Star Trek - The Motion Pictures Collection (10 Films)

Starring:William Shatner
Studio: Paramount
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
Spanning two decades and countless light years of interstellar adventure, Star Trek: The Motion Pictures Collection is a testament to the enduring goodwill of Gene Roddenberry's optimistic sci-fi concept. Long before Star Wars sparked an explosion of big-screen science fiction, Roddenberry had planned a second Star Trek TV series; the project fizzled, but its pilot script evolved into the first film in Paramount's most lucrative movie franchise. Despite its sluggish pace and bland "pajama" costuming, Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) offered a welcomed reunion of the "Classic Trek" cast, packed with Douglas Trumbull's still-dazzling special effects. Trekkers were even more ecstatic when The Wrath of Khan (1982) revived the spirit of the original series, even though director Nicholas Meyer was a Trek neophyte. With Leonard Nimoy directing, The Search for Spock (1984) began where Khan left off, with a thrilling (albeit contrived) obligation to resurrect the formerly ill-fated Mr. Spock.

Amazon.com

Spanning two decades and countless light years of interstellar adventure, Star Trek: The Motion Pictures Collection is a testament to the enduring goodwill of Gene Roddenberry's optimistic sci-fi concept. Long before Star Wars sparked an explosion of big-screen science fiction, Roddenberry had planned a second Star Trek TV series; the project fizzled, but its pilot script evolved into the first film in Paramount's most lucrative movie franchise. Despite its sluggish pace and bland "pajama" costuming, Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) offered a welcomed reunion of the "classic Trek" cast, packed with Douglas Trumbull's still-dazzling special effects. Trekkers were even more ecstatic when The Wrath of Khan (1982) revived the spirit of the original series, even though director Nicholas Meyer was a Trek neophyte. With Leonard Nimoy directing, The Search for Spock (1984) began where Khan left off, with a thrilling (albeit contrived) obligation to resurrect the formerly ill-fated Mr. Spock.

A box-office smash, Nimoy's The Voyage Home (1986) is the franchise's most accessible adventure--a high point offset by William Shatner's comparatively dreadful Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989). Meyer (and his penchant for quoting Shakespeare) returned for The Undiscovered Country (1991), a conspiracy thriller that put the series back on track, inspiring fans to invoke the "even number" rule in rating their franchise favorites. Generations (1994) gracefully passed the torch to TV's The Next Generation, bidding farewell to Captain Kirk with honor and integrity intact. Highlighted by the evolving humanity of Brent Spiner's android Lt. Comdr. Data, First Contact (1996) explored Star Trek history with a logical (hint) surprise encounter, and Insurrection (1998) provided an adequate expansion of the successful TNG series. Taken as a whole, these nine films demonstrate the consistent vitality of Roddenberry's original vision, stoking any Trekker's appetite for "ongoing missions" in Nemesis and beyond. --Jeff Shannon

Description

Star Trek: the motion picture director's edition, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Star Trek: Generations, Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Insurrection.

Customer Reviews:

Do Not Buy This -- Be Patient!.......2004-12-26

There is no point in purchasing this set when it only includes a few of the special edition DVDs. Despite the attractiveness of the box itself, it is best to wait until all of special/director's edition movies come out.

Hold out.......2004-02-25

The special editions are coming! They're done with the first six already, making this collection out of date. Another blow to the set is Nemesis' DVD release. The two together tell me about how old this set is.

(Eric, Montalban's chest is real. Meyer says so on one of the featurettes. It's his trainer's fault if it looks cheesy.)

The First 9 -- some extras, but not a lot........2004-01-03

This Box set was one of the first DVD sets I got, almost a year ago. It includes all of the Star Trek movies up to and including Insurrection. This set does not have Nemesis.

A NEW BOX SET with that 10th Movie is out now.

Heads Up -- this 9 movie set (which I own and watched) and the other 10 movie collection do not include all of the Special Editions. So you get a little less bonus material, and it is pricey. But hey, it is Star Trek.

The First 3 films in this set have two discs with lots of extras, interviews, trekkie stuff. The other six are single discs only, and honestly they are pretty light on anything "bonus". Like nil.

The Films are old, and it shows. Just look at the trailers on STTMP, and you'll know what I mean. The effects really do look corny by today's standards, but the stories are solid and the acting is decent -- more or less throughout the whole series.

I will skip the review of each film, and sum it up -- this is a solid buy for the first 9 movies, but additional special edition discs will be coming out soon. You might be better off picking and choosing. But I got this and started my DVD collection with a decent beginning.

