STAR TREK
THE MOTION PICTURE
THE THEATRICAL VERSION
1979 ***** 132 mins.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture is a true cinematic wonderment that belongs high in the echelon of motion pictures. Robert Wise's fantastic film about the reassembled crew of a redesigned Enterprise on a voyage to stop a strange cloud/machine headed for Earth is a true marvel in, just about, every sense of the word.

I mean, there is one drawback to this film. That is that the acting is pretty bad. Okay, the acting is atrocious. However, it does not detract too much from the magnificence of the film.

One of the wonderful things about the film is this: one does not need any foreknowledge of Star Trek to enjoy this film. Many people who do not even like Star Trek like this film. This is, truly, a step above all of the endless Star Trek television series that are getting very old.

Another wonderful thing about this film is that it is heavily influenced by Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. This film dares to be slow and silent. There is a six-minute sequence with Captain Kirk and Scotty flying in a shuttle craft to the Enterprise. Most of the sequence consists only of music. It is highly reminiscent of the flight from the space station to the moon in 2001: A Space Odyssey. When Spock leaves the Enterprise to investigate V'Ger on his own, what he sees is much like the Stargate Sequence in 2001: A Space Odyssey. All of these things actually help this film. There is one scene that warrants all of this. When the Enterprise leaves the space dock, there is a sequence of the Enterprise passing Jupiter. Right there, it is as if Robert Wise is paying tribute to 2001: A Space Odyssey. He is giving credit where credit is due. It is a wonderful way to do so. Also, Douglas Trumbull, who supervised the special effects in 2001: A Space Odyssey created the special effects for this film, so the special effects are fantastic.

To wrap this all up, Star Trek: The Motion Picture is a magnificent film that should not be missed.

STAR TREK
THE MOTION PICTURE
SPECIAL LONGER VERSION
1983 **1/2 144 mins.

Okay, let's just get it out of the way right here and now. IF IT'S NOT BROKEN, DON'T TRY TO FIX IT!!!!!

All I have to say is: what is the point? The added scenes are stupid. There's a scene where Sulu acts like a goofy teenager who has just discovered that girls are "cute" when he tries to show Ilia what to do on the bridge of the Enterprise. I thought he had more sense, knowledge, and skill than that. There's a scene where Ilia heals Chekhov after he is burned. Can we say overly dramatic? Also, if she could heal him, why didn't she do it as soon as she got to him? Why did she wait for the medics to arrive? There's a scene where we see Kirk suit up and go out after Spock. Hmm, in the original film we see him out there, so it can be assumed through our God-given intuition that he had to have done that to get out there. We don't need to see it. Plus, the Enterprise isn't even complete in the shot. It's just scaffolding. It's obvious that the shot was not intended to be in the picture, if they didn't go back and fix the problem. There's a scene where Kirk orders the crew of the Enterprise to blow up the ship if his plan does not work. That takes away the magic of the film, much like how the T-1000's glitching shows John Connor which Sarah Connor is not real in the Special Edition of Terminator 2: Judgement Day. Kirk forming a back-up plan shows that he does not have faith in himself and his plan.

I could go on forever about how stupid and pointless the added scenes are in this ridiculous extended version of an otherwise wonderful film. Another main problem I have with this version is that it is only viewable in full screen. Much of the film is lost when it is adapted for a 1.33:1 television screen. There are many great moments that are not shown in this full screen adaptation. My advice is this: please, please, please stick with the original widescreen theatrical release over this stupid Special Longer Version.

STAR TREK
THE MOTION PICTURE
THE DIRECTOR'S EDITION
2000 *** 136 mins.

To reiterate: IF IT'S NOT BROKEN, DON'T TRY TO FIX IT!

I gave this version one half star higher than the Special Longer Version simply because the picture is clearer. That's pretty much it. I mean, so many things were changed, it's pathetic.

This version was given a wider aspect ratio. Therefore, part of the picture was cut off in order to put the film into a 2.35:1 widescreen instead of the original 2.1:1. Two of my least favourite additions from the Special Longer Version are still here: Ilia healing Chekhov and Kirk ordering the destruction of the Enterprise. The music has changed some. The credits are redone (I don't like the way the credits are blurred in and out). I did like the idea of how a walkway is formed up to V'Ger. However, the special effect that has been added sticks out like a sore thumb. Even the image on the cover of the video has changed, for crying out loud. The original image was a painting. The new image actually has real faces.

Robert Wise did with this film what George Lucas did with the original Star Wars Trilogy. He added and changed things that should have been left alone. In both cases, the originals are much, much better.

The lesson to be learned here is to leave a film alone once it has been released. No one can make it any better, so give it up. That goes to all filmmakers, young, old, and soon-to-be. Make the first release of the film the way you want it. No matter how good you think a second release is, the viewer will always compare it to the original, finding fault with the redone version.