Word of Paramount Home Entertainment’s 2016 home video plans for Star Trek have begun to surface, and we have some details to share.
Khan goes 4K
According to Bill Hunt of The Digital Bits, later this year the studio will release a remastered Blu-ray of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, which will be struck from a new 4K master and feature both the theatrical and extended cuts of the film, all approved by director Nicholas Meyer. This release will mark the HD debut of the extended cut, which was originally created in 2002 for the special edition TWOK DVD. There is no word on whether there will be any new extra features. There are also tentative plans to release the film in the nascent Ultra HD format, allowing us to see Ricardo Montalban’s pecs in all their Ultra HD (4k) glory.
TAS goes HD
Arex and M’Ress will make their Blu-ray debuts this year when The Animated Series gets released on behalf of CBS Home Entertainment, with elements struck from the HD masters currently found on streaming services. No word yet on extra features. It should be available in time for the holidays.
What about the other movies?
For those that were hoping that the studio would remaster the other films or that there would be an HD upgrade to the Director’s Edition of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed. Paramount has chosen to continue using masters that were struck in 2009 for the foreseeable future. It’s these transfers that will be featured in any new sets the studio chooses to release this year.
Hunt has more to say about all of this at his very fine site, which you can check out here.
*CORRECTION* – The extended cut of TWOK, generated from the 2002 master, is already available in HD on iTunes. The forthcoming Blu-ray will mark the extended cut’s HD debut in a physical format.
No remastered TMP in any version! I don’t care what kind of dire straits par is in (deliberately lowercased them), this ‘trot out the old suspects in new suits’ biz of repackaging is actively offensive to me.
The remastered Directors Cut of TMP would be the most anticipated of the movies in HD-remastering I am waiting for (I realize that they would nee to re-render some of the FX)….but I’d probably give me left nut for DS9 HD Remastered.
I agree with you about the possiblity of a possible Hi-Def or 4K remastering of “Star Trek: The Motion Picture – The Director’s Edition.” Come on Paramount, please make it so by commissioning the original team behind the DVD Director’s Edition and our friends at CBS Digital.
AMEN!!!!
I agree. The Director’s Edition of TMP did a lot for that movie. They should go back and redo it in HD. I know I’d buy it!
You and me both.
This is the studio that had to be guilted into restoring The Godfather. The Godfather, of all things! Their complete and utter disrespect for their own legacy is really sad.
Releasing TAS is nice, but it’s hard to get too excited about looking at high rez Filmation cels.
If the studio has so little interest, they should farm Trek out to Warner Bros. like they did with the rest of their catalogue.
Yea, Brian,
The colors are pretty simplistic on the Filmation, so I am mot really convinced of the need to “upgrade” my TAS animated DVD’s for the Blu-Ray set. It will not appear to the human eye nearly as much a difference as live action DVD versus quality quality.
Brian, with your media connections, is there anyone that you know in the CGI animation arena? Remastering/ re animating TAS would be amazing. Take the original cast voice overs and animate the series with modern CGI animation. Using modern CGI to redo TAS would be amazing with the great writing. Much better than putting lipstick on the pig and polishing up bad Filmation cels.
What do you think?
Trek,
I know the idea has been bandied around a bit, but I don’t think anyone has ever gotten serious about trying to do it. It would cost quite a bit of $$$ to pull off, but yeah, it would really be cool.
Maybe they get the same animation studio that is making Star Wars Rebels. That would be amazing! Original voice work with new animation is a surefire hit!
WB wouldn’t.do any better. Almost all of their catalog blu rays contain no extras or remastering.
Need to think of TMP as lil BLADE RUNNER – don’t need all the extras, but at least get the theatrical version looking as good as possible, then let the sales demonstrate that they can double dip for the grand tour version. But at least get the theatrical as well-presented as possible first!
Warners went as far with the butchered Night of Dark Shadows film as to do all the ADR work for an unearthed archive negative of the 30-mins longer cut of the film (ie one that makes sense!) but then dumped the project on grounds of cost because they didn’t want to telecine the preservation element and do the new sound mix.
Dark Shadows is also 50 this year, incidentally.
I disagree with your sentiment here for one very specific reason: The Star Trek TMP Director’s Edition is the film as the Director really wanted it, and is close to what he would have done given more time.
