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ST:TMP Fixer Upper
herdingcats writes "so, bigtime director Robert Wise is
exorcising his demons of disappointment in the original version (cost: $45 million; revenue: $160 million, eventually) by cutting, splicing, evolving, and devolving the original production....which he felt lacked humanity, mostly because the studio rushed it to holiday theaters on the heals of "Star Wars" and "Close Encounters" successes." Its apparently going to be a video release (well, DVD for me) that tries to remain true to the original storyboards, not Lucas Style "I meant to do that- greedo really fired first" sorta lame
changes. Oh, and a CG enterprise.
At the same time, is there really much here to save? One of the biggest criticisms of the film was not so much the mind-numbing dullness, the self-congratulatory character introductions, or the ambiguous special effects, but the total lack of any real creativity. It was a re-telling of an old TV plot, padded out into a 2-and-a-half-hour orgy of blueish-white light and slow tracking shots of the Enterprise.
I recall my local paper's review headline was "Where NOMAD Has Gone Before".
I will probably rent it and watch it once, just as I watched the re-cut of "The Abyss" once, but I'm not going to go out of my way for it.
Information wants to be anthropomorphized.
I sincerely hope the director's cut works out as well as it sounds ... I, for one, can't remember the last time I watched ST:TMP. If nothing else, I remember getting bored with all those long, seemingly extended shots of the exterior of the Enterprise (I think they were shuttling in?) ... so I hope those get a snip or two here or there as well.
Also, will that "memory walk" be part of the outtakes? Seems only fitting...
Star Trek: The Mantom Phenace?
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Napster-to-go says "Fill and refill your compatible MP3 player", which is a lie. It's not MP3. It's WMA with DRM.
I have to conquer on the lame "2001" rip-off of flying through the clouds around V'Ger. I was young enough at the time to buy just about anything, and I was bored to tears. The other Kubrick rip-off was Spock flying his space-suit through the gallery of V'Ger's collected worlds, complete with reflections on the face shield, etc. Way too long and way too boring.
This was my first experience with a movie that had a great trailer but didn't live up to it's own advertizing. The ad used the scene where the klingons get blasted (amazingly cool effect for the time), so you think there's going to be lot's of fighting with Klingons. Yeah! Perfect movie, right? Nah, they were just teasing... you get to watch about a half an hour of clouds flying by, followed by 15 minutes of Spock in a space suit drifting slowly into the bowels of a big space museum.
What I am curius about and what probably many of you out there also want to know is if there will be a collectors box of all 1-6 dvd movies. (Just like the box set for the VHS) As each movie was released 6..5..4..3..2.. and now 1 I kept putting off buying them simply because they might make a box and I don't want to buy them twice. I know about the next gen box set that is out there, but there will be more next gen. :) So does anyone know if I didn't wait in vain and a box set will be released?
While we are at it does anyone know if there will be DVD box sets of the seasons of Original and Next gen when they are done being put out?
Do you changes clothes while making the "chee-chee-cha-cha-choh" transformation sound?
Of all the things that went wrong with the original motion picture, this is the one change that would give the movie the most credibility.
Or maybe not.
For those who are interested:
IGN Filmforce posted some pictures a few months ago of the work being done by Foundation Imaging for the TMP special edition:
The new CGI Enterprise model.
And another article featuring the CGI fixes done to the scene on planet Vulcan.
Overall this looks like it will be pretty interesting...I can't wait to see it.
-Julius X
-Julius X
remove "-whatkindofspamdoyoutakemefor-" from email to send
That comment reminds me of the old man in the bank in "Raising Arizona":
"Well which is it, sonny? You want we should freeze or you want we should get down on the ground?"
A little news flash: Star Trek was never serious science fiction. It was Wagon Train in space.
Information wants to be anthropomorphized.
I think it is great, if a film was truly mangled, for the director to be able to go back and restore it. Other times, producers force changes for the sake of what they think mass audiences will like. Other times, it is just a matter of minor changes that the director really objected to.
Some examples:
"The Natural" - The shlocky, happy ending to this otherwise interesting film was not in the original novel, not in the screenplay, but was the result of audience focus groups not liking the tragic version. It wrecked the movie for me, but the Home Run Knocking The Lights Out scene is, for some reason, often the only clip used when critics discuss what a great movie it was. To the best of my knowledge, no "Director's Cut" of this movie has ever been done.
