TMP Like New For Me

[Smellmet]

I agree, especially if they had sequels. From around the same time, Alien has had a strong re-release and home video history (The Black Hole, not so much). But for that very reason I can't really think of them as "forgotten" films.

I still feel like TMP is a bit of a forgotten film outside of Trek fandom, The Black Hole definitely is (and I love that film, wouldn't mind seeing a remake to be honest), it's definitely not got anywhere like the popularity of Alien, Close Encounters, ET etc from that era, I know it didn't pull in the same box office as those but it still did more or less 500 million worldwide adjusted for inflation. I dunno, I guess I'm just hankering for a release of it.

I don't know, I'm fine with the original being the default HD release. That's the most historical version. If only Star Wars was in the same situation!

That's a good point - though I feel the additions made in the DE for TMP are nowhere near as divisive as the SW ones. A lot of them are undeniable improvements that fit very well with the original style of the film - the Vger energy weapon and the hull walk are two great examples of this. There's certainly no dumb-looking CG creatures running around like they just wandered in off a third rate Pixar movie, but yes, I'd like the unaltered SW trilogy in HD too.

 

[Damian]

That's a good point - though I feel the additions made in the DE for TMP are nowhere near as divisive as the SW ones. A lot of them are undeniable improvements that fit very well with the original style of the film - the Vger energy weapon and the hull walk are two great examples of this.

And not only that but the pacing of the DE is better as well. The DE flows much better to me then the original theatrical version.

However, I still think the unaltered version should be available for those that prefer that version--or better yet, as some have noted, release a special edition Blu-Ray that includes both versions (which I think they'd probably do anyway).

 

[King Bob!]

I would love an updated version of TMP in the style of release that Close Encounters of the Third Kind/Blade Runner got.

I'm more likely to walk to another habitable planet than it to happen though.

 

[Ceridwen]

The version of The Motion Picture that I grew up with was the extended TV edit (as released in the special edition VHS set). When's that one coming out on Blu-ray?

 

[Smellmet]

Better still, give me the SLV with the updated effects from the DE. I can dream I guess.

 

[Maurice]

The TV/"longer" version is an abomination. The "editing" is so slap-dash it's embarrassing.

The DE didn't change the V'ger weapons. They copied them, and added a few terrible shots of them orbiting the Earth where they are suddenly 100x larger than before. Amateur hour!

 

[Smellmet]

The DE didn't change the V'ger weapons. They copied them, and added a few terrible shots of them orbiting the Earth where they are suddenly 100x larger than before. Amateur hour!

They were hundreds of times more powerful that's why - Spock even confirms this with this line:

"They are hundreds of times more powerful, Captain. From those positions they could devastate the entire surface of the planet"

Now I'm not suggesting for a second that FX looked great - it didn't, but if it looked amazing it wouldn't be in keeping with the style and age of the film, so that's something that never bothered me with this scene. There was an additional shot of the vger weapon dissipating as it's just about to hit the Enterprise earlier in the film that was new to the DE, I thought the FX on that were absolutely spot on.

 

[Ceridwen]

The TV/"longer" version is an abomination. The "editing" is so slap-dash it's embarrassing.

Oh, I'm well aware. Doesn't stop me from feeling like there's something missing when I watch the theatrical cut.

 

[Smellmet]

Oh, I'm well aware. Doesn't stop me from feeling like there's something missing when I watch the theatrical cut.

It's some of the dialogue I like in the SLV that I wish were kept - stuff like Bones saying "Or a crew of a thousand ten miles tall" stuff like that.

 

[Damian]

It's some of the dialogue I like in the SLV that I wish were kept - stuff like Bones saying "Or a crew of a thousand ten miles tall" stuff like that.

Yeah, I can see some of that. The one scene that always bugged me about the SLV was the scene where Kirk is leaving the Enterprise in his space suit and you can clearly see it's a set piece behind him. I remember the very first time I saw it on VHS (which was actually the first time I saw the film) I was like WTF, did someone forget something? They probably should have just left that scene on the cutting room floor--I don't recall it being vital to the film anyway.

