Nicholas Meyer Confirms Upcoming 4K UHD Release Plans for STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN
- Thread starter RAMA
- Start date
The 1985 TV version and the DC are vitually identical except for the Kirk/Saavik elevator scene in the TV version used indidual character shots instead of a single continuous 2 person take. It was felt the 1 person shots fit better in the old 4x3 aspect ratio. Otherwise the same. By the way Meyer was in charge of the 1985 edit. Specifically choosing what shots he wanted back in.
Pre-order for TWOK DC Blu-ray is up at Best Buy, $14.99, June 7.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/star-tr...D=1&siteID=f7sX52tQY3I-sRx32sooRDsddE9ef9R09g
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/star-tr...D=1&siteID=f7sX52tQY3I-sRx32sooRDsddE9ef9R09g
I agree somewhat. The first 10 Trek feature films got a bad video DNR, compression/encoding on the 2009 movie pack of Blu-ray home video format. I think Paramount has the ability to get a quadruple dip from people who purchased the first 10 movies on different home video formats VHS, DVD, Blu-ray, and now UHD 4k so they will probably start working on this. Actually some of Sony's UHD 4k discs don't even offer special features so I think it gives Paramount the option to release in that format UHD Blu-ray and also re-release in Blu-ray format in 1080p HD which is where they (CBS Home Video) will stand to make more physical home video money. Of course the UHD 4k masters will be licensed to various streaming and linear 4k TV channels within 3 years so the masters would be used for 10 years at least.
The audio for the DVD has been greatly refined as well. If you watch the TV version, the editors of this extended version had to use all of the on-set audio which makes for a lot of distracting sounds. The sound on the DVD tones down the set audio significantly. Also the music is better handled on the DVD as well. When you watch the TV cut, the music plays just as it does in the theatrical version and than awkwardly repeats itself when the extended scene is done. The DVD reuses specific cues to extend the score without sounding out of place so the right cues hit their exact marks.
^ Right, the Director's cut reinstates footage he wanted in all along, BUT does not excise footage he didn't want in---such as "Remember" and the Photon tube on Genesis.
When he assembled the Director's cut in early 1985 for the ABC TV cut, it would have been after TSFS was released. I don't think he was angry enough at Paramount and Bennett to be petty and snip out those scenes.
In fact, he shortly afterward started talking to them about the writing job for Voyage Home.
He has said several times he came to peace with the resurrection of Spock after time had passed.
When he assembled the Director's cut in early 1985 for the ABC TV cut, it would have been after TSFS was released. I don't think he was angry enough at Paramount and Bennett to be petty and snip out those scenes.
In fact, he shortly afterward started talking to them about the writing job for Voyage Home.
He has said several times he came to peace with the resurrection of Spock after time had passed.
It's a better ending anyway. Kirk's final log says "If Genesis really is life from death, I must return here", which leads perfectly to the crescendo ending with the torpedo casket. We don't know Spock would live again, but it's a note of hope. Anyway, the title of the next film gave the game away, so as you say, Meyer would have been fighting a losing battle if he really wanted to take it out.
Making it seem like Spock was going to stay dead in a Director's cut would have been like the Donner cut of Superman II which retroactively contradicted Superman: The Movie. You would not be able to reconcile the two and would always be looking at it as a "what if" rather than an extended cut.
This isn't the director's cut, though. With the exception of the "elevator" scene between Kirk and Saavik being a different take, the "director's cut" is the television version which first aired on ABC. TMP also had a longer version aired on that network and when it was released on home video it was called the "Special Longer Version". That's all this cut of Trek II is.
It would be possible to easily cut the Genesis material and re-mix. The music was recorded for the original ending. It's even being performed that way at the "Ultimate Voyage" concert (to a different picture, I should add).
Neil
It would be possible to easily cut the Genesis material and re-mix. The music was recorded for the original ending. It's even being performed that way at the "Ultimate Voyage" concert (to a different picture, I should add).
