Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)

Director:

Leonard Nimoy

Writers:

Gene Roddenberry (television series Star Trek)
Harve Bennett (written by)

Release Date:

1 June 1984 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Join the search

Plot:

Admiral Kirk and his bridge crew risk their careers stealing the decommissioned Enterprise to return to the restricted Genesis planet to recover Spock's body.

Plot Keywords:

Admiral | Commander | Ceremony | Star Trek | Space

Awards:

7 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

William Shatner	...	Admiral James T. Kirk
Leonard Nimoy	...	Capt. Spock / Elevator Voice (also as Frank Force)
DeForest Kelley	...	Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy
James Doohan	...	Montgomery "Scotty" Scott
George Takei	...	Hikaru Sulu
Walter Koenig	...	Pavel Chekov
Nichelle Nichols	...	Cmdr. Uhura
Merritt Butrick	...	Dr. David Marcus
Phil Morris	...	Trainee Foster
Scott McGinnis	...	Mr. Adventure
Robin Curtis	...	Lt. Saavik
Robert Hooks	...	Adm. Morrow
Carl Steven	...	Spock...Age 9
Vadia Potenza	...	Spock...Age 13
Stephen Manley	...	Spock...Age 17

Also Known As:

Star Trek III: Return to Genesis (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Klingon | Russian

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby (35 mm prints) | 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints)

Certification:

Italy:T | Iceland:10 | South Korea:12 | Brazil:Livre | New Zealand:G | Canada:G (Régie du Cinéma Québec) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Canada:PG | Finland:K-11 (DVD rating) | France:U | Netherlands:AL | Norway:11 (re-rerating) | Norway:12 | Singapore:PG | UK:PG | USA:PG | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Cinema Group Ventures

Trivia:

When Dr. McCoy declares his full name, the "H" stands for Horatio. Horatio Hornblower was Gene Roddenberry's model for Captain Kirk. David Andrew McCoy is his father's full name, according to the novelization of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989).

Goofs:

Continuity: The direction the Bird-of-Prey is turning as it opens fire on the cargo ship.

Quotes:

[first lines]
[Spock's dying words, repeated from the previous film]
Captain Spock: Don't grieve, Admiral. It is logical. The needs of the many outweigh...
Kirk: ...the needs of the few.
Captain Spock: Or the one. I have been and always shall be your friend. Live long and prosper.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut (1999)

better than you've heard

I almost never agree with Trekkies! They usually pan "Star Trek III" and label it a disappointing follow-up to the classic "Wrath of Khan." But I just don't see anything wrong here. The Klingons are delightfully over-the-top villains, the effects and spaceship models are great (arguably the best in the series), and the theft of the Enterprise is a wonderful sequence loaded with humor and tension. DeForest Kelley gets some great material as the "possessed" McCoy, and Shatner's performance - slightly more understated than in the last film - is again rock solid.

So what's the problem? I suppose this movie has difficulties standing on its own; it relies heavily on knowledge of "Khan." But, such issues inevitably crop up when you're dealing with a long-running series of interconnected movies, and they don't matter much in terms of raw entertainment value. Some fans complain that nothing really happens in this film - it's just about getting Spock back and nothing else - but the death of David and the destruction of the Enterprise load it up with more than enough dramatic punch for me.

And, can you possibly imagine Picard stealing the Enterprise to go on a rescue mission? I can't. This movie's storyline captures exactly what makes the original crew so warm, funny, and rebellious...and so it's a good Trek movie, despite what the fans will tell you.