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

[Bolty]

Originally Posted by mdonovan

@Bolty Is this extended version better than th3e Directors cut ? Or just filler ? Apocalypse now added an hour with Redux .. yes it was interesting and had the French Cambodian backstory ... but was it a better film for it .. debatable.

I prefer the director's cut first, the TV special longer version second, and the theatrical third.
But I am going by the cut that I prefer most and not how much each cut resembles a 1979 movie.
And personally I do think the special longer version or SLV does contain some filler whereas I think the director's cut contains the proper amount of additional footage without becoming a kitchen sink version of the movie. I own all three and I would never go back to watching the theatrical version.
But you asked a hundred different fans and you'll get no consensus about which cut is best.

[BNex99]

Originally Posted by mdonovan

@Bolty Is this extended version better than th3e Directors cut ? Or just filler ? Apocalypse now added an hour with Redux .. yes it was interesting and had the French Cambodian backstory ... but was it a better film for it .. debatable.

Sorry I never got to reply to you in the other thread. I would agree with Bolty that the Director's Edition is definitely the better "extended" cut of the two. The "Special Longer Version" was assembled for TV broadcast (almost certainly without the input of the director). However, this cut was also officially released on VHS in the '80s, so it became the most widely available version for a number of years. It's how many people (myself included) first saw the movie.

But at this point, it's more a historical curiosity than anything else. The additional scenes that weren't included in the later Director's Edition are included as extras on the bonus disc for TMP. So if you just want to see the scenes themselves, they are available outside the "Complete Adventure" box.

As a side note, the disc that's unique to the "Complete Adventure" box, with the theatrical and SLV seamlessly branched, is encoded a little better than the theatrical-only UHD. And the English subtitles for the alien languages are in their original font, whereas on the theatrical-only, they're in the generic player-generated one. If that matters to you.

Originally Posted by Bolty

I prefer the director's cut first, the TV special longer version second, and the theatrical third.
But I am going by the cut that I prefer most and not how much each cut resembles a 1979 movie.
And personally I do think the special longer version or SLV does contain some filler whereas I think the director's cut contains the proper amount of additional footage without becoming a kitchen sink version of the movie. I own all three and I would never go back to watching the theatrical version.
But you asked a hundred different fans and you'll get no consensus about which cut is best.

To quote Spock, "That much is certain."

I agree that the DE is the best edit of TMP, but I actually feel they went a little overboard on the new VFX for the remastered version. If I remember correctly, the stated intention with the original version of the DE in 2001 (whew, this is confusing) was to make the new VFX look as if they could have been achieved in 1979. They didn't quite succeed at that, but I appreciated the attempt.

But with the 2022 4K version, it seems that philosophy went out the window. One of the producers even said something to the effect of "treating it like a 2022 film." Between the flashier visual effects, the excessive grain removal, and the (albeit lovely-sounding) Atmos mix, it doesn't feel to me like a movie from 1979 anymore.

And because the 4K remaster of the theatrical version is (mostly) very nice, it's now kind of a toss-up for me between that and the DE. At any rate, I'm glad to have both options.

[Filmmaker]

SLV for the win. I’ll be taking no questions.

[starmike]

Originally Posted by mdonovan

@Bolty Is this extended version better than th3e Directors cut ? Or just filler ? Apocalypse now added an hour with Redux .. yes it was interesting and had the French Cambodian backstory ... but was it a better film for it .. debatable.

I'd put it in the "filler, but interesting" category. Nice to see some of the things that were edited, but you realize they were edited for a reason *cough*Sulu/Ilia*cough*

[RillIris]

Originally Posted by Bolty

The sad thing is that getting a "non-crushed" copy of "The Complete Adventure" Box is about 2% at this point a year and a half later.

If he decides to go ahead and get the box (with all 3 versions) for $80 and it arrives crushed....

Considering how nice Paramount packaged the Titanic and Godfather collector’s sets, it’s definitely disappointing they gave this one such a flimsy outer sleeve. Hopefully if they do any others along these lines it will be more like those other 4K packages they have done.

[Telemachus]

Grab the multifilm set for the theatrical Motion Picture disc, the 4-film one was just $27 recently. The DE doesn't have theatrical.

[starmike]

BTW: I visited the Star Trek Set Tour this past weekend in NY. A MUST SEE for anyone who's a fan.

[StingingVelvet]

Originally Posted by BNex99

Sorry I never got to reply to you in the other thread. I would agree with Bolty that the Director's Edition is definitely the better "extended" cut of the two. The "Special Longer Version" was assembled for TV broadcast (almost certainly without the input of the director). However, this cut was also officially released on VHS in the '80s, so it became the most widely available version for a number of years. It's how many people (myself included) first saw the movie.

