheek in many respects and the way John Williams changed his approach for the final movie in the original SW trilogy was masterfully well executed. Both movies are still good and fit together even though the feel and the music are sometimes radically different from one another.

 

[gottacook]

I need only point out here that the original music for the closing scene of Return of the Jedi was so numbingly awful that eventually even George Lucas realized it, and it was altered for the more recent release - just about the only such change I welcomed in the first three movies. A lot that Williams does is "masterfully executed," in Star Wars movies and otherwise (a few of my favorites are The Accidental Tourist and Presumed Innocent), but when he's being mediocre (the E.T. main theme) or worse (as in this case), he doesn't seem to know, and his reputation is such that no one calls him on it.

 

[sonak]

I need only point out here that the original music for the closing scene of Return of the Jedi was so numbingly awful that eventually even George Lucas realized it, and it was altered for the more recent release - just about the only such change I welcomed in the first three movies. A lot that Williams does is "masterfully executed," in Star Wars movies and otherwise (a few of my favorites are The Accidental Tourist and Presumed Innocent), but when he's being mediocre (the E.T. main theme) or worse (as in this case), he doesn't seem to know, and his reputation is such that no one calls him on it.

I'm one of the few who likes the "yub yub" song, but I did still like the SE music better.

 

[Therin of Andor]

his reputation is such that no one calls him on it.

In what parallel universe is that?

 

[cooleddie74]

I need only point out here that the original music for the closing scene of Return of the Jedi was so numbingly awful that eventually even George Lucas realized it, and it was altered for the more recent release - just about the only such change I welcomed in the first three movies. A lot that Williams does is "masterfully executed," in Star Wars movies and otherwise (a few of my favorites are The Accidental Tourist and Presumed Innocent), but when he's being mediocre (the E.T. main theme) or worse (as in this case), he doesn't seem to know, and his reputation is such that no one calls him on it.

I'm one of the few who likes the "yub yub" song, but I did still like the SE music better.

I like both...always have. But the 1997 "Victory Celebration" score is definitely superior and has more of an epic feel to it...as if an entire galaxy were celebrating the downfall of the Emperor and Darth Vader and the end of Sith rule. "Yub Nub" sort of limits the victory to the forests of Endor and doesn't end the six-movie saga with a big enough bang for my tastes.