As long as the theatrical version of the movie is preserved, it is disrespectful, IMHO, to Robert Wise to not upgrade the Director’s Edition of the movie as he intended.
Also, more than most films, the initial release and, indeed, the TV extended releases are botched jobs. The effects are incomplete, Robert Wise was apparently actually carrying film cans with him on his flight to the premiere. Where, say, Star Wars was a complete film in it’s own right in 1977 and thus has a substantial fanbase that dislikes the changes of decades later, TMP:DE is simply the film being finished off. I don’t really see any version released before the DE being worth bothering with, as they are what Lucas now claims 1977 Star Wars was: an incomplete edit. The DE is really just a completed version of TMP and much better for it.
And I disagree strenuously with your premise, as the DE reflects more the interests of SharpLineArts than it does Wise, going by his own post-release comments in 1980. There are a few things that Wise wanted, like the bits of continuity with Ilia crossing to aid Chekov, but a lot of these enhancements are from rejected storyboards or are low-quality versions of what were potentially exciting notions. And the sound mix — as RtT book attests — was done right the first time, so the DE just pees on the wedding cake, esp the wormhole sequence.
While I do enjoy the DE and find it to be a superior version of the film, I have to agree about the new sound mix as well as the sound design, which makes a misguided attempt to warm up a film that is, for the most part, pretty cold.
“par”….I guess you told them. “Actively offensive”? Really keeping you up at night is it? How exactly does it impact your life?
We need the complete TWOK trilogy including Search for Spock and Voyage Home re-mastered to go along with TWOK.
Oh, and directors cut of TMP would be nice.
That would be swèet to release that trilogy as one film. Reedit it to the films merge seemingly into one film. No credits introducing the next film. I dont think any studio have ever done that before.
No credits, huh? That’d make the switch from Horner to Rosenman for the last third of the film even more jarring.
In that case, they might as well dig out all the original materials and create a new miniseries version as was done with The Godfather Saga.
Yea! A longer version of TMP! :-)
You said “TWOK”…twice!
How in the world did they manage to create HD masters of the Filmation series? It has long been my understanding that Hallmark converted all their masters to PAL DVDs and destroyed all their archival film, cel, and art material when they sold the Filmation catalog to some Euro distribution outfit?
Believe Paramount owns the Star Trek:TAS film elements
You mean old Paramount finally did something right in terms of archiving one facet of their family jewels? Hallelujah!
Too bad Film Score Monthly says Hallmark trashed the original musical soundtrack master tapes for TAS. :(
I’d be interested to know whether the clean audio exists for the actors’ voice work. I’d love to see a modern version of the animated series. They could start off with reworking the original episodes, perhaps adding some more guest voices (they could even add Chekov back in) and, if successful, continue the series with some new voice actors.
I second that idea. I want to see TAS get new animation, new guest voices, expanded to an hour and original series music put back in. I also want to see the computer games(25th anniversary edition, Judgement Rites and Secret of Vulcan Fury) get the same treatment. They could act as the final two years of the original five year mission.
Paramount has archives of the TAS film prints created for the show, as evidenced by “More Tribbles, More Trouble” in HD on the Star Trek TOS S2 Blu-ray set (The Trouble with Tribbles has it’s own disc, with a ton of special feautres, including an upconverted Trials and Tribbleations DS9 transfer).
This has been rumored for some time.
Will this be a proper remaster? Have they ever properly remasterd TWOK before or was it always vague like “digital restoration”. Did Mayer not say that the original master wa sin poor condition. How much more resolution can they extract from the film?
I just added the The TWOK Blu_ray Christmas list.
I might TAS to that list as well.
I might ADD TAS as well.
Darn typos.
Is it really worth owning a few extra minutes footage on the same format though?
The motion picture is such an underrated classic. It is my favorite trek after The Wrath of Khan and it is miles ahead of any of the Next Generation films and the rebooted films. The motion Picture actually was Trek and had something to say.
“The motion picture is such an underrated classic.”
Agree.
Upvote. Agree. However one best indicates unity of thought on the new comment system.
I don’t think I’d go that far, but it does have its charms.
It’s badly flawed, but the Director’s Edition improves it vastly. It gets Kirk’s characterisation right, is far better paced and the new sound mix makes it feel like a proper Star Trek film.
“it gets Kirk’s characterisation right”
It’s been awhile since I’ve seen the Directors Cut (or any version of TMP), but I don’t remember Kirk being any different, character wise. Would you mind elaborating, please?
