Star Trek The Motion Picture Director's Edition 4K UHD/DLX (1979)

[Lope de Aguirre]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Yes, it’s literally that same master but with the SLV scenes added in. You get the bonus of betterer subtitles and a fresher encode on the new TC/SLV disc though.

Thanks.
Bummer that they didn't use that chance to fix the filtering problems but good to know that there are a few tiny advantages.

[Croweyes1121]

Originally Posted by Dr. T

Yes it does. The only thing lacking is the Special Longer Version.

...and decent cover art. But yeah, technically you're right.

[Geoff D]

Star Trek: The Motion Picture Special Longer Version (1979) 4K Dolby Vision review, UK Paramount UHD disc. HDR metadata: Mastering display colour primaries: DCI-P3. Mastering display luminance levels: 4000/0.005 max/min nits. Maximum Content Light Level: 1000 nits. Maximum Frame Average Light Level: 979 nits. Disc type: UHD100.

Okay, so, as this newly minted SLV/theatrical UHD disc (available only in the TMP 'Complete Adventure' boxset) uses the existing theatrical 4K master as its basis then the bulk of my review for the 2021 disc applies here. Give it a read if you've a strong constitution, have an hour to spare and don't mind words and stuff: https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...postcount=3941. Yes, this means that all the smoothed over VFX and general wonkiness of those 2021 shots are carried over here, it's the same transfer, and the colour timing etc remains the same. If you hated how a certain VFX shot looked in the 2021 you'll get no relief here.

The questions count amongst the obvious: how do the SLV additions look and is the encode any betterer? Fortunately the extended scenes have been transferred from their OG negative wherever possible so there is no distracting 'bump' between theatrical and SLV in terms of quality, the beautiful fine grain from the 5247 negative is perfectly preserved - unlike the 4K Director's Edition transfer - and they've also been graded to match the existing scenes. It's as seamless visually as you could ever expect and well done Paramount for not being tempted to tinker any further apart from the addition of a new matte painting to the infamous SLV scene of Kirk's space walk, done to cover up the visible set due to the original VFX not having been completed. The painting is decent enough but where it meets the real set looks a bit iffy, they haven't bothered to finesse the edges (reminds me of the new Coke mural they added to Grease) but it's a miracle they did it at all and it gets the job done for such a short shot. The original version of the scene, set and all, is viewable separately as an extra on the disc. It's presented in 4K Dolby Vision but for some reason the highlights are badly clipped and blown out, they look nothing like they do in the scene as included in the main movie.

But another pat on the back is deserved for the inclusion of subtitles for alien dialogue that match the original typeface. On the 2021 theatrical UHD the subtitles are player generated in a typically bland font, there's no effort whatsoever to make them like the OG subs. But now, oh they look fantastic. Still player generated but in a style that is germane to the original, it's a minor thing in the grand scheme but it gives me such a warm fuzzy feeling to have them preserved like this. Some photo examples below, PLEASE don't take the shots as indicative of what the transfer looks like and they're not meant to be the same frames, just check out the subs.

2021 UHD

[Show spoiler]

2022 UHD

[Show spoiler]

2021 UHD

[Show spoiler]

2022 UHD

[Show spoiler]

Oh, and lookit the disc menus too: on the new UHD they've put in the OG Bob Peak poster art rather than the rejigged DE version used on the 2021 menu. The 2022 menu is now silent however, whereas the 2021 is scored with some of Jezza Goldsmith's glorious music.

2021 UHD

[Show spoiler]

2022 UHD

[Show spoiler]

Thankfully Paramount didn't cheap out with their video encoding options, they have seamlessly branched both versions of the movie onto a triple layer UHD100 disc. This results in a healthy bump in bitrate over the previous UHD66 theatrical edition disc, usually running about 10 Mb/s more at any given moment, though different encodes will naturally have different peaks and troughs during the presentation. Does it result in a dramatic difference? No. The 2021 has a competent enough encode, I wasn't amazed by it nor was I disappointed, it got the job done whilst looking a fraction untidy here and there. The 2022 cleans up that untidyness, chroma containment is better still than the 2021 (though I mentioned it wasn't a problem before) and wide shots are slightly tighter and more coherent. It just turns a good encode into a great one. It's a pity that the SLV's 2.0 stereo audio wasn't encoded losslessly for this version, instead it's at 224 kb/s Dolby Digital 2.0, and yet to my TV speakers and terrible hearing it sounded pretty dang nice. Still a bit 'harder' than the later multichannel or immersive remixes if only by dint of being so old rather than lossy, and the dialogue for the SLV scenes doesn't have the polish of the final sound mix, and yet it's still quite sprightly with some good separation across the sound stage. The theatrical still has the same TrueHD 7.1 as before.

