ST09 Trailer Countdown: Taking A Look At STVI: The Undiscovered Country’s Trailer November 8, 2008
by TrekMovie.com Staff , Filed under: Feature Films (TMP-NEM) , trackback
It is a slow news day, but we continue our look back at previous Star Trek cinematic trailers as we await next weeks big trailer for the new Star Trek movie. Today comes the trailer for the final TOS film, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country from 1991.
Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war
Theatrical trailer for Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.
Commentary:
The trailer has perhaps the most serious tone of all the Star Trek feature film advertisements. The solemn music and use of slower edits at the start build tension until the action scenes are shown. This is the first Star Trek trailer since The Wrath of Khan to use music from the film itself. The trailer reveals some of the film’s surprises, including the fact that it is now Captain Sulu of the USS Excelsior! The narration of the tagline "Now the crew of the starship Enterprise fights not to win battles, but to end them forever" is wonderfully edited into the trailer. The "VI" in the logo is incredibly and distractingly huge, which was a noticeable trend in the original Star Trek films. The sequel number tended to get bigger with each film. The "VI" though is a monstrosity. A fabulous trailer, though, which captures the mood of the film perfectly.
Teaser: an early mashup
The teaser trailer for Star Trek VI was a bit of an early version of mashup videos seen today. Instead of shots from the film, it utilized scenes from previous Trek films and The Original Series, beautifully projected onto the hull of the Enterprise A. It was a nostalgic look back on the history of the Original Series with the only nod to the new film being the narration by Christopher Plummer (who plays Chang in STVI).
The DVD features this theatrical trailer and the teaser trailer.
Thanks to YouTuber ShipHunter
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Comments»
It’s such a shame they had to use the TNG sets for parts of the Enterprise A… it always threw me and felt out of place with these characters (and The Bridge). I guess Scotty didn’t have too much new to take in when he entered on to the Enterprise D after all.
Great film though and always fun to see the trailer!
2nd Best of the first Six!!
Always loved that teaser trailer. Beautifully done.
This and First Contact were the best Trek movies!
Wasn’t the Bridge in Trek VI just the Trek V bridge with fancier consoles?
My favourite Star Trek movie of all time. Such fantastic acting on everyone’s parts especially The Plum. Love this movie so much. LOVE!
No TREK VI went backwards actually, it went back to sliding buttons.
I think this was the best trailers of all, the other ones seriously show their date.
Definitely a good film, and wise to put Nicholas Meyer back in the director’s chair. His work on TWOK still makes that one the best of the best.
This was a classic movie.
My only gripe was the climax. I wish we would have seen more of the exterior ship battle. Other than that, it rocked.
Plus, that mash up was excellent. Brought a tear to me eye.
both the theatrical and teaser trailer is the best of the 6 original series movies I think. The teaser especially brought a tear to my eye.
I think this is the best Trek movie. My favorite ship is the Enterprise A so I’m a bit biased since this is the best action the ship has seen. The “whodunnit” aspect of this movie really gave this Trek movie an added layer of depth that hadn’t been seen since Wrath of Khan. I’m mad at myself for not owning this on DVD!
Did we somehow skipped Star Trek IV?
That’s not the Enterprise-A in the Trek VI teaser. That Enterprise is clearly from the end of Star Trek – The Motion Picture.
Nice voice-over from Christopher Plummer. Is he any relation to McCain’s friend Joe the Plumber?
My all-time favourite trek movie… but am expecting XI to go one better ;)
This is fun!!! This was without a Doubt one of the best moveis of all time. It had everything. Action and adventure and drama and suspense. This as well as Trek 2 was the So close to the Tos series. Christopher plumer is a fantastic Actor. His Rendering of shaksphere was wonderfull. CRY HAVOIC AND LET SLIP THE DOGS OF WAR!!. I loved Mccoys line when he said. I Would give real money if he would shut up!!. William Shatner gave it his all in his acting on this movie and is among some of his best work. His Anger at the klingons for the death of his son and the way he looked at a Pic of david sent chills up my spine. Then the death of Gorken and latter his conversation With Spock was very touching. The Action in the movie Realy kept you going and seeing Sulu in command was great along with Janice Rand. The scenery shots on Rura Penta was absolutly beautifull and breathtakeing. The trailer in my opinon was the best and hearing Christopher plummer Narrarate was so kool. This is the guy who played in the movie the sound of music and he realy gave it his all in Chang. He was a smaller klingon but he played it as a giant of a Klingon.
I also Loved the Music in Trek 6 and i have the Sound track. If the new Movie is half as good as Treks 2 or 6 then i would be satisfied.
Terrific movie. Saw it at least 10 times at the cinema. 2nd best to me after TWOK.
The original opening was very interesting but scrapped before filming by Paramount (again!) to save money. Scotty lecturing students in front of the wrecked BOP from ST4 was one part of it but each of the 7 crew all had memorable intros into the movie as a roundup of the old crew for 1 last mission.
One of the first movies to feature extensive ILM CGI work (TWOK was actually the first for the Genesis device sequence).
The ending battle was supposed to have a lot more FX of the Enterprise but budget cuts meant it was cutdown a lot. There is however an extensive FX shot of the Enterprise ILM did complete which was a camera swoop around in the battle but Nick Meyer cut it out as it was too elaborate when he wanted a quicker pace. This lengthy shot has never been seen by the public so remains to this day a source of intrigue. The end of it is seen on the trailer @ 56secs when you see the Enterprise moving away from the right of the screen to the left. The camera then zooms into the v fan tail and does an elaborate move over the top including a 180 pan to show an incoming attack. There is probably only 2 mins actual screen time for the Enterprise in this because by that time it was very costly to bring the actual physical model out of storage, repair and film it properly (this was before CGI models were detailed enough to replace starships).
For the space dock interior scenes ILM just built the doors as the set had been destroyed years ago so they had to cheat and design the interior shots around just the doors as the space dock model would have cost a lot of money to build again and like TFF Paramount wanted Trek done as cheap as possible!
If you look closely in the trailer that shot of Kirk getting phasered as he beams up is not in the final movie either.
Originally the sign off ending was supposed to have the characters names but Nimoy changed it to the actor names instead without telling Meyer!
The Undiscovered Country was actually Meyers first choice name for TWOK but Lucasfilm said they though it was too similar in tone to Revenge Of The Jedi so Paramount agreed to change it.
