Star Trek: Original Motion Picture Collection & Star Trek Movie Trilogy Combined Blu-ray Disc Sets Review

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Title: Star Trek: Original Motion Picture Collection & Star Trek: Motion Picture Trilogy

OMP Collection Films: Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Kahn, 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

MPT Films: Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Kahn, Star Trek III: The Search For Spock, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Media: Blu-ray Disc

Region: A

Genre: Science Fiction Action Adventure Fantasy Drama

The Original Series Stars: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, George Takei, Majel Barrett, Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols, and Grace Lee Whitney

Respective Feature Film Stars: Stephen Collins, Persis Khambatta, David Gautreaux , Bibi Besch, Merritt Butrick, Paul Winfield, Kirstie Alley, Ricardo Miontalban, Christopher Lloyd, Catherine Hicks, David Warner, Laurence Luckinbill, Kim Cattrall, and Christopher Plummer

Respective Writers Harold Livinston, Jack B. Sowards, Harve Bennett, Steve Meerson, Peter Krikes, Nicholas Meyer, David Loughery, and Denny Martin Flinn

Based On Star Trek Created By: Gene Roddenberry

Respective Directors: Robert Wise, Nicholas Meyer, Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner

Respective Feature lengths: 131 minutes, 112 minutes, 105 minutes, 118 minutes, 106 minutes, 113 minutes

The Captain’s Summit Feature Length: 70 minutes

Extras: The Captain’s Summit, Library Computer Interactive Feature, Star Trek I.Q. (BD LIVE), High Definition and Standard Definition New and Previously Released Extra Value Materials

Star Trek TMP Through IV Languages: English Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Surround Sound, French Dolby Surround Sound, and Spanish Language Monaural Sound

Star Trek: V & VI Languages: English Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Surround Sound, French 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound and Spanish Monaural Sound

Subtitles: English Subtitles For The Deaf and Hearing Impaired and English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese Language Subtitles

OMP Collection Packaging: 7 Slim Elite Blue BD Cases Within A Hard Cardboard Slipcase

MPT Packaging: 3-Disc Digipack Gatefold Within A Glossy Soft Cardboard Slipcase

Sound: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Surround Sound, French 5.1 For V VI Only, French Surround Sound, and Spanish Monaural Sound

Respective Years of Theatrical Release: 1979, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1989, 1991/Blu-ray Disc Release: 2009

Theatrical Distributor: Paramount Pictures

Home Video Distributor: Paramount Home Entertainment

Respective MPAA Ratings: Not Rated and PG

Reviewer: Mark A. Rivera

Just as I sit to write this review of Paramount Home Entertainment’s Star Trek: Original Motion Picture Collection & Star Trek: Motion Picture Trilogy, which is in fact identical to the three middle films included in the 7-Disc BD set, the theme song Faith In The Heart from Star Trek: Enterprise started playing through my mind in part because it has been a long time to go through all six films and sample the extra value features included within the sets and then write about them here and because it does seem like a long time since Star Trek has truly become exciting again following a short hiatus between the final season of Star Trek: Enterprise in 2005 to the combined 2009 high definition Blu-ray Disc releases of these feature film sets as well as Star Trek: The Original Series Remastered: Season 1 and J.J. Abrams’ big screen release of Star Trek as well as more Star Trek to come on both Blu-ray Disc and DVD later this year. I think this might be the most exciting year ever for Star Trek fans both new and old and it is nice to see through this home video release, the original series cast of Star Trek receive further recognition of just how important their contributions to making Star Trek come alive has been not only for the filmmakers, but for those who have followed them and are likely to follow them because if there is anything I have learned from ten years of being a professional reviewer it is that franchises never die. They simply hibernate, but sooner or later as long as there is someone who wants to see it, there will be franchises for every popular brand name reawakening from their slumber just as we have seen in the last decade alone not only with Star Trek, but with Doctor Who, Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, Terminator, Indiana Jones, James Bond, Mission Impossible, Batman and that is just scratching the surface, teaser’s for a new remake of the 1980s V television series are online and it’s not just sci-fi, spy-fi, horror, and fantasy anymore, who would have thought that 90210 would come back successfully to television and now Melrose Place is returning too. Like it or not the old cliché is true, “if you can sell something once, you can sell it again.” Some things I’d rather not see come back and other things make me feel old quite honestly, but I’d rather watch reruns of something good than reality television any day. Reality television alone as a term is the biggest oxymoron I have ever heard since politically correct, I mean really how often can anyone quantify what is real anymore let alone what political view from one age to the next is correct aside from whatever your gut tells you?

