News Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan To Return To Theaters

[omnirad]

The theater I went to was 3/4 full with people young and older. It was nice to see parents with their little kids sharing the love of Trek. The Shat interview was good, though funny when the host corrected Bill's faulty memory of the set fire (that was STIII), "same thing" as the Shat put it.
The projection quality looked fine to me. I led the whooping and clapping at the iconic KHAAAAN moment. Good times!

 

[Khan 2.0]

saw Khan in cinema back in 82 then again in 87 as part of a I-IV all dayer (great experience). would've totally seen it again now just for the hell of it.. but not showing in uk (unlike T2 but didn't bother with that although was quite tempted)

 

[dub]

The projection quality looked fine to me.

It looked poor to me. Colors washed out. Lots of noise and blurriness where I don't recall seeing blurry scenes. Not a good ad for the bluray (which I don't yet own) if that's the version they showed. But it was still a cool experience.

 

[uniderth]

We saw it at 2PM and I took my wife and our two daughters (8 and 4). My wife seriously thought we would be the only people there in Coeur d'alene to watch it. We got to the theatre and I was having trouble getting my QR code to show up, so we let the people behind us go. The first two people, "two for 'Wrath of Khan.'" The next two people, "two for 'Wrath of Khan.'" My wife was surprised that I wasn't the only Trekkie in Idaho. The theatre was about 1/4 full.

The Shatner interview was fun and just about the right length too. It's nice to see the William Shatner is still leading a full life.

My daughters were so well behaved and I think my oldest really enjoyed the film. We had watched Space Seed and the first half of Wrath of Khan on Friday and she loved it. But, she was so disappointed that Marla McGivers wasn't in Wrath of Khan. The ear worm thing is the scariest part on the whole film so I wanted to show my kids that and explain that it's just pretend and how the effects were made.

It was a fun time. It was cathartic to finally watch a Star Trek film in theatres after 15 years.

 

[Tallguy]

Saw it yesterday afternoon with my eight year old daughter. Theater was decently full, but I know a fair amount of people didn't show up because when I bought tickets it was nearly sold out.

My daughter looked rather distressed when Shatner and the host were laughing about spoiling the movie. SHE'D never seen it before. (And in my house we take spoilers seriously.) I think they should have shown that after the film.

And what was Shatner babbling on about Montalban being in a walker? Wasn't Montalban also the star of a very popular television series at the time? That showed him walking around on a regular basis?

I also think Shatner's stories about Spock's death have grown in the telling. For one thing every story I've heard about Shatner has said that 1) he's a crazy hard worker but 2) if he's not in a scene he's not on set. So I doubt he was "around" to see "remember".

ANYWAY.

The "film" looked gorgeous. The only thing I wondered about was the starfield in the opening credits looked a little pixelated. I don't know if it always looked like that (1982 CG) and I just haven't seen it projected for 25 years. And I don't care how big your TV is or how good your sound system is, there is nothing like HEARING a movie in the cinema.

I was so glad nobody cheered at "Khaaan!" It's not a funny line. It's not an upbeat moment. Would anyone cheer at "To be or not to be?" just because it's the best known line? I never had a problem with Shatner's performance of it either.

There was a person a few seats down from me who seemed to be chuckling at a lot of little "Trekkie" things. Like every time someone "died" in the Kobayashi Maru. (I guess she knew the punchline and just couldn't wait.) She settled down a little as the film went on.

My daughter loved the movie. She asked me at the beginning "Is that the captain?" I remember seeing it in 1982 and (when you're trying to figure out where a movie is going) thinking that the Enterprise was going to be captured and Kirk was going to have to get her back. We didn't know the ranks or the colors, so why wouldn't Saavik be captain? And when I was 13 in that first scene she was intimidating as hell. Watching the view screen open and Kirk walk through it is one of the greatest moments of my cinematic life.

Speaking of cheers, the one moment that didn't pay off like it did 35 years ago was "Spock, it's two hours. Are you ready?" That got a gasp and a cheer back in The Day. But now most of the people in the audience know it. Kind of too bad. When I saw Casablanca for the first time in a cinema I think the audience was a little less spoiled. But "I don't like to lose" did get a good laugh.

