Rewatched TMP last night

[JRoss]

So my wife and I had some free time last night, and decided to just enjoy a quiet house. We watched TMP. I hadn't seen it since I was a kid about 23 years ago. I just remember it being boring and bland.

I remembered two lines from it: "NOOOOOOO! PHOOOOOTOOON TOOOOOORRRPEEEEEEDOOOO!" and "I want this. As much as you wanted the Enterprise, I want this."

I also remembered the uniforms being uninteresting.

On rewatch these are my thoughts:

The uniforms are actually pretty fantastic. McCoy's medical uniform (not to mention that fabulous disco pendant) are cool. The only unis that look bad are the ones they wear at the end for the V'Ger walk, and maybe the engineers, but they were definitely functional.

The effects, with a few missteps, are amazing.

The music was gorgeous.

It took a bit to get going, but really, this film is now one of my favorites. My wife enjoyed it. She played Candy Crush during the middle, but once the probe comes and gets Ilia, she started paying attention. She loved the twist at the end.

 

[SchwEnt]

Sounds good. I find myself watching TMP more and more as the years go on, if only to enjoy a ST movie that's NOT about another Evil Super Villain bent on revenge with a kewl space battle climax at the end.

A ST movie that's about exploration and mystery and investigation and knowledge and humanity and universal meaning. Imagine that.

 

[jaime]

I used to watch the special edition (not directors cut) every time I cleaned my room for years. It's actually my most watched and most studied film, and gets no where near its dues. Now, I may have the advantage of only seeing that edition for years and never the original cut. The directors cut benefits from the widescreen of the original, but I feel it lacks compared to the special edition.

It's far better than the low tech Meyer approach that follows, with only the unfairly maligned final frontier to break up the reusing of footage and splosions that characterise the others. Star trek 6 is actually another step backwards I think.

The revelations about Steven Collins do Mar this one a little now, but it's an amazing piece of old Hollywood cinema and probably the most true to Roddenberry trek there is.

 

[Kor]

Unlike the Dudley Do-Right costumes from TWOK onward, I think the TMP jumpsuits actually make a lot of sense in a futuristic world of controlled-climate spaceship environments where everything is highly computerized and your clothes are beamed directly onto you (i.e. the scene where the Ilia probe is introduced).

I maintain that TMP is the only "great" Trek film. It is a true cerebral science fiction story, and it is a fantastic, epic film in many ways. It is the kind of Trek that Gene Roddenberry wanted to do from the very beginning... Some time, try watching "The Cage," then skipping the rest of TOS, then watching TMP. You'll see what I mean.

Kor

 

[Smellmet]

I've always loved this film, and like an earlier poster said, I also think it's very underrated. I've also found myself watching it more as I've got older, and I find there's a lot more to like than I thought years ago. Even though I like my humour in Trek, I really appreciate the serious tone in this movie, and how the Enterprise really feels like a big complicated machine that takes the whole crew to make it work, even when they first go to warp and Sulu is operating the 'throttle'... warp, point eight... he looks like he's shitting himself.

The visuals, music and epic scope of the movie are all 10/10 for me too. Special movie. Right up there with TWOK for me.

 

[JRoss]

Tho Chekhov did get in a really funny moment when he was like "Okay, I won't touch it."

 

[pfontaine2]

I've posted this story before but thought it worthwhile stating it again.

For years I hated ST:TMP because I never got over my initial disappointment when I first saw it in 1979. I loved Trek in the 1970's and when the movie was announced, I wanted more of the same; same actors, same costumes, same ship, same character personalities and witty banter, same music but now with a new story. Instead I got same actors, different costumes, different ship (design-wise), characters who acted differently then they did in the TV show, different music and a recycled story (or two).

I'd keep coming back to TMP every time a new version was released. For years I still came away with the same sense of disappointment I had back in 1979.

When the Blu-Ray version came out, I could suddenly watch the movie objectively and without the same hangups I had for years. Suddenly the sets and costumes looked amazing, I liked the music and the characters seemed interesting and their problems seemed more adult.

Perhaps being in my 50's rather than being a teenager was responsible for this. I now consider TMP to be my favorite Trek film. I'm appreciative of the fact that Gene Roddenberry was able to make a Trek film that matched the vision in his mind.

 

[Smellmet]

Tho Chekhov did get in a really funny moment when he was like "Okay, I won't touch it."

There's still some decent funny lines there...

Not to be nitpicky but...

'Absolutely I will not interfere!'

'Nor have you, doctor, as your continued predilection for irrelevancy demonstrates'

'Spock, this "child" is about to wipe out every living thing on Earth. Now, what do you suggest we do? Spank it?'

Uhura: 'It could hold a crew of... tens of thousands.'
Bones: 'Or a crew of a thousand ten miles tall'

'He insisted we go first, Sir. He said something about first seeing how it scrambled our molecules'

The humour just wasn't front and centre like TVH onwards...

 

[pfontaine2]

Sadly Smellnet, a lot of those lines never made it into the original theatrical cut of the movie which is a real pity. Many were restored in the subsequent cuts of the film.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

Wow, TMP getting a little love for once. I think I only saw it once when I was young and didn't think much of it at the time (I remember finding McCoy really funny looking, actually still do...) but have come to appreciate it. Years ago, Spike for whatever reason would show it constantly and I found myself watching it because it was on and gradually developed a fondness for it.

I could see where one could find it really boring, pretentious or whatever but I like how it's slow and mysterious, things really feel "alien", space feels dangerous. I like taking the long ride and have done so many times.

 

[Smellmet]

Sadly Smellnet, a lot of those lines never made it into the original theatrical cut of the movie which is a real pity. Many were restored in the subsequent cuts of the film.

There's only the 'ten miles tall' line that's in the extended version isn't there?

