Return to Tomorrow...
Seeing the much-maligned (but personally beloved) first Star Trek movie in a theater for the first time in nearly 40 years. Going to see it theatrically again made me feel a bit like Admiral Kirk in the movie, closing his eyes in anticipation as he takes his turbo-lift up to the bridge…
Sunday, September 15th, 2019.
A few months shy of the 40th anniversary of “Star Trek: The Motion Picture”’s debut (Dec. 7th), and my local AMC Theatre chain in coordination with Fathom Events had a special weekend screening of this film that I last saw theatrically about 37th years ago (on a double-bill with “The Wrath of Khan”). Since December of 1979, I’ve seen TMP theatrically no less than ten times (often as part of a double-feature, a very common thing in the late 1970s/early 1980s); I wish I were making up that sad little factoid, but it’s true. I’ve long held a great love for this gorgeous, admittedly flawed movie that I can’t fully rationalize.
I must admit that I was glad to hear that the anniversary screening was going to be the theatrical cut of the film. Now, I love the TMP Director’s Cut (which was released on DVD back in 2001); the TMP DC tightened the editing a bit, cleaned up some of the unfinished opticals with digital magic, and even fixed dialogue/ADR issues (‘V’ger‘ went from being “82 AUs” down to a more manageable “2 AUs in diameter”… 2 AUs is still twice the distance between Earth and the sun). The TMP DC is clearly the superior version. However, for me this screening wasn’t about seeing a better version… it was about seeing the movie I’d fell in love with back when I was 13 years old.
How I wish Disney would do a screening like this for the original, 1977 pre- ‘New Hope’ version of “Star Wars”, but I digress…
For clarity, this will not a review, nor am I going to rehash the entire plot. I did a full review/reevaluation of Robert Wise’s “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” on this site many moons ago: (https://musingsofamiddleagedgeek.blog/2017/05/02/shall-we-give-the-enterprise-a-proper-shakedown-re-evaluating-star-trek-the-motion-picture/).
For full disclosure, I already own both cuts of the film on DVD and Blu Ray (and had them on CED, VHS and laserdisc prior to that). But seeing a film theatrically versus seeing it on my 43” HDTV is like hearing one’s favorite music performed live in concert vs. listening to it on a pair of ear buds. It’s a very different experience.
****SPOILERS AHEAD!!*****
“I am ready to commence my observations.”
The following are personal observations about “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” that came to mind during this particular screening. I’m going to assume the reader is familiar enough with the story, the characters and even some of the minutiae of “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” (TMP):
After hearing “Ilia’s Theme” playing over a black screen (which visibly confused a kid sitting near me), we see the opening titles with Jerry Goldsmith’s amazing score (one of the best soundtracks for a Star Trek movie ever, IMHO) followed by the opening Klingon attack on the V’ger cloud.
Despite a few visible matte lines, the Klingon attack sequence holds up very well today. There is a graceful bit of sweeping motion-control work as the camera approaches the three vessels from above, spirals about on one of the vessels, and then follows the three of them into the cloud. Still an amazing shot that gave me a teensy bit of vertigo back 4 decades ago.
The lovingly detailed miniature Klingon cruiser holds up well to big-screen 4K scrutiny. It’s no wonder that the Klingon miniature vessel was repainted and reused for “Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country” (1991) as well as “Star Trek: The Next Generation.”
Yes, it breaks from canon (“Vulcan has no moon” says Spock in TOS’ “The Man Trap”), but I love that it looks truly alien and otherworldly. The thin Vulcan atmosphere gives the planet a nearly-black sky, as Vulcan appears to orbit a gas giant with at least a couple of other worlds. Maybe Vulcan is a moon, hence no moon of its own? I also loved seeing the boiling mineral-rich waters of Minerva Terrace, at Yosemite National Park in Wyoming. We see them ever so briefly, since the rest of the scene…
There is a jump-cut between Spock on Vulcan with an air-tram flying alongside the Golden Gate of the 23rd century. This was another sequence that was reshot with all-new San Francisco plates and new digital FX for the Director’s Cut. This original shot is a lot more static, and there is an odd random closeup shot of the Starfleet HQ logo; I’m assuming (?) that shot of the logo was inserted to make up for a missing FX shot that wasn’t completed in time.
