Star Trek: The Original 4 Movie Collection [4K Ultra-HD] [2021]

Product Information

The story involves a peculiar space phenomenon called the Nexus, a powerful ribbon of energy that 'mad scientist' Soren, having been caught in it previously, is redirecting so he can return into it, but in doing so will have the unfortunate side-effect of eliminating millions of lives. The Enterprise D is called in to save the day but is unable to do so without the help of Kirk, himself lost to the Nexus some seventy-eight years previous. Ploughing through plot holes, contrivances, the destruction of the Enterprise D and the (second) death of Kirk bring this rather horrible mess to a close with barely a ripple in the grand design of the universe. Paramount’s 4K UHD disc offers a simple menu interface featuring the Bob Peak-like poster artwork for the Director’s Edition (the same art used for the 2001 DVD release, not that actual Peak artwork). It includes the following special features:

The rest of these extras are quite good, a bit more comprehensive than those for the other films, including vintage interviews with Shatner, Nimoy, and Kelley, another fine Library Computer viewing mode, and a pair of nice Tribute segments. The only thing that’s not included here is the Okuda text commentary from the 2003 DVD and Roger Lay, Jr.’s The Dream Is Alive: The Continuing Mission featurette from the 50th Anniversary Collection’s bonus disc (here’s hoping it shows up in the next 4K box set—more on that in a minute). New additions from the 2021 release include Star Trek: The Motion Picture — The Director’s Edition (3 discs), Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (2 discs), and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (2 discs). That said — the primary problem with those first Blu-ray editions are the tragically-overused Digital Noise Reduction (DNR) and edge-enhancement (or “sharpening”) techniques used when bring the movies to HD for the first time. Audio Commentaryfeaturing Michael & Denise Okuda, Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens, and Daren Dochterman According to StarTrek.com, "[The] collection includes four Ultra HD discs, as well as four remastered Blu-ray discs with hours of previously released bonus content ... along with access to digital copies of the theatrical version of each film."

Conclusion

This Limited-Edition Collector’s Set includes all of the above, plus an additional 4K Ultra HD disc containing: A few minor quibbles aside, the new Star Trek — The Original Motion Picture 6-Movie Collection is the best way to revisit the big-screen adventures of Captain Kirk and his crew — and these new editions of each film are taking over the old 2009-era presentations on streaming services to bring them to the forefront of viewing options. While a two-disc standard Blu-ray release is also available, the two-disc 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray edition will feature The Director’s Edition in Dolby Vision and HDR-10, as well as with a Dolby Atmos sound mix for those of you with supporting home theater systems. Audio Commentaryfeaturing Robert Wise, Douglas Trumbull, John Dykstra, Jerry Goldsmith, and Stephen Collins Those scenes have previously been available only on VHS, DVD, and in certain streaming-service presentations of the movie; this will be the first time the Star Trek VI director’s cut will be available in high definition on home media.

Audio Commentary by Robert Wise, Douglas Trumbull, John Dykstra, Jerry Goldsmith, and Stephen Collins​ (from 2001 DVD release) All this is desperate when you consider the Trek royalty that penned it: Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Braga wrote the screenplay, and are acutely aware of its issues, but due to the timing involved, they were writing All Good Things at the same time, and were given no time to flesh out the Generations script as the release date was already set, and sadly this shows in the finished product. Likewise, Jerry Goldsmith didn’t return to score the film, it therefore has no overarching theme or that resonance of score, and this really matters. They even re-use film footage of the Bird of Prey’s destruction! Does the video quality of these movies stand up to high expectations? They sure do! (For context, we watched these movies on an LG C2 OLED television). We already know the theatrical cut of Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan look fantastic in 4K/HDR thanks to last year’s release, and it’s safe to say the transfers of Star Trek V and VI from 1080p, which was the highest resolution available before today, to 4K is striking. It’s four times the number of pixels, after all. And the addition of color-boosting high dynamic range, which resolves a film’s colors in more natural quality, is the icing on the cake. If you haven’t seen these movies in a while, now is the perfect time to rewatch them. Likewise, newer fans who haven’t had the opportunity to see these classic movies now can do so in the most modern way possible. This comprehensive 15-disc collection includes the first six big-screen adventures featuring the original series crew in 4K Ultra HD with Dolby Vision and HDR-10. ( Star Trek: The Motion Picture—The Director’s Editionalso includes Dolby Atmos). Both Star Trek V: The Final Frontierand Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Countryare making their 4K Ultra HD debuts. The set also includes access to Digital copies of each of the six films, as well as hours of new and legacy bonus content. Below is a breakdown of disc contents:

Star Trek First Contact 4K Audio

Because the heavily DNR’d/over-sharpened 2009 editions have been the default way fans have seen these movies for the last 13 years, on both Blu-ray and streaming services, many have little-to-no experience with the films’ original presentation — seen on LaserDisc, VHS, and DVD up until 2009. The theatrical presentation of Star Trek: The Motion Picturefeatures a lovely balance of lighting, color, and texture adjustments (again, without the DNR seen in the 2009 edition) which gives the film more depth — while at the same time toning down strange color casts like the purple lighting seen when McCoy is beamed up to the Enterprise for the first time. Reunification – 25 Years After Star Trek: The Next Generation®• Star Trek: The Next Generation® Inside The Writer’s Room For those wondering why this set only includes films 1-4, it’s because it takes time to remaster all these films and the studio is doing them in batches. You’ll get 4 on 9/7, and the others will follow next year.