Product Description

STAR TREK MOTION PICTURE TRILOGY SD

Prepare to embark on an epic three-part adventure starring the legendary crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise as they sacrifice their lives, ship, and freedom to save the universe from imminent destruction. Spanning across three motion pictures, the Star Trek: Motion Picture Trilogy is the ultimate story of heroism, duty and friendship that will thrill old and new fans alike. The films have been digitally remastered and The Wrath of Khan has been fully restored in high definition with brilliant picture quality and 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround EX.

INCLUDES:
STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN
STAR TREK III: THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK
STAR TREK IV: THE VOYAGE HOME

OVER 90 MINUTES OF ALL-NEW SPECIAL FEATURES

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5200 in DVD
• Brand: STAR TREK
• Released on: 2009-05-12
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: AC-3, Box set, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Original recording remastered, Restored, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, French, Portuguese, Spanish
• Dubbed in: French, Portuguese, Spanish
• Number of discs: 3
• Dimensions: .25 pounds
• Running time: 335 minutes

Customer Reviews

Great Set, but Who's It For?
I don't know who Paramount is trying to lure into buying this set. But for what it's worth, this is a pretty sweet package.

In case you're unfamiliar with the "Star Trek" franchise, this set includes the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th movies. The reason it's tagged as a "trilogy" is because each film starts almost immediately where the previous one left off. Also, these are three of the most popular of the series.

I could talk forever about these movies, but I think the important thing to remember is that all of them will hold up if you're not a fan of the franchise.

"Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" is a fan-favorite for many reasons, one of them that the villain is a character from the original 1960s TV show. But, if you've never seen Khan's appearance from the TV show, I think you'll still get a huge thrill seeing him ooze of cold vengeance. Admiral Kirk's struggle to face life & death --- both literally and spiritually --- is sure to please anyone who enjoys a good character drama. The drama and relationships between the characters are what drive the story from start to finish, and you don't need to be a fan to appreciate the connections. The space battles are still a treat even after over 25 years, and the ending scenes are incredibly powerful.

"Star Trek II" is one of my favorite movies of the 80s, and I'm sure I'd say that even if I wasn't a fan of this franchise. It's an expertly-crafted sci-fi action/drama, and earns its acclaimed status.
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"Star Trek III: The Search For Spock" is probably the least favorite from this trilogy, but it's still a good one, in my opinion. Even though non-Trekkers may be confused by a few of the story developments (notably Spock's Vulcan culture), I believe this one holds its own simply because of its production merits. James Horner's music reuses tracks from "Star Trek II", but has a few haunting melodies specifically for this installment. The action is good, and kinda brutal when the Klingons take decisive action. And I find the premise intriguing...try to recover a resurrected companion who's stranded on a planet about to explode, while you're being hunted by ruthless, greedy warriors!

"Star Trek III" will speak well enough to newcomers, but it's definitely tailored more for the familiar audience.
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"Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" is sure to be a pleasant ride for anybody. Our heroes must travel back in time to recover an extinct species to save the planet. Why and how humpback whales are supposed to tell an alien to stop ruining our O-zone layer is beyond me. But somehow it all makes sense, and it's not the reason to invest in this film.

In addition to the usual merits we look for in "Star Trek" movies (great music, engaging special effects, and fun characters), this one is faltout hilarious! Try to imagine how seven 23rd Century explorers (one of them an alien) attempt to steal two enormous mammals when their spaceship has lost most of its energy after their time travel. You got misused profanity, Cold War tension, primitive technology, and contemporary music. But rather than being a farce, the movie is great fun.

"Star Trek IV" may not be my favorite of the series, but I'm sure it's the one that everyone will enjoy. It stimulates your brain, uplifts your spirit, and forces some strong laughs.
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To my knowledge, some of the bonus extras that were released on the 2-disc sets back in 2001-2003 won't be on this "Motion Picture Trilogy". Instead, there will be a new goodies.

The main reason I want to check this set out is that Ronald D. Moore provides a track on "Star Trek III". Moore wrote some of the best episodes for "The Next Generation" TV show, was the driving force behind the new "Battlestar Galactica" series, and has proven to be an engaging speaker through his podcast commentaries.

But that's just the fanboy in me. I don't see much of a reason to buy this set if you already own the 2-disc releases of these movies. But if you've never owned "Star Trek II, III, or IV" --- or never SEEN them --- then this is a good way to go.

I'm on the fence about this release
What's good about it: contains the 3 best "Trek" films that feature the original cast. The picture is slightly better than the 2-disc DVDs of these films, which looked great. The Dolby Digital EX sound is a nice improvement over the previous releases.