Kirk’s in earlier edits is often cold, stroppy and a bully.
Epsilon station destruction, speaking to Uhura:
‘Viewer off. VIEWER OFF!!!!!!!’
changed to
‘Viewer off.’
After discussing Spock’s contact with Vejur prior to returning to the Enterprise (and persuading Spock to sit down, which is played more humorously in the newer version) Kirk and McCoy discuss Spock’s agenda. Kirk is leaving…
McCoy: Jim…
Kirk tuts loudly in irritation. Turns back angrily.
McCoy: How do we know about any of us? [can’t remember exact words – its something like that]
changed to
McCoy: Jim…
CUT TO: Kirk looking back at McCoy.
McCoy: How do we know about any of us?
There are subtle changes throughout which ‘warm up’ Shatner’s performance, making him more like the character we know and love from the TV show; something lacking in earlier cuts. One of the producers on the special features remarks that they ‘found’ Kirk’s in the DE, which I agree with.
What they need to do is take the Animated series soundtracks and COMPLETELY reanimate them with modern graphics. The Filmation $1.98 budget is painful to watch, and there are some good stories and classic performances there.
It would open up a whole new market unwilling to watch terrible 70’s TV animation. “Star Trek RE-Animated” – make it happen!
Yeah a agreed but still have the original format with it, don’t do a lucas
Yep, been saying this for years. 22 episodes with the original cast, modern CGI animation, add some new guest voice actors (Jimmy Doohan and Majel Barrett did solid ‘guest’ work but it’s painfully obvious sometimes that it’s them) perhaps put Chekov back in and get Walter Koenig to voice him, then they could hopefully carry on and make more episodes with some new voice artists.
As I recall, one of the Filmation animation team was actually colourblind but didn’t realise it. Consequently, characters’ uniforms change colour and there are some odd design choices. The Planet of the Apes cartoon makes it even more obvious.
How about a 20th Anniversary edition of First Contact?
Thatd be perfect, and this year would make 25 years since TUC
@Thorny,
Yep, I’d love that too.
Not quite the “HD debut of the extended cut”. That version is available in HD from iTunes. I own it. It’s the HD transfer used for the 2002 DVD, but it’s still HD. This will be the HD debut of that cut on physical media.
Thanks for the heads up – I’ll correct the copy. The iTunes version is 720p, I assume?
1080p and Dolby Digital 5.1.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/star-trek-ii-wrath-khan-directors/id359056546
Interesting. I didn’t think much of anything was being mastered in 1080p in those days.
I just bought it and it says “downloading 720p”. How do you get 1080p?
Ah, nevermind. On the AppleTV it shows up as 1080p.
I see Amazon has it as well.
http://goo.gl/pGyTvZ
How about honoring the work of Robert Wise when he went back & FINISHED Star Trek: The Motion Picture & actually remaster that version and/or remaster/redo those new effects shots & release it? To ignore that version & leave in a vault somewhere is disrespectful of the hard work Wise & his team did to finally complete that film. That version is my go-to version of the film. Their work really improved the film immeasurably and it has since become my favorite Trek movie. All the things that felt wrong about the theatrical version for me are corrected in the DIrector’s Cut.
I want my favorite version of the very first Trek film on Blu-ray, Paramount!!
What do I hate about this new comment section?
“You’re posting comments too quickly. Slow down.”
(________) you.
Oh relax…and go (______) while you (____________) and (__).
Is there anyway we can convince Paramount to turn over remastering to CBS and let them do real remastering of all the films? Including TMP and yes, get Shatner in the office for a director’s cut of TFF.
I realize that in theory TFF won’t sell a ton but you market it as William Shatner’s vision of TFF and it will sell.
Besides, the future is 4K and Star Trek has always sold. Its not just DVD sales that justify the remastering, its all future sales and syndication, streaming etc. Get it done.
I would suspect that those people who are early adopters of new technology like 4K TV would have many Trek fans among them.
TUP,
Slap Shatner’s [mechanically reproduced?] signature on it and call it: THE WILLIAM SHATNER SIGNATURE EDITION.
Didn’t Shatner try to get Paramount to let him do the Bob Wise treatment to FF for the DVD releases, but they turned him down? I wish they’d let him. Decent special effects would make that movie more watchable!
