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

[HeavyHitter]

Originally Posted by Robert George

Please don't make me read 154 pages...

Is the audio/video quality of the "special longer version" on par with the DC transfer?

Thanks.

The SLV doesn't have the degree of grain management that was applied to the DC...if that matters to you.

[Number_6]

Originally Posted by SwissHD

That just not true.
In 2001 they created so to say a wish list with Robert Wise of things they wanted to correct or redo.
They couldnt do everything because of budget/time and of course technology back then was less advanced.

What they did now is just incorporate more of that list. But they did nothing that wasnt in line with director robert wise. Fein explained that in several interviews, podcasts and stuff.
This is for the content of the movie.

Another story ist the technical presentation regarding the applied DNR.
Im not sure if Robert Wise would have approved of that.

But at least content wise they did nothing that wasnt talked about with Robert Wise.

The Lounge Scene for example was a thing they wanted to do back then.
The now finished result is not good. So they shouldnt have done this in 2022 either.
But it was not a Fein Fanboy idea to use your terminology

The Problem is:
I think Fein, Dochterman and Mattessino are to close to the project without any supervision from outside. They are too much star trek TMP fans themselves and did go overboard with some of the original ideas.
Otherwise i dont think something like the lounge scene would have made the final edit.
Its like a child that wants his toy...no matter what. "We wanted that back then and we couldnt do it...now we are gonna do it. No matter what"

Thankfully the lounge scene is for me content wise the only scene i dont like in the new version of the directors Edition. So i consider myself lucky. I also dont have any problem with the sparkly credits.

Because the 2001 DVD is really not good enough for big screen projection i had to take a break from the directors edition and watched the theatrical since the 2009 Blu Ray.
Now the theatrical cut is dead again for me after i have my prefered version of the movie in high def. Its just the vastly superior cut for me in the directors edition. Always was since 2001. I love for example the added Spock stuff and i think the spock cry scene is one of the most important scenes in the movie. Im so happy to have that back now.

I can live with the DNR Stuff. Its not nearly as bad as the blu rays of 2009 and in motion i can still see plenty of details.
I also didnt expected the look of a 1979 movie after i read all the interviews and watched podcasts and stuff.
So i was ready for some "Grain Management" the moment i put my disc in the player.

I've seen much worse things in all my blu ray years considering DNR.
For me the movie still looked fantastic projected on my big screen.

I especially loved that they re-composited a lot of the original special effects. All the recomposited stuff looks spectacular in my opinion. I was glad that they found much of the Enterprise Scotty/kirk flyby stuff. That segment for the most part looks stunningly beautiful and i was totally floored.

And not to mention the spectacular new audio mix which i love from top to bottom! For me one of the most spectacular remixes EVER.

Overall the good outweighs the bad for me.
But as always its a matter of personal taste.

Well, I don't want to argue. But here's the thing:

You say that, aside from the DNR, these are all things Wise wanted and couldn't get done in 2001.

One of the things he wanted to re-do was the Lounge Scene. You mention that, as it turns out, the new and improved Lounge Scene doesn't look that great.

Now had Wise been alive and supervising this 2022 cut, even though an altered Lounge Scene is want he originally wanted, if he had seen how it actually turned out, would he have said go ahead and put it in? Or would have said to stick with the scene as done in the 2001 cut? We'll never know.

Fein saw how it turned out and decided to run with it anyway.

Would Wise approved of the DNR? Would he have given the green light to Fein stripping the film of grain and then digitally selectively re-adding it? We'll never know.

This is an example of why I struggle with calling this a true Robert Wise Director Edition.

You say it's not a Fein Fanboy Edit...but then go on to say that part of the problem is the Fein and his team are too big a fans. That's exactly what I'm talking about. I think this might have actually been better if someone a little more detached had been in charge as they might have stayed a bit more one point. But we'll never know.

Do I think this version is some sort of travesty? No.

As I said, I'm sure it's still pretty good and will be enjoyable. But I do wish that on a Robert Wise Director Edition that had stuck with what Wise had actually given approval to in terms of finished product, not use Wise's want list as justification for doing more than the 2001 cut.

But whatever. It's done now.

[Comicfan]

My copy of the Blu Ray came in along with The Fog.

[starmike]

You say three times you'll never know, so what are you complaining about? Were you in the room where it happened? I don't think you were.

They couldn't find the negative for the lounge scene. S*t happens.

I just wish they would have fixed the shuttle and those three frames on the uniforms.

[steve_dave]

Mine was just delivered from Amazon today.

[Gold Ranger]

Is the UK version completely Region free?

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by SwissHD

*snip*

Overall the good outweighs the bad for me.
But as always its a matter of personal taste.

I literally said that this isn't some wax-faced travesty throughout. But they have decided to fiddle with the grain nonetheless and it bugs me.

Originally Posted by Number_6

*snip*

As such, even though it's labeled as a Director's Edition, it now seems like it's evolved into more of the Fein Fanboy Edit.

That about sums it up. It's come from the best of intentions but Fein's let his own personal taste intrude upon something that he's completing in the name of someone else.

