Cheap Star Trek - The Motion Picture (Widescreen Edition) (Video) (Robert Wise) Price

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Customer Reviews of Star Trek - The Motion Picture (Widescreen Edition)

Stands Alone in the Feature Film Series
Like the Star Trek episodes "The Corbomite Maneuver" (#3) and "Metamorphosis" (#31), "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" is a mature, cerebral sci-fi story with very little action. Most kids and young adults won't like it or grasp it. It's depth is evidenced by the emotional whollop experienced when Spock grasps Kirk's hand in Sickbay (truly revealing emotion) or when Spock weeps for V'ger and comments on its personal dilemma, which perfectly coincides with Spock's own search for fulfillment. Spock summed it up perfectly when he states, "As I was when I came aboard, so is V'ger now -- empty, incomplete and searching. Logic and knowledge are not enough... Each of us at sometime in our lives turns to someone -- a father, a brother, a God -- and asks, 'Why am I here?' 'What was I meant to be?' V'ger hopes to touch its creator to find its answers." Another powerful sequence is William Decker's self-sacrificial fusion with V'ger so that it may evolve to the next level of awareness. <
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>The fact that the film inspires such a profound reaction proves that it's not just a bad film that apologists try to make excuses for as critics claim, e.g. "It's deep and awe-inspiring; you just don't understand it." I'm not making excuses; it's simply the truth. If you are unable to accept this perhaps it's because YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH. <
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>My conclusion on the film runs parallel to Roger Ebert's comments: "My inclination, as I slid down in my seat and the stereo sound surrounded me, was to relax and let the movie give me a good time. I did and it did." In other words, just accept the film as is, and you WILL be entertained -- put on a pot of coffee (you're gonna need it -- HA, HA!), kick back and relish the movie bagic. <
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>Let me add that "The Motion Picture" was one of the most expensive films of its time, but it did well at the box office and thus made a decent profit -- a testimony to how hungry the public was for Star Trek after ten long years (since the cancellation of the original TV series). In fact, aside from "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home," ST:TMP is still the most profitable of all the Star Trek feature films (Making FOUR TIMES its expense worldwide); it therefore can't very well be the cinematic turd that many critics claim. Also, consider the fact that ST:TMP made more at the box offic than the acclaimed films "Alien" and "Apocalypse Now," both released the same year (1979). <
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>Lastly, although this film is an "A" level picture as far as epic, awe-inspiring pieces of cinematic art go, I completely understand why some would view it as a "B" or even lower. In such cases I suggest making the necessary psychological adjustments and watching it again as it is more along the lines of "The Cage" (#1) than "The Doomsday Machine" (#35). <
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>CONCLUSION: Say what you will, but "The Motion Picture" towers alone, utterly unique in the feature film series -- a profoundly spiritual TRIUMPH.

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NOT Star Trek!
Oh, yeah, the enhanced scenery was nice, in some cases even better than the original, but for a long-time Star-Trek fan like me, this version (The Director's Edition) has one modification that totally ruined it. One of the scenes in the all important climax, the one where Decker remarks: "But of course! We all create God in our own image." was dropped from this version, no doubt in deference to the more pious consumers. Now this remark was not gratuitous, it was the main moral message and lesson of the entire adventure and an intrinsic aspect of the Star Trek phenomenon which made it (Star Trek) what it is today. <
>Dropping those two lines from the movie changed it from a deeply significant work to just another shaggy-dog story. Boo! Mr. Director. I will hunt down and buy the original cut, thank you. <
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The First...but not the best
Once upon a time in the world of science fiction, there was only one Star Trek. No Next Generation, Voyager, Deep Space Nine.... Just an often-repeated tv series watched by devoted fans. Then someone had the wonderful idea of applying modern special effects to this old story. Hey, what could we do with the original crew and wonderful story, but instead of plastic models on strings being dragged across a star-studded screen, using modern cinematography and music on a cinema screen. <
>Great idea! But in the excitement of exploring these new effects, the fundamental story was forgotten. Special Effects are cool but not what made Star Trek popular in the first place. It was the characters and the intricate universe that they explored. STTMP has lengthy scenes exploring the exterior of the new Enterprise and the alien space cloud all displaying the latest in special effects (at that time) and with a lovely musical score. But these scenes drag on..and on, and the excitement of the plot is lost <
>Now please do not mistake me. I am a long term fan of Star Trek and I am a happy owner of this movie. It is a worthwhile re-introduction to beloved characters, but that is all. IMO this is the weakest of the Star Trek movies.