Oh yeah
Will this stuff sell? And how much would it actually cost? It would be interesting to see some marketing research on this. Do that many people even buy physical movies anymore?
I would really like to see Star Trek The Motion Picture Director’s Edition in HD. It is the only Star Trek movie I watch regularly any more.
I don’t see anything that would compel me to buy the animated series in HD but if they were to do a cgi version “right” that could change.
Exactly. I’ve got the DVDs and they’re fine for a low animation quality cartoon. A glossy CGI version made for HD would be amazing.
Didn’t see any comments if the remastering might clean up some of the FX issues….
Phil,
Since they are using the master struck for the DVD in 2002 for TWOK extended cut, there’ll be no fx adjusting love there.
What they are doing for the 4k remaster is still a big unknown according to Bill Hunt, but he is pursung answers to such questions.
No one has ever said they are using the 2002 master for the extended version. We don’t know what’s being used, but hopefully it’s a new 4k Image harvest for the extra scenes.
The point of mentioning the 2002 release in HD was to point out that the long version is currently available in HD, just not on Blu-ray.
NSB,
The confusion is the article says; “This release will mark the HD debut of the extended cut, which was originally created in 2002 for the special edition TWOK DVD.”
And you posted, ”Not quite the “HD debut of the extended cut”. That version is available in HD from iTunes. I own it. It’s the HD transfer used for the 2002 DVD, but it’s still HD. This will be the HD debut of that cut on physical media.”
Thanks for clarifying what you meant by “that cut”.
So what you are saying is that both Brian and you were talking about an actual extended physical film master that was made for the 2002 DVD special edition and not the digital master for the DVD itself?
What I’m saying is the HD master made in 2001/2002 utilized for the DVD release was released to Amazon and iTunes. There is no indication at this time that it’s this master being used for the new Blu-ray and I suspect it isn’t.
However, this new Blu-ray is not the HD debut of this cut. It’s the HD debut of this cut on a physical format. That’s the point I was getting at.
NSB,
Got it. Thanks for clarifying.
It’s time for a reality check, folks. Paramount/CBS gave you guys an opportunity to show that the market could sustain remastered Trek…that was Star Trek TNG on Blu-ray. And guess what? It didn’t sell. It sold so badly, that any plans to remaster DS9 and Voyager are in the dust.
The reasoning for the new material is simple: TAS is cheap to produce on Blu-Ray.
And TWOK is arguably the most popular of the Star Trek movies. It gets the most attention in mainstream media coverage, and it’s a great tie-in to the upcoming CBS All Access show with Nick Meyer. (We’re here talking to Nicholas Meyer, a writer on the new CBS All Access Star Trek show, and the director of the beloved Star Trek, the Wrath of Khan..see how that works?)
So unless the new CBS All Access show blows away expectations and Star Trek Beyond does a spectacular box office, don’t hold your breath on any other remastered material.
I’m a Trek fan. I own every Blu-ray available, movies and TV, and I was highly disappointed there was no TMP Directors Cut available on Blu-ray, I would buy it in a second.
But Paramount/CBS isn’t in the business of making product for just a handful of people. They make products that sell to the masses. Lots of masses, to make lots of money.
And I just have to accept that. I voted with my dollars. But not enough of my fellow Trek fans did as well.
Bill V.,
This constant heaping of all the blame on the fans, for CBS and/or Paramount’s lousy marketing of their products really needs to stop.
Bill Hunt documents, in his article, the fault is all the musical chairs in the employees charged with getting these products out at Paramount. They even admit THEY made mistakes in marketing to the fans. And the good came from listening to his advice and NOT all the money they wasted on nonsensical marketing feasibility studies.
Viacom/Paramount’s financial crisis simply is NOT the fault of STAR TREK fans, but rather more than likely a couple of glad-handing executives, that enough on the board favor, living in the high country and not being personally held accountable for their misfires while they fire everybody else.
I agree with Dis on this Bill V, for all we know a really good presentation of TMP (and I’m not even talking director’s version) could do a significant increase. Not talking BLADE RUNNER-sized, but look what the DE did for appreciation of TMP for folks who hadn’t seen it in any format outside of VHS. If Paramount held TREK back when they licensed a hunk of their catalog to Warner, it must be because they feared WArner could do what they themselves could not. Too bad they don’t realize they have something here that better minds — or minds that are better schooled both in film history and TREK — could exploit.