They were hundreds of times more powerful that's why - Spock even confirms this with this line:

"They are hundreds of times more powerful, Captain. From those positions they could devastate the entire surface of the planet"

Yeah, I figured the same thing. The updated version looked a bit more deadly. However, one thing that I didn't care for in the DE was the look of V'ger's ship as it was firing the weapons. It thought they could have cleaned that up a bit better.

 

[Kor]

.... There was an additional shot of the vger weapon dissipating as it's just about to hit the Enterprise earlier in the film that was new to the DE, I thought the FX on that were absolutely spot on.

I love that shot. In fact, it is the only new CGI shot in the DE that I feel is "absolutely spot on" and looks like it actually fits with the 1979 visuals of the film.

Kor

 

[Smellmet]

I love that shot. In fact, it is the only new CGI shot in the DE that I feel is "absolutely spot on" and looks like it actually fits with the 1979 visuals of the film.

Kor

If you'd only ever seen the DE, you'd never know it was a new shot, it looks bang on. The stuff at the end just doesn't measure up for some reason though.

 

[Damian]

If you'd only ever seen the DE, you'd never know it was a new shot, it looks bang on. The stuff at the end just doesn't measure up for some reason though.

Yeah, it was very CGI-like, which didn't seem to fit the rest of the film which used a lot of models (and a lot of shots they just cleaned up the existing shot).

I liked the idea of showing V'gers entire vessel over Earth. I likened the old shot to patio lamps flying over a pumpkin face. But they could have done a better job with it.

 

[Maurice]

They were hundreds of times more powerful that's why - Spock even confirms this with this line:

"They are hundreds of times more powerful, Captain. From those positions they could devastate the entire surface of the planet"

Now I'm not suggesting for a second that FX looked great - it didn't, but if it looked amazing it wouldn't be in keeping with the style and age of the film, so that's something that never bothered me with this scene. There was an additional shot of the vger weapon dissipating as it's just about to hit the Enterprise earlier in the film that was new to the DE, I thought the FX on that were absolutely spot on.

I mean they new shots make the weapons larger than the shots that precede it. They're inconsistent, and said weapons would be bigger than V'ger itself.

... The one scene that always bugged me about the SLV was the scene where Kirk is leaving the Enterprise in his space suit and you can clearly see it's a set piece behind him. I remember the very first time I saw it on VHS (which was actually the first time I saw the film) I was like WTF, did someone forget something? They probably should have just left that scene on the cutting room floor--I don't recall it being vital to the film anyway.

Worse than the missing matte, Kirk's wearing an entirely different spacesuit than when he catches Spock.

 

[Lance Warren Baylis]

The weird thing about the DE is that it feels like it flows better, but I can never quite put my finger on why. It runs for about the same length as the Theatrical and the wider part of the material doesn't feel lacking, certainly it doesn't feel like the long lingering shots have been cut down substantively?

Both versions feel trim compared the the SLV of course I suspect a lot of the relief most of us felt at the DE was at least in part because it's like, it salvages material from both earlier versions but doesn't feel plodfing like the SLV does in places.

 

[Maurice]

^^^That's the magic of editing.

 

[2takesfrakes]

I recently came across this photo of Mark Lenard from what I presume was just a costume fitting for the Klingon outfit. It's exactly as it is in the movie, only Mark isn't wearing any of the makeup or facial appliances ...

https://i.pinimg.com/236x/bc/27/1f/bc271fdbdf9aa32497f19d7af60303b2.jpg

 

[Maurice]

I recently came across this photo of Mark Lenard from what I presume was just a costume fitting for the Klingon outfit. It's exactly as it is in the movie, only Mark isn't wearing any of the makeup or facial appliances ...

https://i.pinimg.com/236x/bc/27/1f/bc271fdbdf9aa32497f19d7af60303b2.jpg

It was for a promotional appearance and they gave him a terrible pull-over mask.

 

[johnnybear]

A great picture of the fantastic Mark Lenard!
JB

 

[2takesfrakes]

It was for a promotional appearance and they gave him a terrible pull-over mask.

Even the late, great Mark Lenard was made to pay his dues for this franchise ...