Star Trek The Original 4-Movie Collection: Star Trek The Motion Picture - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Star Trek The Original 4-Movie Collection: Star Trek The Motion Picture



Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:

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Movie
I’m actually a bit befuddled by Paramount on this set’s release. Unlike their Blu-ray release in 2009, they are not releasing all 6 of the “TOS” films in one boxset, but only releasing 1-4, leaving 5 and 6 out in the cold. I mean, if you’re going to put a box set together why not include ALL the films of that era? Might it be due to licensing reasons? Due to conflicts with the original masters? I’m not sure, all I know is that we’re getting the 4 most popular films of the franchise in a nice boxset to enjoy and HOPEFULLY we get to see The Next Generation films follow (First Contact in 4K makes me giddy). The entire set is housed in a nice chipboard box, with two 4-disc cases in there, one set of four housing the Blu-rays, and the other the 4K UHD discs. Being that these are such important films, I’ll be reviewing each of the them separately.

I hate to say it, but The Motion Picture just isn’t THAT good. Yes, it is one of the seminal sci-fi movies of all times as it bridge the gap between the 60s TV show and the 1970s big blockbuster arena, AND it kick started one of the most massive sci-fi film franchises of all times….but the movie isn’t that good. Star Trek: The Motion Picture was one of the last highly publicized sci-fi movies of the 1970s, reaching a global audience of 1.2 BILLION viewers, and was considered a commercial success. However, it is also the driest of the series, playing out more like 2001: A Space Odyssey rather than a blockbuster film.

The film opens up with now Admiral Kirk (William Shatner) coming back to the Enterprise after several years of leaving the captain’s chair behind. It seems a mysterious cloud has come out of space and destroyed several Klingon vessels, and federation vessels, and is on a crash course for Earth. Pulling some strings to get back in space, Kirk takes command of the Enterprise and heads out to find out what is really going on before it’s too late.

Captain Decker (Stephen Collins, who is most famous as the dad on 7th Heaven) has been supplanted by Kirk and is none too happy, but he agrees to assist the aging Admiral in their mission. However, things go awry when they actually MEET the ship face to face and find an artificial intelligence that takes over one of the crew members. It seems the ship is named Vger, and has a mission to find it’s creators. A mission that very well may bring humanity back in touch with it’s own past.

I used to joke that The Motion Picture has to be included in any Star Trek boxset simply due to the fact that no one would buy it if it was released on it’s own. All joking aside, the film is a bit dry and plays more like a spectacle rather than a movie. By that I mean we get to see gigantic sweeping space shots and minutes upon minutes of the ship traveling in space, or Decker dealing with Vger in order to showcase the technical prowess of the movie. Especially after Star Wars dazzled audiences 2 years prior. That being said, it is still one of the most important sci-fi films of its kind as it ushered in a new era for Star Trek, with the movies becoming so wildly popular that they paved the way for The Next Generation that would come out in a few years. Also, it is probably the most “classic” Star Trek of the bunch, hailing back to a more character developed show rather than a big dumb action set piece (although TOS season 3 devolved into just that, which is what killed it ironically).




Rated G for General Audiences




4K Video: Video:

The 4K UHD disc is a massive improvement over the edge enhanced Blu-ray disc we’ve used for years. It’s a very nice uptick in clarity and detail levels, despite the grainy source material. Edge enhancement and banding are all but eliminated, and except for some of the weird optical effects that were used back then (one major one is where everything in the foreground is sharp and clear, and everything in the background was blurred), or the obvious lines from the special effects (again, simple source related issues that can’t be undone) it is one incredible looking image. The HDR is judiciously applied here, ramping up the mild colors on the ship, or the bright blue of Vger and the bursts of lightning. The uniforms and ship wide backdrops aren’t the best for colors, but this film is rich and vibrant with what colors it does show, as well as the absolutely stunning black levels. Huge improvement over the Blu-ray, hands down.







Audio:

Paramount has recycled the same great sounding 7.1 Dolby TrueHD track from the Blu-ray for this, and I’m kind of glad we didn’t get an Atmos mix. I know it may sound like sacrilege, but the 7.1 track is overkill for the original sound design as it is, and I prefer no more tinkering than absolutely necessary. Jerry Goldsmith’s score and wonderfully replicated in the sound stage, and the entire “whooshing” through space makes great use of the surrounds. The bass is actually quite punchy and powerful, adding a lot of tension and intensity to the sound track. The engine throbs with energy, and the hustle and bustle of the crew deck adds lots of ambient sounds to the surround channels. Dialog is always crisp and cleanly replicated up front, and except for some mild harshness on some of the high ends, is still a great mix, even some 12 years later.
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Extras:

• Commentary by Michael & Denise Okuda, Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens and Daren Dochterman
• Library Computer
• Production
• The Star Trek Universe
• Deleted Scenes
• Storyboards
• Trailers
• TVSpots

Final Score: ​

Star Trek: The Motion Picture is a fun, if not slightly dry, character driven Science Fiction film, and the progenitor to all the films that come after it. This 4K UHD release is quite solid, with great video, good audio, but sadly no extras found on the disc except for the extras found on the old Blu-ray. A fun entry way into the films to come and a solid classic sci-fi film.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, George Takei, Majel Barrett, James Doohan, Stephen Collins
Directed by: Robert Wise
Written by: Gene Roddenberry (Based on), Harold Livingston (Screenplay), Alan Dead Foster (Story)
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 HEVC
Audio: English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 German DD TrueHD 2.0, French DD 2.1, Japanese DD 5.1, Music DD 2.0
Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, German, Japanese, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish
Studio: Paramount
Rated: G
Runtime: 132 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: August 7th, 2021

Recommendation: Great Buy (Entire Boxset)

 

[Todd Anderson]

Rated G? That’s interesting. I remember this coming out in the 70s… and I also remember being bored to tears when my parents took me to see it!

The Wrath of Kahn… now that’s the one that got my attention. :-)

 

[Michael Scott]

Rated G? That’s interesting. I remember this coming out in the 70s… and I also remember being bored to tears when my parents took me to see it!

The Wrath of Kahn… now that’s the one that got my attention. :-)

lol, as a kid it must have bored you to tears. I still am not wild about it. I mean, I watch it whenever I go through the series because that's a requirement from the gods or something, but it's definitely one of the weaker movies (thought nothing beats #5)

 

[Todd Anderson]

Yeah, brutal for a 6 or 7 year old. I've never gone back to watch it again... sounds like that's been a wise choice.