[starwarsrcks]

I got it on video The Wrath of Khan but it also has The Motion Picture on it as well I may get it on dvd sometime.

[therichieboy]

Originally Posted by Cabo 5150

Yes, that's spot on - no Colonel Odo... sorry, West!!! If you didn't catch TUC in theatres, the 2009 Blu-ray is actually the first time the original has been released on home video. All other versions have been the re-edit with the 2:1 reframing of the aspect ratio; which I always hated, but Nick Meyer actually stated he preferred. Personally, I love the original "scope" look.

Cabo: Loving the avatar. Did you see the police when they came here a couple of years back? I saw them at Twickenham and thought they sucked but I bought 'Everyone Stares' which almost made up for it.

Back on topic:
TWOK rocks- never seen TUC theatrical version but UK VHS version was always the pinnacle of Trek for me.

[samwiseb]

Originally Posted by Cabo 5150

If you didn't catch TUC in theatres, the 2009 Blu-ray is actually the first time the original has been released on home video. All other versions have been the re-edit with the 2:1 reframing of the aspect ratio; which I always hated, but Nick Meyer actually stated he preferred. Personally, I love the original "scope" look.

You are not alone! I was dreading what the 2.35 would look like on STVI... I thought "god, the film already looks improperly telecined at 2.00; it's the Back to the Future DVDs all over again. How can you crop it any more? It will only look cheaper." To my surprise, the new transfer actually makes the shots look... well, balanced.

I don't know why, but you rarely seem to get the kind of really wide angle shots (that older movies have) with Super 35. Unless maybe you're filming in New Zealand with Peter Jackson. But you can get really intense-looking tight shots, which even STVI -for all its cheap production values- apparently has. Amazing how you lose even that just by opening the soft-matted frame a little more.

As far as editing, I think I still prefer Meyer's director's cut. Not because of scenes he added back in, but rather because of minor tweaks he made towards the end. Adding in more close-up shots, that sort of thing. Still wish he could fix the split screen editing between Shatner and Shatner just becfore they are rescued ("Shoot him; he's the one!"... "Not me you idiot, him!"). There's ONE shot in the shot-reverse-shot one-two punch sequence that just completely doesn't work, and it jumps out at me every bloody time, and I never know why because it's gone too fast.

[kevin]

Samwiseb - I don't think I ever noticed that link to your myspace page before! Anyways, I took it as an invitation and had a look and read (belatedly!) your thoughts way back on the film.

Great write up and great points about a lot of the issues that afflicted Trek over the years before this film came to be.

I liked the little bit at the end about the GG bridge!

[samwiseb]

Originally Posted by kevin

Samwiseb - I don't think I ever noticed that link to your myspace page before! Anyways, I took it as an invitation and had a look and read (belatedly!) your thoughts way back on the film.

Oh, you're totally welcome! I've kinda let that page fall the wayside since most of my contacts moved over to facebook... I had almost forgotten it was even there.

[horatio]

I think that the extra scenes in TUC with Colonel West are OK but not as necessary as the scenes with Scotty's nephew in TWOK.
I like the emphasis of the involvment of Starfleet officers in the conspiracy but there is also something goofy about the briefing scene with the UFP president. Nothing against Auberjonois but his character seems to be a bit over the top.
The consequences of Kirk's error on the bridge are not really clear without Preston's death, no (visible) corpses. And that's what TWOK is about, isn't it, Kirk having lost his path. It is also important that Preston is Scotty's nephew. Scotty would have every right to tell Kirk what a bastard he is, but no, he remains a loyal friend so Kirk might realize that he has a net of friends aboard who grant him a second chance.

[kevin]

I thought it was indeed an interesting choice that Scotty's reaction was of pride that his nephew had stayed when other's fled in the chaos and I would agree that we needed to see the actual consequences of the attack in more graphic detail.

Why Scotty would have brought the body to the bridge I don't know but again that comes back to doing what's required visually in that moment - and Kirk (and the audience) needed that jolt.

As to Auberjonois - well, he does play West as pretty much a dumb, overcocky military man more interested in the idea he can blast at some Klingons than with the nuances of potential relations and interstellar law. It may likely have been intentional to make him the overt militarist the character needed to be.

[horatio]

Good point, he just had a few second so he had to be a fairly obvious character. He just seems to be a bit out of joint with the more "normal" people in the conspiracy like Cartwright or Valeris who had good reasons (i.e. not just militarism) for their actions. And that's what I like about TUC, it is not a black&white world like so many other political thrillers.

About Preston, it has been some time since I have last seen TWOK but didn't he die in sickbay?

[kevin]

Yeah, he might have done, somebody died in sickbay I remember that much - of course then there's the question of why Scotty brought him to the bridge not sickbay............oh heck.....I'm getting distracted by questioning what's not to be questioned!!!

Anyways, it was to serve a dramatic moment so....

Yeah, I think West was just because there was little time to establish his nature. So it had to be done pretty bluntly. Hence the 'clean their chronometers' line!

[samwiseb]

He did. We just assume his turbolift get temporily re-routed during the battle-alert.