"The Abyss" - When Cameron was told to cut the film for time, he was so angry that he chopped out 20 minutes from the CLIMAX of the movie, which not only removed the most expensive footage from the whole film, but wiped out the explanation as to why the aliens were there in the first place. The Director's Cut makes more sense, but the tired "we are troubled by seeing humanity hurt itself" theme, done much better more than half a Century earlier in "The Day The Earth Stood Still", convinced me that ruining this story was really not that big of a tragedy.
"Brazil" - One of the most famous fueds in Hollywood history, the producers insisted on screwing up the ending, Gilliam refused, the release was stalled, and even when it was finally released properly (to massive critical acclaim), the chopped-up version was still used for a TV broadcast of the movie. The Criterion Collection disks offer both versions, complete with Gilliam's bitching.
The Empire Strikes Back - Lucas desperately wanted you to see the monster that attacked Luke on Hoth, but the money was not there to make it look good, so he settled for an off-camera beast, which made the blocking of the scene kind of confusing to follow. Of all the "Special Edition" changes made, putting the monster back into the shot was probably the only one that was actually a good idea. (Don't even talk to me about the Jabba & Han scene from Star Wars.)
"Blade Runner" - Released with overdubs that Ridley Scott did not really want, and with an up-beat ending that was made using left-over helicopter footage from The Shining. Defenders of the theatrical version insist that the overdubs really added to the classic Noir feel, but others insist that the over-explanation of everything wrecked it. The Director's Cut does not really have a alternate ending, but instead chops to cheap white-on-black credits right before the escape scene. Also, a "unicorn dream' (probably using leftover footage from "Legend" is added to cram down your throat the true nature of Ford's character). Personally, I think most people should see the overdubbed version first, but having done so, repeat viewers will probably enjoy the Director's Cut more.
The Exorcist - Nearly perfect in its original form. The added footage was a marketing ploy, and nothing more. See the original, if you can get your hands on it.
As for your first question, ST:TMP ended up being released for two reasons... 1) It cost a fortune to make, and they needed to get something back off the investment. and 2) Trekkie hype was becoming a cultural fixture, and "I Grok Spock" t-shirt were becoming more ubiquitous than Greatful Dead bumper stickers. Hard-core fans had been clamouring for a new Star Trek project for years. The pressure to release something, just to throw the trekkies a bone, was overwhelming.
Information wants to be anthropomorphized.
There is a description of the scene here. Apparently this scene takes place right after Spock leaves the enterprise to go inside V'ger. Kirk follows, and they find this wall of crystals that contain V'gers "memories" or patterns of things V'ger has assimilated or something. Then Spock goes on to explore V'ger and Kirk goes back to the enterprise.
Don't forget that Friday is Hawaiian shirt day.
This begs the question, "So why was it released to begin with?"
This movie was released 22 years ago. Let's say copyright expires in N years. Now, without anyone noticing, you can't find the old version anymore. This version's copyright expires in N+22 years. Ooops. Maybe they're taking precautions against not being able to extend copyright to more than 5,000 years.
It dawned on me when I bought a copy of Don Quixote in a bookstore in Madrid. It was the original, centuries-old text by Cervantes... but it was annotated by some Spanish academic. Guess what? Yes, (C) 19XX Some Spanish Publishing Company.
George Lucas certainly did not invent the acronymn CGI nor is he going against the grain by using it. CGI was coined in the late 60's when computer graphics was born. I knew CGI as computer generated imagery before I knew it as common gateway interface. It is a standard acronym that has been around for a long time, so accept it. I don't like George Lucas eighther, but don't think that just because you aren't familiar with something that it hasn't been around for a long time. It is arrogant to make the assumtion that your focus is shared with so many other people.
This Wiki Feeds You TV and Anime - vidwiki.org
The cast and crew didn't have many problems with ST:TMP. Wise never would agree with Gene on anything, so far as I read, and didn't agree with his vision of the ST universe. We certainly don't need him remaking it now that Gene's gone and there's no one left to make sure it's real Trek. Gene = Real Trek. Wise = try again.