The more time I spend with the TMP theatrical/SLV 4K transfer the more I love it. Not that anything has changed at source level between the 2021 and 2022 versions but the live action portions look so good, they're gorgeously crisp and filmic and make a mockery of both the original DNR hysteria (guilty) and the varying amounts of "grain management" meted out to the new 4K Director's Edition (more on that another time). Sure, there's no getting away from the fact that several of the VFX shots haven't been treated kindly in the 2021/2022 theatrical/SLV master e.g. the Enterprise leaving space dock looks as tragic as it did before, but not every VFX shot is so badly treated and several were cleaned up whilst still retaining their old-school optical quality (which I explained in the 2021 review). Indeed, it's that old-school quality which is so endearing to me and is why I'm so chuffed with this new UHD. Even if it only had the theatrical version I'd still be gushing over it for the refinements of the OG subs and the further-improved encode (though it could be argued it wouldn't have been redone at all if it was just the theatrical, this ain't Sony!) and so the inclusion of the SLV in such consistent quality is an amazing bonus. As was pointed out by BNex99 it's also got what is basically the OG 2.0 audio for the movie with the SLV bits added in and again, it's a lovely bonus. This disc has now become my go-to version of TMP and personally speaking it was worth every penny spending £55 on the 'Complete Adventure' tat edition to get it. YMMV.

[SwedishChef]

Originally Posted by punisher

went to my local Barnes and Noble...

30% off promo from list 33.99...plus another 10% off as member..21.41 plus tax

plus I get another 5% for using my B&N mastercard....

SAME! Thank you for this. I didn’t even think to check Barnes and Noble. A store thirty miles away had one left. My local Best Buy never even had one on the shelf! This was a better deal

[Jar Jar Stinks]

Has anyone compared the Paramount+ streaming version to the disc version? Has anything been changed to the effects?

[bytor]

So there is no Atmos track on the new theatrical disc? Does the SLV use the 7.1 track or just stereo?

[Cruel Angel]

Originally Posted by bytor

So there is no Atmos track on the new theatrical disc? Does the SLV use the 7.1 track or just stereo?

The SLV is 2.0 only

[BNex99]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

The more time I spend with the TMP theatrical/SLV 4K transfer the more I love it. Not that anything has changed at source level between the 2021 and 2022 versions but the live action portions look so good, they're gorgeously crisp and filmic and make a mockery of both the original DNR hysteria (guilty) and the varying amounts of "grain management" meted out to the new 4K Director's Edition (more on that another time). Sure, there's no getting away from the fact that several of the VFX shots haven't been treated kindly in the 2021/2022 theatrical/SLV master e.g. the Enterprise leaving space dock looks as tragic as it did before, but not every VFX shot is so badly treated and several were cleaned up whilst still retaining their old-school optical quality (which I explained in the 2021 review). Indeed, it's that old-school quality which is so endearing to me and is why I'm so chuffed with this new UHD. Even if it only had the theatrical version I'd still be gushing over it for the refinements of the OG subs and the further-improved encode (though it could be argued it wouldn't have been redone at all if it was just the theatrical, this ain't Sony!) and so the inclusion of the SLV in such consistent quality is an amazing bonus. As was pointed out by BNex99 it's also got what is basically the OG 2.0 audio for the movie with the SLV bits added in and again, it's a lovely bonus. This disc has now become my go-to version of TMP and personally speaking it was worth every penny spending £55 on the 'Complete Adventure' tat edition to get it. YMMV.

Same here. I do think the DE is a better edit of the film, but for the theatrical version, this is likely as good as it's going to get.

Vulcan is still a bit too red, and the closeups of the High Master look particularly unnatural, but otherwise the color grading is pretty on point throughout. Not that I recall precisely what it looked like on film (the last time I saw this in a theater, it was on a faded 35mm print, so everything was pink anyway), but the DE grading for the Vulcan scene feels more "right" to me.