After this movie Paramount should have just given Nick Meyer the keys to TOS Star Trek and let him run with it but for some strange reason he has not been involved with it eversince. Most probably because he is not a yes man and has no desire to make another.
In my opinion, it would have been best if this had been the last Trek film, as it ends on an optimistic note with Star Fleet’s own reason for existence being nullified. TOS reflected the Cold War era and this film celebrates the end of the Cold War.
**************************
Without wishing to hijack this thread too much, I would like to ask a question of Trekkers… I have never seen any episodes of Enterprise. I know it has been heavily derided but the main complaints I see are from fans who dislike it because:
1. It violates canon.
2. It recycles some plots from other series.
3. The theme song is, apparently, quite awful.
Are there other reasons that this show is disliked? What about the acting? Are the scripts okay, even if they are recycled? Are the characters interesting? Does it engage in philosophical issues with any depth?
Sorry – realise that this is off-topic. Just really curious about it and haven’t seen any reviews that answer these questions.
18 shot of kirk being phasered is in the movie? it’s the shapeshifter who gets killed.
@19
I didnt really like Enterprise at the time it aired, but I have since watched it in a marathon style dvd run. There is actually a lot of material in it and the canon violations arent as bad as what the purists make it out to be, hell TOS violated its own canon just as bad.
Overall I think ENT has been under-rated and given a hard time, when it is actually a quality program, and well worth a watch
Back on topic – I love ST VI, my favorite after first contact! woo
i have an idea…why not watch enterprise and decide for yourself?
(very odd questions)
this was a really good film up untill the point when kirk and bones go to the prison planet . its really strange how it falls apart at that point. it becomes very sloppy, and scenes are badly directed after that. case in point, the mind meld scene with valaris. was anyone flying the ship? im mean its suposed to be a space ship ..right?? i mean just set in in another room or something
the kitchen scene was very strange as well. pots and pans on the enterprise?? come on…wtf???
the cheapness of the film really shone through, it sad to see st look this flimsy. so im at least very happy that the new one has a decent budget finally
oh yeah!! i love the sequence when they board the klingon ship in zero gravity, with the purple blood floating around..that is an awesome scene
Reply to 22. Money.
one of the funny/sad things about this film is seeing how they reused sets from tng. like the presidents office is the bar set from tng, or the hallways, or the transporter room…did they fool anybody..uggh so cheap
ok ill stop posting messages now i promise
For me this is my favorite Star Trek film.
Everything about it looks so professional. The editing, story, twists, suspense, writing, effects and acting are just top notch.
This is by far my favorite version and style of the Enterprise. I love the industrial more realistic feel to the inside of the ship and I love the shied effects on the parts of the ship where the hull has been destroyed. I much prefer this effect than the huge bubble shield effect as seen in STFC.
I think this film is just amazing and makes most of the other ST filmslook cheap.
25..ok im sorry
#19 Enterprise was only Ok .
I loved the theme, the special effects were pretty good, the pilot was really good but from then on it had a “tired” feeling about it.
The stories were pretty familiar – rehashes from pretty well every other Trek series.
The cast had their moments. Archer, T’Pol and Trip became well-developed characters but the rest of the cast were ill-defined unlike TNG Deep Space 9 or Voyager’s minor character who were all solid.
Do yourself a favour, hire the pilot and then watch season 4 on DVD. If that doesn’t grab you – skip the rest. Hope this makes sense.
#20
I know that!!
If you compare the trailer shot to the movie its a different FX style. The trailer shot was amped up to look flashy and make it look like Kirk was being shot. In the movie the FX is a less flashy shot without the photon torpedo like effect.
Although I am not a fan of ST:TUC, I have to admit that these are the best trailers of the entire series. The full trailer here is just amazing; it makes me want to watch the movie right now even though I think it’s really bad.
And that teaser…what a lovely tribute to the series, and an excellent “tease” in the truest sense.
Thanks for posting this series of trailers!
# 19
ENTERPRISE: The pilot was really good. All other episodes from season 1 are boring. Season 2 the same. Season 3 was quiet good, IMO. Season 4 was superb, but allready to late to rescue the show. It losts it’s audience in the late first and the entire second season. The ratings where undeservingly low in the third season (the war-theme was not everyone’s thing I guess) and in the fourth season too, even when the critics getting far better.
TUC: One of the greatest Star Trek movies so far. It’s my no. 3 movie, behind First Contact and TWOK. For the first (and only) time the plot not only concentrates around the TOS-crew, but the ambassadors, the president, the Klingons and the USS Excelsior as well. Beside the low budget, TUC gives one a greater and wider view of the Trek-universe. The only thing I don’t like (even after 1000 times watching it) is the pink blood of the Klingons. That’s something very ridiculous and a bit unbelievable.
The trailer is really good, maybe the best Trek-trailer so far.
One thing that has always bothered me about this movie is that the “undiscovered country” is supposed to be death, not the future. Perhaps it’s not a mistake by the writers, but rather just shows that Klingons don’t know their Shakespeare ;-)
For me “Star Trek VI” is the best trek film til today!
33: But have you read it in the original Klingon?
It’s a very, very good trailer for a decent and well-meaning Trek installment. There are still a few things about this movie that make me cringe, but overall I think it’s one of the better-concieved ideas for a Trek film. I think it’s seriously (even cripplingly) flawed, but it has its heart in the right place – directly on the sleeve, where (in Trek) it damn well should be :)
High-water mark for any Trek series finale.
I love this movie.
I am a fan of Trek from my childhood in the 1960’s up to the present, and I fully believe this one worked on almost every level. I can watch it again and again and again and don’t have to make any excuses.
Oh, I love the teaser, too!
I remember holding my breath concerning this movie, after what, at the time, was a huge disappointment from ST:V, I was afraid that these movies had jumped the shark.
I was pleasantly relieved.
ST:VI was a very classy send-off, and that teaser… oy, let me tell you… still easily brings a tear to the eye. It’s so carefully worded with just the right narrator… the entire package is a perfect fit. *grabs a tissue*
Again, great flick, but there are a few moments that seem designed solely to serve to bring the main cast into frame.
For example, Valeris needlessly firing a phaser in the galley causing Uhura and Scotty to rush in inquiring about it — because, yeah, the communications officer and the chief engineer need to rush right in, unarmed, into a room where a fire fight could be in progress. :D
(Though, now that I think about it… both of them just happened to be in the area…? Didn’t they try to suggest they might have a relationship in ST:V…? I’m kidding! Don’t hit me!)