I don’t slow down to look at traffic accidents – not ever. But I stop to look at TMP and I do so EVERY time, so it is a grand kind of auto crash, and I think that potential is still not fully tapped.
They should look at Blu-Ray sales as more of a bonus. 4K is the way things are going and if they want to keep syndicating Star Trek they need to remaster the masters into the best quality they can.
I assume the Blu Ray films did decent sales. TNG didnt…well, they were very expensive and there wasnt much “new” there. But I bet they end up profitable down the line.
They’re going to have to get DS9 and Voyager into HD eventually. Might as well do it sooner than later. Even if its used for the streaming service, its a hook that might not sell on its own but its value added to the overall idea of paying for a subscription service.
I never understood why such a big deal was made about the Blu-ray sales. To my mind, the HD remasters were be about keeping the shows on air worldwide now everything is moving to HD. Blu-ray’s a niche format because the move over from DVD was fumbled in the format war a few years back.
It’s reached the stage that the only way to buy a lot of shows in HD is to get them on the likes of iTunes. The BBC, for example, puts most of its shows not related to Doctor Who out on DVD-only in the UK. Downloads are often the only way to get the HD versions.
For TNG – expensive sets scheduled for release rather close together – there was always going to an issue with people not buying them day and date of release. Not to mention the first two seasons are very weak. I’m not much of a TNG fan, but I’d just as soon buy the episodes I like on iTunes in HD and be happy with that.
I’m not, obviously, speaking for everyone, but I see a definite move with TV shows towards buying downloads and not bothering with hard copies anymore.
I remain unconvinced, given some of the film stock used to shoot old shows down the years, that there’s much appreciable difference between a download and a Blu-ray in many cases (I’m not including TNG in this as I know they used decent film stock.)
Bill V. = upvote.
Maybe the remastered TNG blu-rays didn’t sell because they were WAY TOO expensive? I finally did buy them; bought all 7 seasons, in a collectors set on Amazon for around $150.00, but no way I was gonna pay the average listed price of $120.00 a season. That was outrageous!!!
You know, it’s no surprise that this year is the 50th anniversary of TOS…it has been common knowledge, for pretty much everybody, that this momentous occasion was coming up…the fact that the studios didn’t begin the process and budget to have something exciting on the plate and ready to unveil this year, is just sad.
You men something more exciting than a $150 million movie and a new series run by Trek legends?
Jack,
The new series isn’t going to be ready until 2017. Jonboc was addressing having something prepared and on the plate THIS year.
Anniversaries are generally a good way to consolidate the back catalogue and move forward. Paramount are moving forward but letting the movie back catalogue go hang. Proper 4K scans and restorations, making definitive versions of the first ten films would mean there’s no real need ever to do anything to them again, as 4K is as high quality as they’d ever need to be.
New films and TV shows are all well and good, but anniversaries are about the past as well.
Interestingly enough, in the amended Peters complaint in a glaring omission in Appendix A, where Trek ownership is supposedly delineated for the court, the plaintiffs do not mention who owns the rights nor the copyright registration to the Filmation produced STAR TREK series, but they do claim copyright violation of the character “Captain Robert April” from “The Animated Series” in the body of the complaint.
To make things even MORE interesting this TrekMovie’s article doesn’t mention CBS but Bob Hunt suggests THE ANIMATED SERIES might be via CBS.
The complaint clearly states that CBS owns United States copyrights for the TV series and the complaint lists all of the TV series. There is no issue here.
NSB,
The issue is they then assert they have “duly registered copyrights in and to the Star Trek Television Series” and then give the copyright registration of the first episode of each television series except for what they claim as the television series, “The Animated Series”. They fail to give the copyright registration for YESYTERYEAR while claiming they did.
If they can’t keep this stuff straight, how do they expect anyone else to?
The amended complaint says on page 41 lines 17 – 22
“17 66. In addition to the infringing elements already copied into the Axanar
18 Works, Defendants have announced their intention to incorporate numerous other
19 copyrighted Star Trek elements into the Axanar Works, including but not limited to:
20 a. Captain Robert April, a character whose name came from the
21 very first Star Trek pitch and who appeared in the episode “The Counter-Clock
22 Incident” from The Animated Series. ”
And in Appendix A they claim, “Plaintiffs own the copyrights for all episodes of each Star Trek television series, and have identified the copyright registrations for the first episode of each television series.”