Well this is a BD set review so I’ll get to it, Star Trek: The Motion Picture I believe was originally rated G in it’s first original theatrically released version and subsequently on home video and television, a longer cut entitled the Special Edition in 1983 before making it’s DVD debut in 2001 as The Director’s Edition, which was rated PG. This time the original theatrical cut included on the Blu-ray Disc is not rated, but I think it is suitable for most audience ages. For the first time on home video since the laserdisc release more than a decade before, Star Trek: The Motion Picture has been released in it’s theatrical cut and remastered from unaltered materials created in 2000 to present an amazing 1080p high definition print of the film complete with an awesome new English Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Surround Soundtrack that makes what is still arguably one of the best looking of the original films in terms of breathtaking special effects that were state of the art for their time, look even better now. One has to keep in mind the tremendous expectations people had of the film not only because it was Star Trek, but in general, after Star Wars, studios were trying to push the envelope on special effects for television and the big screen so in The Motion Picture when the ships move about, you can actually get a glimpse sometimes inside the vessels, which was in itself largely unprecedented and while the effects for the original theatrical cut were not completed as much as the filmmakers may have hoped for, the shear scope of the craftsmanship is still amazing even today. While aside from introducing the new refitted Enterprise and giving audiences their first look at the 23^rd Century technology of Star Fleet on and orbiting Earth on the big screen, there are few plot elements that are carried over into the subsequent films aside from the fact that Kirk is now an Admiral, but it is obvious that his first love is still commanding the Enterprise and Spock is exploring both his Vulcan and human psyche as he learns early on that the answers to his soul searching do not reside on Vulcan. Kirk and Spock serve as the key characters with perhaps the largest development arcs throughout their respective big screen film journeys even though the trio when McCoy is included is an important part of the films and as a whole Star Trek in all of it’s incarnations is an ensemble show and not just the story of one or two people. Stephen Collins’ character is supposed to be the son of Commodore Matt Decker from The Original Series episode, “The Doomsday Machine.”

There are many extra value features on each of the six motion pictures that are included within the Blu-ray Disc set, excluding the bonus Captain’s Summit BD that is exclusive to the set itself. Part of what made reviewing this set a challenge was trying to find a way to do it collectively, but not skimp on what makes the movies so special in general and whether or not one must revisit certain materials that were covered in my original DVD reviews. I have decided to try and make this as inclusive as I can so if some information from previous reviews of the two-disc DVD sets appears here, understand that there is a whole new generation of Trek fans out there that might not have the DVD versions and thus this could be their first exposure to the films on home video so I must include it as much as I can here so that in the future one can just go to this review to find out particulars about a certain film in the set and besides, the DVD reviews themselves still exist online here too.

Exclusive to the Blu-ray Disc is an audio commentary with Michael & Denise Okuda, Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens, and Daren Dochterman that covers in detail the film’s origins, special effects, cast, sets, costumes, which were designed by the same person who would design the original costumes for Star Trek: The Next Generation nearly ten years after The Motion Picture’s theatrical release. All of the films regardless of which set you purchase on Blu-ray Disc include an interactive database that gives data on the people, places, worlds, and more as you watch the films as an option. Featurettes in high definition include a recollection of Star Trek fans, including James Doohan’s son reminisce about getting to appear as extras in the feature film, a featurette about the development of the film’s epic screenplay and my favorite feature on these discs are Starfleet Academy briefings from Earth circa the 24^th Century looking back at each film as a historical event. For The Motion Picture, V’ger is examined and speculation is even made about the race that built the sentient machine it evolved into and whether or not there could be some connection between them and The Borg.

