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Sorry, there aren't enough characters for
Mike Matessino on Robert Wise and the Director's Edition of Star Trek: The Motion Picture
https://goldsmithodyssey.buzzsprout.com/159614/12350625-mike-matessino-on-robert-wise-and-the-director-s-edition-of-star-trek-the-motion-picture
It is a good show, though. That Mike is an interesting guy is not news, and here he talks about how he got into film related production and restoration during the home video era of the '80s, his friendship with Robert Wise, why the 2001 Director's Edition came about in the first place, the remastering of the music in between DEs ... and since it was such a nice talk, a lot of interesting side topics, too.
The middle of the show is a nice, rich talk about how and why the movie now works better. Why is it now easier to notice Spock hearing V'ger from Vulcan? Why does it now feel like Kirk has come home when he steps into a turbolift upon arriving on the Enterprise? Why does the ship now feel alive? Is the acting a little better now? Why do Ilea and Decker now feel like co-leads, not side characters? Differences between the 1979 and the Director's Editions are as well illustrated as I could pull off with just sound, and there is some good sound here.
One of the things I mentioned, but couldn't show in the show, is how gray and glum the look of the movie no longer is. Last year, just to confirm it wasn't my TV settings, I found the images below, the bottom likely a screencap from the 2022 DE and the top definitely a screencap from the '79. Look, you can see their faces now! Things like this, which don't call attention to themselves, simply make the movie easier to watch (literally).
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Sorry I disagree. They were over aggressive with the changes. Instead of tweaks here and there they tinkered with every frame of the film. The video is over-saturated. The audio mix is atrocious!!!! Its ruined in its current state. I don't believe the editing makes it a better film either. I take it on their word they meant well but that's as far as I go. Thankfully I still have the original Blu Ray release. Same is true of the WOK DC remaster.
There are plenty of other threads available for you to air your grievances about the Director’s Edition (and no doubt you have). THIS is a thread about our podcast conversation with Mike Matessino about working on it. Have you listened to THAT, and want to weigh in on any aspects of it? Or do you just feel the need to complain about the DE at every slight opportunity?
Yavar
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You're welcome, Toby! Glad you're enjoying our lengthy chat with Mike, who was so generous with his time on this, which we recorded only a week before our conversation with him (and Chris Malone) on LLL's Goldsmith at 20th Vol. V last year. Please chime in with any further thoughts or reactions!
Yavar
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Well, it's just...rude, to do so in this newly-started thread, while ignoring what this newly-started thread was actually about. If you listened to our conversation with Mike, and want to disagree and take issue with specific changes he discussed in the conversation, please do! This is a discussion board after all.
But what you wrote above just came across as a dismissive and general "I hated everything about the Director's Edition and every change made the movie worse (so what value would there be in producing a lengthy podcast episode discussing it in detail?)"
Yavar
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Sorry guys but I have seen much writing about everything but the theme at hand on this website. so why is this diferent?
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Like you don't take every opportunity to call out James Horner for plagiarizing
I really, REALLY don't. I have passed up COUNTLESS "opportunities" to do so over the years, in fact. You're making me out to be some kind of Horner-basher when that couldn't be further from the truth; he's one of my favorite film composers. But as I'm also very much into classical music, I am keenly aware of his extensive borrowings, moreso than many film music fans I guess.
hell even in his obituary thread. The pot calling the kettle black.
Well, in the first place that was a *general* thread about Horner and I don't believe I was remotely the first person to bring up his habit of widespread-musical-borrowing-without-attribution, in it. But what post of mine particularly offended you and came off as dismissive/off topic, in that thread?
Sorry guys but I have seen much writing about everything but the theme at hand on this website. so why is this diferent?
Oh, you're right that it's not out of the ordinary for this place. But it's also still fair game to call it out when it happens, isn't it?
Yavar
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Sorry guys but I have seen much writing about everything but the theme at hand on this website. so why is this diferent?
Sorry, Judy, if I've missed your actual point. I'm not sure if you're talking about the tone of this thread vs. others, or the episode we did vs. other coverage of the DE - it reads either way. In case it's the latter, I'd say it's the focus we put on the storytelling. There was some of that in 2001, when that was the main story about the DE, though it mostly came in the context of added and removed scenes. In 2022, the main story about the DE was the upgrade, so naturally, most features covering its release last April focused on that aspect.