Wonder if this is why it holds no interest for me, since I never saw that version of TMP as a kid. The VHS I owned (with the spines that made the ship) was the theatrical cut, and the DVD was the new effects cut. Honestly I never really loved the movie until the BD release.

[BNex99]

Originally Posted by StingingVelvet

Wonder if this is why it holds no interest for me, since I never saw that version of TMP as a kid. The VHS I owned (with the spines that made the ship) was the theatrical cut, and the DVD was the new effects cut. Honestly I never really loved the movie until the BD release.

Possibly. Things imprint on us.

I guess you had the letterboxed VHS? For a while in the 90s, the theatrical cut was only available letterboxed (on VHS and laserdisc), while the pan-and-scan tapes continued to be the SLV (at least in the US).

[milo bloom]

The SLV is definitely a nostalgia buy for many of us Trekkies. It's of course important to have the theatrical cut as a historical record, and the Director's Edition for best actual edit of the movie.

But as noted, the SLV was created for TV broadcast and the later VHS and there's several snippets of dialogue and such in it that weren't in either of other two cuts but frankly should have been in the DE at least. I'm very glad to have it on disc after all these years, but it won't be the one I go to for regular viewing.

[pjl69]

I like the original theatrical cut just fine. The director's edition didn't offer anything that I couldn't live without. Bought the complete adventure set to see the special longer version out of curiousity, hadn't seen it before.

[Bolty]

Originally Posted by milo bloom

The SLV is definitely a nostalgia buy for many of us Trekkies. It's of course important to have the theatrical cut as a historical record, and the Director's Edition for best actual edit of the movie.

But as noted, the SLV was created for TV broadcast and the later VHS and there's several snippets of dialogue and such in it that weren't in either of other two cuts but frankly should have been in the DE at least. I'm very glad to have it on disc after all these years, but it won't be the one I go to for regular viewing.

Yes, the 3 bits of dialogue from the SLV they should (IMO) have been added into the Director's are...

the longer lecture by Bones to Kirk after the Wormhole debacle "Command fitness!"
the "crew of a thousand 10 miles tall" line by Bones and....
the line paraphrased in your signature
by Decker -- "Of course, we all create God in our own image."


Editing rule of thumb they should have used in Trek movies 1-6....
"If De Kelley (as McCoy) said it , you don't cut it!"

One of my biggest regrets is a line they cut from McCoy in Trek 6 where after declaring Kirk and McCoy guilty, the Judge says, "Do you have anything to say?" -- and McCoy replies -- "We were framed!"
What the hell did they save by cutting those two line -- 4 seconds!!!

[DR Herbert West]

I always go with the long cut now.

[Bolty]

The fact that the SLV is now in widescreen is awesome and as I found out the sound for the SLV is not in mono or stereo but in Matrix surround and sounds darn good.
Man it would be great if they'd release the SLV/Theatrical combo in a new release -- Paramount Presents or a SteelBook or whatever for the anniversary.

[starmike]

I still think "the new screens held" should have been kept in the DE, despite the reasoning for removing it since even the visuals don't explain why the E magically survived

[Bolty]

Originally Posted by starmike

I still think "the new screens held" should have been kept in the DE, despite the reasoning for removing it since even the visuals don't explain why the E magically survived

Agreed, although I get they were trying to trim pointless dialogue to tighten the movie. But that line is way better than leaving in all the "repeat Kirk's order" lines from Sulu that they left in. Even in the DC Sulu repeats back Kirk's orders at least 5 times. It just wasn't needed in a movie that dragged too much. The "screens" line at least has Sulu saying something spontaneously rather than parroting Kirk's orders.

[starmike]

Originally Posted by Bolty

Agreed, although I get they were trying to trim pointless dialogue to tighten the movie. But that line is way better than leaving in all the "repeat Kirk's order" lines from Sulu that they left in. Even in the DC Sulu repeats back Kirk's orders at least 5 times. It just wasn't needed in a movie that dragged too much. The "screens" line at least has Sulu saying something spontaneously rather than parroting Kirk's orders.

"Five hundred meters"
"Viewer ahead"
"Ahead warp one"

[KMFDMvsEnya]

[PeterTHX]

Originally Posted by Bolty

But that line is way better than leaving in all the "repeat Kirk's order" lines from Sulu that they left in.

You haven't been on the bridge of a naval vessel, have you?

[Put_The_Candle_Back]

I haven't gotten around to watching my copy yet (don't know when) but I had the VHS SLV along time ago so that's was my primary version. There's one scene that I remember that was in the SLV but cut from the theatrical cut (I haven't seen the DC version). It was when McCoy beams aboard and after he finished materializing, he uses both hands to pat himself down to make sure that he was 'all there'. About 3 seconds of this scene (the pat down) was cut. It was a nice 'McCoy' moment and I can't see why it was cut.