6.7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
A massive alien presence of enormous power enters Federation Space, destroying three powerful Klingon cruisers and neutralising everything in its path. As it heads towards Earth, Admiral James T. Kirk returns to the helm of an updated Enterprise and sets course to meet the aggressor head on.
Starring: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, George TakeiAdventure | 100% |
Sci-Fi | 100% |
Mystery | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
German: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
French: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
Music: Dolby Digital 2.0
Isolated Score = 224 kbps
English, English SDH, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Digital copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 5.0 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Paramount has yet again released Star Trek: The Motion Picture to Blu-ray (also to UHD), this time in the 137-minute "Director's Edition" version. This version has been remastered; it is not the same image as the 2021 issue. The audio has also been remixed to Dolby Atmos, and new supplements are included. See below for a breakdown and review of new content.
The video presentation for this Director's Edition of Star Trek: The Motion Picture will prove controversial. It does look very good but it's a fairly
sizeable reworking even from the remastered 2021 release. There are color temperature changes (this one looking a bit less warm than the other).
Color balance is better here. Whites are more naturally inclined, grays are more stable, and creamy uniforms colors more accurate. Look at the full crew
meeting around the 29-minute mark (chapter 9) for a good point of color comparison. Black levels depth looks better here, too, as do flesh tones.
Texturally, the picture is a mixed bag. This image is not as aggressively grainy as the previous release. Listen to the Fein, Matessino, and Dochterman
commentary track at the 1:06:40 mark (as well as the "Return to Tomorrow" supplement) where the conversation begins about the grain removal and
re-introduction because it was "distracting." The grain detracted from the experience, they say. Whatever level of grain removal and re-introduction
was performed does not mean the movie looks entirely scrubbed
down. Is the grain as organic, is the film as pure as it might have been? No, but there is certainly nothing that looks overtly smoothed out. It looks
rather good, all things considered, but there is a different textural flavor and presentation between this disc and the previous. There are some
stunningly filmic shots here, and some that do look a little too processed. The net effect, however, is mostly pleasing and compliments the film quite
nicely. Fine details on faces, uniforms, and touches around the Enterprise bridge are very revealing, and any softer and smudgy portions are
inherent to the original photography. This is not best-cast scenario for the pure videophile, but it does look very good in the aggregate.
The new Dolby Atmos track is a work of art. The overture score is beautifully rendered with precise instrumentals and seamless clarity. Full stage engagement is in evidence, but the track maintains a natural balance where surrounds or overheads never dominate or take away from the primary front end. Spacing is wide and immersive; this is truly the stuff of audio engineering bliss. The same holds for the iconic Jerry Goldsmith score (and all music throughout the film). It's just incredible. The free-flowing space, the precision clarity, the perfectly balanced low end...it's a Trekkie's, and audiophile's, dream come true. The track's excellence extends well beyond music. Action effects, such as when the Klingon ships are engulfed and destroyed by V'Ger in the opening minutes, offer startlingly deep content, supported by exceptional movement and directionality. The track integrates little points of sound here and there, always in superb balance and discrete placement all around the listener. Everything presents just as it should, and this sounds like a track that was mixed yesterday, not decades ago. To be sure, there has been some work performed on the track, but the source elements are dynamic and beautifully presented. Dialogue, of course, never wavers. This is one of the finest retro Atmos tracks out there.
This new Blu-ray set includes new and returning extras. Below is a breakdown of what's included. Reviews of
new content are included, and reviews of any legacy materials can be found by clicking here. A few things are missing.
Chiefly absent is the
commentary track with Michael & Denise Okuda, Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens, and Daren Dochterman. Not all content marked as "new" is
actually "new;" some is newly produced, but some is simply new to Blu-ray. This release ships with a digital copy code and an embossed slipcover.
Disc One:
I've now seen this film several times in the past 13 months, and it's grown on me. Substantially. That growth has propelled it to be my second favorite of all the Star Trek films, TOS or otherwise, behind only The Wrath of Khan. This new Director's Edition Blu-ray is a must-own companion to the original release (or, at least, the 2021 release). It's not perfect, but it does offer, beyond the cut, remastered video (which will prove somewhat controversial), exhilarating new Atmos audio, and plenty of extras spread across two discs. Note that this release does not include the standard theatrical cut, so fans will want to hang on to the "legacy" 2021 release for that. Highly recommended.
1979
Remastered
1979
The Director's Edition | Remastered
1979
The Director's Edition Complete Adventure | Remastered
1979
45th Anniversary
1979
1979
1986
1991
1984
1989
1994
1998
1982
1996
2002
2020-2023
1966-1969
Budget Re-release
1987-1994
1995-2001
10th Anniversary Collector's Edition | Limited
2014
45th Anniversary Edition
1978
2009
Budget Re-release
2001-2005
2009
1973-1974
IMAX
2013