No copyright registration for YESTERYEAR is given nor is it identified as the first episode of “The Animated Series”.
FYI: Paramount Home Entertainment handles making the discs for CBS Home Entertainment. So that’s why Bill Hunt grouped them together in his column (he mentions the CBS/PHE link in the full article at The Digital Bits).
I updated our article’s text to better reflect this info.
Matt Wright
Thanks. Your efforts are much appreciated.
Star Treks 3-10 are just digital remasters, it’s a bit of a slight not to give them the same once over.
A question please … So was this extended version not included in the Blu-Ray box set of the 1st 6 movies from a few years back?
No. The releases from 2009 (which have been re-released in different boxes multiple times since then) are all straight theatrical releases. Paramount has never seen fit to do any director’s cuts on Blu-ray.
A frankly underwhelming offering for the 50th anniversary and Bill’s article highlights the scary lack of comprehension of various properties’ value at many different studios.
As far as I’m concerned, all the classic films should be scanned for UHD (TNG films at some stage too to coincide with a TNG anniversary) the TMP Director’s Edition (quite honestly, the only version I find watchable) being kept in SD is a crime and the animated series should have been remade with modern CGI animation and a few new actors’ voices thrown in for good measure.
As a huge TOS fan, it’s ridiculous that I don’t own the movies on Blu-ray, but I’ve held off because I honestly thought we’d get something decent for the anniversary. What a letdown.
At most, I might pick up a Trek movie on iTunes for now. I want the whole classic film series in UHD, but, love TWOK as I do, I’m sick of it being treated as if it’s the only classic Star Trek film worth bothering with. Bill’s suggestions were on the money. I know Star Trek struggles as a global brand outside the Anglosphere, but the 50th anniversary is a great moment to make a big push, with a movie, new TV show and what should be a proper marketing campaign. Disappointing.
My thinking on this:
A very poor showing from Paramount/CBS on this.
For TAS: No, it should not need re-animating. The animation and visuals are exactly what was produced for the time. I am happy to see a HD transfer from the film, and hope they are adding more supplemental material beyond the DVD set.
For TWOK: Hopefully there will be additional features, and correct color timing on this. Glad to see it being done.
For DS9/VOY remastering: It’s a shame it didn’t work out financially for CBS to do this. I cannot blame them for not doing so, given the fact that it’s financially unsound to do so.
For TMP: DE remaster and upgrade: Given the expense, it’s understandable this is not being done, but this is a real crying shame, especially given the stature and prestige this movie has both in terms of Star Trek history, and the late, great Robert Wise. This is in sore need of an upgrade, though the theatrical Blu-ray transfer is one of the better ones in the Blu-ray set.
For the other movies: These ABSOLUTELY need far better and comprehensive re-transfers at 4K, with director’s custs of the movies where appropriate. I include both TOS and TNG movies in my judgement.
All-in-all, the decisions are understandable, but incredibly short sighted, IMHO.
“For DS9/VOY remastering: It’s a shame it didn’t work out financially for CBS to do this. I cannot blame them for not doing so, given the fact that it’s financially unsound to do so.” — OneBuckFilms
Hogwash, it is financially unsound for CBS’ future syndication plans for those properties NOT to remaster them. And Les has said numerous times in promoting ALL ACCESS that their worldwide syndication is extremely lucrative; so it is a mystery where you think there are numbers that indicate it would be “financially unsound” to do so.
TAS: no one says the original needs burying, but having the audio of the original cast in their classic roles, screams for a new version to be done as a modern cartoon. Furthermore, if the redone series is successful, a new voice cast can continue the series with new stories.
DS9/VOY is a peculiar decision. Effectively, in the next 15 years they’ll cease to be broadcast anywhere as SD broadcasting fades away. I never saw the HD remastering as being about Blu-ray; I saw it being about international broadcast and streaming sales.
TMP: it’s not that great an expense. The FX were created at higher quality than was rendered out. The vector graphics need re-rendering and the negative is in desperate need of cleaning up.
The decisions are understandable; understandable in terms of studio ignorance, not cost.
Regarding TAS. A BluRay release would include both the original version as well as a new animated version. CBS needs to make an investment in their franchise and bring TAS up to modern standards. The original cast did TAS, the computer games and possibly some story records(rumored) I think their is enough material to complete the five year mission. After that get a new cast to do Phase 2. Can anybody imagine these animated episodes being closer to live action Star Trek? I can and do believe that it is a worthy project.