Captains Log 6/11/03 Star Trek just got better.......2003-06-11

This is the date i wrote my review and got this box set. It is so kool + 9 awesome flicks. I have watched 1,2,3,& 4 so far and let me tell you they are nothing like i imagined. I thought they would be like the star trek TV show. But there not they have the same characters and all but so much more. I would really buy this before it goes out of stock again.

Sci-fi adventure, with mixed results........2003-01-29

(Opinions of The Motion Picture and The Undiscovered Country are based on years old memory)
The original Star Trek crew worked solely on the basis of its lead trio. William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and DeForest Kelley made for arguably the most charismatic and enjoyable trio to watch in cinematic history. As for the rest of the crew, I didn't much care for anyone else, though George Takei probably came across the best as Sulu, mostly because he never succumbs to the silliness that pervades the other three (Scotty's prat falls, Chekov's accents and mispronunciations, and Uhura's horrific dance number in Star Trek V).

It's been years since I've seen The Motion Picture, and memory serves that it was an engrossing adventure that was so far off from the camp I'd been used to while watching the original TV series. Basically, I liked it, and this is without having seen the director's cut, which I hope to catch some day. The Motion Picture is decidedly an attempt at the kind of cerebral science fiction that 2001 attempted, and while I'm quite certain it's not in the same league as that film, it holds its own.

Ooh, boy, it's with The Wrath of Khan that I'm sure people will shouting blasphemy when I state that I actually didn't much enjoy the film. Sure, the effects were good and the trio was as entertaining to watch as usual, but Nicholas Meyers' direction is stale, Ricardo Montalban is a cheesy-looking villain (that fake chest can't help, either) who talks tough without actually proving his dangerousness, and the space battles prove to be little different than two submarines stalking each other. The idea of two starships battling each other has never appealed to me, and the case is no different here. I will admit, however, that Spock's death scene is poignant.

Star Trek III is even worse than II. Cheap-looking sets, meaningless blather, and the overall snail pace make this easily the most boring film of the entire franchise. The only highlight is Christopher Lloyd as a Klingon commander.

Star Trek IV is a marked improvement, an enjoyable and funny fish-out-of-water tale. There's little else going on here than seeing our beloved crew interact in the 20th century, but that alone is enough to inspire a barrage of belly laughs, particularly Spock's use of colorful metaphors. Catherine Hicks' rather neurotic performance as a whale specialist is pretty annoying, and a downspot in an otherwise entertaining outing.

Star Trek V is easily the silliest of the lot, but it's also kind of fun and the premise is the most ambitious of them all: it's an all-out quest for God, who is believed to live in the center of the galaxy. The trio is given more screentime together here than in any other film, Jerry Goldsmith's score is marvelous (the best of the series), and there's actually a genuine sense of awe when they reach their destination. Oh, this isn't a good movie, but it's an undeniable watchable and often entertaining one, and I personally liked it more than Star Trek III.

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

Do Not Buy This -- Be Patient!.......2004-12-26

Hold out.......2004-02-25

(Eric, Montalban's chest is real. Meyer says so on one of the featurettes. It's his trainer's fault if it looks cheesy.)

The First 9 -- some extras, but not a lot........2004-01-03

This Box set was one of the first DVD sets I got, almost a year ago. It includes all of the Star Trek movies up to and including Insurrection. This set does not have Nemesis.

A NEW BOX SET with that 10th Movie is out now.

The First 3 films in this set have two discs with lots of extras, interviews, trekkie stuff. The other six are single discs only, and honestly they are pretty light on anything "bonus". Like nil.

Captains Log 6/11/03 Star Trek just got better.......2003-06-11

Sci-fi adventure, with mixed results........2003-01-29

Amazon.com

Spanning two decades and countless light years of interstellar adventure, Star Trek: The Motion Pictures Collection is a testament to the enduring goodwill of Gene Roddenberry's optimistic sci-fi concept. Long before Star Wars sparked an explosion of big-screen science fiction, Roddenberry had planned a second Star Trek TV series; the project fizzled, but its pilot script evolved into the first film in Paramount's most lucrative movie franchise. Despite its sluggish pace and bland "pajama" costuming, Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) offered a welcomed reunion of the "Classic Trek" cast, packed with Douglas Trumbull's still-dazzling special effects. Trekkers were even more ecstatic when The Wrath of Khan (1982) revived the spirit of the original series, even though director Nicholas Meyer was a Trek neophyte. With Leonard Nimoy directing, The Search for Spock (1984) began where Khan left off, with a thrilling (albeit contrived) obligation to resurrect the formerly ill-fated Mr. Spock.