Eleven deleted scenes, the theatrical teaser and trailer in high definition and 7 TV spots as well as storyboard galleries are also included. At the time of this writing, Star Trek: The Motion Picture is only available on Blu-ray Disc as a part of the Star Trek: Original Motion Picture Collection.

Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Kahn is arguably the best of the feature film to star the original cast members and was directed by Nicholas Meyer, who is both well read in the literary classics and a talented filmmaker whose credits include the TV miniseries The Day After, Time After Time, and he also directed Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country as well as was one of the writers for Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.

Set years after the events in Star Trek: The Motion Picture, we find Kirk still in personal conflict over his desire to be Captain again aboard a Starship, which is amplified by his birthday. Kirk is still an Admiral as introduced in the previous film and the newly overhauled Enterprise is due for an inspection by Kirk with McCoy present while the ship is largely populated by trainees with Captain Spock in command on the bridge.

Meanwhile, the Federation has been developing a prototype invention that instantly terra forms uninhabitable areas of space debris or moons and planets into Class M worlds. The Starship Reliant has been searching for an uninhabited planet for a test of this project to take place. Coming across what appears to be a lifeless world, Chekov and Captain Terrell (Paul Winfield) beam down to the surface after picking up a slight life form sign on the planet. To their shock, they encounter the last remaining survivors of The Botany Bay, a sleeper ship that had left the Earth in the alternate Star Trek reality of 1996 at the close of the Eugenics Wars.

The survivors are all genetically altered specimens lead by Khan (Ricardo Montalban reprising his role from the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "Space Seed.") Six months after his encounter with Kirk, Ceti Alpha VI exploded in some cosmic disaster shifting the axis of Ceti Alpha V and virtually laying the planet to waste. Khan has gone insane with the idea of vengeance against Kirk who he blames for the death of his wife. Hijacking the Reliant, he sets out to thwart Kirk at any cost or measure. When the Genesis Device comes to his attention, Khan steals it; making the confrontation between the two ships even greater for the stake have now been elevated to possible galactic Armageddon.

In many ways Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan sets up the look, conflicts, and consequences that follow the rest of film series through "Star Trek: Generations." It has about the most action of all the films involving the original crew and is overall a great flick on it's own merits.

In addition to the extra features exclusive to every disc in the BD set like the sound option and library computer, Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan includes both a slightly edited version of the original audio commentary by Writer/Director Nicholas Meyer as well as a new commentary that also features Meyer and Writer/Producer Manny Coto that covers the extension of the series and the more militaristic portrayal of Star Fleet, which has been carried over into the new film where Star Fleet is described as being both an exploratory and peacekeeping force. The restored theatrical cut done especially for this Blu-ray Disc release is amazing. What struck me about it is how visually The Wrath Of Kahn is a dark film and I’m not talking about the subject matter or the emotional impact, but rather the color tones and lighting. I think this might be the first time I have truly seen Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan the way it was meant to be seen since I saw it on the big screen as a boy and even then, I can barely recollect how the film looked and sounded on the big screen except to state that the Genesis demonstration proposal video sequence while dated by today’s standards inspired a lot of people I went to school with to get their parents to buy them home computers. Back then having a PC was a luxury and not a necessity. New HD featurettes include a tribute to Ricardo Montalbahn, the Star Fleet Academy briefing on the mystery of what happened to Ceti Alpha VI, and collecting too.