 

[enterprisecvn65]

TMP is a film that benefits from repeat viewings.

When most people saw it for the first time in 1979 the main thought was "visually impressive...but long and slow" and people weren't going to go back to the theater 3 or 4 times to rewatch and notice the quality of it.

And since the VCR was a brand new technology most people didn't have that option either.

Today with the ability to watch it any time you can go back and appreciate the other things in the film and get over the fact is was slow because you already understand and accept that.

Ironically I think TUC is the opposite. I think it's a film that was pretty impressive when you saw it once or twice. After repeated viewings though you notice a lot of things that, at least IMHO, make it less of a great film that it seemed to be after you first saw it.

And, even though I don't personally agree, if you think Bennett and Meyer started making the films look cheaper, I don't think you can hold them responsible. They really were working on a very limited budget, especially for a sci-fi film in the 80's.

After Roddenberry spent money like a drunken gambler on TMP Paramount was absolutely determined to not let that happen again and basically told Meyer and Bennett.....this is all were giving you, make it work and don't ask for anymore and I personally think they did a great job with the pretty small amount of $ they were given. Especially when compared to "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi" which had blank checkbooks because Lucas and Fox knew 100% that the films would make back far more than whatever they spent.

Star Trek films never had that luxury and basically everyone held their breath when a new film came out hoping it would be a success.

 

[bbailey861]

I have just started reading "Return to Tomorrow: The Filming of Star Trek: The Motion Picture". If you love TMP, you are well advised to order this. It is, by far and away, the best 'Making of' book I have ever read. It's like reading the personal diaries of everyone involved right from the inception of the film. When I get through this, I will be watching TMP again, with a new appreciation and with a different set of eyes. Looking forward to it.

 

[Pauln6]

I really like the movie. I prefer the special longer edition. I hope it gets a full revamp like the DE some day. The main thing missing for me is some snappier dialogue for the supporting cast. I would have liked to see each one have a moment to shine, like they try to do in the nuTrek movies.

I think the wormhole scene drags out the earlier part of the movie a bit too much. I would rather have seen more time spent exploring V'Ger. I think I would also have liked to see a landing party take a longer trip exploring V'Ger maybe a bit like the initial scenes of Alien but featuring some of the wider cast beyond the big three.

 

[mos6507]

when they first go to warp and Sulu is operating the 'throttle'... warp, point eight... he looks like he's shitting himself.

Yes. TMP attempts to build tension in a way modern audiences don't really appreciate, because we take technology for granted. Technology in that film is imperfect. Space travel can be deadly. They establish the Enterprise refit as an untested experimental craft, sort of a Bell X-1, and so when it finally accelerates you're hopefully on the edge of your seat expecting it to shake itself to pieces. That sort of "The Right Stuff" feeling is sorely lacking in any of the other films (except maybe the launch of the Phoenix in First Contact). The ultra-fast warp travel and ultra-range transporting and comms in JJ Trek are kind of the final stop on presenting sci-fi tech as routine to the point of boring.

 

[Galileo7]

... I find myself watching TMP more and more as the years go on, if only to enjoy a ST movie that's NOT about another Evil Super Villain bent on revenge with a kewl space battle climax at the end.

A ST movie that's about exploration and mystery and investigation and knowledge and humanity and universal meaning. Imagine that.

Agree!

 

[Reaper63]

I like TMP, it's not my favorite, but I enjoy it. the uniforms aren't terrible, the worst are the jumpsuits. just too damned tight and shows too much for my taste. I loved how there were long sleeve, short sleeve (as if they don't exist in the future) And the 2 piece uniforms looked comfortable. Less spandex and I'd be sold.

I'll never forget seeing TMP in the theaters as a kid, it was amazing to see it on the big screen.

 

[Galileo7]

...
I'll never forget seeing TMP in the theaters as a kid, it was amazing to see it on the big screen.

Agree! I saw it as a boy with my family that Friday December 7th 1979 in a theater and was in awe of the majestic refit 1701 on the big screen. You must see it on the big screen, simply awesome.

 

[gottacook]

You gotta see TMP on a big screen, I agree - and yet (for me) something is lacking. Maybe it's the fact that there's no mystery; an explanation is clearly spelled out: Vger is a child and must grow, etc. There's an analogous problem with 2010, the 1984 movie (which, I realize, was closely based on a preexisting Clarke novel).

Me, I prefer 2001 because it doesn't explain very much at all, in fact has no spoken dialogue for a large proportion of its running time including the first and last sequences ("The Dawn of Man" and "Jupiter and Beyond the Infinite"). Lets the audience draw their own individual conclusions, engages their imagination in a new way.

(I saw all three within days or weeks of their premieres, the first in Cinerama. I was one lucky 11-year-old to have that chance; the theater was in center city Philadelphia, 60 miles from my home. Eleven and a half years later I saw TMP, twice, in the same theater - the Fox, across the street from City Hall; it was the second last feature ever shown there.)

 

[gottacook]

TMP attempts to build tension in a way modern audiences don't really appreciate, because we take technology for granted. Technology in that film is imperfect. Space travel can be deadly. They establish the Enterprise refit as an untested experimental craft, sort of a Bell X-1, and so when it finally accelerates you're hopefully on the edge of your seat expecting it to shake itself to pieces. That sort of "The Right Stuff" feeling is sorely lacking in any of the other films (except maybe the launch of the Phoenix in First Contact).

Although this is all true, it raises a plot deficiency: Was the whole crew complement really needed, if the mission were that dangerous AND the ship an essentially untested experimental craft without even reliable transporter safeguards (circuit-breaker equivalents)? The crew is shown assembled on the rec deck and then never seen again; evidently none of them contributed to the exploration of the Vger mystery and its solution.