One of the things I love about this movie that has just about gone away in modern film is how much of it is unscored. After the titles we don't hear music again until Khan and his people show up. All of the scenes in the Kobayashi Maru, Kirk and Spock in that arboretum / lobby area, Kirk's apartment, all run on dialog and sound effects.

I don't hate ILM's work on this film by any shot (it's lovely), but Douglas Trumbull's shots of the Enterprise that are used as stock are just in a class by themselves.

I've never been a fan of most of the restored scenes. Some because I know the originals SO well. (Like the extended take of the Regula staff arguing about Reliant). I don't like the extra scene with McCoy and Kirk in the apartment (that scene was knife edge perfect originally). I see no point for climbing the ladder (especially since it messes up the music). I kind of like the "human ego" exchange. And I run hot and cold on Peter Preston's scenes.

BUT WHY DID THEY TAKE OUT DOOHAN'S SCENE IN SICKBAY?!? That kills me every time. Although Kirk's answer and Shatner's performance of it are pretty terrible. I don't know if the rumors are true that Shatner would flub a line if he wanted a scene cut. But I don't know how you'd deliver that line anyway. It's so condescending. And while I'm totally fine with Khan knowing who Chekov is, Kirk's answer to Scotty sounds like he's forgotten that SCOTTY WAS SITTING AT THE SAME TABLE AS KIRK when Khan was sentenced.

People have mentioned the number of names of people in the credits that are no longer with us. I was OK until James Horner walks by the camera for maybe a second when they're getting ready for the battle in the Mutara Nebula.

Well worth my time and money. Glad we were able to do it.

The ear worm thing is the scariest part on the whole film so I wanted to show my kids that and explain that it's just pretend and how the effects were made.

My daughter wasn't scared by the eels as much as when McCoy runs into the dead hand on Regula. I wasn't taking that moment away from her for anything.

 

[uniderth]

I was so glad nobody cheered at "Khaaan!" It's not a funny line. It's not an upbeat moment. Would anyone cheer at "To be or not to be?" just because it's the best known line? I never had a problem with Shatner's performance of it either.

Exactly! It's just more Kirk-drift. The memes are made from people's distorted recollection of the yell. The one ACTUALLY in the movie is not over the top or out of place. It's a great moment for Kirk.

I was surprised that a few lines actually carried different meaning for me. Like Kirk's line about it being a "pleasant surprise" that the engine room would be ready.

But I think it was most impactful when Kirk lures Khan into the nebula. I guess it never really hit me that Khan thought Kirk was marooned back on Regula; yet, suddenly he was back on the Enterprise. But you see Khan's reaction and his vengeful motivation is perfect.

My daughter wasn't scared by the eels as much as when McCoy runs into the dead hand on Regula. I wasn't taking that moment away from her for anything.

I jumped at that scene in the theatre!

 

[Ryann866]

Saw it last night at a great theater with great sound... with an old buddy -- we've been Trek fans together since I was 15. Really great to see it on the big screen and it's a shame modern movies have lost that sense of pacing and build up in favor of appealing to the ADD in all of us. It's a style of filmmaking that's gone -- where story and character were emphasized over crazy camerawork to keep your attention (case in point, the scene between Kirk and Carol "I feel old... worn out" is playing in a single wide shot, no cutting to close ups or reactions at all)

• Some new things I've noticed -- how great Kirstie Alley's overall performance is. Her reactions, where she's not the focus of the scene or even when she's just in the background are superb. When Kirk puts on his glasses at the nav console before he says "Damn" watch Alley's face and her hand movements. There are a bunch of moments like this.
• I was particularly moved by the David and Kirk scene at the end. Made story sense why he was killed off in TSFS, but seeing TWOK made me wish they did more with the Kirk/David dynamic... it would have been a good story to explore and Shatner's acting would have been tested.
• The best thing I noticed is that there is an extra in the background in engineering who during the scene leading up to Spock's death and during the actual deal scene WON'T STOP BOBBING BACK AND FORTH. It was totally distracting seeing it on the big screen. I'd never noticed. He's sitting on the small step in front of the isolation door at one point swaying back and forth holding his head (I guess to show that he's been hurt) but while Kirk and Spock at the glass of the reactor room, the same guy is moving back and forth holding onto one of the columns in the engine room. Too funny!

