Star Trek: First Contact Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

Star Trek: First Contact Blu-ray Movie Review

Paramount has re-released the 1996 Sci-Fi film 'Star Trek: First Contact' to the Blu-ray format. New specifications include remastered 1080p video and Dolby TrueHD 7.1 lossless audio. Supplements from the original release carry over. A standalone UHD disc is also available, which may also be purchased as part of a four film UHD boxed set.

Star Trek: First Contact Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

As with Generations, Star Trek: First Contact has received quite the makeover for this newly remastered Blu-ray release. The picture is superb: grain is present and naturally occurring without any appearance of undue processing or needless reduction. The result is often striking: wonderful textures abound, appearing firm, filmic, and flattering of facial elements and uniform details, especially in close-up where viewers will see the fine Data makeup and some of the intense prosthetics the character wears throughout the film, all with splendid clarity and natural sharpness. The same goes for other heavily made-up characters like Worf and the Borg Queen, while also, of course, extending to human features as well. Certainly, the essential filmic nature is not limited to faces and uniforms, but these are the highlights.

Color output is solid as well. Also as with Generations, the image lacks the color grading precision and general excellence of the UHD, but this is nevertheless a very healthy and handsome image. The film is often very dark, with the gray intensive Enterprise interiors appearing as full as possible, but some of the uniform color accents, as subdued as they may be, lack the depth, vividness, stability, and accuracy found on the UHD. Blacks are imperfect, too, with some black crush evident notably at the 14-miute mark and in some other spots as well.

The image is never held back by print wear or compression issues; some visual effects shots are plainly soft, but the image on the whole looks very nice.

Star Trek: First Contact Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Rather than retain the existing 5.1 lossless soundtrack, Paramount offers a new Dolby TrueHD 7.1 mix. The presentation is excellent. Action elements filter all over the stage with aggression, precision, and power. Listeners will feel immersed within the Enterprise's bowels during action scenes against the Borg. Phaser fire, explosions, and other action elements present with authority and proper placement. One of the best moments of very good surround engagement comes when the Borg make their announcement at the 8:20 mark. It is here where Atmos would have really improved things, but as it is the sense of total immersion is nearly complete, anyway. The track always expands spatial excellence and offers stable, well-defined clarity to every component. Musical definition is terrific, as is stage spacing and balance. Dialogue is clear and well prioritized for the duration.

Star Trek: First Contact Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of Star Trek: First Contact includes a huge assortment of bonus content from the legacy collection.

• Audio Commentary: Actor/Director Jonathan Frakes.
• Audio Commentary: Writers Brannon Braga and Ronald D. Moore.
• Audio Commentary: Damon Lindelof and Anthony Pascale.
• Text Commentary: Michael and Denise Okuda.
• Library Computer
• Production: A six-part feature:
  
  
  • Making First Contact
  • The Art of First Contact
  • The Story
  • The Missile Silo
  • The Deflector Dish
  • From "A" to "E"
• Scene Deconstruction: A three-part feature:
  
  
  • Borg Queen assembly
  • Escape Pod Launch
  • Borg Queen's Demise
• The Star Trek Universe: A nine-part feature:
  
  
  • Jerry Goldsmith: A Tribute
  • The Legacy of Zefram Cochrane
  • First Contact: The Possibilities
  • Industrial Light & Magic The Next Generation
  • Greetings from the International Space Station
  • SpaceShipOne's Historic Flight
  • Brent Spiner Data and Beyond Part 2
  • Trek Roundtable: First Contact
  • Starfleet Academy SciSec Brief 008 Temporal Vortex
• The Borg Collective: A three-part feature:
  
  
  • Unimatrix One
  • The Queen
  • Design Matrix
• Archives: A five-part feature:
  
  
  • Storyboards
  • Photo Gallery
  • Alternate Titles
  • Ethan Phillips Cameo/Interview
  • Queen's Demise
• Trailers: A three-part feature:
  
  
  • Teaser Trailer
  • Theatrical Trailer
  • Borg Invasion Trailer

Star Trek: First Contact Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

First Contact has received a handsome, and necessary, Blu-ray upgrade. While the UHD is the better version, this Blu-ray is no slouch, offering a very satisfying filmic image. The new 7.1 track is rock-solid, too, and there are enough extras here to occupy hardcore fans for hours upon hours on end. Highly recommended!