For me, the biggest point got missed both times the DE was being covered, how the occasional big and many more small changes made The Motion Picture into the film it was supposed to be, removing some of the clunkinesses and unclarities which can render the various threads of a movie harder to engage with or follow, and keeping focus on the characters and what's important in each moment. They didn't simply make the movie more dazzling, but more functional as a film. Shots, lines and scenes added, removed or moved, they weren't moved from where they belonged, but to where they belonged.
It's easy to lose that in discussions focusing on the sound and image improvements we'd been clamoring for for 21 years, and reading Mike's liner notes, especially for the Williams scores (and Empire of the Sun most specifically) made me think he'd enjoy doing that, and would do it well. I think he does.
I hope that answers, and sorry if I'm barking up the wrong tree here.
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I have ALWAYS loved this movie, ever since I first saw it in the movie theatre in 1979 when I was 13 years old. It is one of the greatest sci-fi films ever made (one of the greatest films ever made of ANY KIND), and definitely the only TRULY CLASSIC and EPIC Star Trek film that has ever been made.
ST:TMP did for sci-fi films in 1979 what 2001: A Space Odyssey did for sci-fi films in 1968... It presented science fiction as intelligent, thought-provoking, cerebral, character-driven storytelling at its very best (The very "heart" of what the TV series was)... ST: TMP was an extraordinary cinematic endeavor... and it was a movie-going EXPERIENCE in 1979.
From the visionary brilliance of the great Gene Roddenberry, to the always reliable performances of William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy, to the impeccable direction of Robert Wise, to the jaw-dropping special effects of Douglas Trumbull and John Dykstra, to the majestic score of Jerry Goldsmith... It succeeds on every level... Star Trek: The Motion Picture is a CLASSIC, a MASTERPIECE.
And after 43 years, I once again got to see ST: TMP in the theatre when the 2022 Director's Edition was released last year for a limited run... The movie looked ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL, VIBRANT, and COLORFUL... simply breath-taking... and the sound mix was INCREDIBLE... the sound FX and the Goldsmith score was an incredibly immersive experience in the theatre auditorium...
What a thrill it was to see it once again in all of its big-screen glory after 43 years...
It was 1979 all over again, and I was that awestruck 13 year old kid again... It felt great!
Live long and prosper... The Human Adventure is just beginning.
WATCH THE 1979 ORIGINAL THEATRICAL TRAILER HERE https://youtu.be/wbvxV2OJQKk
WATCH THE 2022 DIRECTOR'S EDITION TRAILER HERE https://youtu.be/zrXvBaFFu80
LISTEN TO THE ST:TMP THEME HERE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zI9YYe-jgHI
PS... Being a gigantic John Williams fan as well as being a gigantic Jerry Goldsmith fan, I have always been amused by the fact that Williams' music from "Black Sunday" (another Paramount film) was used as a temp track for the 1979 theatrical trailer for ST:TMP... How wild is that?...Obviously, Jerry Goldsmith didn't have anything ready to use yet when this trailer was made!
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I have ALWAYS loved this movie, ever since I first saw it in the theatre in 1979 when I was 13 years old. It is definitely one of the greatest sci-fi films ever made, and the only TRULY CLASSIC and EPIC Star Trek film that has ever been made.
ST:TMP did for sci-fi films in 1979 what 2001: A Space Odyssey did for sci-fi films in 1968... It presented science fiction as intelligent, thought-provoking, cerebral, character-driven storytelling at its very best (The very "heart" of what the TV series was)... ST: TMP was an extraordinary cinematic endeavor... and it was a movie-going EXPERIENCE in 1979.
From the visionary brilliance of the great Gene Roddenberry, to the always reliable performances of William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy, to the impeccable direction of Robert Wise, to the jaw-dropping special effects of Douglas Trumbull and John Dykstra, to the majestic score of Jerry Goldsmith... It succeeds on every level... Star Trek: The Motion Picture is a CLASSIC, a MASTERPIECE.