And I don't see what problem so many people had with the movie. Yeah, it's not Star Wars, there are not space dogfights, B movie dialog, and Princess Leia in a gold lame bikini. So what? This is STAR TREK, this is serious Science Fiction, if you want visceral entertainment just wait a year for George Lucas to offer you another installment.
I expect it to suck horribly, and it was only in the earlier rerelease version that they finally included some of the most important scenes that were stupidly cut, such as the one where Spock grabs Kirk's hand as he tries to explain this "simple feeling" he has discovered. There is not a single more important scene anywhere in all of Star Trek. This time through they'll probably concentrate on giving half an hour to the destruction of the Klingon ships at the start, in full gory detail.
And why a CG enterprise? It was fully convincing before, why fiddle with it and risk ruining it / alienating fans? (Trust me, long time ST fans like myself are their only real market) OOOOH, a CG Enterprise! In this day, everyone's imaginations are so stunted that they actually need such devices to help them suspend disbelief for a measly 2 hours, and that's sad. Letting the imagination atrophy is like letting any other part of your mind go to waste.
My quick take on this:
ST = stories delving into what makes us human, what friendship means, stories about diversity and unity, fellowship and peace. A hopeful look ahead, an optimistic story looking to the future and predicting peace, not more endless wars. Heh! look at that corny animated phaser. =)
SW = Luke looks like a puppy dog. Qui-Gonn kicks butt. Obi-Wan kicks more butt. God, we hate Jar-Jar. Damn, Leia/Padme's hot. (others' opinion, not mine - she's a bit young) Oooh! Big flashy explosion. =O And the Emperor is pure Grade A liquid Evil in a can.
Get it straight.
-Kasreyn
PS, the writeup wasn't horrible; this is a discussion for ST fans, we have no need of people who don't know what "ST" is and can't connect "ST" to "Enterprise" in this discussion.
Please note this is not a flame. =) (I hope)
Kasreyn: Cheerfully playing the part of Devil's Advocate to hairtrigger
So just what exactly are we seeing?
This begs the question, "So why was it released to begin with?"
Sure, it's great that the director gets to go back and see his vision fulfilled 20yrs later, but this marks a disturbing trend in Hollywood films. Not only do we get a different Star Trek:TMP, but we get a new and improved The Exorcist, a brand spanking new Star Wars, where does it end?
Now that's a special edition I'd PAY to see.
"Intriguing, Lieutenant. So this is how humans "make love."
"Shut up and fuck me already, Data."
You left out Capt. Kirk's visit to the VD clinic on Starbase 52 to clear up his little "tribble" problem.
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"Outlook not so good." That magic 8-ball knows everything! I'll ask about Exchange Server next.
Je t'aime Stéphanie
I was really little, and seeing that movie made me go out and learn about the Voyager probes, and the little recorded math and culture messages to aliens that are borne in them.
I can see how they wanted it to be a weighty, high faluting 2001 style space opera, considering the issues they were dealing with.. a group of beings who worshiop a supercomputer as a god! Think about the people seeing this when it came out.. to them it would be like The Matrix is to us.. a film full of mysteries, exploring technologies whose beginnings are contemporary to the film.
Goat sex free since 2001
Give Riker the balls to nail every babe on the show.
Give Beverly Crusher a hot nude lesbian scene in the holo-deck with Deanna Troi and a tub of strawberry Jello.
Give Wesley Crusher the screaming agonizing death he so richly deserved.
Now, put that on DVD and I'll pay for it.
No boom today. Boom tomorrow. There's always a boom tomorrow. - Cmdr. Susan Ivanova
J
Who moderates the meta-moderators?
TMP? I'm lost, are we talking about The Manhatten Project? Man I can't wait to get that on DVD. I hear there are all these crazy outtakes where Einstein bets that he can eat anything in the room for cash.
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Let me give you the lowdown
Aparently some of us aren't die hard trekies. It took me forever to figure out what this goofy post was about... How about a little help from our dear friendly authors who post these stories!
t ic les/111700.html
ST:TMP = Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Eureka!
By the way, Star Trek X is in production. That's "Star Trek Ten", as in the tenth in a series of movies.
http://www.startrek.com/production/startrekx/ar