A box-office smash, Nimoy's The Voyage Home (1986) is the franchise's most accessible adventure--a high point offset by William Shatner's comparatively dreadful Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989). Meyer (and his penchant for quoting Shakespeare) returned for The Undiscovered Country (1991), a conspiracy thriller that put the series back on track, inspiring fans to invoke the "even number" rule in rating their franchise favorites. Generations (1994) gracefully passed the torch to TV's The Next Generation, bidding farewell to Captain Kirk with honor and integrity intact. Highlighted by the evolving humanity of Brent Spiner's android Lt. Cmdr. Data, First Contact (1996) explored Star Trek history with a logical (hint) surprise encounter, and Insurrection (1998) provided an adequate expansion of the successful NextGen series. Taken as a whole, these ten films demonstrate the consistent vitality of Roddenberry's original vision, stoking any Trekker's appetite for "ongoing missions" in Nemesis and beyond. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

Great collection!.......2005-04-22

I just can't figure out what is up with the other reviewers who are so hung up on whether or not this boxed set should have been made or not.... Why do they care that some of the movies included in this set are collector editions and some are not? Don't they realize that offering something for everyone is the American way? Instead, why not tell me about the sound or picture quality?

I did buy this set, and am thrilled to have all 10 movies at my fingertips any time I'm ready for an evening of sci-fi entertainment. And they take up only half the shelf space as all 10 individual movies would. Such a deal!

Wait till they release a 20-disc set.......2005-02-27

You heard me. As soon as 2-disc Nemesis comes out, a 20-disc edition will more than likely be released. Get that instead.

This had so much potential, it's just sad........2004-06-19

I have always enjoyed the Star Trek movies since I was a kid, and I have now completed my collection of all the Star Trek movies. I at first started to get them individually, I first bought the S.E. of ST VI, then I moved onto getting ST II, but Best Buy didn't have any, but did have the box set with 1-10, 1-5 being in special edition, then 6-10 being the original releases.
Because I already own the sixth one in S.E. I wasn't as fazed, but it's ridiculus for them to release such a set like this, espeically when it's all the movies as they were released, just in a cardboard box.
Box sets like these make me sick, the best box set that was ever created was the Nightmare on Elm Street box set, and that's cause the movies all look the same and blend in with the box itself. This one unfortunely is not like this at all, in fact this is the third box set I've seen for the Star Trek movies: A Box set for the original cast, an incomplete collection of the new cast, and this; the complete, varied edition, box set. Frankly there is nothing special about the box set, you get no extra DVD with special features, no identical DVD cases for the movies, NOTHING. Your just paying for 5 of the special editions and 5 of the original DVD releases, plus the box itself.

So do yourself a favor, buy them individually(it's cheaper) or wait till they release a FINAL box set that is much in the respect to the Nightmare on Elm Street box set or the Alien Quadrilogy Set.

For every silver lining, there's a dark cloud.......2004-05-19

Well, for all you all or nothing at all people reviewing previously, I have to wonder; what's so special about a special edition? I like the little trivia nuggets & easter eggs, I like the extra features, but in my experience a special edition or directors cut usually changes the movie in such as a way that it loses its magic. What I see on the screen I like to see on my telly; most often adding footage and scenes just ruins the rythm & doesn't improve the story. Now, including the scenes in the bonus features, or having some way for the scenes to be re-integrated if you so choose when you play the film, that'd be swell!
These are movies, they're some of them special editions, director's editions, some are not. Take ST:TMP for instance. a quarter hour, 900 extra seconds of voyaging through V'ger. Some folks called this first Trek film "Star Trek: The Motionless Picture". Can you imagine what an extra 12 minutes without dialogue does? 780 seconds of actors pretending to be awed, overwhelmed, impressed? Even for an old school original issue Trekkie (YES! That's the *proper* definition for the fans who got the first space shuttle named Enterprise!) it's too much to bear. It's like an intermission. Rent a special edition before you buy it, lest you be saddled with a disappointing re-rendering of the film you enjoyed.

Ugh.......2004-04-23

Why is it so hard for Paramount to release a box set containing only all of the Special Editions they have ready so far? Every Star Trek box set is like this -- several movies with Special Editions and several more movies that you'll end up having to repurchase seperately because they are not the Special Editions.

If you're looking to buy something for the Trekkie in your life, I strongly suggest looking up the Special Editions individually and buying them like that and avoid buying the movies that are not out in Special Edition yet -- save those for future gifts when they get released. Whatever extra you end up spending by doing it like this will ultimately be saved by not having to buy the regular edition now and then the Special Edition later.

Perhaps the casual Trek fan will enjoy this box set but even for the casual viewer, I don't see why you'd want the regular edition of some of these movies now when you can wait a few months and get a much better edition later.

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