And then there’s the reading of books on the bridge by a bunch of the cast to ’sneak past’ a Klingon checkpoint. Very funny scene, but doesn’t really make a lot of sense that these books, outside of a museum, wouldn’t be digital in the 23rd century.
But, silly as they are, these bits made for good moments and got characters that typically take a back seat, into the action. The film was so enjoyable that I can blow them off easily.
I just picked this flick up at the store recently, on sale, and the version I have has a slightly re-edited version of the Spock/Valeris mind-meld scene. There’s black and white inserts of the people she names. It was quite unexpected, but it helps, especially for those who may not know the names vs. the faces.
The Undiscovered Country is my favourite of the TOS Star Trek movies. I am so glad the Original Crew were given one more movie and were able to go out on a high.
It had everything a Star Trek movie should have, Plenty of action and a great story!
The dinner scene of course is one of the classic moments in the movie.
TUC is one of the best movies and that Teaser trailer makes me cry all the time! Superb Trek at its best…the last really decent Trek movie so far (though FC had its moments!)
Probably one of the best trailers and i defiantly put TUC into good category for Star Trek films. Great soundtrack.
However there is couple of issues that give this movie bad light today. Shakespeare spouting Klingon’s were too much. There were to much awkward dialog using 20th century allegory like Only Nixon could go to China, We need breathing room. Adolf Hitler 1938 and Guess who is coming to dinner e.c.c. Also the scene that were written to be funny however it so stupid and ludicrous. I can name a couple. First is poor 10 foot alien that Kirk kick in a knee but actually we found out it was his genitals(WTF).
The Klingon’s are so stupid that they don’t catch the transmitter on Kirks back. What happened to standard prison uniform?
Having found the magnetic boots, the locker’s owner is brought forward and challenged to put them on to see if they fit. The camera pans down the suspects legs to reveal he has huge webbed feet. Bare, huge webbed feet. No socks, no shoes, just ugly rubber feet. Okey i admit that was pretty funny but stupid scene.
However the best scene was when the Enterprise zooms to Kirk’s rescue, The Klingon’s response? A bored and sleepy guard hails them and asks them who they are. On board the Enterprise Uhura and company frantically page through old Klingon glossaries, manuals and dictionaries they just happen to have lying around and bluff their way past the Evil Empire’s borders by mumbling “We art delivering food… things and…supplies to Rura Penthe… over…”. Okay, says the guard, on you go. And that’s it! No passwords, sigh.
So i don’t think TUC deserve to to labeled as best Trek film but still it is better then most off Trek films.
After the dinner attended by Crew and Klingon’s, Gorkon tells Kirk something like, “If there is to be a new world, our generation will have the hardest time living in it.” I always thought this was a fabulous line.
TUC was a very decent film, and a good one to end the series with. The story, I believe, is another example of how Leonard Nimoy was so good at addressing current social concerns within the Star Trek framework. And Nick Meyer had become part of the family, and his understanding of Star Trek and its characters was pretty obvious. You just knew if these two guys were involved with it, it was gonna be good.
The things that could be criticized in this film are negligible, and do not interfere with viewing it. I loved the overall look of the film. I loved Kim Cattrall. I loved the dark soundtrack. I loved Kim Cattrall. Too bad they couldn’t have filmed the original opening sequence idea of gathering the crew. And I loved Kim Cattrall…
Kirk “Some people say we’ve reached the end of History. Well, we haven’t run out of history quite yet”
A great line and a nod to the 90s pundit Francis Fukuyama and his book The End of History.
I remember …
I was dragged to the theater because my brother wanted to see “Ernest Scared Stupid” (his Halloween opus). I was dejected and depressed already after hearing about Gene Roddenberry’s death. Now I was angry about having to see some lame kids movie.
And then the Star Trek VI teaser trailer came up.
The imagery of my heroes projected against the hull of that beautiful ship made me cry. Tears and all. Just typing about this is making me get choked up and moist-eyed.
It’s the best Star Trek trailer ever made and one of my all-time favorites.
This is by far, the Best trek movie of them all.
I must admit, I always clench my fist and let out a quiet little ‘Yes!’ when he tackles the guy and says, “Kirk. Enterprise.” :)
The teaser trailer for this was AWESOME.
And it’s a shame that the music for the full trailer was not included on the CD .
What I found of all the Trek movies is that if they are an even number they will be good. And TUC was no exception. I love how it managed to get the combination of action and drama near perfect throughout the film. There are a number of flaws in it, but the same can be said for every film. I love the focus on the aging of the crew throughout the movie and how everything is being passed to the next generation. I love this movie.
taH pagh, taHbe’…
and yes, I DO own the Klingon Hamlet
I wish they had kept the pink blood , but all the episodes used red-sad.
And I would’ve expected the Klingon Chancellor to use a more impressive ship-not the same old thing again. I mean TSFS gave us the Bird-of-Prey, and Krudge was “just” a Captain. Yep, a flagship was in order.
I personally felt that the original cast movies took a nosedive after The Voyage Home. Something about the first movies felt more natural and unforced, but V and VI felt more like caricatures of Trek….the characters felt less and less like real people. Trek VI was definitely a much better film than Trek V, but I feel it suffered from the heavy hand of Nicolas Meyer, who insisted on turning Star Trek into an extension of the Navy. Nick is a very well read man, but just from hearing him speak, he lacks imagination and couldn’t relate to Star Trek in its original form. Over time, I believe his influence was partially responsible for watering down what Trek was…essentially making it nothing more than contemporary humans in costume.
The various series after Next Gen went this way too….it drove me nuts.
Hey, has anyine heard if Majel is in the new movie? I know all the buzz has been about Nimoy and Shatner, but really, can you do Trek without Majel?
She’s been in ALL SIX series! She’s been in both the TOS and TNG films. Can anyone confirm she’s been in all 10?
She’s like our C3P0.
I remember seeing the teaser in the theater, and feeling so bummed afterwards, because it hit me then that Vi truly would be the last time we’d see them all saddle up together. Yeah, it was nice that Paramount eventually found ways of shoe-horning most of the individual cast into various TNG-era plots, but it just wasn’t the same.