 

[David Brown]

Does anyone know if the Shatner interview is before or after the film? My daughter will be seeing this for the first time, I don't need The Shat spoiling the movie for her.

At my theater, it was before the showing and YES, he spoils the heck out of the film, if someone had not seen it before.

This was my first time seeing TWOK on the big screen. I enjoyed it very much, only a few days before my birthday.
Some of the colors, notably the uniforms, looked a bit darker than I recalled. Not sure if this is a Director's Cut color choice (I've only seen it once or twice) or just that it was projected. Otherwise, it was a lot of fun.
Some day, I hope to revisit The Motion Picture and The Search for Spock on the big screen and I'll have seen them all.

 

[Kor]

I got my ticket for the second day of showing (the first day was just too nice outside to go to the movies).

Incidentally, Close Encounters of the Third Kind is also back in theaters for its anniversary, but I think it's getting a longer run than TWOK.

Kor

 

[RAMA]

A full report on the FathomEvents TWOK showing!

My theater was only 20 minutes away! I brought 4 of us to see it at the 7pm showing. There was a pretty quiet lobby and the ticket wasn't clearly marked so I asked someone if it was the correct theater auditorium. To my surprise, there were maybe 30-40 people in there.

There was a Discovery trailer on the big screen! Looked like a movie. Should release it as a FathomEvent!!

The Shatner interview was 15 minutes long and poor guy, I know he's 86 but he's starting to lose it a bit but it was still fun for the most part. My 17 year-old nephew was with me and he hadn't seen TWOK before so I was slightly irritated by the "spoilers" for his sake (not mine of course). Mantz suggests we would be cheering when Kirk yells Khan..but why? It's a moment when he's left stranded in a planetoid!

The film itself is still excellent. The pacing is very good, just as we recover from a new revelation we anticipate the next one. This is a pretty suspenseful film if you can forget having seen it or for the first time. Bibi Besch is just fantastic. Would have loved to have seen her more in anything. She died way too young at 56.

The picture itself..well frankly it looks better on my Bluray/TV. The colors were muted a bit and it was somewhat grainy. After getting used to these things, even the 1982 era FX hold up. I'd say 75% of the shots are completely acceptable while a smaller percentage have some problems. Close-ups looked blurry. The Mutara Nebula battle and starship chase scenes are elements that work better on a big screen like this over my big tv however.

Something that I knew but really was reinforced here was the soundscape. Modern movies are a wall of sound. I'm used to there being music or some sort of sound almost the whole movie. TWOK was very quiet (in spacel ). I have to say on the big screen this was especially noticeable and I missed it.

The reaction? My nephew has never seen anything before 2005 in his life as far as I know, besides a handful of Trek episodes and Star Wars. He's a SW fan first. But he not only loved the movie he seemed in rapt attention especially at all the right parts. I count the rest of us as too jaded to be jumping up and down but it was a fun experience. The crowd was one of the quietest Trekkie crowds I've heard. usually, at these Fathom events (I went to Menagerie, BoBW, and some other STNG events) the crowds are livelier.

My conclusion? Well, it was my first time seeing it on an actual big screen so I'm going to say go see it. You'll probably come away re-appreciating what you liked and maybe even see some new details.

https://www.fathomevents.com/events...pc&utm_campaign=star+trek+wok&utm_term=fathom

 

[DarthPipes]

I saw this at the movies yesterday and enjoyed myself immensely. I hadn't seen it in a number of years and I had forgotten how great it was.

-I wasn't sure how many people would be there but it was a nice-sized crowd. I saw the 40th anniversary showing of Close Encounters last week, which I very much enjoyed but this was a far better experience and had more people. Shatner's interview got a lot of laughs, in a good way of course.

-Some terrific dialogue, which drew laughs from the audience.

-The strong interaction between the big three, although Spock and McCoy themselves don't interact with each other all that much.

-Kind of sad realizing how many of the cast and crew are no longer with us. Just about the entire guest cast is gone, save for Kirstie Alley (who I agree was terrific in this movie) and Judson Scott.