I've given up trying to figure out what happened with that one shot of the Enterprise leaving spacedock. I still don't think it's a recent digital fix; you'd basically have to try to make the ship look that blurry in the digital realm. But why that pass was in the negative, while the other version with the control arm silhouette was in everything else (including theatrical prints, most likely), I have no idea. Oh well.

[Fang Zei]

Originally Posted by Jar Jar Stinks

Has anyone compared the Paramount+ streaming version to the disc version? Has anything been changed to the effects?

I’d be especially curious if, in the penultimate shot of the movie, the digital armband fix on Spock’s uniform properly tracks out of the shot now on the disc or if it still disappears suddenly in the last few frames it’s on screen as it does in the Paramount+ stream.

[jacobvongunten]

Is the 2.0 on the SLV a matrixed surround track? I assume it is so, apologies if it's already come up in the thread.

[Indiana Jones]

Originally Posted by Fang Zei

I’d be especially curious if, in the penultimate shot of the movie, the digital armband fix on Spock’s uniform properly tracks out of the shot now on the disc or if it still disappears suddenly in the last few frames it’s on screen as it does in the Paramount+ stream.

Its the same as on Paramount+, the colours on Spocks and McCoys change back just before the cut.

[cheez avenger]

Originally Posted by Jar Jar Stinks

Has anyone compared the Paramount+ streaming version to the disc version? Has anything been changed to the effects?

The P+ stream was pulled on Tuesday.

[BNex99]

Originally Posted by jacobvongunten

Is the 2.0 on the SLV a matrixed surround track? I assume it is so, apologies if it's already come up in the thread.

It matrixes pretty well on my setup, and my receiver identifies it as LT/RT.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by BNex99

It matrixes pretty well on my setup, and my receiver identifies it as LT/RT.

Yeah, even in my two-tin-cans-tied-with-a-piece-of-string 'setup' there's definitely some surround info there.

Originally Posted by Fang Zei

I’d be especially curious if, in the penultimate shot of the movie, the digital armband fix on Spock’s uniform properly tracks out of the shot now on the disc or if it still disappears suddenly in the last few frames it’s on screen as it does in the Paramount+ stream.

The colour still changes for the last few frames. I could be wrong but I don't think that any further fixes have been done at all.

[nickherum]

Originally Posted by cheez avenger

The P+ stream was pulled on Tuesday.

What country are you in? I was watching the Director's Edition on P+ last night in DV/DA in the US. It was only gone from P+ for about month.

Star Trek First Contact is also back on P+ in DV for those that are interested.

[cheez avenger]

Originally Posted by nickherum

What country are you in? I was watching the Director's Edition on P+ last night in DV/DA in the US. It was only gone from P+ for about month.

Star Trek First Contact is also back on P+ in DV for those that are interested.

The U.S. -- didn't realize that. I watched there a couple of months ago. I was just going by what some folks were saying that it was going to get pulled 8/31 and then on release day. I was not paying attention once I git my sets in.

[benji888578]

Originally Posted by bytor

So there is no Atmos track on the new theatrical disc? Does the SLV use the 7.1 track or just stereo?

The only ST TOS film with Atmos is the TMP DE version, both 4k/UHD & HD Blu-ray Discs.

[benji888578]

TMP DE Atmos (4K/UHD Disc), Am I the only one that hears the intercom in the right front speaker instead of overhead?

I haven’t watched the whole thing yet, but, will go back and play again and find the times late tonight and come back here.

It’s also out of stock at Amazon, wondering if they pulled it.

[cheez avenger]

Originally Posted by benji888578

TMP DE Atmos (4K/UHD Disc), Am I the only one that hears the intercom in the right front speaker instead of overhead?

I haven’t watched the whole thing yet, but, will go back and play again and find the times late tonight and come back here.

It’s also out of stock at Amazon, wondering if they pulled it.

It's been out of stock since Tuesday.

[KMFDMvsEnya]

All the BBY locations near me only had two copies each. So perhaps this was indeed rather limited.

Bill Hunted has noted that the UK release has a slighter sturdier outer box for the TCA set.
Perhaps to ensure that the UK ratings remain perfectly legible...
https://twitter.com/BillHuntBits/sta...49893067100160