Carried over from the DVD release is the 27-minute Captain’s Log, with videotaped interviews with Actors William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Ricardo Montalban, Writer and Executive Producer Harve Bennett, and Director Nicholas Meyer. The documentary covers the genesis (no pun intended) of the film and is very interesting. Videotaped interviews recorded in 1982 with Deforest Kelly, William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and Ricardo Montalban, which I think adds a great texture to the new interviews on the Captain’s Log documentary are also included. The 1982 interviews are presented as one reel with some publicity photos at the end and has a running time of about 11-minutes. There is a 23-minute production and costume design featurette, a visual effects featurette with effects footage and new-videotaped interviews with the ILM wizards behind the magical effects seen in the film. The final documentary is a combination of interviews with Authors Julia Ecklar (A Test Of Character: The Kobayashi Maru Scenario) and Greg Cox (The Eugenics Wars: A History Of Khan Noonien Singh.) What I liked about this documentary was that it gave the viewer an understanding of how these Authors develop their stories from the Star Trek programs and go so far as to maintain continuity with each other, but are also aware that while the books expand upon the universe created in Star Trek, they are not necessarily cannon that is adhered to in the television programs and feature films, which is the same case with the Star Wars novels. Storyboard galleries and the theatrical trailer in high definition wrap up the bonus features on this Blu-ray Disc, which is also included as a part of the Star Trek: Motion Picture Trilogy 3-disc Blu-ray set that also includes Star Trek III: The Search For Spock and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Together they make up what has become the core trilogy of the entire original motion picture collection.

Star Trek III: The Search For Spock begins shortly after Kirk’s defeat of Khan and the death of Captain Spock. The Genesis planet has been quarantined and has become the subject of galactic controversy. While studying the planet’s development from above within the science vessel Grissom, Dr. Marcus (Merritt Butrick) and Lt. Saavik (Robin Curtis) discover a life form that is not a part of the natural planet’s evolutionary pattern, but never the less could have been effected by it during the early stages of the planet’s development. Meanwhile Admiral Kirk (William Shatner) receives a visit from Spock’s father (Mark Lenard) who informs Kirk after some investigation that before Spock died he melded his consciousness into the person closest in proximity to him before making his sacrifice. In this case it was Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley). With two friends not at peace, Kirk and the key crewmembers of the Enterprise steal their starship and fly to Genesis with the hope of reclaiming Spock’s body, but a rogue group of Klingons have discovered the existence of the Genesis Torpedo and wish to obtain the information to use it as a weapon. With the threat of universal Armageddon, careers on the line, and the souls of his friends in jeopardy, Kirk enters into a deadly rendezvous with the Klingons in a desperate effort to save all he can for the needs of his departed friend, who just might have a second chance at life.

In many ways Star Trek III: The Search For Spock is one of the most introspective entries in the series. It takes certain premises regarding the nature of youth and responsibility as well as facing death and presents a deeper if not inverted analysis of these topics and explores the nature of the character relationships within the scope of Star Trek and still manages to tell an entertaining story too. Some might be disappointed that the action that made the previous film so popular is not as ever-present in this film, but at the heart of Star Trek was the characters and the references to contemporary issues reflected from a science fiction effort.

While Star Trek is definitely a vast space opera of sorts it is also a complex science fiction tapestry that has it’s own set of rules that it adheres to in part because the science of Star Trek is based in part on a mix of theory and fantasy and just like fantasy, the rules established in any genre creation by a new series must stay consistent in order to maintain some form of respectable suspension of disbelief. These rules apply in our everyday world whether or not one is even consciously aware of it. Think about office politics, family dynamics, religion, government, and even science and tell me if there is not an established if not unspoken agreement between most people to believe what they are told to believe based on what is sociologically acceptable at that moment. That is why science fiction is one of the best genres out there because it enables to reader, storyteller, and viewer to examine these and other issues of what it is to be a conscious human being and extrapolates this in some fantastic manner in order to teach or preach and raises question so profound that few genres ever come so close to investigating and extrapolating. Star Trek is contemporary science fiction mythology in motion. The theme of mortality and consequence seems to run through every Star Trek feature in one form or another.