This sequence gives ST: TMP the kind of scope it could never get with TOS’ budget. While the outside vista of San Francisco Bay does look like a painted backdrop (it’s a bit dull and flat-looking), the overall effect of the image still works. We see multiple aliens (much more visibly on the big screen), and even operators working within into a control booth (on the left side of the image). All of this as Kirk (William Shatner) and Commander Sonak (Jon Rashad Kamal) ride an escalator in the foreground of the shot. It’s a very busy scene; a futuristic Grand Central Station brought to life with the best opticals and miniatures that the 1970s could muster. Yes, the Director’s Cut improved it significantly, but for its day, this sequence was (and arguably still is) very impressive.
I think I was looking more forward to this part of the film than any other. The sequence holds up extremely well, save for the static quality of the Earth’s limb in the lower part of the shot (on the big screen, the lack of movement in the clouds is much more obvious). That said, the miniature of the USS Enterprise, teased through the girders and and lighting panels of the drydock complex, is magnificent. We see the ship from the travel pod’s perceptive of low angles, from above the saucer, and finally docking on the giant starship’s port side. It’s questionable that Scotty (James Doohan) would take such a luxurious tour of the exterior when the ship is scrambling to meet its rushed launch date, but this sequence is all about unabashed fan service, not story logic… and that’s not such a bad thing. I’ve watched this sequence many times on DVD and Blu Ray, but the overwhelming SIZE of the starship is best appreciated on a movie theater-sized screen. This is one of many moments throughout this film that more than justifies Star Trek getting the big-screen treatment.
This sequence doesn’t play any better or worse on the bigger theatrical screen, but it’s just lovely to see the cast together again! Nichelle Nichols, Walter Koenig and George Takei don’t get nearly enough to do in this film, and that lack of screen time remains a serious flaw in Star Trek: TMP. The actor in white standing between Koenig and Takei is Franklyn Seales, who costarred in 1979’s “The Onion Field” (based on Joseph Wambaugh’s book); Seales played “Jimmy Youngblood”; one of two real-life petty crooks who kidnapped a pair of policemen in March of 1963, resulting in the murder of one of them (actor Ted Danson, in a very early role). Sorry for the tangent, but I love “The Onion Field”; great book and movie.
I won’t lie; this scene scared the hell out of me as a 13 year old. There was something utterly horrifying about that darkened transporter chamber (much darker than the transporter room of TOS) with two freakishly distorted bodies on the transporter pads, followed by their muffled screams as they fade from sight. This is the stuff of nightmares… and in 1979, this was a G-rated movie (once again illustrating the random, arbitrary nature of the MPAA ratings system). While the gore of this scene was not explicit, the horror of a device turning one’s body inside out was personally terrifying to me then, and still is today. The transporter malfunction feels more like something out of a David Cronenberg film.
Serious nightmare fuel…
Note: Editor Todd Ramsay voices the mortified Starfleet transporter technician on Earth who says, “Enterprise, what we got back didn’t live long…fortunately.”
Once again, this isn’t a scene that is not necessarily aided by a bigger theatrical screen and better sound, but it just felt grand to see the late DeForest Kelley on the big screen again; as it did seeing the late Leonard Nimoy, James Doohan, and Grace Lee Whitney as well. Kelley is the movie’s human heartbeat, and the humor quotient of TMP is upped a bit after he beams aboard. This is one of the great miracles of movies; capturing beloved, iconic actors in their best roles for later generations to enjoy forever. Movies are electric immortality.
This is a scene that very much benefits from the big-screen treatment. There is something very powerful about finally seeing the stately, previously inert starship slowly gliding away from Earth under its own power. Like everything else in TMP, the Enterprise’s launch takes its sweet time, as the vessel gracefully slides out of dock. Once again, Jerry Goldsmith’s luxe, majestic music gives the launch all the pomp and circumstance that it deserves; it’s like an up-tempo version of his earlier music for the travel pod dry-dock sequence.
One of the most visually intriguing sequences in the movie, as the Enterprise’s warp engine malfunction snags the vessel in an artificial vortex that dilates time (“Tiiiime tooo impaaaact!”). The lights both inside and outside the ship are optically ‘stretched’ and distorted (aided by some clandestine rotoscoping as well), and the actors voices are pitched down and stretched as well. Once again, on a big screen in a darkened theater, this sequence has a lot more impact. We feel almost as ‘trapped’ as the characters do, until they are thrown free of the distortion. The crew is saved as the Enterprise fires a photon torpedo at an asteroid that is trapped on a collision course with the vessel. Fortunately, the wormhole doesn’t seem to alter time itself for the Enterprise’s crew, as they seem to reemerge into their prior timeframe. This was the very first time the (then-new) theory of spatial wormholes was depicted on film (this was 35 years prior to Christopher Nolan’s “Interstellar”).