-I've always noticed Checkov in the background during the Kirk and Carol scene but missed the bit where Kirk called him "Pavel" and took his hand. Nice little character touch.

-Montalban is just so damn engaging in this movie and knows how to deliver his lines just right. I have to admit though, once and a while he reminded me of Ric Flair when he freaks out in the ring. I couldn't see Flair going nuts like that.

-Agreed about the Kirk and David dynamic at the end and I'm sorry we didn't see more of that.

-I know it did 15 years ago but I'm so glad that the director's cut has become the regular version of The Wrath of Khan that is now shown. Adding in those scenes helps, particularly with Kirk, McCoy and Scotty in sickbay.

-While you could see where the FX was reused, I think overall the special effects hold up pretty well.

-Liked getting to see Kirk's apartment and the lighting in that scene really sets the mood.

-James Horner's score. It's not easy filling the shoes of Jerry Goldsmith but Horner's scores for Wrath of Khan and Search for Spock are more than up for the task. I think my favorite score was toward the end, as the Enterprise SLOWLY attempts to get away from the Reliant. Even knowing what was going to happen, it really built up the suspense and put over how epic the adventure had been. Horner and his work are much missed.

 

[Khan 2.0]

Damn all these tales are making me envious.

Wonder If they'll do another Trek movie rerelease? Maybe Trek III in 2019 or even Trek V (Directors Cut with new CG FX )

 

[ConRefit79]

Saw it last night. Great to see it on the big screen. Only saw it once on the big screen in 82. Theater was huge, but not where near full. But I do no the 2PM showing was packed. So I paid the premium for a good seat at 7.
I noticed the blurred scenes some have mentioned. I think some were from Director's cut changes. Maybe they did not view that cut on a big screen before release. Cause you don't see them at home. Sound was about the same. But I have dolby surround at home. But it was more enveloping in the theater. The Klingon ships on the simulator's view screen and probably the view screen shots of ships appeared a little distorted. Perhaps an effect to make sure people not familiar with Star Trek, understood it is not a window. Overall the effects are very good. Only problem I had was when the pan out at Regula to show Enterprise and Reliant on opposite poles. Reliant almost reminded me of some of the TOS effects.
The film is still great. Some cringes with the Peter Preston add ins. But thankfully those are short. After all these years it still holds up as the Holy Grail of Star Trek. Great story. Wish they could sell modern Trek movies like this. I'm hoping they will show all the TOS films on the big screen in the near future.
The interview with Shatner was funny. And his memory is having issues. But that's OK. At least he is still with us. Miss Nimoy, DeForest and Doohan. And even after all these years, he still trying to spin TFF as the best. But that's OK. It was his baby. And not as horrible as some make it out. Anyone notice that every time the turbo lift stopped when Kirk and Saavik are talking, it says decks 4 & 5? Never noticed that before.

 

[Tallguy]

The Klingon ships on the simulator's view screen and probably the view screen shots of ships appeared a little distorted.

Yeah, I noticed that on the blu ray. BIG TIME on the big screen. It hasn't always been like that, has it?

Of all the things to add... (Assuming it hasn't been there for 35 years...)

And even after all these years, he still trying to spin TFF as the best.

Actually right after he said that TFF was "arguably the best film" he followed it up with "But I've never heard anyone argue that. And neither have you." I wanted to point him to some threads here.

Shatner may be the bride at every wedding and the corpse at every funeral but he can be very self-deprecating as well.

 

[uniderth]

Actually right after he said that TFF was "arguably the best film" he followed it up with "But I've never heard anyone argue that. And neither have you." I wanted to point him to some threads here.

Shatner may be the bride at every wedding and the corpse at every funeral but he can be very self-deprecating as well.

Yeah. I can't remember the exact wording, but it came off to me like he was joking that he's the only one arguing it was the best and nobody has dared state the opposite to his face. Something like that.

 

[ConRefit79]

Actually right after he said that TFF was "arguably the best film" he followed it up with "But I've never heard anyone argue that. And neither have you." I wanted to point him to some threads here.

Shatner may be the bride at every wedding and the corpse at every funeral but he can be very self-deprecating as well.