The Star Trek III: The Search For Spock Blu-ray Disc features an edited commentary of comments featuring Director Leonard Nimoy, Writer/Producer Harve Bennett, Director of Photography Charles Correll, and Actress Robin Curtis. Nimoy is very enthusiastic and articulate as he touches upon how he was approached to return for the third Star Trek film, a strange misunderstanding between the then Production Head at Paramount at the time and Nimoy’s desire to continue actively as a participant as both an Actor and Director with Star Trek. He credits William Shatner as well as Producer Gene L. Coon for helping Star Trek: The Original Series survive and thrive and credits Writer and Producer Harve Bennett with saving Star Trek and bringing new life into it through the feature film series. Bennett credits Wrath Of Khan Writer and Director Nicholas Meyer for helping him see beyond the limits he thought existed with Star Trek, by simply asking “Why not?” It is obvious that everyone credits Gene Roddenberry for his resolve and vision in creating Star Trek. There are anecdotes about the perils of directing your fellow cast members and the fire that almost destroyed the set complete with Shatner using a garden hose to help keep it at bay until firefighters arrived and also some character directing technique Nimoy used with Robin Curtis to get the reaction from her character he was seeking at the film’s closing moments. These are also extrapolated on with videotaped interviews that include William Shatner and Christopher Lloyd on the Captain’s Log documentary (26:12), that covers much of the same ground as the commentary and appears to be at least in part a source for the mix, Star Trek III: The Search For Spock features an excellent documentary entitled Terraforming And The Prime Directive (25:51) that features a number of interesting viewpoints regarding the nature of Star Trek and the impact it has had on science and how science has also inspired science fiction with Hugo Award® Winning Author David Brin and a detailed discussion of the possibilities and realities bringing a world like Mars into it’s own living natural habitat or an Earth like atmosphere that could benefit humanity on a number of levels for a quarter of a billion years for what could possibly be achieved within a century’s time. The documentary is simply fascinating. Under the heading of “Star Trek Universe” one will find a documentary regarding the special effects created for the film by ILM entitled Space Docks And Birds Of Prey (27.48), a surprisingly engaging look at how the Klingon and Vulcan languages for Star Trek have been developed by Linguist Marc Okrand entitled Speaking Klingon (21:03), and a featurette on the costume, jewelry, and makeup designs entitled Klingon And Vulcan Costumes (12:16). Storyboard galleries for the Opening Credits, Klingon Attack, Entering Spacedock, Search For Life, Finding Spock, Destruction of Grissom, Stealing Enterprise, Self Destruct Sequence, Kirk Fights Kruge, and the Katra Ritual are included along with a behind-the-scenes production photo gallery and promotional photos from the film. New to the Blu-ray release is an audio commentary with Ronald D. Moore and Michael Taylor covering their experiences as seasoned television writers and producers with experience in several Star Trek related TV series. The theatrical trailer in HD and another Starfleet Academy Briefing covering the Vulcan Katra Ritual Mystery is detailed also.

Arguably the most crowd-pleasing adventure in terms of its mix of humor and environmental message is Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. This Blu-ray Disc concludes the Motion Picture Trilogy 3-disc set and boasts lots of extra value material too. Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner give a screen specific and thoughtful feature length commentary that reveals in discussion some the rumors I have heard, but was never sure about the fourth film regarding scenes and sequences that were thought of for the film, but ultimately not used such as the possibility of Robin Curtis’ character of “Lieutenant Saavik” being pregnant with Spock’s child as a result of their “Pon farr” in “The Search For Spock” or Sulu encountering one of his great ancestors as a boy in 20^th century San Francisco. There is also a new track with the new Star Trek film writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman that covers the overwhelmingly positive fan experience felt during the original theatrical release of the film. Also new and in high definition are The Three-Picture Saga, which was not originally planned as a trilogy so much as it evolved into one and a solid trilogy at that. Star Trek For A Cause examines the environmental message of the film and there is another 24^th Century Starfleet Academy Briefing covering the whale probe incident. There is also a collection of moments featuring the character of Pavel Chekov as well as the theatrical trailer in high definition. Carried over from the DVD release are extra featurettes under several different headings beginning with The Star Trek Universe, which contains some fascinating interviews with physicists discussing in laymen’s terms the possibilities of time travel in Time Travel: The Art Of The Possible (11:14), a fascinating dissertation on whales in The Language Of Whales (5:47), a Star Trek Author’s lecture on the nature of Vulcans in A Vulcan Primer (7:50), and three actresses, two of whom appeared in the original series and Catherine Hicks fondly discussing the amorous charisma of William Shatner in Kirk’s Women (8:20).

