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Theatrical Version vs All Others (Directors Cut, Special Edition, Ext)

posted 9 years ago by spawnerdawner2004
12 replies | jump to latest

I had the distinct pleasure of watching the wondrous Theatrical Version of Star Trek: The Motion Picture again - and feel this is the definitve version to watch.

The soundtrack more crisp (I notice the militaristic drums in the opening credits in the theatrical version are lost in all subsequent versions), the editing is sharper, it doesn't have the silly added cgi fx (that detract more than improve). I have the directors cut, but truly don't feel the additional cgi, alternate score, and bridge sound fx add anything.

I'm wondering what other fans of the film think.

[–] trevorh321 (5495) 3 years ago

1. My favorite is the director's cut, but the dvd is the only format available for that, hope they can clean that up with the new blu ray.

2. I like the theatrical version, the new blu ray is the best its ever looked, they really cleaned it up nicely.

3. My least favorite is the really long version with many scenes that were cut for good reason. I can only guess they put them back to pad the running time for tv.

[–] MikeCable (1846) 3 years ago

The new CGI was fascinating at the time and appreciated, though even back then I couldn't believe they released it with that slower framerate in the saucer-walkway scene, and now it all looks quite dated. The original effects would have been nicer still in place today.

The most annoying new sound effect was that awful red alert alarm, that one really caught me by surprise when I first heard it. The original alarm had a real sense of urgency and strength to it and the new one was just silly. A bit like adding "Nooooooooooooooo!" to the Star Wars movies.

I had always hoped that the organisers of any new edition would take a good look at what "amateur" fans are doing on YouTube and get them involved.