And after 43 years, I once again got to see ST: TMP in the theatre when the 2022 Director's Edition was released last year for a limited run... The movie looked ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL, VIBRANT, and COLORFUL... simply breath-taking... and the sound mix was INCREDIBLE... the sound FX and the Goldsmith score was an incredibly immersive experience in the theatre auditorium...
What a thrill it was to see it once again in all of its big-screen glory after 43 years...
It was 1979 all over again, and I was that awestruck 13 year old kid again... It felt great!
Live long and prosper... The Human Adventure is just beginning.
Exactly what he said. Loved it on first release BECAUSE it was Trek and not Wars. Loved them both, but there's plenty of room for both science fiction and science fantasy...
Got the first, dvd, DE. Will probably do the same again at some point...
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Posted: |
Mar 18, 2023 - 7:49 PM
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By: |
Howard L
(Member)
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I wasn't bothered by the changes, it made the film much more alive in terms of atmosphere. It's the only Trek movie that looks like a motion picture, but the thing they couldn't change was the story, still inert and devoid of emotion. The biggest issue I have with the story was that it's Decker and Ilia romance and not Kirk and Ilia. Meyer understood the first one was lacking emotion, he remedied it in the second one, making the Spock, Bones and Kirk relationship the centre of the film and giving Kirk a son.
Certainly if it was 1969 not 1979 then more likely it would have been Kirk and Ilia. As to TMP lacking emotion, I’d prefer to say it was low-key and appropriately so. The crew hadn’t been together for quite a while, the big three in particular having moved on in life post 5-year mission. It was time to regain the famous chemistry in the midst of an enormously mysterious threat and that would take time while the pressure was on to understand, contain if not obliterate that threat relatively quickly. Accordingly, cool heads and methodical task accomplishment were in order.
Within this context and in consideration that these guys and gals were no longer spring chickens, I feel the tone was correct. Ensuing films then demonstrated natural progress in personal and collective relationships as they went on to fulfill new tasks at hand. As such, the level of emotion within the series also was raised in progressive notches.
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Note: I know that what follows has NOTHING to do with Star Trek and this thread's topic, so I apologize in advance...
DavidCorkum just posted "Normally I'm pretty opposed to altering established films. George Lucas is a (deleted)."
I'm sorry, but I must respectfully DISAGREE... More importantly, however, I also take issue with the COMMENT itself...
First: I absolutely LOVE what George Lucas did with the Star Wars Special Editions...I think that he made them 10 times better with his changes, and I actually PREFER the new versions to the originals (which I don't miss)...
I also like the changes made to ST:TMP... See? I'm "trying" to get back on topic... before I now continue to go "off the rails" again....
Second: I respect the opinion of DavidCorkum (we all have one)... If one doesn't like the Special Editions... FINE... But here's where I take issue with these comments... I know we've all seen harsh statements like this before about Lucas, and they've' always troubled me... I'm so tired of the negative (dare I say, "mean-spirited") bashing aimed toward him... I wanted to let everyone out there know comments like that are MOST DEFINITELY NOT an "acknowledged universal belief" shared by ALL Star Wars fans...
Opinions are fine... I would just ask everyone to please be CIVIL and RESPECTFUL in their critiques of others.
And just so you know where I'm coming from... I say this as a 1st generation Star Wars Mega-fan, who has been one since Day 1 when I first saw STAR WARS on opening day (May 25th, 1977) when I was 10 years old, who grew up for years with ONLY the original versions, and who proudly proclaims the Original Trilogy as "the three greatest movies ever made"...
So, if ANYONE could be "offended" by the Special Editions or Lucas, it might definitely be someone like me, right?... Well, I'm NOT.
For YEARS, I've always wanted to respond online whenever I've seen comments like this, but instead I just bite my lip and move on... For whatever reason, this post just so happened to be the one to finally make me "break down" and decide to say something...
Nothing personal, DavidCorkum... I'm not singling you out... Just trying to make a larger point... Sorry for the rant...
"May the Force be with you"... Or should I say "Live long and prosper"... as this WAS a Star Trek thread until I got on my soapbox!
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