Under the heading Production Featurettes is Future’s Past: A Look Back (27:30) featuring videotaped interview clips with Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner, Catherine Hicks, Harve Bennett and Nicholas Meyer among others, On Location (7:26) discussing the challenges as well as methods in which the on location shooting in San Francisco took place which is supported by a Daily Reconstruction (4:14) for the first scene in 1986 San Francisco where Kirk gets heckled by a cabbie. Discussion of the sound design for the film with some interesting anecdotes like where the sound foe the probe came from (11:44) concludes the production featurettes section.

Original interviews from the production with Leonard Nimoy (15:39), William Shatner (14:32), and DeForest Kelley (13:02) as well as a touching tribute to Actor Mark Lenard (12:44) and Eugene Roddenberry discussing his memories of his father (8:17) are included along with a short production gallery (3:55) and several storyboard galleries.

From here on the rest of the Blu-ray Discs discussed are exclusive at the time of this writing to the Star Trek: Original Motion Picture Collection 7-Disc Set. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier is my least favorite of all the films to date. I simply find it at times to be almost difficult to watch because it went against the expectations set up in the fourth film and exceeded it’s grasp in trying to tell a metaphysical story. Unfortunately regardless of where one places the blame if there is any blame to be placed, the fact is since William Shatner has his name on it as Director, one is tempted to identify the film’s shortcomings with Shatner, but none of us were there (I think?) who are reading this and no matter what anyone says, we can only know what is said from various points of view and not what truly happened. Basically what one can gather from this installment is that Kirk predicts he will die alone, meaning not with his friends Spock and McCoy, which becomes a self fulfilling prophecy of sorts in Star Trek: Generations. Spock’s adjustment to the world of the living is still poked fun at some times, but what really kills the film is not only the buffoonery, but also the drastic drop in the quality if the effects and production design. Thus if viewers skip this film and go directly to the sixth film, they are missing absolutely nothing in my opinion.

William Shatner and his daughter Liz Shatner, author of Captain’s Log: William Shatner’s Personal Account Of The Making Of Star Trek V – The Final Frontier provide a feature length audio commentary track and while Mr. Shatner sounds a bit subdued during the commentary, I personally found the exchange between father and daughter to be charming. William Shatner is also not afraid to note where he felt his screen direction was not theatrical enough and whatnot. This does create a bit of sympathy for the guy, but at the same time it lets the viewer understand in a somewhat educational manner some of the pitfalls Shatner faced directing this installment in the franchise. If you are looking to hear or see people talking about gossipy stuff about the making of the film, you will not find it here and personally I’m glad. There’s enough dirt out there already as far as I am concerned. Michael and Denise Okuda, Garfield and Judy Reeves-Stevens, and Daren Dochterman provide a new companion audio commentary for the film too.

Carried over from the DVD release are a series featurettes that are within several submenus under various banners. In The Star Trek Universe submenu there is a tribute to Production Designer Herman Zimmerman (19:08), a filmed interview with William Shatner on location at Yosemite Park during the film’s production (14:37), and a discussion of the metaphysics in Star Trek with interview clips featuring Writers David Brin, Ray Bradbury, and David Loughery. I found this to be the best of the featurettes and really enjoyed how Brin brought out the mythic structure that had occurred throughout the first five Star Trek films and I think he’s right, but Mr. Brin you left out one important element. Usually from a great act of hubris in mythology there is something gained that is good too. Sort of like the phoenix rising out of the ashes or Pegasus coming from Medusa’s head or hope coming out of Pandora’s box. Were it not for the hubris behind “Genesis” in Star Trek II the Wrath Of Kahn and Star Trek III: The Search For Spock there would have been no way for Spock to return to the living. I realize that one can argue that if there was no “Genesis” Kahn would not have gotten the missile, but does anyone really think that given Kahn’s obsession with Kirk that he would not have found some other way to draw him into a trap and at the same time threaten the universe?

