Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Robert Wise

Writers:

Gene Roddenberry (television series Star Trek) and
Alan Dean Foster (story) ...

Release Date:

7 December 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Mystery | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

The human adventure is just beginning

Plot:

When a destructive space entity is spotted approaching Earth, Admiral Kirk resumes command of the Starship Enterprise in order to intercept, examine, and hopefully stop it.

Plot Keywords:

Alien | Admiral | Space | Space Station | Star Trek

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 15 nominations

Cast

William Shatner	...	Admiral James T. Kirk
Leonard Nimoy	...	Mr. Spock
DeForest Kelley	...	Dr. Leonard 'Bones' McCoy
James Doohan	...	Cmdr. Montgomery 'Scotty' Scott
George Takei	...	Lt. Cmdr. Hikaru Sulu
Majel Barrett	...	Dr. Christine Chapel
Walter Koenig	...	Lt. Pavel Chekov
Nichelle Nichols	...	Lt. Cmdr. Uhura
Persis Khambatta	...	Lt. Ilia
Stephen Collins	...	Cmdr. Willard Decker
Grace Lee Whitney	...	CPO Janice Rand
Mark Lenard	...	Klingon Captain
Billy Van Zandt	...	Alien Boy
Roger Aaron Brown	...	Epsilon Technician
Gary Faga	...	Airlock Technician

Also Known As:

Star Trek II (USA) (working title)
Star Trek: Phase II (USA) (working title)
Star Trek: Planet of the Titans (USA) (working title)
Star Trek: The Motion Picture - The Director's Edition (USA) (DVD title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for sci-fi action and mild language.

Runtime:

132 min | USA:136 min (director's cut) | USA:143 min (TV version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Klingon

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX (director's cut) | Dolby

Certification:

Italy:T | Canada:PG (Ontario - 2006) | Iceland:L | South Korea:12 | Brazil:Livre | New Zealand:G | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Chile:TE | Finland:K-10 | France:U | Ireland:G | Netherlands:12 | Norway:12 | Sweden:11 | UK:U | USA:G | USA:PG (director's cut) | West Germany:12 | Singapore:PG | Canada:F (Ontario) | Canada:PG (Nova Scotia) (director's cut) | Canada:PG (Manitoba) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:G (Nova Scotia) (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Century Associates

Trivia:

For a previous unproduced TV series of his called "Genesis II", Gene Roddenberry had created a story he called "Robot's Return". This was now rewritten for "Star Trek" by Alan Dean Foster under the title "In Thy Image", and proposed as the two-hour premiere episode of "Star Trek Phase II". However, Paramount executive 'Michael Eisner' responded, "We've been looking for the feature for five years and this is it", and made the final decision to forget the new series and produce the story as a movie.

Goofs:

Continuity: Spock's sideburns are squared at the bottom when he is lying on the diagnostic bed.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Klingon captain: [giving an order in Klingon] Tactical...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Warrior of the Lost World (#6.1)" (1993)

A muddled epic

Star Trek: The Motion Picture - Stardate: 7412.6

Of all the Star Trek films, this is the most impersonal and epic - which necessarily isn't a bad thing. This film really isn't about the Star Trek crew, but about the vast visual effects laden V'Ger and how the Enterprise spends 2+ hours exploring it. The score by Jerry Goldsmith only accentuates this epic-ness - this is one of his best scores and brings a majestic quality to the Star Trek crew. Never really is this film funny (unlike 4) or action-packed (unlike II) but regardless will always have a place in my heart because it tries to be as epic as Star Trek can possibly be. Overall, a 7 out of 10 (mostly because of the state-of-the-art effects of its time in 1979 and a superb score by Jerry Goldsmith RIP).