Having just gone through my set of the Blu-Rays, I'm very happily surprised at the content. The only aspect keeping this from being a 4 or 5 star review is the fact that only the theatrical versions are available. Blu-Ray is specifically made to hold a great deal more data than any prior video or DVD format. Aside from the issues regarding the new effects of the director's cut of TMP, there's little reason (other than monetary) for Paramount to hold back the extended cuts. Seamless branching, used so successfully on the TOS first season set, would work equally well here.
The Motion Picture is another story, since the new effects were rendered for lower resolution and it will take time and, of course, money to rerender them. We can expect to see a Director's Edition release on BD in the near future, I'm sure. However, this does not excuse the lack of the inclusion of the extended TV cut put out on video.
Having said that, it is an amazing thrill having the theatrical cuts of The Motion Picture, and The Undiscovered Country on disc for the first time ever. TUC was NEVER seen in this version since its original release and until today, I had totally forgotten how good a film it was. Many fans enjoy the additional scenes, but I always felt they brought the film down some. The scenes were obvious and amped up the silliness fact in a film that very much needed to be played straight. The two video versions really brought the maturity level of the story down some notches.
Now, however, we once again see the film as originally released 18 years ago (oh God, it's been that long). Over the years, the film had become less enjoyable and fallen down the ranks in my personal list of favorites. None of the other had, but this one - a film I really loved in the theater - had dropped in favor. Now, having watched it again from beginning to end, I found I loved the film once more. The story is tighter and less obvious. These changes were not major, but they made an impact. This is the best movie for the cast to exit on and is once more a 4 star film to me.
The Motion Picture: it's great to see this movie in this format again, as released without alteration. However, this film is more problematic. The extended version was just a "longer cut" with some great scenes added, but none of the fat trimmed (these scenes are included in the extras). The Directors Cut was better paced and more tightly edited and also added some amazing effects to cover some of the less successful work in the picture, but they also lost bits that made the film unique which weren't "bad." Since there never actually was a "perfect" version of this film, it's vital all three versions should be made available (or maybe someone should redo the DE).
The Wrath of Kahn: again the theatrical cut and, as we all know, this film had the full restoration, presumably because the master elements needed it badly while the other films were fine. I'll comment on picture shortly, but let's just say this is a fantastic presentation of the movie.
Finally The Search for Spock, my favorite Trek film. For those who notice such things, the video versions always screwed up the opening credits. The VHS version had them replaced by "video graphics" which looked like a cheap, high school AV squad attempt to make Star Trek movie credits. The wide screen VHS and laserdiscs were much better, givings us the titles seen in the film. However, the DVDs had a "glitched" version of the titles, with the timing off badly. It's tough to explain, but if you compare the BD and the DVD opening credits, you'll see them. And since this is my all time favorite Trek film, one I saw in the theater 7 times and memorized with obsessive Trekkie abandon, you can imagine my thrill when I saw the BD version corrected the credits. Ahhhh! :-)
Okay, my impression of the picture quality. There's been a lot said about the excessive digital noise reduction Paramount slathered on the films. I was expecting some bad stuff when I fired up my 52 inch HDTV. You know what I got? An amazing picture - every time. The level of sharpness and clarity to these films is a revelation! I had NEVER seen these films looking so amazingly sharp and detailed. The Wrath of Kahn, which - as noted - got the real restoration, is very nice, but I didn't notice a huge difference between this restoration and the other films. Mostly, I noticed the print was a little darker than prior prints and the other films. The blacks do hold up well on BD, better than on HD-DVD, to my surprise.
I have read that those who watch the movies on HUGE screens will notice the DNR, I have to say that my 52 inch, which I sit 6 to 8 feet away from, does not reveal any obvious dullness. And, really, I would assume the great majority of people don't go much larger than 52 inch (unless you have a mansion and more money than God). Honestly, I have no issues with the picture quality, and can wholeheartedly give the picture a thumbs up.
The sound is also extremely impressive. The dialog is not lost among the music and sound effects, like so many other HD presentations. The muddiness in much of Kahn and The Search for Spock is not as strong, and the music score for the films never sounded so good.
The subtitles for various alien languages are, however, disc generated, not embedded in the films. So the "species centric" fonts are lost (and, I guess, really doesn't make these true theatrical cuts). However, they are not obviously bad or "video titles" and won't stand out to people not that familiar or who don't care.
To sum up: the only disappointment is in the fact that there's plenty of room for all versions of the films, either side by side or through branching, so (aside from the DE of TMP), there's no reason to have left them out. Having all versions would justify the price tag of this double or triple dip. Especially since you know Paramount will release these again with these versions included.
Otherwise, it's a great set. The theatrical cuts are the versions I fell in love with and it's great to have them back. The picture is outstanding, with refreshing sharpness and clarity, while the sound mix is comfortable and satisfying.
5 stars for the presentation
Subtract 2 stars for leaving out the alternate versions.
For fans of the original cuts, this is an essential set. It's up to you to decide if you want to hold out for the next and probably more complete release of these films.