I remember seeing TWOK in 70mm when it came out in ’82 and saw it probably 15 or so times before the end of its run. I have to say that despite experiencing it in the best theatrical format at that time, there were some detractions such as some soundtrack annoyances (the Enterprise whoosh before Uhura’s ‘no nothing’ line), the fake looking ILM mattes for the Genesis cave particularly the ‘waterfall.’ I even remember the grain on some parts during the first day the movie came out. Having not seen the current Blu Ray, I wonder if they have the real soundtrack that audibly conveys a screw hitting the floor, right and to the rear, that had audiences turning their heads in theaters, when Kirk & Co beam down to the Genesis cave before being attacked by the Regula personnel. Then there’s Kirk’s ‘Khaaaaaan’ scream that audibly travelled from front, to center and rear of the theater as the camera zooms out of the Genesis’ cratered surface shot.
Maybe do another cut with some other scenes put in? Spock’s hand showing green blood when he places it on the chamber glass window? Kirk sobbing or at least sniffling after Spock has died. C’mon..who would not cry when their best friend of 2o+ years has just died in front of you saving the entire ship?
ILM’s Enterprise shots pale in comparison to TMPs..the E looks way too bright in some of the new shots like after Khan’s first attack. Where’s the light source coming from in deep space that makes the E look so white bright? The new warp drive shots of the E’s escape don’t have that clean transphotic blur. Re do those in CGI. And the sound fx sound too much like the Flintstone’s car whoosh.
Granted, a 4K version from a clean master would be great, but there’s nothing ‘grand’ to look at. Sure, the movie’s themes are but visually..uh uh.
Like some of the previous posts, I’m more likely to spend $ on a 4K TMP Director’s Cut, but only if they restore some of the original theatrical cut sound elements. The Director’s Cut soundtrack is now neutered with the ‘changes’ made. Bring back the computer voice, the plasma energy deep sizzle, original warp drive sound effect and ditch the TOS tv bridge sound. I’m sure had they had enough time, they would’ve created a more modern sound effect to go along with the new set design they spent $$$$ on. Also, the walkway animation looks too cartoony. Given the way the meld visual effects flow so organic and real, they didn’t have to dumb down the CGI for the new walkway animation.
No more plastic discs, please.
iTunes or it didn’t happen.
I hope they update the graphics from the bridge, some of the instruments on the bridge consoles look like “pong”.
Is this:
https://www.eventcinemas.com.au/Movie/Star-Trek-Ii—The-Wrath-Of-Khan#date=2016-05-20
Anything to do with the new release?
Good to see TWOK remastered, not so happy about TAS, as that’s crap (the animation) and really doesn’t need one. Agree with one fan about the fans not really wanting to buy the TNG Blu-Ray’s like they should have.
You know.. I purchased all TNG: Remastered Blurays and paid top dollar for them.. As I was told that was the only way we could get a Remastered DS9.. There is no way that Paramount/CBS did not make a profit on the Remastered Next Generation. In addition to all the blurays they sold you can find the episodes on iTunes/Netfilx and more. They made a bunch of money. This is pure greed. They treat Star Trek and it fans like crap. Now we can’t even get a proper Star Trek: TMP remaster. They only care about turning Star Trek into Star Trek: The Fast and Furious in Space…. Truly sad.
Agreed: Remastered trilogy of II-III-IV is a must.
I’d REALLY like to see The Final Frontier properly recut with replaced VFX. The effects house that did the original studio model photography really botched the work, but the story in The Final Frontier is the most “Trekkie” of the movies. It prominently features the Kirk-Spock-Bones relationship and deals with weighty concepts (faith, family, loyalty) in a manner very reminiscent of TOS.
For that reason, Star Trek V is my favorite Trek story in the film series.
I could care less about TMP. I’d just like the Enterprise beauty reveal sequence in 4K. The TMP story is not that great, and the (ab)use of split-focus diopters in principal photography made bad scenes worse. (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_focus#Split-focus_diopter if you’re curious about this technique, which can be used for interesting effect.)
JJ Treks to be released on UHD Blus:
http://www.flickeringmyth.com/2016/04/j-j-abrams-star-trek-films-to-be-paramounts-first-4k-blu-ray-releases/