#41- maybe that’s where Johnny Cochran got the OJ defense…. if the boots don’t fit you must acquit.
Alas, if only we’d gone straight from IV to VI! Oh well, can’t cry over spilt milk.
This was a marvelous sendoff for the original crew, and certainly not the slap-in-the-face that Nemesis was to the TNG crew. Unlike TFF, every character is given an *appropriate* moment in TUC. It is bittersweet, of course, because you realize this is the last time you’ll see them all together. But it’s a fiting tribute to 25 years of adventures, from the opening dedication to Gene right down to the Enterprise sailing into the sunset.
The film does have flaws – I still wish Nick Meyer would have said to hell with Gene and made Saavik the conspirator, but I realize Gene was adamant and in ill health, so I can understand why they may not have pushed it more. It would have helped Valeris not stand out instantly as the traitor, though. Adding those digital clocks above all the workstations was kind of silly, and just led to easily avoidable continuity errors.
Did anyone ever notice that George Lucas stole the Praxis shockwave for his Star Wars re-releases? I mean, he owns ILM so I guess I can’t say he stole it, but the effect is nearly identical. He certainly recycled it! :)
Nicholas Meyer was one of the best things to ever happen to Star Trek.
55. agreeded
i loved Trek VI- it was nearly the first trek movie i saw in the cinema- missed it by a week- i remember waiting so long for it to come out on video- i read the novel and DC comic adaption while i waited.
the trailers are great- show the films strong points well.
It’s such a good movie, and SO badly edited… Valtane being in two places on the bridge at the same time (consecutive shots), Martha and Kirk rolling towards McCoy who’s layed vertical to their horizontal, only to be perfectly parallel to them in the next shot, amongst other glaring mistakes. It was a rush job to release it for the anniversary and the poor editing showed that.
Does anyone notice the boom mic following Kirk and Spock at the top of the corridor in the trailer?
Great movie. The worst edited of the lot.
#58
You’re absolutely right Dalek. Lots of poor editing due to the rush to release. As I recall, Voyager further compounded the Valtane error by having him die BEFORE the final scene in VI, where he’s clearly present. Oh Voyager, you rascal you!
Love, love, love this film! Not only is a a great Trek film, it’s a great movie all around.
#59 Yes. Voyager made so many glaring continuity errors in Flashback. Valtane was the worst offence, but also sending the Excelsior into battle mere hours before its arrival at Khitomer was an additional offence, when she showed up perfectly unscathed.
Not to mention Chang threatening them in zero-g after gravity had been restored.
Loved this movie and the trailer.
Stargate stole the shockwave first.
#63 You’re right i remember watching that at cinema and thinking THIEVES!!! Mind you Stargate steals from Star Trek a lot. Notice how they are all buzzing round in spaceships these days with cloaks, transporters, and Star Trek jargon “beaming” etc….
I actually managed to snag a 35mm copy of the teaser. And of course, I can’t find it among all the boxes of accumulated junk I have in the basement now…
For me, this one ties with TWOK as the best of the original cast movies. TMP being a close second (Director’s cut, anyway…).
I’ve always been bothered by Herman Zimmerman’s designs. They always looked cheesy, in my opinion.
I agree that Majel needs to be in the movie, somehow. Computer voice again?
This was the first of the Trek movies that I saw at the cinema and as such will always have a special place in my heart. I remember my Dad taking me to see it when I was like 11 or 12 years old and I loved it !
Two of the best trailers in Trek History.
#61
If I remember, they also placed Kirk’s trial a mere 3 days after the explosion of Praxis, when Star Trek VI clearly established 2 MONTHS have passed between the explosion and the scene where Kirk is asked to go on the peace mission. Despite the few bright spots in Voyager, they sure managed to get even the simplest things wrong.
55 and 56
Disagree! ;) Haha, oh well.
I think he brought a capable hand to Trek 2 when it was absolutely needed, but by Trek 6…I found his influence on the writing to be awfully contrived. A good chunk of it felt forced, and the constant Shakespeare references were overdone. Subtlety is key to doing that kind of stuff. In Trek 6, Meyers just rammed as many of his favorite things down our throats as he could. In the earlier movies, he at least didn’t have the power to do that.
Why are the release dates different?
The best Star Trek trailer. And a great Star Trek movie.
#70
If I remember correctly – and it’s been a while, so I could be wrong – the original date was the 13th, but they pushed it back to the 6th. Maybe it was opening against something else? I can’t quite remember.
Been watching all the movies as trek movie posts the trailers and this one has got to be my 2nd favorite. Love the pacing and seeing the Enterprise A for the final time always gets me in the final monlouge.
In my opinion the whole Star Trek world went down hill after this and I only hope that if this film does good at the box office is that the studio doesn’t get to greedy and commision another 4 sequel TV seris to run after each other
I wish that Paramount would release the theatrical version on DVD instead of the extended (but inferior) television/video version. Their special edition was not too special! Let the fans see the original version!
My favourite Trek movie, my favourite soundtrack, my favourite look for any of the Trek movies. If the new film is anything as good as this then I’d be one happy fan. As an aside, it was also the first Trek film I saw in the cinema. I was 7 years old.
favorite trek movie…..period. it was amazing….25 years later, everyone was still there, playing their characters. considering TNG won’t be 25 until 2012, maybe we’ll see the TNG get a real sendoff movie for 2012…(wakes up). ok, so getting back to reality…this was a great movie. i remember hearing somewhere that they wanted saavik for this film (either alley or curtis) and that didn’t happen, so we got valeris. wonder how it would’ve turned out with saavik.
My only real problem with the movie is the central conceit that the destruction of ONE KLINGON MOON could somehow cripple and bring the entire Klingon Empire to it’s knees.
Say huh??? Even if the Klingons were stupid enough to only build one energy production facility (or whatever the movie called it), and even if it WAS a crippling blow to the Empire, they NEVER would have admitted anything to the Federation, their sworn enemy!
They simply would have rushed construction on one of their many OTHER conquered planets, made due with what they had in the meantime, and that would have been the end of it.
It’s still a GREAT movie despite that of course. I just wish Nimoy and Meyer thought that aspect through a little more (and consulted a few more Trek experts). ; )
#77
The problem was the entire empire was overextended (something referred to in dialogue with regard to their ‘enormous military budget’). Praxis is mentioned as a ‘key energy production facility’ but certainly not the only one. The real issue was that it was Kronos’ moon, meaning the explosion and fallout polluted the Klingon homeworld’s atmosphere.