The wormhole effect itself wasn’t hand-animated; it was created using a laser beam, combined with mirrors and beam splitters, according to FX maestro Douglas Trumbull (“2001: A Space Odyssey” “Blade Runner”). I had the pleasure of meeting Trumbull this past summer in Las Vegas (more on this in a bit). Trumbull also directed the entire Enterprise drydock sequence for director Bob Wise, using the hand drawn storyboards as a reference.
Spock arrives in a well-shot sequence between a Vulcan long-range shuttle and the temporarily stranded Enterprise. He immediately resumes his old job as Science Officer and sets about helping ‘miracle worker’ Scotty rebalance the ship’s powerful warp engines (that they couldn’t do so without his help doesn’t reflect well on the engineer or his staff!). Once again, we see a few more shots of the new Enterprise’s engine room; a beautiful multilevel set which uses strategic doorways, lighting and forced perspective backdrops to cheat scale and make the set appear far larger onscreen. The swirling lighting effects within the ship’s vertical warp core shaft were extremely effective, visually conveying a sense of incredible power. Those in-camera lighting FX for the Enterprise’s engine room set (and later in the V’ger amphitheater set) were created by technicians Sam Nicholson and Brian Longbotham. It’s nice to see a big-screen USS Enterprise engine room that isn’t a damned brewery.
The repaired Enterprise’s acceleration to warp 7 is a tense little moment, achieved with a few shots of the ship’s exterior stretching and exploding into warp, intercut with shots of the crew nervously manning their stations as helmsman Sulu announces each gradual step-up in speed (“Warp four… Warp five…Warp six…”). It’s a variation on the nail-biting launch countdown sequences seen in countless old space movies (“Destination Moon” “Conquest of Space”).
The ship takes a hit from V’ger’s plasma weapon. Dazzling (non-CGI) electrical arcs are superimposed over the ship’s exterior, the warp core (above) and even Chekov’s hand (ouch!). Unlike TOS, where attacks on the ship meant the actors rocked back and forth as the lights dimmed a bit, V’ger’s attack on the ship feels much more upscaled and dangerous. Why V’ger didn’t just ‘assimilate’ the starship into its memory archive (as it did with the three Klingon vessels and the Epsilon 9 space station) remains a mystery…
This is where much of the film’s earlier momentum comes to a halt. The Enterprise’s initial entry into the massive V’ger cloud is beautifully realized (as is Goldsmith’s hypnotic scoring of this sequence), but endless reaction shots of the drab, pajama-wearing crew inside of a nearly colorless gray Enterprise bridge set doesn’t provide a lot of visual interest for an audience. You can only show so many shots of the crew ‘oohing’ and ‘aahing’ at the gorgeous energy clouds before it becomes a bit tiresome. I blame this sequence as one of the main sources of the movie’s lethargic reputation. My issues with this scene are only exacerbated on the big screen. It wasn’t surprising at all when I saw a couple of people in the audience glancing at their watches and phone clocks during this part of the film. This is another sequence that was wisely tightened up a bit with the TMP DC.
Once the Enterprise is through all of those clouds, it approaches the actual V’ger ‘vessel’ itself. This is where some stunning miniature work comes to play. The dark blue lighting and gas-lit, laser-beam swirl effects (very popular in late-1970s movies, such as “The Black Hole” and “The Lathe of Heaven”) give an almost oceanic look to the V’ger interior; almost like the exterior of some massive, as-yet-undiscovered marine creature. The overall look of the miniature is vaguely reminiscent of the mothership exterior seen in Spielberg’s “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” (which FX artist Trumbull also worked on).
Another startling effect that jars the audience out of its complacency. The combination of near-blinding light and uncomfortably loud sound FX accompanying the probe’s appearance onto the Enterprise’s bridge are very effective. Even more remarkable is that the probe itself was achieved largely through practical means (a large lighting pole, maneuvering through the set itself), with only a bit of animated augmentation. After the probe zaps Lt. Ilia (the late Persis Khambatta), the screen jumps from bright to dark in a single cut. I remember this abrupt lighting transition being almost physically painful to watch as a kid, but the effect seemed less pronounced in the digital print that I saw over the weekend. Or maybe it was due to the fact that I’d seen it about a thousand times since…?
