tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post7447132272632930948..comments2023-11-05T02:01:53.847-06:00Comments on Antagony & Ecstasy: THESE ARE THE VOYAGES: I SENSE NO EMOTION, ONLY PURE LOGICTimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09491952893581644049noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-25908102527242316882013-05-31T00:11:00.057-05:002013-05-31T00:11:00.057-05:00I saw this movie again recently for the first time...I saw this movie again recently for the first time since adolescence, and having more experience, and knowing it was directed by the great Robert Wise, who directed The day the earth stood still, I think I have a better idea of what they were trying to do. The glacial pace, the deadly seriousness, the lingering effects shots, the momochromatic color scheme, the philosophical musings about the meaning of life and man merging with machine -- they were trying to make a movie like 2001 A Space Odyssey. Not Star Wars at all. I don't think they succeeded, but at least now I understand better where it's coming from.Kirsten Corbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14282089948737043207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-43242894523212450192013-05-21T20:38:06.702-05:002013-05-21T20:38:06.702-05:00I'm enjoyed The Motion Picture quite a bit but...I'm enjoyed The Motion Picture quite a bit but I've been a Star Trek fan since watching TNG throughout my childhood so I'm fairly forgiving in my Star Trek film standards. However, pretty much all the criticisms of it being to stately are sound, which I don't feel negates the coolness of the psychedelic space freak-out sequences. I love space trip outs from 2001 to Tree of Life and hopefully soon to be Gravity.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04634087887519608773noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-86979017828385297142013-05-21T19:24:25.589-05:002013-05-21T19:24:25.589-05:00The Enterprise model was huge, about eight feet lo...The Enterprise model was huge, about eight feet long, much larger than typical spacecraft miniatures would be. Trumbull's crew hated dealing with it, for the paint job but also the unwieldly size of it.<br />When ILM was hired to take over the FX for the franchise, they were forced by budget constraints to reuse the same filming miniature. It was a cause of huge celebration when they blew it up at the end of "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock".<br />All subsequent versions of the Enterprise were built to a more manageable scale. <br /><br />/FX nerdRick Rischehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04099343670647861471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-63212540107732395812013-05-21T18:28:37.947-05:002013-05-21T18:28:37.947-05:00Like a lot of movies, the production of ST:TMP is ...Like a lot of movies, the production of ST:TMP is a lot more interesting and dramatic than the movie itself.<br />The company originally hired to do the visual effects was fired in post production because by all appearances it looked like they wouldn't be able to finish in time for the premiere.<br />So with only 8 months to go, Douglas Trumbull was hired as a replacement. What made this particularly dire was that principal photography had already wrapped, so Trumbull was handed a whole bunch of footage and told to complete the shots, without having any idea what the original plan for it had been.<br />So FX like the trippy wormhole scene, or the V'ger-probe-on-the-bridge scene had to be done completely on the fly.<br />The Enterprise model had already been built, but it's glossy white, shiny paint job made traditional bluescreen matting techniques impossible, so an alternate approach needed to be invented from scratch.<br />John Dykstra and his company Apogee was brought on to help with the workload, taking the Klingon attack sequence and V'ger flyover sequences (and maybe the Epsilon 9 scenes as well. it's been a long time since I've read up on it).<br /><br />The whole thing was an immense clusterfuck. Like you said, this is the best visual effects of 1979, made only more amazing if you know the behind-the-scenes drama. That they made the release date at all is incredible.Rick Rischehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04099343670647861471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-63647207808421749312013-05-21T17:43:05.636-05:002013-05-21T17:43:05.636-05:00I love that we've had pretty much every possib...I love that we've had pretty much every possible take on the movie in this comment thread.<br /><br />Rick- That's a truly amazing statistic.<br /><br />Lisa- Glad to have somebody chime in who saw it in theaters! I first saw the movies all out of order, so it's interesting to have insight from somebody who A) had been waiting for new <i>Trek</i> and B) didn't have any reason to believe that there'd be more <i>Trek</i> yet to come.Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09491952893581644049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-4441817779971701412013-05-21T13:53:10.970-05:002013-05-21T13:53:10.970-05:00I only saw this once, many years ago, and I fear i...I only saw this once, many years ago, and I fear it was the "borderline unwatchable" extended version, which...lived up to that characterization. This review makes me want to seek out the director's cut.