During this week’s Star Trek Day celebration, Paramount+ revealed the first look at its upcoming 4k Ultra HD Star Trek: The Motion Picture Director’s Edition remaster. The shown scene is one of the computer-generated scenes inside V’Gher created for the Director’s Edition‘s original release on DVD in 2001. The clip shows the footage as it appeared in the initial release compared to how it looks rendered in 4k ultra-high definition. You can take a look at the video below. The 4k restoration of Star Trek The Motion Picture Director’s Edition is headed for its debut exclusively on the Paramount+ streaming service. The film will use Dolby Vision’s high dynamic range (HDR) and a new Dolby Atmos soundtrack. Upon its announcement in July, the remaster needed an estimated 6-8 months of work before being completed.
Oscar-winning director Robert Wise directed Star Trek: The Motion Picture but was not satisfied with the film’s theatrical cut, completed on a tight, unmovable deadline. The Director’s Edition allowed Wise to achieve his vision, returning abandoned elements, including lost special effects shots when released on VHS and DVD in 2001. This version of the movie never got a Blu-ray release, making the 4k restoration especially welcome.
Wise died in 2005 at age 91. Three of his colleagues who worked on the original movie lead Star Trek: The Motion Picture 4k Director’s Edition restoration: producer David C. Fein, restoration supervisor Mike Matessino, and visual effects supervisor Daren R. Dochterman.
In Star Trek: The Motion Picture, “The USS Enterprise boldly debuted on the big screen with the cast of the original Star Trek series, including William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, Walter Koenig, and James Doohan. When an unidentified alien intruder destroys three powerful Klingon cruisers, Captain James T. Kirk returns to the helm of a newly transformed USS. Enterprise to take command. This is the original theatrical cut of the acclaimed adventure and features Jerry Goldsmith’s rousing iconic overture.”
Acclaimed visual effects artist Douglas Trumball worked on the film. When it returned to theaters for its 40th anniversary in 2019, ComicBook.com spoke to Trumball about the creative vision for Star Trek’s first cinematic outing.
“I think that everybody was on the same boat in that respect because there was a definite desire to elevate Star Trek to higher territory and epic territory,” he said. “And that’s why it’s named Star Trek: The Motion Picture, not just Star Trek something else. They wanted to make sure it was differentiated from the television episodic series. That was why, I think, they hired Robert Wise, because he had done The Sound of Music and West Side Story, really important films that were epic in nature. And I think that’s what they wanted for Star Trek.”
What do you think? Let us know in the comments.
Star Trek: The Motion Picture‘s theatrical cut is part of the Star Trek: The Original 4-Movie Collection 4k UHD set. The set is on sale now.
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