It would be a bit like Earth suffering a fatal catastrophe – the Federation might not have fallen, but it would certainly be harmed. And from everything we’ve understood in dialogue throughout Trek history, the Federation was considerably larger than the Klingon Empire. It seemed – at least to me – that the implication was that Praxis’ destruction was a severe blow, and that coupled with decades of questionable policies led to Gorkon initiating his peace plan to a more accepting populace.
Of course, in reality it was a really nice allegory to events taking place in the real world. And that’s something Trek has always manged quite well.
@77:
It wasn’t just that Praxis had been destroyed, it was that the resultant shockwave had caused serious damage to Kronos, their homeworld. There’s a couple of comments in the film about ‘their atmosphere being destroyed’ etc. Their relief effort to preserve their homeworld meant they couldn’t afford continued conflict with the Federation.
This film is cool – Chang is a very convincing villian, and I love the Excelsior. There are a few problems with it, but not so much as earlier films. And after ST:V, it was a breath of fresh air.
I can remember seeing a special feature on ‘Blue Peter’ on ST:VI when it was released – memories!
Mr. President! MR. PRESIDENT!! NOOOOOO!!!
78 and 79:
All that being true, I still can’t see the proud and defiant Klingon Empire submitting themselves for a SECOND to the hated Federation.
They’d just as soon wither and die, or go out in a blaze of glory than make peace with their enemy.
74-
I agree. I bought the directors/special edition on DVD and was really disappointed in some of the changes made by the director…especially during the very intimate vulcan mind meld scene between Spock and Valeris where they flash images of the conspirators on the screen. It really didn’t work…and just felt tacked on. I mean, I think we’re smart enough to remember who the characters are. I felt the theatrical edition was better in this respect.
The “mash-up teaser” still moves me. It’s the narration more than the effects of the clips on the hull of the ship. But both together is an amazing hit out out of the park….
To point out “That’s not the Enterprise-A in the Trek VI teaser” is classic, cliche, anal trek fan. No offense #13, good for you…
82, agreed. I also didn’t care for the Klingon being revealed as just a cheesy disguise at the end.
It might have made sense story-wise, but the execution– with the mask being pulled off and gasps of surprise all around– was just WAY too Scooby Doo for my taste. : P
#81
I guess because they dealt with that issue within the context of the movie it didn’t seem unbelievable to me. The line that Azetbur’s advisor delivers about ‘dying on their feet rather than living on their knees’ – the whole scene, really – seemed to show that the empire was conflicted between their contempt for the Federation and the reality of the decaying system they now lived in (and were in danger of dying in). It seemed that Azetbur represented a new generation of pragmatic Klingons that were willing to put aside a century of passed-on hatred.
I remember the first time I saw the theatrical trailer: My wife and I were at a theater in Atlanta on the weekend of the “Sit Long and Prosper” marathon showing at what then were only the first five movies. The place was packed, and the crowd was cheering all through the thing, including huge cheers when “Captain Sulu, U.S.S. Excelsior” came on the screen.
A fun day :)
#84 DavidJ
Have to agree that the changes made to the home video version, causing the “scooby Doo” ending, really shaved off points on what had always been my second favorite Trek. Well, it still is behind Khan.
Not only is the pulling off the halloween mask and the gasps that ensued very cheesy but I think the story suffers for it as well. Essentially, the point is that the Federation were the real hard-liners in the film. Chang was a pawn and really the only loyalist to the old Klingon guard. I thought the original theatrical edition made a better attempt at saying there were old schoolers on both sides who wanted things to remain as they are. This just seemed to be a little too much finger pointing at how obstinate the Federation (the U.S) is about foreign relations.
On a side note I was at Trek VI opening night. Played to a packed house. Saw some people in costume. Will never forget the energy that coursed through the theater that night. And it all came to a head when Kirk blew up Chang’s BOP. The audience went nuts with cheers and applause. Does anyone else remember their experiences at the theater? Those are the stories I like hearing. How the fans reacted.
Kind of a boring Trek movie, but it’s pretty entertaining.
I remember just a tad before VI was released a few theaters were showing the first five films back to back to back ..and everyone received a t-shirt that said, “Sit Long and Prosper”. (I still have mine somewhere, I think)
Then, of course they did show the teaser for VI. Since this is LA, you had tons of members of the press thre covering the event, Entertainment Tonight (when it was still a watchable show), etc.
I heard Bill and Leonard were there to check out the reaction of the audience to the new trailer.
#87
I saw it opening night as well, and remember the theatre ushers were wearing Trek uniforms. The local chain (which isn’t around anymore) really put a lot into it, and they greeted us as we entered almost like we were on a ride. I remember clapping when Sulu first apears on screen as Captain, and roars when Chang’s BOP bites the dust.
The galley scenes with 20ith century cookware, wall mounted fire extinguishers, corrugated patio roofing for one of the engineering walls,and a stack of old Klingon translation books made it hard to swallow. Paramount had as they had done on ST-V gone cheap. Regardless of these ridiculous short comings the film still worked. Viewers were able to over look some of the tacky redressing of the TNG sets and give the film a chance. The bulk of the movie worked and made for some fine entertainment.
#91
Almost everything you mention was a deliberate story element, not Paramount going cheap. As he’d done with Trek II, Meyer wanted certain elements of the film grounded in the modern day, even if anachronistic (a design aesthetic that BSG certainly subscribes to). Though the galley had been established in TOS, and books were clearly still around all the way to the 24th century and TNG.
In terms of redressing sets – TNG’s sets were mostly redressed from the TOS movie sets, so it was really just a matter of things coming full circle. The reuse/recycle philosophy has been with Trek since Harve Bennett and Trek II.
Ok, this one was good with yes, lots of plots holes but a good film none the less. I just never could figure out what the hell Shakespeare had to do with the Klingons and why were they ( or rather Chang) so interested in a Human play write?
The kitchen thing I could understand with Kirk maybe trying to add a personal touch of home cookin’–but weak.
It could have been better but the send off for the original crew was a good one.
I don’t mind that Paramount went cheap on this one, it’s my favorite of all Trek movies. Great story, music, effects!
It was cheap when Generations reused the Bird of Prey explosion in the very next movie.