<br /><br />Like everyone else, I'm excited about this series. I was a huge trekkie from, oh, maybe ages thirteen to seventeen. These days, I'm afraid my interest in the franchise is very limited, but it'll be very interesting to see your takes.GeoX, one of the GeoX boys.https://www.blogger.com/profile/14658452994152399308noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-12379743814134658352013-05-21T09:59:09.285-05:002013-05-21T09:59:09.285-05:00I remember seeing this back in 1979, as a teen pro...I remember seeing this back in 1979, as a teen proto-Trekkie. That first 45 minutes of gathering the crew together was just wonderful; here were the people that we had been waiting to see again for over a decade, together once more. Each character was cheered, although that first glorious view of the Enterprise earned the biggest cheers.<br /><br />And yes, then there's the rest of the film. But I mostly remember that first part, saying hello to everyone. I suspect it doesn't translate well now, given all of the movies and the ability to watch them (as well as the TV shows) whenever because of video. But at the time, as the culmination of years of fan clamoring to have such a movie made, it was just fantastic.Dr. Lisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09196828015015563567noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-24628562092727845342013-05-21T09:31:46.903-05:002013-05-21T09:31:46.903-05:00I hated this movie as a kid, growing up watching T...I hated this movie as a kid, growing up watching TOS episodes with my dad. As an adult, watching the superior Director's Cut, I like it a lot more, but yeah...it'll never be one of my favorites.<br /><br />I am super excited we're getting Star Trek reviews!franklinshepardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13858074176921317138noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-84054459168923218202013-05-21T07:25:34.578-05:002013-05-21T07:25:34.578-05:00I liked this the first time I saw it. I REALLY lik...I liked this the first time I saw it. I REALLY liked it the second time I saw it. On acid. <br /><br />This is maybe the only film in the entire series that preserved the core values and philosophies of the show and Rodenberry's original vision. Mystery, exploration, unknown, it's all pretty heady stuff, or at least high-concept. And as a fan of long, pornographic shots of old-timey effects, this movie hits a few points for me.<br /><br />I'm interested to get into the TNG movies with you, I think they're all creatively bankrupt garbage. Can't wait to see what you think!Oliverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12191941596823792978noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-26618782865526325032013-05-21T06:59:35.852-05:002013-05-21T06:59:35.852-05:00The eventual conflict has some interesting ideas, ...<i> The eventual conflict has some interesting ideas, even ideas that would have fit well in a 48-minute TV episode</i><br /><br />That's probably because they did: it's a reasonably decent clone of <i>The Changeling</i>, where Kirk has to out-think the -V-o-y-a-g-e-r- Nomad space probe. Which is hardly a fair reason to knock the movie, but it doesn't help the whole "this should be 40% as long" problem.Not Fenimorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05135812849405775125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-51935445538956498642013-05-21T04:44:12.605-05:002013-05-21T04:44:12.605-05:00I have always enjoyed TMP because I felt it was th...I have always enjoyed TMP because I felt it was the movie which most represented the Star Trek ethos. I love Khan, don't get me wrong. But Star Trek was never supposed to be martial. I really enjoy the Nick Meyer movies because they have great story and character and blatant literary steals which are fun. But there is just something so... Star Trek about the first movie.<br /><br />There is an ethereal beauty about TMP and when you combine that with the philosophical story of what it means both to be human and to find a creator, I think the movie is an under-appreciated triumph. <br /><br />Yes, it is too long. I read they were so behind that at the premier the print was still wet. They could have edited the movie down to about 110 minutes. Yes, it is largely people staring at screens.<br /><br />This is one of those movies where you shake your head and say, "So close."<br /><br />If they had more time, I think Wise could have really made something out of it. <br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-76338888932409656692013-05-21T00:49:24.949-05:002013-05-21T00:49:24.949-05:00The clearest indicator that the director/editor et...The clearest indicator that the director/editor et. al. lost complete control of the movie's running time is this dialogue exchange between Kirk and Decker on the bridge. Kirk wants to travel into the V'ger cloud but Decker advises caution.<br /><br />Decker: Moving into that cloud at this time, is an unwarranted gamble.<br />Kirk: How do you define 'unwarranted'?<br /><br />[A whole shitload of intricate, expensive visual effects ensue as the Enterprise moves into the cloud, flies over V'ger, is invaded by a probe which zaps Ilya into nothingness]<br /><br />Decker: THIS is how I define 'unwarranted'!<br /><br />That's 13 minutes, 37 seconds of elapsed screen time between Kirk's question and Decker's answer. Rick Rischehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04099343670647861471noreply@blogger.com