What's bad about it: Wrath of Khan is the theatrical cut, whereas the 2-disc DVD was the Director's Cut. NONE of the incredible bonus features from the 2-disc releases are included with this set, and the all-new features are mostly a bust. The visual effects featurette in this set is a real letdown, as it covers the first 6 movies in 13 minutes, so there is no time for any great detail on the FX work.

Bottom line: The transfers, both video and audio, are as good as DVD gets. If that's what you are after, or if you don't have the out of print 2-disc releases, this should do fine.

For the Casual Fan...
To coincide with J.J. Abrams rebooting of the Star Trek franchise, Paramount has re-released Star Trek II through IV in a box set with brand new extras that are geared towards new fans generated from the latest film. These three films were already given the deluxe treatment (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan - The Director's Cut (Two-Disc Special Collector's Edition), Star Trek III - The Search for Spock (Two-Disc Special Collector's Edition) and Star Trek IV - The Voyage Home (Two-Disc Special Collector's Edition)) with extras geared towards Trekkies so for them this set is not really worth purchasing.

If you already own the special editions of these films that were released a few years ago, none of the extras are carried over and The Wrath of Khan is only presented in its theatrical version and not the Director's Cut. So what is included?

On The Wrath of Khan DVD is an audio commentary by director Nicholas Meyer and Star Trek: Enterprise producer Manny Coto. Meyer admits that he knew nothing about Star Trek when he accepted the job. He says that Kirk and his crew reminded him of the famous Horatio Hornblower novels and how the Enterprise reminded him of a submarine. Meyer cites authors Jules Verne and H.G. Wells as influences. Coto does a good job of asking Meyer the right questions and keeps him talking.

"Starfleet Academy Scisec Brief 002: Mystery Behind Ceti Alpha VI" is a mock Starfleet training film that explains the background of the planet that Khan was banished to.

"Collecting Star Trek's Movie Relics" takes a look at some of the more memorable props from some of the Star Trek films with clips that show which film they are featured.

"James Horner: Composing Genesis" features an interview with the film's composer. He talks about how Jerry Goldsmith's work on the first film influenced him. Horner talks about his approach to scoring The Wrath of Khan including specific musical cues.

Finally, there is "A Tribute to Ricardo Montalban" which features a fine celebration to the late great actor by Meyer.

The new extras on The Search for Spock DVD include an audio commentary by former Star Trek: The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine staffers Ronald D. Moore and Michael Taylor. They were huge fans of the original series and reminisce about seeing this film for the first time on the big screen. They talk about how The Search for Spock takes place right after The Wrath of Khan and starts off with a melancholic vibe. They also talk about the depiction of the Klingons and how it influenced their depiction in later shows.

"Starfleet Academy Scisec Brief 003: Mystery Behind the Vulcan Katra Transfer" gives the lowdown on this rare practice, how it is performed, and what happens.

"Star Trek and the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame" features screenwriter Harve Bennett talking about how he got the gig to write for the Star Trek films. He wasn't a fan of the show or the first film but told the studio that he could do a better job. He also talks about Star Trek's place in science fiction.

"Industrial Light & Magic: the Visual Effects of Star Trek" examines how the visual effects for the Star Trek films were done. Some of the artists who worked on them talk about certain memorable examples.

"Spock: The Early Years" features an interview with Stephen Manley who played Spock at 17 in the film. He talks about how he was cast and shares some of his experiences working on the film.

Finally, the new extras featured on The Voyage Home DVD include an audio commentary by Star Trek (2009) screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman. They approach this film from the fan perspective, talking about when they first saw it. Orci and Kurtzman discuss the informal trilogy of The Wrath of Khan through to The Voyage Home and the notion that this film is a "message picture." They also talk about how the threat in this film comes from the unknown but is really man. They analyze this film from a screenwriting perspective - i.e. story structure, themes, and so on.

"Starfleet Academy Scisec Brief 004: The Whale Probe" is a brief explanation of the mysterious alien probe from The Voyage Home.

"Star Trek for a Cause" takes a look at the film's environmental message. Greenpeace representatives talk about how commercial whaling is depleting the Earth's population of whales.

"Star Trek: Three Picture Saga" examines the dramatic arc of these three films. It was an accidental trilogy but a sense of continuity was established. Various key crew members talk about their involvement in these films.

"Pavel Chekov's Screen Moments" features actor Walter Koenig talking about the significance of his character in The Voyage Home and how he actually got to do things in this one. He shares some of his memories working on it and is quite candid about what he had to (or didn't do) in the other films.

While all of these new extras are nice, they are definitely geared towards new fans and not to Trekkies. If you already own these films on the previous released special editions then it really isn't worth double-dipping.