Haven't seen TMP
- Thread starter Jimmy Bob
- Start date
...if you have a year of your life to spare.
As someone who became a ST fan because of ST:TMP, I'd recommend you watch the DE for a better-paced experience. Personally, I'd love to combine elements of the SLV and the DE to result in a more complete version.
Another tip: I went into TMP with only vague memories of TAS and a few random TOS, but I had also just read Roddenberry's fast-paced novelization of TMP and it was invaluable for knowing what little bits of the backstory were all about. (When discussing TMP with new friends in the early months of 1980, all of whom were diehard TOS fans, they were amazed I understood so much more than they did.)
Another tip: I went into TMP with only vague memories of TAS and a few random TOS, but I had also just read Roddenberry's fast-paced novelization of TMP and it was invaluable for knowing what little bits of the backstory were all about. (When discussing TMP with new friends in the early months of 1980, all of whom were diehard TOS fans, they were amazed I understood so much more than they did.)
I grew up with the "Special Longer Version" on VHS.
As a kid.
No, really.
I remember sitting entranced through the entire "v'ger cloud" sequence before I was old enough to walk. And now that same (basically ancient) VHS tape has the exact same effect on my one year old son.
There could be something to this. Maybe certain people are genetically predisposed to liking TMP?
I actually had a similar experience. I have the Director's Cut DVD. Thinking about it, I've never seen the theatrical version, I suppose.
The theatrical version and the DE are both available on DVD.
The SLV is the most frequently found VHS version (although the theatrical version was released first, at the old, very high pricepoint for home video, and then later re-released for a VHS boxed set in letterbox format, but with an incorrect longer running time left printed on the box art.)
The "Special Longer Version" is, essentially, the theatrical version re-edited for TV, with about 12 minutes of bonus footage added back in, only some of which Wise decided to retain for his DE. It is famous for restoring one scene featuring an unfinished matt painting - and the rafters of the Paramount soundstage are clearly visible above Kirk as he leaves the ship to retrieve a spacewalking Spock. Kirk also returns to the ship in a different helmet to the one he left in.
The seemingly endless, almost-mesmerising trip trough Vejur's innards (sometimes compared to a fluorescent inner-spring mattress) is in all three versions, but is seemingly less tedious in the DE.
I love all three versions of TMP.
Go with the DE. I have to agree with the others, it does help the pace of the movie overall.
trevanian
Rear Admiral
The DE trims some good bits from the vger approach as well as the worst shot in the beginning of the flyover, so it moves faster and is slightly less distracting. That is about the best I can say for the DE.
ST-One
Vice Admiral
Forget about that SLV.
Apart from the scene in which McCoy confronts Kirk it adds nothing to this make TMP a better movie.
The DE is the best version as it is paced much better, but it's still quite slow.
As for the 'silent scenes with big epic music', those are only there because the musical score had to take the place of the actual soundtrack since that wasn't quite finished, so far as I know.
Huh?
The trip through Vejur was supposed to be a chance for the musical score to shine. And it does! What else would play there? (Scripted dialogue? Nope.) It was planned to be "scenes with big epic music".
trevanian
Rear Admiral
What were we supposed to hear, big threatening tomtoms as they flew over the vger? Not likely.
And I guess you think the 'this simple feeling' scene didn't belong either?
More accurately, the matte painting was never executed. The shot is merely the live-action plate. Also, it's not just the helmet that changes, it's the entire spacesuit.
Saw TMP during it's theatrical run gosh..30 years ago..It was nice to see the effects on the screen, Robert Wise often complained that he didn't have enough time to finish the film..and some special effects shots appeared incomplete or distorted..the electronic voice alerts, while futuristic in 1979, seem horribly dated today..I owned the VHS SLV and seldom watched it, as it just became a chore to sit through it all the way..
Roberts Wise's DE edition certainly cleans up the effects shots that were shaky and matches many of the original storyboards much better.. The pacing is improved, but some dialog was cut...but many good scenes get cut between the "Early or Sneak Preview" cuts and the final cut..and Mr. Wise often stated that TMP was an early cut.. NOT the final finished product that he wanted...and the DE should be seen as the definitive cut..
But any version should get the experience of the movie for you..
Roberts Wise's DE edition certainly cleans up the effects shots that were shaky and matches many of the original storyboards much better.. The pacing is improved, but some dialog was cut...but many good scenes get cut between the "Early or Sneak Preview" cuts and the final cut..and Mr. Wise often stated that TMP was an early cut.. NOT the final finished product that he wanted...and the DE should be seen as the definitive cut..
But any version should get the experience of the movie for you..
ST-One
Vice Admiral
My my, did we take that the wrong way...
The music IS great. And it is a very nice replacement for actual sound.
I haven't seen either version in a while.
Is that in the sickbay-scene or the Spock-crying-scene on the bridge?
Both are nice scenes and should be included in a 'definite' version of that film, combining elements of all three versions (but preferably without a nacelle outside the window...).
trevanian
Rear Admiral
Again, you're taking this the wrong way (kind of wonder if this is a deliberate misstatement on your part), it is not a replacement for actual sound (of which there should be precioius little in vacuum), it is a deliberate choice.
The idea that we'd be hearing some really sophisticated organic sound effects while overflying vger is extremely unlikely ... Wise is the type to hold off on that till we were in its presence -- see the end sequence at the vger 6 site for example -- whereas Shat's TFF, made a decade later, used sound effects in a much more theatrical fashion, to convey the presence of a mind meld effect. Never seen anything to suggest that kind of approach would be in the cards for TMP, a movie that wasn't treading THAT kind of territory, especially given the inclinations of the director.
ST-One
Vice Admiral
Okay, the score didn't replace a soundtrack but was there to add a... a sound-scape.
And a good thing it does, because had they gone the whole Kubrick-way TMP would have been as unbearable as 2001.
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