Former model and beauty pageant winner Persis Khambatta’s dual performance as Lt. Ilia and her mechanical “Ilia-probe” reincarnation is easy to dismiss as ‘stilted’ or mechanical (a compliment, considering the latter character), but if you analyze it in depth, it’s actually a solid performance. While her role as the sensuous Deltan navigator Lt. Ilia is arguably lackluster (Khambatta’s not given much to work with), her return as the Ilia-probe is on a par with Arnold Schwarzenegger’s deadly cyborg of 1984’s “The Terminator.” The stirring of Ilia’s memories of her romance with Commander Decker (Stephen Collins) within the probe’s mechanical body are also subtle and well-played. We see the beginnings of emotion welling behind Khambatta’s large eyes that is abruptly suppressed as V’ger reasserts authority over its probe. Later in the film, the Ilia-probe grows increasingly impatient with a stubborn Capt. Kirk; she goes from a shouted “Kirk-unit!” to a sotto voce purr in order to get the captain’s attention… she learns fast.
During this latest screening, I also noticed a subtle effect I’d never noticed before; as V’ger regains control over the Ilia-probe, the pink sensor/transceiver on her neckline glows brighter. When the Ilia-probe begins to experience emotion, the light dims ever so slightly. In multiple viewings of TMP, I’d never noticed this before.
Persis Khambatta died of a heart attack in 1998 at the age of 49; she is another member of the Star Trek family of late actors whose performances are forever immortalized in this film, along with Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, Majel Roddenberry (nee: Barrett) and Grace Lee Whitney.
Our first view of the new sickbay echo the white, sterile medical chambers of “Wildfire” in Robert Wise’s 1971 sci-fi film, “The Andromeda Strain.” The interactive lighting of the examination room’s sensors on the Ilia-probe is reflected on the corresponding diagram onscreen. There’s even a moment when the shadow of the ‘sensor bar’ over the Ilia-probe’s torso backs up a bit, and that motion is indicated in the graphic as well (can’t imagine how many takes it took to get that right).
Some of the sickbay scenes (as well as many of the bridge shots) also made heavy use of the ’split diopter’; a very popular process used in anamorphic widescreen movies, particularly in the 1970s and ’80s (“Andromeda Strain”, “All the President’s Men,” “The Untouchables” ). The split diopter allows for two separate focal points on either side of a single widescreen image, usually leaving a softer-focus in mid-frame. These days that dual-focal point effect can be easily achieved digitally without the centerfield blurring that accompanies the split diopter. This uniquely optical artifact is more noticeable with larger and larger screens.
Spock’s EVA journey through V’ger’s memory core and his mind-meld with the sensor are TMP’s clear visual homage to astronaut Dave Bowman’s light trip sequence from “2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968). Despite the fact that “Star Wars”-mania was the clear reason for TMP being willed into existence, it actually owes much more cinematically to Kubrick’s classic than to George Lucas’ pop culture favorite. On theatrical viewing, the interactive lighting effects of the sequence are well done, as is the jumble of images that flash over Spock’s visor during the mind-meld (a few of those images are actually spoilers of V’ger’s true identity, if you still-frame them). However, some of the matte paintings of various “planets, moons and stars” in this sequence look pretty rushed. This is no surprise since the entire sequence was a last-minute reshoot; originally, it was a much more elaborate spacewalking sequence with both Spock and Kirk exploring a physical ‘memory wall’ set. When that sequence was scrapped, the producers had to cobble this new sequence together with all-new effects. Taking all of that into account, the sequence works very well indeed.
An unconscious Spock is brought back aboard the Enterprise in a seeming catatonic state. Upon reviving, the previously emotionless Vulcan begins to laugh aloud. I smiled inwardly as a kid sitting near me in the theater seemed to register genuine surprise at this. Nimoy’s brilliant performance in this movie still works, 40 years later. Spock’s out-of-character chuckles were later homaged by actor Zachary Quinto in 2016’s “Star Trek Beyond”; my personal favorite of the Bad Robot reinterpretations.
The V’ger revelation as the lost NASA probe “Voyager Six” (there were only two in the Voyager series) is an intriguing moment, even if it is a bit too close to TOS’ “The Changeling” (with Nomad). Sam Nicholson and Brian Longbotham’s amazing lighting effects a lot of life and energy to what is essentially a piece of set dressing. The numerous aural effects of Voyager’s expressions sound like the amplified growls of my stomach when I’m hungry. They too, impart life (and even personality) to an inanimate prop of an antagonist. When the Ilia-probe takes Kirk, Spock, McCoy and Decker to the V’ger amphitheater ‘central brain complex’, that same kid who was startled by Spock’s laughter earlier said aloud, “It’s a satellite!” I got a thrill at that, knowing that the movie (after 40 years) still has the power to surprise a patient audience. The kid couldn’t have been more than 10 years old, but seemed genuinely caught up in the movie. Frankly, I was a bit worried that younger generations wouldn’t like TMP because of its slower pace, or some of its dated FX, but nope; it still works.