Neil
If they haven't already, someone should editorially recreate the original intent of STM -- without the time-reversal ending -- to better match TRDC of SII. Superman stops the quake and saves Lois from the fissure in the nick of time, we see the Kryptonian villains released by the errant missile, "To Be Continued". It would be anti-climactic and overall less satisfying IMHO, but it would represent the original intent and prop up the unavoidably flawed TRDC.
You are exactly right. He personally choose the additional material for the ABC TV cut. It was mentioned at the time and he confirmed it in an article for Cinefantastique in 1992 or so.
He had his choice of material to choose from and those are the bits he chose to add back in.
I've seen almost all the deleted scenes on the rough cut (at the UCLA film library) and there were plenty to choose from. He clearly chose those scenes he thought added nuance to a few scenes and he left out those that were major changes or that were extraneous, (the baby, McCoy having known Terrell, the extended David/Carol intro, Sulu's promotion, Terrell tricking the Reliant crew into beaming up Khan, David and Saavik flirting in the Genesis cave, etc.
He chose the alternate Kirk/Saavik in the lift in 1985, simply due to the fact that the theatrical version looks awful in the 4x3 ratio of that era. He would not have wanted that "single character takes" version in any widescreen presentation.
It's as close as he could get in 1985 to his original version in the cutting room in 1982.
He's been very clear that he prefers his DC and that he doesn't hate or dislike the theatrical version.
I'm so glad that we'll now get a version with branching that fans of both versions can buy and enjoy.
I am really crossing my fingers for deleted scenes on the Blu-ray. that would be the icing on the cake.
That's my hope too. But I'm not very optimistic. They already had more than one opportunity to do that.
My hope is that if they went to the vault to pull out pristine film elements for the DC scenes----they might have pulled out other deleted material at the same time. I mean as long as they were there (if they in fact did have to dig out some elements to complete the DC in 4K)---then why not quick scan them and throw them in as a feature? It's not like they have to do any costly restoration for any found deleted scenes.
Heck, for next to nothing they could make a quick copy of the B&W rough cut at UCLA and then at least include the deleted scenes in B&W.
Can't wait for next week, since the new release of TWOK will probably be officially announced and "detailed" then. All the other Trek releases coming out in June have been detailed---the UHD 4K versions of Star Trek '09, STID, the TOS Box Set and the TNG Box Set.
That's if they know there's any deleted material there to be had, or where to find it. As Bill Hunt's Facebook post implied, if the original filmmakers themselves aren't there to guide them, the people at Paramount Home Video have no clue what (if anything) is in their vaults beyond the films/trailers themselves.
Okay, I guess this is in case that Paramount doesn't know where to locate deleted scenes.............
THE ROUGH CUT OF THE MOVIE IS AT THE UCLA FILM LIBRARY--IT CONTAINS ALL THE DELETED SCENES FROM THE BEGINING UP TO WHERE SPOCK LEAVES THE BRIDGE TO SAVE THE SHIP!!!!!!
YOU DONATED IT TO THE LIBRARY BACK IN THE DAY!!!! GO THERE AND MAKE A COPY!!!
IF ANY JOE BLOW CAN VIEW IT BY SHOWING UP---MAYBE A MAJOR MOVIE STUDIO WHO DONATED IT IN THE FIRST PLACE CAN FIND IT!!!!
Try to imagine Garrett Morris shouting that outside Paramount.
THE ROUGH CUT OF THE MOVIE IS AT THE UCLA FILM LIBRARY--IT CONTAINS ALL THE DELETED SCENES FROM THE BEGINING UP TO WHERE SPOCK LEAVES THE BRIDGE TO SAVE THE SHIP!!!!!!
YOU DONATED IT TO THE LIBRARY BACK IN THE DAY!!!! GO THERE AND MAKE A COPY!!!
IF ANY JOE BLOW CAN VIEW IT BY SHOWING UP---MAYBE A MAJOR MOVIE STUDIO WHO DONATED IT IN THE FIRST PLACE CAN FIND IT!!!!
Try to imagine Garrett Morris shouting that outside Paramount.
