Ok, so now that the TMP “full set” has been released, I’m interested in what your favorite version of the film is and why. For me, I always thought that “more was better,” so I longed for the SLV, even though I had not seen it since the VHS days. I loved some of the added dialogue and character moments, particularly for McCoy who definitely had some lines cut. So, I just watched the SLV for the first time in probably 20 years last night when my new set finally showed up…and I think I like the new Director’s Edition better. The SLV does have some stuff that I miss (I’m one of the suckers who likes Kirk’s “oh my God” or his additional, terse “viewer OFF!” I also really liked Decker’s “We all create God in our own image” line because it ties in nicely with one of the themes of the film. The version of McCoy calling out Kirk in his quarters is also better in the SLV But, ultimately, most of it is just cutting room floor material that could have stayed there. The long pan across the bridge while various status reports are given, the awkward scene between Sulu and Ilia, and the mis-matched departure from the airlock… I do think now that the DE is the very best version of the film. It looks and flows better, even though it is still missing some of my favorite stuff. The added / improved soundmix is unbelievably superior. It is now “officially” my favorite version of the film. How do you feel about the different versions?
Definitely the latest DE for me. It's a tighter story and I feel like the dropped SLV footage is redundant or silly stuff. I like that some of the better SLV footage makes its way into the DE, like the Alien Ensign being told their chances to return "may have doubled". For my money, I'd trim futher, dropping the comedy of McCoy not wanting to use the transporter. I've always thought it was a poor taste followup to the horror we saw in that room only a few scenes before and it doesn't work for me. As it is though, the DE feels pretty definitive as far as I'm concerned, much like the Blade Runner final cut.
The theatrical. The SLV is the poster child for why things end up on the cutting room floor. Th DE is half-measure towards what a proper recut ought to be and discolored by—IMHO—some poor fannish choices.
Director's Edition 2022. It's about time they updated the (IMO better) 2001 Director's Cut VFX to HD resolution. (And, no, it's by no means perfect, but it's better than the Theatrical cut, or that god-Awful extended 'TV Cut' version that was first shown on ABC way back when.)
Theatrical. I agree with @Maurice about the fannish, half-measures. I also prefer the theatrical klaxons, universal translator and computer voices.
For me it's a toss-up between the theatrical cut and the DE. The DE is easier to sit through because of the pacing, but I'm not keen on some of the inserted stuff. As for the SLV... it's a product of a time when movie distributors charged TV networks by the minute for broadcast rights, so more content was stuffed in whether it was actually any good or not, so they could charge more. Another example is the Superman: The Movie TV version. When it was released on blu-ray five years ago, I got it practically on day one, but I still haven't managed to sit all the way through that three-hour mess! Kor
I’ve heard a similar anecdote in regards to the television versions of Superman and King Kong. Not sure if it’s a case of printing the legend, however.
I can't find the original source. But just about every review or article that deals with the Superman extended cut repeats that this was the deal that ABC TV made with the Salkinds. Maybe that was just some weird outlier rather than industry standard. I've never been able to find details on the original deal for the ST:TMP broadcast rights. It was also with ABC TV, though, and aired just the next year after Superman. In any case, stuffing in a bunch of footage that does nothing to improve the movie, and so was rightly cut in the first place (or in some cases wasn't even finished and wasn't supposed to be included at all), makes sense in financial terms. No doubt it would mean that the network could sell more ad airspace during the movie as the content was padded to fill a longer broadcast slot, or multiple slots over consecutive nights with some movies. Kor
Mine is also theatrical, for the same reasons as @Maurice and @CorporalCaptain. It would have been cool if Wise had been able to recut the film based on what he originally wanted to do, as it stands now I feel the "D" in DE stands more for Docherman.
I don't think it was "by the minute" for Superman, I believe it was more about making it as long as possible so that they could split it over two nights. But don't quote me on that.
It's hard for me to pick. There are things I love about everything (aside from the theatrical cut). The SLV has a couple of extra lines and readings I miss in the DE, the CG effects in the 2001 DE integrated better with the original VFX and live-action than the 4K redos, but the recomped original VFX (and general transfer) of the 2022 DE, not to mention the recovered ADR tracks, are amazing. And, of course, my least favorite thing about the DE, that godawful, endless red alert siren. I remember reading about it in 2001, "We replaced the klaxon with something less grating, so we can have the alarm continue longer in the scenes without being annoying!" One, no, you didn't, and two, no, you shouldn't.
IIRC the network btoadcast TV rights to TMP were sold waaaay before the film was completed. Yeah, but this is the internet where people copy and paste shamelessly, so even if 20 articles say it that doesn't make it so. This is why we try to ferret out primary sources as much as possible for Fact Trek. If I remember to, I'll search the Variety archives to see if I can find anything about the deals. Funny. I wouldn't go so far as to lay all that at Daren's feet, though. (and you dropped the "t" in Dochterman.) I do remember when I talked sent the 2001 DE to Andy Probert and he said no one from the team ever called him to ask any questions, and was irritated at a few of the things done to the film.
You're like the human NOMAD, sterilizing every imperfection. I may be biased, but I prefer the 2022 TDE to any other version. It's all I need to watch anymore.
The 2022 DE defines it for me. For once I sat through it (and I liked the film before) and never felt "if only they'd managed to do this or that." It finally felt complete. Okay, I still will never accept that stupid one-piece uniform option--it's trash. It's still not perfect (nothing is), but it's much closer to what it should have been.
This. I just would love the 2022 DE sound mix and a couple of new Enterprise shots from the 2001 DE (asteroid explosion, V'Ger aborting bolt, the wing walk), bit otherwise the theatrical is the version I fell in love with.
I've been watching this film since '79 and I think that the new DE is just about the perfect version of the film.