A beautiful trailer that captures the mood of the film incredibly well. It has become a personal favorite that – until I finally bought the DVD (director’s edition) – always sucked me in whenever it was on TV. Great pacing and plot development, with one of my favorite ST movie scenes: the Enterprise A and Excelsior firing on Chang’s Bird of Prey! The Marta thing threatened to become a little over-the-top, and even Bones recognized that…. While I know that some people find the thumbing-through-books method of fooling the Klingons to be improbable, it made for a much more amusing break in the otherwise quite tense atmosphere of the film than anything that happened on Rura Penthe.
Christopher Plummer is just awesome in the movie. “Do we not hear the chimes at midnight?”
I remember seeing the teaser ad, and just thinking what a wonderful tribute to the original series … sort of knowing that this was it — the last Trek movie we would have with the original cast.
Reacting to comments above:
- Nick Meyer’s touches — the Shakespeare, the contemporary (20th century) references, the silly Klingon translation books, china tea cups, an anachronistic galley, turning Spock into Sherlock Holmes, etc. — did get heavy-handed, and almost takes me out of the experience when I watch this film. Still, it is an enjoyable movie, and made up for the previous one. As (IIRC) Dennis Miller said at the time on SNL, “The sixth Star Trek movie is to be called, “Star Trek VI – The Apology.”
- Originally, TWOK was going to be called “The Undiscovered Country” — an allusion to Spock’s death, and to the Genesis Planet, but I’ve read that Paramount disliked it because it was too obscurely literary. Then TWOK was to be called “The Vengeance of Khan” which was nixed by Lucas for being too close to his planned “The Revenge of the Jedi” … which of course didn’t happen. What a pity. The Vengeance of Khan sounds so cool.
- I’ve also read that Valeris was to be Saavik, but it was Meyers who changed it to Valeris when he couldn’t get Kirstie Alley to agree to reprise the Saavik role.
Scott B. out.
This is the film that Kirk should have died in. Heroically saving the Federation president and taking the phaser blast as he flies to push the president out of the way. Then we would not be having the discussion today of Shatner being in the film or not. It would have been a classy ending for the character and would have been foreshadowed neatly by Spocks comments in TNG’s “Unification” about what happened to Kirk being the reason for going alone to Romulus.
#98
Several Trek books document Meyer’s disagreements with Rodenberry about the use of Saavik. Meyer felt he had every right to use a character he created; Rodenberry felt Saavik would never behave that way. I don’t believe it ever even reached the casting stage.
One more thought. The shockwave effect that is so visually stunning in this film really has become a huge visual effect cliché, hasn’t it? Wouldn’t such explosions in space be three-dimensional spheres, unless intentionally set to expand in such a fashion?
Still, that scene with Sulu and the Excelsior is one of the coolest in the entire history of Trek. Very well executed. That, and “FLY HER APART, THEN!” make me think a “Captain Sulu” series could have been awesome.
Scott B. out.
# 100
Thanks, Sean. It’s just as well that Catrall’s Valeris was used. Preserving Saavik’s character was probably the better way to go.
Scott B. out.
In one Trek book I read the script for Trek VI, did have Savvik in it, but Kim Cattrall didn’t want to play a character 2 other people had, so she asked Meyer if she could create a new Vulcan character. Meyer and Cattrall created Valeris.,
The Klingons in this film looked terrible!!!
This was the first Trek movie I saw in the cinema, it was a great experience seeing these characters on the big screen
I thought the makeup Martia had made her look really cheap.
Two great trailers for my favorite Trek movie. The teaser still gives me goosebumps. Pretty amazing when you consider that it contains NO new footage.
They should have made “Star Trek: Excelsior” instead of “Star Trek: Voyager.”
No question.
For years, I have used the Praxis explosion to calibrate my surround sound.
i always didnt like it when they messed about with the music by adding music from previous trek films to the new trailers. it didnt seem right to me.
I loved that TOS trailer with the images of TOS on the enterprise exterior.
great movie and a fitting finale to the greatest crew of them all
Greg
UK
#102
I’ll have to disagree with you there, Scott. Having Saavik as the traitor would have packed a much more significant whallop (as well as not making Valeris stand out almost immediately as the conspirator).
Star Trek VI is definitely one of my all-time favorite Trek movies…great movie, great trailer, in my opinion. Watching it now helps me to remember what made it, and the TOS film era itself, such a success: character. Hopefully, the new Trek film will be able to maintain that focus on character as well…but I guess we’ll find out soon enough.
“Cry havoc, and let slip the dogs of war!”
#18 …
uh, i thought Paramount’s original tiitle for TWOK was “The Revenge of Khan” and thus the complaint from Fox re: temporarily titled “Revenge of the Jedi”.
Anybody?
No. It was the Vengeance of Khan.
gotcha. thanks
Wish my high school English teachers had made us study Shakespeare in the original Klingon.
And revenge was a dish best served cold in my high school cafeteria. ;)
The Star Trek VI Teaser simply BLEW ME AWAY at the theatres! After the letdown of Star Trek V, this came out of the blue to restore my faith in Star Trek and make me excited to see this film…
A nostaligic, wonderful trailer.
It is so great to see Trek fans come out in force and defend TUC, flaws and all.
I love, love, love, this one. TWOK will always be a classic, but I was really reading a lot of Trek novels at the time this came out and it really had that cool vibe I got from the novels that never really came to be with any of the other Trek films. And the teaser traileer is an absolute tear jerker to a Trek fan.
We love our homages and goodbyes.
I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS MOVIE. It is my second favorite right behind TWOK. The trailers were both excellent. This was a swan song the “way it was meant to be.”
Seeing the sunset brought a tear to my eye. I sure do miss this crew.
That teaser trailer was beautiful The best I have ever seen.
hmmm is there anything from STV in that montage? I didn’t see anything.
BK613
The final shot is of Kirk and Spock from Trek V. When Kirk leans over Spock’s shoulder and tells him he looks like he’d just seen a ghost.
Yep. They did a nice comparison shot of Kirk and Spock side by side on the underside of the saucer section, and them in a similar pose on the lower hill from TFF.
I should say, the first image is from the early days of TOS. And I made a typo. It should read, “hull”. :)
To Start: Thanks for posting the trailer, however: learn to think for yourself. Stop thinking of : perfect. brilliant, classic., etc. it is tasteless, tactless and a pre-programmed short-cut to thinking, nearly as superluous as a red-shirt.