[Maxwell Everett]

Got my UK set finally. Arrived in a simple cardboard mailer without any cushioning.

[Show spoiler]

Roughly the same amount of damage others have pointed out. Gift wrap really didn't help much.

[Show spoiler]

I thought the gift wrap would force them to put it into a box with bubble wrap or inflated bags. Nope! Glad I spoke with customer service and got my $22 shipping cost back. Not really because of the crushing and creasing of the outer slip box (I was expecting that based on others experiences). I got it back because I complained it was overdue (I paid for 2-4 day shipping and didn't get that service).

Pleased to see it all fits in my old 1993 VHS box set though! Not sure if I'm going to store them this way, but good to see that I could do that.

[mar3o]

Yeah, I've said it many times in many threads. The gift wrap option you pay extra for doesn't guarantee it's going to be in a gift box. Often it's just a pretty bag. Ludicrous.

[Bolty]

I think that it's Wise's cut to the extent that I don't think a single line of dialogue was added or cut from the 2001 version. Neither is the length added to or shortened at all.
The team knew full well that a lot of (most?) fans wanted the, "We all create God in our image line." -- added back -- but for whatever reason Wise hated that line and they didn't take it upon themselves to put it -- or anything else in.

As far as the FX-- I think it was a certainty they were going to take a few more liberties. They probably had a lot of ideas in 2001 that they ran by Wise and he probably left a lot of that stuff up to them as long as it wasn't really out of character for a 1979 production. He let Trumbull change a number of FX shots when he took over in 1979 and he probably let the FX guys in 2001 do the same thing.

When you change a movie that has a rabid fanbase to the extent it was changed in 2001 and 2022 -- it was inevitable that there would be complaints unless they had slavishly just recreated the exact same shot except in 4K.

I don't think average viewers would notice or care about somewhat subtle differences in FX shots. We have Trek fans literally pausing and staring at virtually every "new" FX shot and picking them apart.

The armband!
The shuttle!
Bad rotoscoping in lounge!
Grain management!

I always had some affection for the movie because it was first and was big scale and was ambitious and the DE makes it a more enjoyable in many ways. but a 100% flawless 4K version still wasn't going to make it a "great" movie or even the best Trek movie.

I think this is the best version of the movie and it's looking good and I'm not going to watch it every time looking for some flaw whether it be brand new or 43 years old.

Hell, some folks are on cloud nine over having a TV version with lossy 2.0 sound in their player.
So I'm going to be on cloud nine for having the DE in 4K with a couple of sub-par shots in mine.

[Doomhunter]

Originally Posted by starmike

I don't understand this issue - of course V'Ger is CGI. What else would it be? It wasn't completed for 1979, and it WAS storyboarded to show an exterior shot.

They could have built the entire set out in space near the moon like they did for Moonraker

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by Bolty

I think that it's Wise's cut to the extent that I don't think a single line of dialogue was added or cut from the 2001 version. Neither is the length added to or shortened at all.
The team knew full well that a lot of (most?) fans wanted the, "We all create God in our image line." -- added back -- but for whatever reason Wise hated that line and they didn't take it upon themselves to put it -- or anything else in.

As far as the FX-- I think it was a certainty they were going to take a few more liberties. They probably had a lot of ideas in 2001 that they ran by Wise and he probably left a lot of that stuff up to them as long as it wasn't really out of character for a 1979 production. He let Trumbull change a number of FX shots when he took over in 1979 and he probably let the FX guys in 2001 do the same thing.

When you change a movie that has a rabid fanbase to the extent it was changed in 2001 and 2022 -- it was inevitable that there would be complaints unless they had slavishly just recreated the exact same shot except in 4K.

I don't think average viewers would notice or care about somewhat subtle differences in FX shots. We have Trek fans literally pausing and staring at virtually every "new" FX shot and picking them apart.

The armband!
The shuttle!
Bad rotoscoping in lounge!
Grain management!

I always had some affection for the movie because it was first and was big scale and was ambitious and the DE makes it a more enjoyable in many ways. but a 100% flawless 4K version still wasn't going to make it a "great" movie or even the best Trek movie.

I think this is the best version of the movie and it's looking good and I'm not going to watch it every time looking for some flaw whether it be brand new or 43 years old.

Hell, some folks are on cloud nine over having a TV version with lossy 2.0 sound in their player.
So I'm going to be on cloud nine for having the DE in 4K with a couple of sub-par shots in mine.

It's not about being utterly 100% flawless, it's that they more they tinker with the plumbing the easier it is to stop up the drain. Yes, they done fixed a load of stuff etc but have added a whole bunch of (IMO) glaring new flaws in their place. It's a case of two steps forward and one step back, as such it's certainly nearer to the "ideal" of the creator than not for most folks but it still feels so half-assed to me. People don't mind that, no-one said that they had to mind that, but you're preaching to the wrong mother****ing audience here with that "average fan" cop-out. Fein's newfound brief was to try and ensnare as much of a new audience as possible so this remaster was aimed at them as anyone; it literally *is* the "average fan" edition...but I wouldn't use that as a badge of honour.