Fun factoid: The Voyager 6 of the movie is a bit smaller than the real Voyagers 1 & 2; roughly 3/4 scale. I’ve seen the engineering mockups of the actual Voyager probe at Caltech’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, and they are noticeably larger.
The ‘super-birth’ of the combined human/machine at the end of the movie is another of those various moments in TMP best experienced on a big screen. The fountain of energy shooting up from Voyager’s core into the surrounding spacecraft reminds me much of the mothership from Trumbull’s “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” FX work, and I mean that as a sincere compliment, since CE3K is one of my favorite movies of all time. Once again, the fullness of the Goldsmith score is best heard within the fullness of theatrical speakers. If I played the movie that loudly at home, I’m certain my neighbors would probably call the police.
The final shot is the one scene of the movie that feels most like the TV series. Usually after a TOS adventure, Kirk, Spock and Bones would be seen on the bridge, trying to suss out what just happened, while trying to ascertain the meaning or moral of it all. This final scene reestablishes the crew of the Enterprise as a family once again…
The final shot of the USS Enterprise, now fully operational and going into warp drive simultaneously illustrates both the similarity and difference between the movie and its TV series’ counterpart. The Enterprise sailing off into the distance was a familiar shot on Star Trek, but the movie gussies it up with considerable visual panache that the low-budgeted TOS could’ve never afforded.
And yes, I stayed through the end credits to catch every last drop of Jerry Goldsmith’s lush and beautiful score.
The Human Adventure Is Just Beginning…
Meeting the FX Maestro, Douglas Trumbull.
The Annual Star Trek Convention, Las Vegas, August 3rd 2019.
After appearing as part of a panel celebrating the 40th anniversary of “Star Trek: The Motion Picture”, special effects wizard Douglas Trumbull was near the back of the main theater, signing complementary autographs for eager fans. During a long wait in a series of increasingly confusing queues, I finally got the chance to meet the man whom I’d read about in the pages of Starlog magazine since I was about 12 years old! This was a pretty big deal to me personally, as the movies he’s worked on are some of my favorite films of all time, including “2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968), “Silent Running” (1972), “Close Encounters Of The Third Kind” (1977), “Blade Runner” (1982). He also directed the aforementioned “Silent Running”, as well as the late Natalie Wood’s last film, “Brainscan” (1983). We shook hands and he kindly agreed to pose for a picture. This was a big deal for me.
Jupiter Ascending.
I was watching a recent video from The Planetary Society (http://www.planetary.org), a non-profit space advocacy group that I’ve been a proud member of for the past 23 years. The video featured a member of our board, Robert Picardo (the EMH Doctor on “Star Trek: Voyager”) reading a poem from Star Trek’s late creator (and TMP’s producer) Gene Roddenberry, urging fans to join the Society, after its foundation in 1980 (by the late Dr. Carl Sagan and the late Dr. Bruce Murray). In the video and screencaps below, you will see what became of the ‘planet Jupiter,’ as seen in “Star Trek: The Motion Picture”…
The full video is here:
Summing it up.
In the 40 years since TMP debuted, television has caught up to, and even surpassed the visual sumptuousness that used to be the purview of the motion picture. TV series like HBO’s “Game Of Thrones” or even CBS All Access’ own “Star Trek: Discovery” look far better than nearly any film of 40, 30 or even 20 years ago could have possibly looked; largely due to dramatic breakthroughs in visual technology such as high definition, 4-8k, CGI FX, and digital imagining/projection that has all but replaced the chemical-based celluloid medium.
That said, this recent screening of “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” made clear to me precisely why I love going to the movies, even to see a film I already own on DVD or Blu Ray. In a theater, I get to experience those same familiar sights and sounds on a far grander scale than even the best home theater experience can offer. If I ever get a home TV screen that’s as big as my entire house with a fully insulated sound system that won’t have the police at my doorstep? Then I might just sit out these rereleases.
Until then, I’ll see you at the movies…
Screencaps via trekcore.com
Great post. Two comments.
1. The effects for the photon torpedo established in TMP should have stayed through the rest of the movies and series. The rays of light flashing out in mutiple directions and the sound effect of the launch are really cool and establish the torpedo as being more than just a red orb.
2. Spock in sick bay really established the character for all time. He laughed, he held Kirk’s hand, he shared his feelings without hesitation or any attempt to play them down. “Jim, this simple feeling…” The scene really is the final integration of Spock’s two halves into a whole that aren’t in conflict with each other. It’s too bad it only lasts through TWOK and then he gets rebooted.