0
Star Trek Original Motion Picture Collection DVD Review
Posted by TrekCoreNews,
06 October 2009
·
1,630 views
Author: rta-man
The Star Trek Original Motion Picture Collection was released on Standard DVD disc, in the US, on September 22, 2009. This seven-disc set contains the original theatrical editions of the first six Star Trek movies, and a bonus DVD titled, "Star Trek: Captain's Summit". The discs are packaged in thin, black cases inside a white cardboard slipcase.
Each DVD, except for disc seven, begins with the theatrical trailer of Star Trek XI. It's nice to watch this one or two times, but you may want to fast forward through this part for the rest of the DVDs.
I thoroughly enjoyed the extras. They contain numerous interviews with the stars and production staff of Star Trek. The first of these was titled "The Longest Trek: Writing The Motion Picture". In it, Star Trek writers Garfield and Judith Reeves-Stevens explained the first mention of a Star Trek movie. Gene Roddenberry announced at a science fiction convention in 1968 in Oakland, CA, that he was talking to Paramount about making a movie about Kirk and Spock's academy years. It took eleven more years until the first movie was produced.
In the disc three featurette "Spock: The Early Years", Stephen Manley was interviewed. He played Spock at age seventeen in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. As you remember, his character performed pon far with Lt. Saavik (played by Robin Curtis). Would you believe that Stephen has pon far'ed with eight females at various Star Trek conventions?
The visual effects were another bonus feature I enjoyed. In Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, large scale models were used for all ship scenes. The use of CGI graphics was in its infancy and visual effects was still an art form. The nebula scene was a huge water tank, filled with thinly separated fresh and salt water, then by adding various chemicals they created swirling effects. This stuff is classic! During the scenes when Khan destroyed the Enterprise, the modelers put steel wool inside the model, and heated it with a flame to give each scene that sparkling look. I loved this stuff!
The most common of the Star Trek Universe bonus featurettes is the Starfleet Academy SCISEC (Science Security) Briefs. Each one technically explains an anomaly from each film. The Briefs listed in the movies are the "Mystery Behind V'Ger", "Mystery Behind Ceti Alpha VI", "Mystery Behind the Vulcan Katra Transfer", "The Whale Probe", "Nimbus III", and "Praxis".
Disc seven is titled, "Star Trek: The Captains' Summit". Although during the feature, it's referred to the "Star Trek Summit". For the first time ever, William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Patrick Stewart and Jonathan Frakes are together to share memories of their tenure with the franchise. This 70-minute interview session is hosted by Whoopi Goldberg. This is a VERY nice feature. Although I wondered why they split it up into three parts. It doesn't play as one 70-minute show. If you want to watch the whole thing, you must sit through two short commercial breaks, but without the commercials.
This box set will compliment your DVD collection nicely.
The Star Trek Original Motion Picture Collection was released on Standard DVD disc, in the US, on September 22, 2009. This seven-disc set contains the original theatrical editions of the first six Star Trek movies, and a bonus DVD titled, "Star Trek: Captain's Summit". The discs are packaged in thin, black cases inside a white cardboard slipcase.
Each DVD, except for disc seven, begins with the theatrical trailer of Star Trek XI. It's nice to watch this one or two times, but you may want to fast forward through this part for the rest of the DVDs.
I thoroughly enjoyed the extras. They contain numerous interviews with the stars and production staff of Star Trek. The first of these was titled "The Longest Trek: Writing The Motion Picture". In it, Star Trek writers Garfield and Judith Reeves-Stevens explained the first mention of a Star Trek movie. Gene Roddenberry announced at a science fiction convention in 1968 in Oakland, CA, that he was talking to Paramount about making a movie about Kirk and Spock's academy years. It took eleven more years until the first movie was produced.
In the disc three featurette "Spock: The Early Years", Stephen Manley was interviewed. He played Spock at age seventeen in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. As you remember, his character performed pon far with Lt. Saavik (played by Robin Curtis). Would you believe that Stephen has pon far'ed with eight females at various Star Trek conventions?
The visual effects were another bonus feature I enjoyed. In Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, large scale models were used for all ship scenes. The use of CGI graphics was in its infancy and visual effects was still an art form. The nebula scene was a huge water tank, filled with thinly separated fresh and salt water, then by adding various chemicals they created swirling effects. This stuff is classic! During the scenes when Khan destroyed the Enterprise, the modelers put steel wool inside the model, and heated it with a flame to give each scene that sparkling look. I loved this stuff!
The most common of the Star Trek Universe bonus featurettes is the Starfleet Academy SCISEC (Science Security) Briefs. Each one technically explains an anomaly from each film. The Briefs listed in the movies are the "Mystery Behind V'Ger", "Mystery Behind Ceti Alpha VI", "Mystery Behind the Vulcan Katra Transfer", "The Whale Probe", "Nimbus III", and "Praxis".
Disc seven is titled, "Star Trek: The Captains' Summit". Although during the feature, it's referred to the "Star Trek Summit". For the first time ever, William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Patrick Stewart and Jonathan Frakes are together to share memories of their tenure with the franchise. This 70-minute interview session is hosted by Whoopi Goldberg. This is a VERY nice feature. Although I wondered why they split it up into three parts. It doesn't play as one 70-minute show. If you want to watch the whole thing, you must sit through two short commercial breaks, but without the commercials.
This box set will compliment your DVD collection nicely.
