Star Trek IV - The Voyage Home (Two-Disc Special Collector's Edition)
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: James Doohan, Michael Berryman, Mike Brislane, Robin Curtis, Vijay AmritrajDVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 118 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-03-04
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Paramount
Movie Reviews of Star Trek IV - The Voyage Home (Two-Disc Special Collector's Edition)
Movie Review: True Irony: The Most Popular Star Trek Movie, Based Upon Time Travel, Was Roddenberry's Idea That Led Paramount To Replace Him
Summary: 3 Stars
Gene Roddenberry's original concept for the second Star Trek movie was time travel. Paramount wanted nothing to do with the idea and successfully "replaced" Roddenberry with Harve Bennett, and, thereby, "stealing" Star Trek from it's creator. Yet, in a truly ironical twist, Paramount reversed itself when Bennett approached them with Leonard Nimoy's ideas for time travel. Again, Roddenberry had "no" say in this movie--nor does it use any of Roddenberry's original ideas that I am aware of--and the story is written by Bennett and Nimoy, while the script was written primarily by Bennett and his buddy, Nicholas Meyer. Steve Meerson and Peter Krikes are also credited with "writing" the script--although it well known that what Harve Bennett wanted, that was what was in the script.
When "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" came out in theaters, I refused to go to see it; even after the high praise for the film. I recently purchased it, however, as I am trying hard to accept Harve Bennett's and Nicolas Meyer's "new" version of Star Trek. Having watched it twice now, I can honestly say that from my perspective the only thing the film has going for it, is it's (then/now) timely environmental theme of saving the whales. Moreover, I can emphatically state that the only reason I rate this a three star movie is because the bonus features and commentaries on "Star Trek IV - The Voyage Home (Two-Disc Special Collector's Edition)" provide the "rest of the story." Without the insight from these features as to what the movie was attempting to do, this movie is nothing more than bad science fiction and weak slapstick comedy.
Leonard Nimoy's directing skills could not help the script; and I sense that if the movie had not been so successful at the box office, Nimoy would have come clean. That is, I cannot accept that Leonard Nimoy really believes that the final product is what he wanted; and the fact that this isn't a director's cut suggests to me that Nimoy wanted to leave well enough alone. As for the "cast," I feel like they are more than missing--quite literally for the non-core actors--since the Star Ship Enterprise (blown up in the previous movie) is not even present. Moreover, because most of the movie actually takes place "outside" of the Star Trek environment, the movie frequently dose not even "feel" right. As a result, I think, the actors just walk through their performances, with the "characters" seldom doing their usual roles.
I suspect it is the fact that the movie really is NOT a Star Trek movie at all that made it so appealing to a much wider audience. Too bad the "fools" at Paramount did not listen to Gene Roddenberry; maybe this, the "most favorite" of the "Star Trek" movies would have been even a five star movie if the creator of this "universe" had written and controlled the show.
Update--1 July 2008: If this review was not helpful to you, I would appreciate learning the reason(s) so I can improve my reviews. My goal is to provide help to potential buyers, not get into any arguments. So, if you only disagree with my opinion, could you please say so in the comments and not indicate that the review was not helpful. Thanks.
Summary of Star Trek IV - The Voyage Home (Two-Disc Special Collector's Edition)
Widely considered the best movie in the "classic Trek" series of feature films, Star Trek IV returns to one of the favorite themes of the original TV series--time travel--to bring Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scotty, Sulu, Uhura, and Chekov from the 23rd century to present-day San Francisco. In their own time, the Starfleet heroes encounter an alien probe emitting a mysterious message--a message delivered in the song of the now-extinct Earth species of humpback whales. Failure to respond to the probe will result in Earth's destruction, so Kirk and company time-travel to 20th-century Earth--in their captured Klingon starship--to transport a humpback whale to the future in an effort to peacefully communicate with the alien probe. The plot sounds somewhat absurd in description, but as executed by returning director Leonard Nimoy, this turned out to be a crowd-pleasing adventure, filled with humor and lively interaction among the favorite Star Trek characters. Catherine Hicks (from TV's 7th Heaven) plays the 20th-century whale expert who is finally convinced of Kirk's and Spock's benevolent intentions. With ample comedy taken from the clash of future heroes with 20th-century urban realities, Star Trek IV was a box-office smash, satisfying mainstream audiences and hardcore Trek fans alike. --Jeff ShannonScience Fiction & Fantasy DVD Video
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