Me, I was hoping for a higher degree of polish and filmic acumen - not "perfection", but betterer than this - instead of having it be aimed at common denominators, but it is what it is (and that's a struggle that many such a projekt has to deal with, admittedly: populism vs purism). Though I suppose that, as I've always preferred the theatrical version, and have always liked the movie even when it wasn't cool to do so, I'm more predisposed to finding something wrong with TDE. Funnily enough, the things that people like yourself keep using as a witty rebuttal - the captain's lounge! The stopping shuttle! The armbands! - I found to be surprisingly tolerable, it's a whole bunch of other stuff I gots a problem with.

Still, at least they didn't add any goddamn BONGS to it.

[Geoff D]

You think it's lesser. BONG! Some people don't. BONG! But why are you focusing so much on the SLV though? BONG! Never said it was my favourite version. BONG! It's like you're having to resort to whataboutery to get your nerd rage across. BONG!

I prefer the theatrical cut because it is my favourite version of the movie, period. That the theatrical cut UHD is far less unf*cked in the grain is but a glorious bonus, it's NOT why I prefer that to TDE.

[Bolty]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

You think it's lesser. BONG! Some people don't. BONG! But why are you focusing so much on the SLV though? BONG! Never said it was my favourite version. BONG! It's like you're having to resort to whataboutery to get your nerd rage across. BONG!

Nerd rage? I'm happy as can be. I love the DE. You like the TC best. Okay good. Glad you really like it.

What's your obsession with BONG? Meyer made a dumb choice -- it wasn't his only one and I've only heard one person ever say the liked the GONG.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by Bolty

Nerd rage? I'm happy as can be. I love the DE. I guess you're settling for one of the other 2 as the one you will reluctantly watch -- since it doesn't seem like you love any of the 3.

What's your obsession with BONG? Meyer made a dumb choice -- it wasn't his only one and I've only heard one person ever say the liked the GONG.

See my ninja edit above. I prefer the theatrical cut of the film, and out of all three UHDs the theatrical/SLV disc (SLV always notated so people know it's the newly authored disc I'm talkin' 'bout) ticks almost every box for me. I came away pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the theatrical 2021 transfer, it's right there in my review, and the theatrical/SLV disc adds an extra layer of polish that tips my previously liking into outright gushing. Again, right there in my review. So don't tell me what I do/don't think about these when it's obvious you've got a made-up narrative about me you're following in your head. You like TDE, so do a lot of other folks. I don't, on many levels other than "it don't got grain durrrr", but you keep on with the specious whataboutery used to defend it.

[HD Goofnut]

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by Bolty

Right. I changed my post after you changed your post to make clear you always did prefer the TC. Now it makes sense. Your preferred version has the better picture in your opinion. So we both like how our preferred version looks (but I assume neither of us thinks it's in any way perfect).

I was exhausted at the end of your long review(s) of the movies and got confused whether you were picking a cut other than the DE based on the grain situation. Seriously though, I think your reviews are super informative and appreciate how in-depth they are even if I don't understand all the technical stuff as well as others.

I'm still thinking most people by a plurality prefer the DE and I doubt any version is botched to the point where anybody should ditch their preferred version.

You must have a lot of people pick fights with you. You get pretty angry at regular folk sometimes. Or perhaps as Spock said, "You are a man of deep feelings."

And what the hell is a "ninja edit"?

When people get their sass on then they get directed it right back at them. Simple as that.

And a ninja edit is literally what you just did, removing all that shit that got my back up and replacing it with a more zen outlook, without it showing up as an edited post. But you ain't nearly as zen as you think you are, not if those other posts up there are any indication.

[Scalzo]

I put my preorder in the day they were available and Amazon lost all 6 films on me. They've replaced/resent II, IV, V, & VI. They're sold out of III and I has an estimated delivery date of Sept 30-Oct 3.

I panicked so I bought them both again from Best Buy, but via delivery. Don't trust store pick up and those damn spider-wrap devices. Once they're in my hands, I'll cancel the reorders on Amazon.

[Maxwell Everett]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

[Show spoiler]

Thanks for these, Goofnut!

I think all in all the image looks pretty great here. The noise reduction was tastefully done, in my opinion. They clearly used it lightly on a shot-by-shot and per-channel basis, and no important object detail appears to have been lost. Then they went over it with either simulated grain or scanned grain from the new 4K image harvest.

Obviously, different people have different tastes for these sorts of things. Some people prefer the image not to be altered at all, just dust and scratches removed, and that's understandable and totally valid. For me, I thought it looked fantastic when I projected it last week. Good stuff.

[suspiciouscoffee]

Originally Posted by Bolty

I mean seriously how many of us would have noticed that the shuttle stopped three frames before the scene changed? It was only noticed because it was added in 2001 so people around here were looking right at it.

I still didn’t notice it when I watched the other day and I was watching, and I expect I wouldn’t have caught the armbands either if I was looking at Kirk where my eye would otherwise have been directed by the camera move.