Poster #16: YOU should work for this website. Your descriptions are succinct and pleasant. Obama said the first thing he will do in office is get rid of the poster of the trailers due to his lack of creativity in writing (which is where creativity is required) and will instead appoint poster #16 as his trailer poster and trek correspondent of state.
#19: Valid questions
1: YES.
2: YES.
3: YES.
But it really sets TOS up if you watch Star Trek chronologically. I suppose that was the purpose and redemption of Brannon/Braga for hijacking Star Trek and crashing it into Rigel 7.
Poster #20: Up your shaft. Thanks for giving away the surprise for the new audience.
#21: Valid and clear points. You are the kind of poster we need more of.
#22: How can succint questions be odd if the poster had never seen Enterprise? I have a better idea: Throw your computer out the window (and don’t let go).
#23: And what do you suppose they eat mass meals out of? Not every meal on the enterprise should come from a replicator. Wouldn’t you miss an actual cooked meal after serving however long out in space?
#22: I think I swallowed a bug. Sorry. Belay my last.
#35: That is my next project. Wish me Kha-plaa!
#68: Right to a fair and speedy trial.
#70: Come now, young minds, fresh ideas. Be tolerant.
Star Trek VI is my favorite as well.
If you wanna laugh a bit, click or paste this youtube link w/Star Trek Barbershop Quartet: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4gcLWm-OFg
“It’s such a shame they had to use the TNG sets for parts of the Enterprise A…”
Wait…weren’t a bunch of the sets for the Enterprise D re-dresses of the TWOK/TMP Enterprise?
“#23: And what do you suppose they eat mass meals out of? Not every meal on the enterprise should come from a replicator. Wouldn’t you miss an actual cooked meal after serving however long out in space?”
My thought exactly. If I were a starship captain, I’d want fresh-cooked meals in the Captains mess.
Really Really pleased they made this Film. Great recovery from Trek V.
In my opinion, this one’s better than TWOK. That’s just my opinion.
It’s a riot to see Kim Cattrall in this movie now that I’ve seen all of Sex and the City… I feel like any minute she’ll come right out and say something like, “Pon Farr or no Pon Farr, I’m going to go right over there and take that hunk’s trousers down!”
I agree with everyone who loves this film, and everyone who ranks it second after TWOK.
It’s certainly one the best depictions of Kirk, and among Shatner’s best performances, too. He seems to do well opposite a really strong Shakespearean nemesis. And of course I love Christopher Plummer, who has great fun chewing the scenery.
To think those two each other way back when at Stratford!
I loved watching Spock slap that phaser out of Valeris’ hand in the sickbay. Wonderful bit of character evolution for Spock, brilliantly executed (as always) by Leonard Nimoy.
That having been said, if they couldn’t get Saavik to be the traitor, they should have come up with something more original than Valeris. She was Saavik in all but name. Being Spock’s protege, the bit about regulations on the bridge, etc, just made it glaringly obvious to anyone familiar with TWOK.
“brilliantly executed?” what is it with you people? you think everyone who does everything on screen is “brilliant”. Grab a thesaurus. grab a dictionary while you’re at it.
This was the last Star Trek movie I ever paid to see.
It is decent, IMO—-good enough that I occasionally screen it at home for fun.
It is, however, my 5th favorite ST feature film—-behind TWOK, TMP, TSFS, and TVH.
Granted, I was so disappointed in STV:TGTTO89 that I went into the theater somewhat apprehensive. I also had already given up on TNG (which I never warmed up to) by that time.
I am happy to say that I was pleasantly surprised. It has some great qualities about it.
Christopher Plummer gives us a Klingon warrior who does some justice to the Klingons we knew from the TOS-era, although his Shakespeare quotes were a bit much, IMO. Chang and Kruge are my favorite post-TOS Klingons.
It was also nice to see a Klingon battlecruiser for the first time since TMP. I was growing tired of the more Romulan-like bird of prey.
TUC’s allegory to Chernobyl and the changing dynamic of the East-West relationship at the end of the Cold War was also an element of the film I enjoyed.
I liked the Excelsior scenes too.
I felt a huge sigh of relief at the absence of any ridiculous romantic escapades between Scotty and Uhura.
Nimoy and Kelley are fantastic as always as Spock and McCoy.
Overall, it is a good movie, and certainly a huge rebound from the God-awful (no pun intended) STV: The Great Trek Turd Of ‘89.
With that said, I could have done without the aging Shatner’s performance in Kirk’s rather corny fistfight with the shapeshifter in the snow above the Rura Penthe Penal Colony. I also failed to appreciate Kirk’s less than professional behavior at dinner with the Klingons.
That didn’t feel very Kirk-like to me…nor did his overdone hateful disposition towards an entire race of people. I never felt that James T. Kirk was so unenlightened as to display such racist intolerance of any one people, no matter what a single individual had done to affect him personally. I understand what it did for the progression of the story, but I didn’t care for that, and felt it surrendered some of the moral integrity and character of JTK.
TUC was very entertaining, and certainly moreso than I went into it expecting. I still think that the best Star Trek movies were from 1979-1986.
1.TWOK
2.TMP
3.TSFS
4.TVH
5.TUC
6. TGTTO89 and any TNG-era film
I remember seeing the teaser trailer attached to a film. The way they wrapped scenes around the Enterprise hull was really cool, as was Christopher Plummer’s narration. Unfortunately, the sound mix was awful as when the Enterprise warp jumps, it did not recreate the sense of power and beauty it did when originally seen in TMP. Its as if they got a 3rd generation copy of the clip and tacked it on at the end.
The close-to-the-final trailer was seen during a TOS Movie Marathon held at one of the downtown theaters. And, yes, my friend and I sat through and saw all five movies again, which was a treat. Unfortunately, it was not in 70mm. At the end of V, they showed the final trailer but the effects were not the completely finished effects. For example, the Chang’s torpedo did not have the finished red hue but a white bulb-ish glow as it fired. The audience was still in awe of it especially the shockwave opening and the cool sound effect that accompanied it.
As with ST2, the movie gets a little too talky in places. The literary references are nice but think of it folks, do you think a military officer is going to spout Shakespeare in the heat of battle? I don’t think so.
