Stars: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Persis Khambatta, Stephen Collins, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, George Takei, Majel Barrett, Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols, Walter Koenig

Director: Robert Wise

Summary: The crew of the Starship Enterprise must save the Earth from an alien intruder, which has already destroyed three Klingon ships. This Director's Cut features enhanced visual effects and a new sound mix.

In STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE, the original crew of the Starship Enterprise from the campy 1960s TV show is reunited in this dramatic, full-length science fiction epic. Admiral James T. Kirk (William Shatner), formerly a captain, is called upon to collect his old crewmates in order to save humanity from a giant, hostile alien vessel steadily approaching Earth and destroying everything in its path. The complex alien life-forms apparently possess such an advanced intelligence that even the brilliant Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) fails to comprehend the massive structure that contains them. There is tension on the ship, as well as in the universe, as Commander Willard Decker (Stephen Collins), the Enterprise's new captain, is relegated to being Kirk's assistant. In addition, Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy (DeForest Kelley), the lovable, crotchety doctor who is constantly at odds with Spock, must be tricked away from his life of relaxation to serve on a voyage he wants no part of. It's not long before the Enterprise is taken over by the alien entity, and navigator Ilia (Persis Khambatta) is abducted. When she is returned to the Enterprise, she informs Kirk that unless the entity is united with its creator, it will destroy the Earth. With excellent special effects and witty nods to the old series, STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE set a new standard in sci-fi films--and paved the way for a host of excellent sequels.

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It was an event that every fan had waited a decade for: the first Star Trek movie. But after its cinema release in 1979 Star Trek: The Motion Picture was quickly dubbed "The Slow-Motion Picture". In the opinion of general audiences, fans and critics alike, the snail-like pace of the film was a crippling flaw. It bothered one person even more, though: but Robert Wise finally got to scratch that itch when preparing this Director's Edition.

In an unprecedented display of confidence from a movie studio, Wise has been allowed to re-edit the film and commission new visual effects sequences that were planned but unrealised for the original release. The result is frankly mind-boggling. Finally we are now able to see how Vulcan was supposed to amaze and alienate us, how integral the B-crew's role was to the mission, and just how spectacular the V'ger ship was imagined to be. Is the pace problem addressed? Undoubtedly it is. Scenes are trimmed and a new "busier" effects soundtrack helps considerably. Does it look better? Definitely. The shades of beige and puce have never seemed more crisply defined. Does it sound better? Jerry Goldsmith's music score (arguably one of the best ever written) is as majestically represented as the Enterprise herself.

On the DVD:Star Trek: The Motion Picture two-disc set has oodles of extra features, including a complete library of all scenes deleted from both the original and new versions. The picture quality varies throughout, but it's worth putting up with for the (Wise-ly) excised material such as the unfinished effects work. An audio commentary from Wise, special effects director John Dykstra, composer Jerry Goldsmith and Commander Decker himself (Stephen Collins) provides an appraisal for movie aficionados more than Trek fans: the latter will be far more interested in a text commentary from Trek author and scholar Mike Okuda, who points out endless amounts of in-trivia. Better even than all these are three new documentaries that chronicle the film's history from then to now. Each is brightly put together (they don't drag), informative without being overly technical, and exude a pride without bragging. --Paul Tonks

Aspect Ratio:	16:9 Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Group Commentary With Director Robert Wise Special Photographic Effects Director Douglas Trumball Special Photographic Effects Supervisor John Dykstra Music Composer Jerry Goldsmith And Actor Stephen Collins, Text Commentary By Michael Okuda, 3 New Document
Subtitles:	Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, German, Hungarian, Icelandic, Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Swedish, Turkish
Year:	1979
Release Date:	May 6, 2002
Runtime:	138 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	P H E 8152
Keywords:	Special, Star, Picture, General, Edition, Fiction, Science, Trek, Motion, Horror, Sci, Fi
Genre:	Science Fiction