ST09 Trailer Countdown: Taking A Look At STVI: The Undiscovered Country’s Trailer

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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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.