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I will have more to say about this iteration of The Motion Picture later, as I will screen another showing tonight, but I will give some first impressions:
(1). It is right and proper that this movie have a periodically refreshed fanboy cut, as it was never properly finished, and as such should be the one Star Trek property that a group of superfans gets to tinker around with.
(2). The best attribute of this cut is the original Bob Wise re-edits that strengthen and streamline the picture.
Hope everyone else is enjoying it as much as I am!
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I saw This Sunday night in LA with a live discussion with Fein and Dochterman.
I enjoyed it thoroughly. It really belongs on the big screen. It's pacing and sound mix make sense there.
I may have to buy a new 4k TV when this comes out on disc.
But this is a different movie than we have watched for 20 or 40 yrs.
The sound mix is the biggest difference- all the unearthed ADR and returning & new sound effects allow for a more contemporary final sound mix (as per Robert Wise).
But all these sound elements push Goldsmith's score into the background a bit. In previous versions it was front and center because there wasn't so much else on the soundtrack; now it's less prominent at times.
The new dialog edit will also surprise viewers familiar with the previous versions.
This is it, though. No more tinkering. This is the version that will live forever and get debated for another 40+ yrs.
I appreciate that Paramount made a definitive 4k stab at the Theatrical Version so viewers have choices, unlike certain Lucasfilms I could mention...
A release of the ABC broadcast version would be a nice curio, but I can't image how many views that would get from anybody. The DE restores all the important stuff from that version.
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But all these sound elements push Goldsmith's score into the background a bit. In previous versions it was front and center because there wasn't so much else on the soundtrack; now it's less prominent at times.
The new dialog edit will also surprise viewers familiar with the previous versions.
I was specifically listening for this and I'm going to say that the new sound effects sound like they belong and work WITH the music rather than against it.
The volume at my screening was way too low. I was really looking forward to that last shot where now the pulsing warp drive builds right along with the soaring score. It was still good but I wanted it to rattle my teeth.
There are still plenty of scenes that play almost entirely without sound, certainly without dialog, and just music. Even the original cut had whirring travel pod noises over The Enterprise scene.
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Upon a second viewing, I think the best compliment you can give Star Trek: The Motion Picture (The Director's Edition) (2022) is that I often forgot I was watching a reconstituted version of the "film", and settled into a comfortable re-watch without distraction from the new tech tweaks.
It's the alterations in rhythm and emphasis from Robert Wise's re-cutting that remind me I'm watching an updated version.
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That's very disappointing. Why go to all the hassle of rotoscoping characters out of an existing plate to recomposite over a newly created digital environment, but not bother to massage out some very noticeable yet easily removable matte lines in the opening what should be "wow" moment?
Well, the character scene you mention is still the one huge failure in the new cut. It's worse on a giant theater screen and on par with the TV series effects. I was holding out hope that they would have just used the theatrical shots of that scene for this event and the home disc because only the fanboyest of the fanboys would even notice the difference between the set and the model. If you can't make it better than what they made in 1979, honestly, it should be left alone ("shit guys, we can't get this right we'd better let it go"). Other than V'Ger being too sharp and detailed a "model" compared to the rest of the film, I have no other effects complaints.
The sound mix is nice, the new ADR is great, although I feel like Walter Koenig's added lines over the intercom were recently recorded - he sounds different. My only issue with the sound effects are that in the theater, the TOS sounds are FAR too prominent. My personal preference would have been to stick with movie era sound effects since the ship is totally updated, but the Paramount + mix is better (and not a loud). The original sounds are dialed back. However, the new ADR really improves some performances.
As far as the edit, I always felt the climax was still too languid. There are a lot of panning shots and dead air between dialog when the guys are tooling around Voyager 6. That could have been tightened up and not lost any of the majesty.
The print looks incredible and the film really does feel different in the cinema. I'm glad Robert Wise's cut finally got a chance to live in the medium it was meant for. I appreciate the restoration work a great deal and these are nitpicks, but they made something that could have been truly great merely really good. IMO, natch.
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A release of the ABC broadcast version would be a nice curio, but I can't image how many views that would get from anybody.
Oh god please no. Can you imagine how heinous the "I have him in sight" moment would look in full widescreen restored 4K? I can also do without awkwardly horny Sulu interrupting the arrival of Ilia.
I expect that it would be pillar-boxed and probably SD. That Sulu moment is rightfully left out of any watchable version.
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But all these sound elements push Goldsmith's score into the background a bit. In previous versions it was front and center because there wasn't so much else on the soundtrack; now it's less prominent at times.
The new dialog edit will also surprise viewers familiar with the previous versions.
I was specifically listening for this and I'm going to say that the new sound effects sound like they belong and work WITH the music rather than against it.
The volume at my screening was way too low. I was really looking forward to that last shot where now the pulsing warp drive builds right along with the soaring score. It was still good but I wanted it to rattle my teeth.
There are still plenty of scenes that play almost entirely without sound, certainly without dialog, and just music. Even the original cut had whirring travel pod noises over The Enterprise scene.
I think it's down to the screening room you see it in. I feel my screening was a touch too loud. And I can't confirm it was in ATMOS. It didn't sound especially expansive, and nothing on my ticket confirms an ATMOS screening.
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The current look of the Officer's Lounge scene was an attempt to create what was originally story-boarded in 1979.
Even the folks involved will say they spent A LOT of time on that and could/would have spent more. This is not a flawless presentation in every way, but it is an attempt to fulfill as much of Robert Wise's vision as possible.
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A release of the ABC broadcast version would be a nice curio, but I can't image how many views that would get from anybody.
Oh god please no. Can you imagine how heinous the "I have him in sight" moment would look in full widescreen restored 4K? I can also do without awkwardly horny Sulu interrupting the arrival of Ilia.
I expect that it would be pillar-boxed and probably SD. That Sulu moment is rightfully left out of any watchable version.
I would love the SLV in an HD presentation, much like the Superman TV version got one. It's a great little curio with some fine missing scenes and fans who hate it don't have to buy it...
The current look of the Officer's Lounge scene was an attempt to create what was originally story-boarded in 1979.
Even the folks involved will say they spent A LOT of time on that and could/would have spent more. This is not a flawless presentation in every way, but it is an attempt to fulfill as much of Robert Wise's vision as possible.
Well, is that really part of Mr. Wise's vision? It was a physical set. Why not just build it to the storyboard if that's what he wanted? I get putting a nacelle in the background, but really, I was so distracted by the poor blending of the actors with the background, I never saw what was outside the window. This one feels more like checking a box off a fan wish list.
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Fyi the theatrical DE mix is not Atmos, it's 5.1.
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John Schuermann: Fyi the theatrical DE mix is not Atmos, it's 5.1.
I knew I wasn't hearing unadulerated Dolby Atmos at my particular cinema, but the audio sounded expansive enough to me that I assumed it was more than five-channel. Good work sound mixer!
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