Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)

Director:

Nicholas Meyer

Writers (WGA):

Gene Roddenberry (based on "Star Trek" created by)
Leonard Nimoy (story) ...

Release Date:

6 December 1991 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

The battle for peace has begun

Plot:

The crews of the Enterprise and the Excelsior must stop a plot to prevent a peace treaty between the Klingon Empire and the Federation.

Plot Keywords:

Captain | Assassin | Assassination | Prison | Prisoner

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

William Shatner	...	Captain James T. Kirk
Leonard Nimoy	...	Captain Spock
DeForest Kelley	...	Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy
James Doohan	...	Captain Montgomery "Scotty" Scott
Walter Koenig	...	Commander Pavel Chekov
Nichelle Nichols	...	Cmdr. Uhura
George Takei	...	Captain Hikaru Sulu
Kim Cattrall	...	Lieutenant Valeris
Mark Lenard	...	Ambassador Sarek
Grace Lee Whitney	...	Commander Janice Rand
Brock Peters	...	Admiral Cartwright
Leon Russom	...	Starfleet Commander in Chief
Kurtwood Smith	...	Federation President
Christopher Plummer	...	General Chang
Rosanna DeSoto	...	Azetbur (as Rosana DeSoto)

Runtime:

113 min | 110 min (theatrical version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Klingon

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.00 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby Digital (some test prints) | Dolby SR (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Italy:T | South Korea:12 | Brazil:Livre | Australia:PG | Finland:K-11 (DVD rating) | France:U | Germany:12 | Iceland:LH | Ireland:PG | Netherlands:12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | UK:PG | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Alaska, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The Klingon Language Institute, an organization dedicated to the Klingon language as formulated by Marc Okrand, took it upon themselves to translate William Shakespeare into Klingon based on David Warner's line about hearing Shakespeare in the original Klingon.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: In the galley, just as Scotty exits, Spock orders: "Valeris, please inform Starfleet Command that our warp drive is inoperative." Yet Spock's lip movements seem to indicate that the name "Valeris" was dubbed over "Commander Uhura," which would make sense given that the latter is the ship's communications officer and she is standing right there, but was likely changed to match the subsequent dialogue and action: Valeris asks, "A lie?"; Spock replies, "An error"; then Valeris walks away as Spock continues to speak with Uhura.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Captain Hikaru Sulu: Stardate 9521.6. Captain's Log, USS Excelsior. Hikaru Sulu commanding. After three years, I have concluded my first assignment as master of this vessel, cataloguing gaseous planetary anomalies in Beta Quadrant. We're heading home under full impulse power. I'm pleased to report that ship and crew have functioned well.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Star Trek: New Voyages: Come What May (#1.0)" (2004)

Soundtrack:

THEME FROM 'STAR TREK' TV SERIES

Underrated Movie, not understood by trekkies and non-trekkies alike

Star Trek Movies are far more miss than hit, with only 3 excellent, 1 good and the rest rubbish (although NEMESIS may be slightly above rubbish level). Anyway, this movie was meant to contrast 60s style leadership and ethics with those of the 80s. Borrowing from the modern leadership styles and political correctness portrayed in the Next Generation series, "The Undiscovered Country" explores (in typical Hollywood sci-fi fashion) how our present day society has progressed toward multiculturalism. It explores how committed, loyal patriots can be burdened with their old prejudices after the world/universe has changed around them. The personal struggles of Kirk and the Chancellor's daughter, and even the violently opposed logical conclusions of two Vulcans in the same circumstances (but with differing priorities) are all clearly missed by most viewers. Of course, as with James Bond movies, Jim Kirk and his crew must save the day (and also nicely throw in some minor Star Trek future history trivia with the Khitomer massacre etc). An excellent story line, excellent themes, carefully produced and directed, this is a science fiction classic on par with Alien, Blade Runner and, yes, much better than any of the Star Wars movies.