Don't misunderstand. I like TFF. Actually more than TVH. I did take it as a joke.

 

[DarthPipes]

Damn all these tales are making me envious.

Wonder If they'll do another Trek movie rerelease? Maybe Trek III in 2019 or even Trek V (Directors Cut with new CG FX )

I'd love to see The Search for Spock in theaters for its 35th anniversary but I doubt that will happen. That's too bad because it's always been a favorite of mine. I think The Voyage Home is virtually guaranteed future releases though. Though they didn't do a 30th anniversary one last year, did they?

Speaking of blurry scenes, yes on the Klingon ships on the screen in the simulator. The footage quality of them was very poor. Probably having to do with them being a reuse from TMP I imagine.

 

[Shawnster]

This was a surreal experience. I have been doing a rewatch of TOS, and there's something I noticed about TWOK that I never noticed before...the scene between Kirk and McCoy at Kirk's home is very much like the scene between Captain Pike and the doctor in "The Cage." I wonder if perhaps the scene in the film was inspired by the scene from "The Cage" due to Harve Bennett's marathon viewing of the series?

I had the exact same experience. Never noticed it before, but it really stood out last night when I went to the movie. If it was an unintentional homage, it was almost kismet.

My daughter loved the movie. She asked me at the beginning "Is that the captain?" I remember seeing it in 1982 and (when you're trying to figure out where a movie is going) thinking that the Enterprise was going to be captured and Kirk was going to have to get her back. We didn't know the ranks or the colors, so why wouldn't Saavik be captain? And when I was 13 in that first scene she was intimidating as hell. Watching the view screen open and Kirk walk through it is one of the greatest moments of my cinematic life.

Back in 1982 the first starship we see is Reliant. This is after the Kobyashi Maru simulator scene. My first thought was "did they change the Enterprise AGAIN?"

Loved seeing the director's cut. My all-time favorite is the ABC telecast version which is the director's cut plus some other scenes. One scene in particular I wish they'd kept was the extended version of Kirk, Spock and the rest climbing up the Jefferies Tube and Kirk mentions "that man back there is my son..." and Spock replies (almost sarcastically) "fascinating."

 

[Tallguy]

Speaking of blurry scenes, yes on the Klingon ships on the screen in the simulator. The footage quality of them was very poor. Probably having to do with them being a reuse from TMP I imagine.

No, there's a filter effect on the screen now. It's not there in any other viewscreen footage. It's only on the Kobayashi Maru.

http://movies.trekcore.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=33862&fullsize=1

I'm fairly certain that that was never there. It tips the hand somewhat that it's a computer simulation. It also just doesn't look good. (Since this is the TrekBBS someone will now offer me incontrovertible proof that the filter was always there.)

I had the exact same experience. Never noticed it before, but it really stood out last night when I went to the movie. If it was an unintentional homage, it was almost kismet.

Well, The Cage set that template for all the other Doctor / Captain scenes in the series.

Loved seeing the director's cut. My all-time favorite is the ABC telecast version which is the director's cut plus some other scenes. One scene in particular I wish they'd kept was the extended version of Kirk, Spock and the rest climbing up the Jefferies Tube and Kirk mentions "that man back there is my son..." and Spock replies (almost sarcastically) "fascinating."

The scene is there. They just took out the dialog. I gather it's there to SHOW that they are having to climb to the bridge. I got that from "They're inoperative below C deck." Myself I'd rather know how you can mistake the sixth planet for the fifth.

 

[Phoenix219]

The theater I went to was 3/4 full with people young and older. It was nice to see parents with their little kids sharing the love of Trek. The Shat interview was good, though funny when the host corrected Bill's faulty memory of the set fire (that was STIII), "same thing" as the Shat put it.
The projection quality looked fine to me. I led the whooping and clapping at the iconic KHAAAAN moment. Good times!

Speaking of the interview, was Bill right about how many times they destroyed and rebuilt the sets? I've always heard that some of the TMP sets survived and were used well into the TNG era. Which movies used the same bridge sets? I know they redid it between V and VI, and IV didn't have more then a few seconds on an "E" bridge anyways. How does it all actually break down?