STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE

(December 1979, U.S.)

Well, I'm about to really get into "sci-fi heaven" now. Beginning with the first STAR TREK movie, it's going to be an entire string of STAR TREK and STAR WARS movies. Oh, what fun!!!

When STAR TREK went off the air after only three seasons in 1969, it re-surfaced in reruns and a cult following developed. The success of STAR WARS and CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND demonstrated to the heads of Paramount Pictures that science fiction was pure box office gold. When it was announced that STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE was being made and that virtually the entire television cast would return, the anticipation for those of us already familiar with STAR TREK was staggering. For myself, one who’d watched only an occasional rerun episode here and there on New York’s WPIX Channel 11, and maybe even had a merchandising toy or two lying around in his bedroom, the prospect of the final frontier and boldly going where no man had gone before on the big screen kept me eagerly waiting for many months. Even the marketing tactics in the local newspaper knew just how to grab me and keep me hanging on the edge of my patience by printing a caption like, YOU ARE NOW TWO WEEKS AWAY FROM STARDATE 7912.07 AND THE 23RD CENTURY (I didn’t catch this at the time, but 7912.07 switched around, spelled out 12.07.79, the movie’s release date). By that time, the marketing behind it was in full swing (including a happy meal at McDonalds).

As a boy in 1979, I didn’t know what to expect at all. If STAR TREK was trying to compete with STAR WARS on any level, it would have to be filled with fast-paced action and excitement. As Mr. Spock himself would’ve said, that seemed logical. I couldn’t have been more wrong. The movie moved at a very slow pace, much too slow for a twelve year-old boy’s taste. It looked great, of course, but I (and I’m sure many others in the movie theater) were getting impatient for things to pick up. It just wasn’t happening. Maybe I was judging things too quickly, but I was starting to feel cheated by those who’d made this movie. By the time it was finished at just over two hours, I’d reached the point where I decided it was pointless to try and understand every detail behind the story I'd just watched, particularly that of V-Ger and the mysterious cloud inhabited by living machines seemingly bent on Earth's destruction. I left the theater disappointed, though not regretting having seen it. You see, when I was a kid, all sci-fi movies mattered to me, even the ones that turned out to be dull. If nothing else, THE MOTION PICTURE enabled me to talk about the movie with my friends at school. Most of us agreed that it was awesome because of how it looked with its special effects. We also agreed that it was a real bore, too. Still, we loved all the recent sci-fi hits of '79 and we eagerly awaited THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK just five months away.

The movie premiered on the ABC Sunday Night Movie on February 20, 1983. Despite my lackluster reaction to it when I was younger, I watched it again with eagerness because there was additional footage not shown in theaters (this extended cut was also released on video that same year and was the only version available for many decades). While it didn’t improve too much the second time around, even with the added footage, it was still a fun and worthy throwback to the screen world of the Starship Enterprise, just the same, even on a small TV set. As I got older and I continued to see STAR TREK movies on screen and tape them on video when they aired on HBO, I deliberately avoided THE MOTION PICTURE due to what I considered a low tolerance for boredom.

These are the memories of a boy. Now let's take a look and see if things have changed since then...

Any appreciation I have now for STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE wouldn’t exist at all were it not for my deep love of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY. Frankly, if it wasn’t my favorite film of all time, I don’t think I’d ever have given Robert Wise's final film another chance or a fresh and fair perspective. Not to suggest that it’s a classic in the world of STAR TREK films; it’s simply that I’ve managed to develop a more patient, intelligent and high-concept attitude in how I view it as science fiction cinema. First and foremost, I consider the genre a visual art, not necessarily dependent on speed or action. The special effects of STAR WARS films and such are, in my opinion, a very different experience than the visual effects of films like CLOSE ENCOUNTERS, ALIEN, BLADE RUNNER, DUNE or even George Lucas’ slow-paced sci-fi debut film THX-1138. To watch THE MOTION PICTURE now is to do it with the same interest and patience as 2001. Its visual effects by Douglas Trumbull are astounding, particularly the Enterprise’s journey through the massive cloud that clearly echoes the journey of the U.S. Discovery through Jupiter and beyond at 2001’s climax. And I must confess, the great ship shooting into Warp Speed looks pretty damn awesome...

Both films don’t exactly invoke story content and understanding of such content to grab hold of and keep our attention. We’re asked to follow along on a journey of striking visual wonderment and mystery and even, if possible, to ask a question or two about man’s place in this vast and dark universe. For this film in a long line of franchise films, we have what’s best described as the convenience of familiar characters we’ve previously known and loved on TV. And hey, in what other film can you see the legendary James T. Kirk dressed for command in what clearly looks like a white tennis shirt...

This same point, perhaps, serves to work against us, as well, because we’re likely to hold those same beloved characters to a higher standard of screen action and excitement. Clearly, those who made the film, including director Robert Wise, storyteller Alan Dean Foster, special effects artist Douglas Trumbull and even scientific consultant Isaac Asimov sought to make a film of thought-provoking knowledge and high-concept scientific possibility, while maintaining a visual feast for the eyes and the senses. I cannot claim they didn’t succeed in such a bold undertaking. All of this is, of course, my own opinion. Die hard TREK fans, or “Trekkies”, as they’re affectionately called, would likely call me crazy and insist the first film of the franchise is still the worst (my personal vote goes to STAR TREK V: THE FINAL FRONTIER!). Others may see my point entirely. If absolutely nothing else, they might agree the movie poster's artwork by illustrator Bob Peak is the finest and the most striking of all films. They may also agree that Jerry Goldsmith provides the most influential soundtrack with its sweeping orchestral fanfares and energetic compositions that truly define the world of science fiction and its deep space journeys.

The human blog adventure is just beginning...

Favorite line or dialogue:

Captain James T. Kirk: "Well, for a man who swore he'd never return to the Starfleet..."
Dr. Leonard McCoy: "Just a moment, Captain, sir. I'll explain what happened. Your revered Admiral Nogura invoked a little-known, seldom-used "reserve activation clause." In simpler language, Captain, they drafted me!"