Who saw this in cinemas back in 86/87?

I remember it. I also noticed the "odd numbered Star Trek movie bad, even numbered Star Trek movie good" pattern that had set it.

I have to say, of all the Star Trek movies, this was the one that was or at least felt like a "must see", which i'd never done with a Star Trek movie up until then, and I think it got none Star Trek fans to see it as well, because it wasn't a typical Star Trek movie.

The humour in it was great, the VFX for the day was great, and flying the Bird of Prey was a nice change from the Enterprise.

Just a shame then that they followed it up with The Final Frontier, which Paramount skimped on, even though Voyage Home was the most profitable Star Trek movie at that point.

Loved Voyage Home back then and still do now, easily the most watchable with Wrath of Khan a close second.

Who else saw it

i saw it. i remember being confused on how leonard nimoy could be the director and also star in it.

I was 9 and had loved II and III. I had looked more at the pictures in the lift-out vinyl record LP of the first movie than watched it, and IV was the first I saw at the cinema. I remember thinking about the dedication to the Challenger crew at the start and then the really dramatic music with the recapping of what had happened in II and III before the credits. I expected more Horner music and then all this other weird music began which confused me a little, then finished as The Probe came out of the black space. It was mysterious and exciting. I enjoyed it and always have since, especially the humour. I remember feeling so excited as they got another Enterprise at the end.

I saw it in the first few days!! My friends and I were completely enchanted by it, everyone I know who saw it really liked it or absolutely loved it - and that included both Trekkies and mainstreamers.

I've seen it again a few times over the years, and every time, it's been a lovely and totally enjoyable movie. I saw it on youtube last month (for free), as I sat home with a broken leg, and yup! Loved it again! It's a sweet, funny, and clever movie, where all our old pals of the ensemble each get to do something way cool, I just loved the finale, the new character was totally awesome and is perhaps the real hero of the film, everything worked. And the "Save the Whales" message hasn't dated at all, now that it's not just the whales being in danger, but the entire oceanic ecosystem.

35y ago https://twitter.com/StarTrekOnPPlus/status/1464247576299929606

There was no way for me to see Star Trek IV when it was released in Nov, 1986, as I was stationed at Incirlik Air Base, in SE Turkey. What was an option was to go to the small Stars & Stripes bookstore(and I mean, small) near the flight-line and buy a Starlog mag and they may have even sold the Star Trek IV novelization. Also, I do remember we had a big exercise in early December, they stuck me at the end of the flight-line as a door guard but the cool part was another guy was sitting right next to me, we 'commandeered' a small radio and I remember giving out a loud groan when Armed Forces Radio mentioned the big movies for the Holiday season; Star Trek IV, Three Amigo's, and Heartbreak Ridge. Since we were really in Asia it meant that all the other Air Bases in Europe would get these movies first, a few months later we would get the well used film canisters at the end of their lifetime. Flash to a few months later(Mar?)my best friend Chuck/I are at the base theater to finally see Star Trek IV. Man, that theater was full, I remember the excitement of the whole crowd when movie started. It seemed everyone on that base was there that night! About 10-20 minutes into the movie, the scene where the Klingon Bird of Prey takes off like a harrier fighter jet the film just stopped..what the heck? surprisingly the entire theater kept from rioting, everybody just took it in stride. Then, the film started going BACKWARDS as the part time amateur projectionist did his very best to get ST IV back in action. The film started going forward again..a huge array of "YaY!! and applause from the Incirlik crowd! As the Klingon harrier started to take off it stopped yet again, then backwards again..and finally the coup de grace..the theater lights went on and we heard the projectionist from above yell to us he was sorry the the worn out film's a mess that nights viewing(all all others) were canx. We were bummed but that's just how it was back then.