Alternate TVH opening....on Australian home video

[TrickyDickie]

First I have heard of this:

"At the beginning of the Australian Home video version (before the dedication to the Challenger crew), a prologue narrated by Kirk and containing scenes for the last two movies brings the viewer up to speed on what's happened. This wasn't included in the cinema release, instead the opening titles were slightly altered."

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It's very interesting that they had Shatner do that long (comparatively) narrative, but didn't include it and the scenes in the theatrical release.

 

[David cgc]

My understanding is that it was in the European theatrical version of the movie, and the reason it was in the Australian home video release but not the theatrical release is that it was made from the UK video tape master. It was specifically made for the overseas audience because, depending on which section of the Memory Alpha article on TVH you're looking at, TSFS either bombed or wasn't released theatrically at all in some markets outside North America.

 

[2takesfrakes]

I was unaware of this version and I have to say ... I don't like it! Yes, it brought these Aussies up to speed, but it's just very clunky. Many of the specific shots were ill-chosen, there's no real visual flow to it. This opening has a very rushed feeling to it. But better The Voyage Home than some movie I liked better ...

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Thanks for positing, I thought that prologue was rather nice.

 

[Lance]

I grew up with it as a part of the movie, and was disappointed it was missing from DVD releases. It's a part of the nostalgia for me.

 

[Mytran]

This intro was in ST4 from my delux 7-movie VHS set and probably helped secure it's place as the most financially successful film of the classic era

 

[Kor]

The PAL speed-up is quite noticeable.

Kor

 

[CorporalCaptain]

The PAL speed-up is quite noticeable.

It always is.

 

[tharpdevenport]

And before anybody says anything, the music is nothing more than an edit job of alternate cues.

 

[Mytran]

It always is.

I grew up with it so I never noticed. It also means that we PAL users can finish an episode of TOS 3 minutes quicker than NTSC, leaving extra time for more Star Trek!

 

[johnnybear]

I always thought it was on the DVD release! I've watched it quite a few times and I'm sure it's on there but I'm not going to argue! PAL might be a slight sped up but occasionly NTSC can drag and drawl across the television set as well!
JB

 

[Lance]

The PAL speed-up is quite noticeable.

Kor

As someone who grew up in PAL land, I never seen Trek in its original speed until the Blu Rays, but going back to the DVDs the speed up is certainly noticeable. IMO in both the voices but particularly in the music, that's where the difference in tempo is most obvious. The theme music on all the shows sounds more upbeat in PAL. But as @Mytran says, I kinda prefer it that way....

 

[Bad Robot]

Now there's something I haven't seen in a while.

I was unaware of this version and I have to say ... I don't like it! Yes, it brought these Aussies up to speed, but it's just very clunky. Many of the specific shots were ill-chosen, there's no real visual flow to it. This opening has a very rushed feeling to it. But better The Voyage Home than some movie I liked better ...

LOL... I love TVH. Part of the problem may be that The Search for Spock is also not that much of a well-photographed/framed movie.

I grew up with it as a part of the movie, and was disappointed it was missing from DVD releases. It's a part of the nostalgia for me.

I always thought it was on the DVD release! I've watched it quite a few times and I'm sure it's on there but I'm not going to argue! PAL might be a slight sped up but occasionly NTSC can drag and drawl across the television set as well!
JB

I have it on an imported UK DVD release from whenever the Two-Disc Special Editions caught up with The Voyage Home (2003 perhaps?). I got it just to check it out, and it might just still be floating around somewhere. And yeah, the PAL speedup is definitely noticeable.

I believe some VHS releases actually inverted the movie title to The Voyage Home: Star Trek VI. I've never seen whether this was actually done in-movie, however.

 

[johnnybear]

But you wouldn't have noticed it if PAL was worldwide would you my friend?
JB

 

[Bad Robot]

I'm used to NTSC interlaced weirdness.

 

[Lance]

It's in both the music and the actors delivery that the speed up shows itself.

I remember back when Seinfeld was on local TV for the first time lots of people commenting on how Jerry had a ridiculously high voice, almost Smurf like in register. It wasn't until many years later when I had the chance to experience the show in NTSC that I realized this was not actually true and it was just the PAL speedup making his admittedly fast line delivery so nasally and borderline incomprehensible at times.

The TNG theme is another good example. In NTSC it simply sounds like the theme from The Motion Picture. In PAL, it sounds like the theme from The Motion Picture, but faster and more... enthusiastic, higher, uplifted. The PAL speedup is so obvious once you know it's there

 

[Bad Robot]

I'd also forgotten how the color timing got messed up for the older DVD transfer. That nebula in the opening title sequence really loses a lot of its majestic orange and blue.

Has the Paramount logo always appeared twice in this version? Or is that just a DVD mistake? There IS a shortened version of the main title music (featured on the original "album version" release of the soundtrack) that would have allowed the second appearance of the logo to be skipped, and then just move the dedication up before the recap.

 

[johnnybear]

So is it PAL or NTSC for everyone? Never The Same Colour Twice I think I've heard it called before! And what nebula in the opening credits, BR? You do mean TOS or do you mean TNG?
JB

 

[Bad Robot]

So is it PAL or NTSC for everyone? Never The Same Colour Twice I think I've heard it called before! And what nebula in the opening credits, BR? You do mean TOS or do you mean TNG?
JB

The Voyage Home. There's this paintbrush backdrop that starts appearing in layers as the opening credits transition away from the actors into production staff. On the DVD it looks like a glob of jelly, and a lot of the blue seems washed out. This is one of the few instances in which the somewhat shoddy 2009 blu-ray actually improves on the earlier anamorphic DVD.

I guess I prefer NTSC just out of habit. But I'm also not very format-savvy. It was just blind luck that one of my older players, nearly halfway through its lifespan, turned out to have an all-region hack and be able to read PAL discs. However the pulldown sometimes gives it stuttering artifacts.

 

[johnnybear]

Urghh! sounds bad! I had a chip fitted to mine so it could play discs from the US as well as the DVDs here!
JB