One major problem I had was the final ending of the movie. In the book, as the Enterprise is about to get under way and Kirk pauses to give the new heading, Spock interrupts and says.. “I think the destination is.. ‘thataway’” in reference to the ending of the first movie. Instead they use the Peter Pan quote they planned for ST2. Bleh. At least the parting shot of the Enteprise should have been a beauty shot of her..again in homage to the first movie and bringing the TOS full circle as she jumps into warp. Then the signatures of the cast with the TOS fanfare music. The end.
All Trek movies should end that way. Just like in the series. :)
For me, this movie was bittersweet. It was great fun, great Star Trek, but it would also be the last Star Trek ever produced. A sad but classy end to an era.
Why didn’t you include the Nick Meyer presentation that’s on the DVD, which I think is one of the best ways you can introduce a major film in a big franchaise like this. Too bad JJ didn’t do something similar with the new one.
I always thought STVI was so inconsistant. Lots of things annoyed me:
1. The Enterprise bridge suddenly has lot’s of clocks. Why? Because the plot needs them to instill a sense of urgency.
2. Spock has the foresite to plant a tracking patch on Kirk, which looks like a piece of black velcro. You mean to tell me that the Klingons wouldn’t have found that thing immediately?
3. Spock suddenly has a taste for silver. His quarters look like he just got finished serving a 4 o’clock tea! I always saw Vulcans as having no real aesthetic taste, that objects are designed for their practical use, not for their beauty, which would indicate some kind of emotional response.
4. Spock’s mind-rape of Valeris. Sure he neesa to get information but there’s something awfully unpleasant about Spock’s forcible mind-meld. It’s violent and kind of sick and for me seems very out of character for Spock to even attempt this. Also, everyone just kind of stands there and watches all this happening. Me, I would have been calling security to report the trampling of Valeris’ rights. All the vaulted human rights that Trek so aspired to where just thrown right out the window.
5. Why oh why is General Chang spouting Shakespeare?! This always seemed like a concession in order to get Christopher Plummer to play the part.
Ugh!
#131. No need to be a snob or a scold, here. We’re not writing English essays; we’re posting to a board. So relax.
I’m sure we all have plenty of 50-cent words in our vocabularies. (And anyhoo, what of it if we don’t?)
I still get a chill up my spine when I watch the ‘mash-up’ trailer. Good stuff!
I liked the movie, but I still didn’t like the plot holes that the saucer section could fit through.
How could have Valeris quote Kirk saying “Let them die” when it was a high-level briefing in the beginning of the movie that didn’t include her?
Couldn’t they have had Klingons come aboard the Enterprise to do investigations? Doesn’t shooting a torpedo out of a chamber leave some sort of residue like a gun? With all the security footage that the Enterprise records (as they did with Spock’s death), couldn’t they make more effort to see who transported and who fired? Did they really have to rush off and throw them into a high-security prison planet?
I could go on but I’m at work and I don’t have the movie on hand to nitpick, but I know there were many others.
#139—”How could have Valeris quote Kirk saying “Let them die” when it was a high-level briefing in the beginning of the movie that didn’t include her?”
One of the people at that “high level briefing” was also a co-conspirator.
“Couldn’t they have had Klingons come aboard the Enterprise to do investigations?”
Yes, I think a joint-investigation would have been more prudent, given the diplomatic reprecussions.
“Doesn’t shooting a torpedo out of a chamber leave some sort of residue like a gun?”
You would think so.
“With all the security footage that the Enterprise records (as they did with Spock’s death), couldn’t they make more effort to see who transported and who fired?”
The “flight recorder visuals” we see in TSFS are from cameras in the engine room. I suppose they could only be there for specific security around the warp engines, etc., and not in the transporter room (at least prior to that incident!). I agree though.
“Did they really have to rush off and throw them into a high-security prison planet?”
Quick summary justice for Kirk was a goal of the co-conspirators.
And to quote Sarek—-”Klingon justice is a unique point of view…”
I love that teaser trailer. I could watch it all day long.
I just realized that the first few clips are shown on the saucer too. You can see the hull plate seperations, a cargo hatch, a phaser bank, & finally the ship’s name. I thought the ship was just in the final few clips, but I see the curved hull lines clearly now.
See, this is one of the things I love about Trek. No matter how many times you watch it, there’s always something new to glean. Amazing!!!
By far the BEST movie.
I love the deleted scene snipet at the 1:01 mark on the first trailer. I’ve always been disappointed that the DVDs did not make more use of deleted scenes. I like to be teased!
The “teaser” trailer for VI was majestic and still gives me a chill whenever I see it. I better not watch it before the new movie comes out, or I’ll get a shiver up my spine when I see some interloper playing Kirk & Spock!
NO QUETSION.
THE BEST MOVIE BY FAR.
NOT EVEN KHAN TOUCHES THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY.
(I get bored watching Khan. After the awesome Kirk reveal in the Kobayashi Maru sim (one of the best moments in Trek history), it’s a plodding, if continuous, film. Meyer upped his game big time for TUC.)
I’d forgotten about that Teaser Trailer! I remember now it giving me chills up my spine in the theater. Thanks for the replay Anthony.
The mash-up preview was so wonderfully done. As for the fllm, there were some very enjoyable moments in this film, but still uneven…
#137. Who’s askin for a 50 cent word? how about NOT NOT NOT using the same 50 cent word for every single description. Brilliant. Brilliantly. Just Brilliant. Classic. Say it 50 times and see how annoying it is and then imagine reading it and hearing it by every single person who ever described anything in the movies for the last 5 years. A plain ol’ 5 cent word will do. I mean, they only charge a penny for your thoughts, this guy’s thoughts are worthless! So choosing a 5 cent word? Priceless. if you don’t wanna use a 50 cent word or even a 5 cent word, go to priceline.com. I’m sure Shat’ll cut you a deal. Or even Geico. I hear they save you money, too.
#92
This is Not BSG its Star Trek. I and many fans expected 23rd Century tech, not toggle switches, phones hanging on the walls, references to tail pipes, and equipment that does not belong in Star Treks timeline. Nick Meyer might want to ground the story is some kind of reality but for an established series like Star Trek the direction he chose was ridiculous. This starship was suppose to be state of the art not some ready for the bone yard relic or a hijacked museum display.Production values could have been much higher. The film still worked but the errors were far from unnoticeable.
Did that movie really come out in 1991? And now it’s 2008???
Wow. Where does all the time go?