Also within The Star Trek Universe submenu are new interviews with Todd Bryant (Klaa) and Spice Williams (Vixis) complete with behind-the-scenes photos, makeup test footage, and deleted footage that is surprisingly not included among the deleted scenes on the second disc (13:05). The final featurette in this section entitled A Green Future (9:24) explores the hope instilled by Roddenberry’s vision of the future for our environment.

Under the heading of Production one can find Harve Bennett’s Pitch (1:42) presumably to studio execs or theater chain owners, a new documentary featuring retrospective cast and crew interview clips entitled The Journey (28:54), a reel of makeup tests (9:30) and a reel of pre-visualization model scenes (1:41), footage of the unused Rockman (5:37), and the press conference held on the closing day of shooting in December of 1988 with Bennett, Shatner doing the majority of the talking and answering questions while the main cast members from the film make a brief appearance in the beginning. (13:42).

A still gallery, storyboard galleries and four deleted scenes entitled “Mount Rushmore,” “Insults,” “Behold Paradise,” and “Spock’s Pain” are included. These scenes can be viewed individually or as one reel (4:17)

High definition extras cover Star Trek’s influence upon NASA, a Hollywood Walk of Fame Honoring James Doohan, and a 24^th century Starfleet briefing on the failure of Nimbus III and what could be learned from it. Two high definition theatrical trailers and seven TV spots wrap up the extra value features on this disc.

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country fulfills in many ways the expectations set up in the fourth film related to the Klingons and brings to fruition the beginning of what will eventually be an alliance between the United Federation of Planets and the Klingon Empire as seen in the later Star Trek television series set in the 24^th century. Two commentary tracks, the first with Director Nicholas Meyer and Screenwriter Denny Martin Flinn and the second features Larry Nemecek and Ira Steven Behr. The Perils of Peacemaking examines the role of Science Fiction in facilitating an examination of contemporary problems.

Exclusive or new to this disc are the high definition featurettes Tom Morga: Alien Stuntman, To Be or Not To Be: Klingons and Shakespeare, which unintentionally reminded me of Waiting For Guffman, and a tribute to actor DeForest Kelley. A Starfleet Academy briefing on the Praxis incident is presented circa the 24^th century as with the others. It should be noted that as far as I am aware of anyway, this is the first time the theatrical version of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country has ever been released officially and commercially on home video here in the States and at the time of this writing, it is only available within this 7-disc Blu-ray Disc set.

Also exclusive to this set is The Captain’s Summit, a high definition video roundtable discussion presented in three parts that can be viewed individually or collectively and is moderated by Whoopi Goldberg and features William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Patrick Stewart, and Jonathan Frakes candidly discussing their experiences with fans, the early days of Star Trek: The Next Generation and the art of directing. The entire discussion is extremely engrossing, funny, and quite entertaining too.

The main menu for all seven discs in The Motion Picture Collection and all three discs in the trilogy set is beautifully rendered with an ever-revolving Starfleet insignia in three dimensions. All of the films are presented in their respective widescreen theatrical aspect ratios and films one through four-feature English Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Surround Sound, French Dolby Surround Sound, and Spanish Language Monaural Sound while five and six have a French Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound option. All also feature English Subtitles for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired and English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese Language Subtitles. The 7-Disc set has each BD packaged in it’s individual slim Elite Blue BD case and housed within a hard cardboard sleeve while the 3-disc set is a glossy digipack gatefold within a glossy soft cardboard slip box. Scaled down versions of the trilogy set are also available on DVD. Star Trek: Original Motion Picture Collection and Star Trek: Motion Picture Trilogy are available on Blu-ray Disc now at retailers on and offline courtesy of Paramount Home Entertainment.

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