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STAR TREK IV: THE VOYAGE
HOME
Paramount Home
Entertainment has reissued STAR TREK IV: THE VOYAGE HOME in a
two-disc set,
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This DVD review 
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DVD
reviews are Copyright © 2003 THE CINEMA LASER and may not be copied
or reprinted without the written consent of the publisher. |
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Although
THE WRATH OF KHAN and THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY are what I
consider to be the very best STAR TREK films that feature the
original cast, it is STAR TREK IV: THE VOYAGE HOME ($25) that has
been universally embraced by the masses because of its humor and
"feel good" story. Lets face it, if you ask the average person
what their favorite STAR TREK movie is, they are going to say
"the one with the whales." I certainly am not going to argue
with the public’s choice, because I too am quite fond of STAR TREK
IV: THE VOYAGE HOME. However, as much as I like the forth installment,
I am ultimately drawn to the darker material contained in the second and
sixth entries in the movie franchise.
STAR
TREK IV: THE VOYAGE HOME is best described as a fish out of water tale
for several reasons, but primarily because it takes the crew of the
Starship Enterprise back in time several hundred years- dumping them in
the midst of the twentieth century, where they experience a rather
humorous case of culture shock. The plot of STAR TREK IV: THE VOYAGE
HOME takes place several months after the events depicted in the
previous adventure, where we find the former Enterprise crew members
living in a self imposed exiled on the planet Vulcan. As the film opens,
Admiral Kirk (William Shatner) and company decide that it is time to
return to Earth to face the music for hijacking the Starship Enterprise to
rescue their fallen and resurrected comrade Captain Spock (Leonard Nimoy).
However
as they begin their voyage home, a mysterious alien probe arrives at
planet Earth, where it has begun emitting a signal that has had a
devastating effect on the oceans and atmosphere. Spock determines that
only humpback whales can respond to the probe’s signal; however, the
species is now extinct and the only way to save the Earth is to travel
back in time and pick up two of the mighty cetaceans. Of course, this is
all easier said than done, since the crew is now flying around in a
rickety confiscated Klingon Bird Of Prey, which wasn’t designed for the
rigors of time travel or transporting a huge living aquatic cargo. Of
course, it is only after their arrival in the twentieth century that the
real adventure begins. The cast of STAR TREK IV: THE VOYAGE HOME
also features DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, George Takei, Walter Koenig,
Nichelle Nichols, Mark Lenard, Jane Wyatt, Majel Barrett, Robert
Ellenstein, John Schuck, Brock Peters, Robin Curtis and Catherine Hicks.
which
offers the film in a 2.35:1 wide screen presentation that has been
enhanced for playback on 16:9 displays. This would appear to be the same
transfer that was previously issued in Paramount’s "movie
only" edition, with no real visual improvements other than in the
areas of authoring and encoding, which makes things appear just a tad
smoother. The cinematography and special effects appear slightly dated
(probably due to the fact that STAR TREK movies after the first
were made on tight budgets), but the transfer actually looks quite nice.
The image is pretty sharp and reasonably well defined, although some of
the photography appears to make use smoke and diffusion lenses, which
softens things up just a bit. Colors generally appear natural, although
some sequences are a bit subdued and others are a bit more vibrant. Flesh
tones are reasonably natural, but not always perfect. Blacks are solid,
whites are clean and contrast is fairly smooth. Shadow detail in pretty
much on the money for a 1986 release. The film element is in good shape,
with only minor being apparent. There is a mild grain structure in places,
but nothing bothersome. As I implied earlier, digital compression
artifacts are a non-issue on this DVD.
The
Dolby Digital 5.1 channel soundtrack seems the same as the previous
release, which is fine, since this was a pretty good port of a mid
eighties Dolby Surround soundtrack. As one might expect from a track of
this vintage, the forward soundstage tends to dominate the track. Surround
usage is confined to ambient effects, musical fill and few active effects.
Dialogue is very clean and fully understandable. The bass channel is
fairly deep, but does not provide the ground shaking lower frequencies of
newer soundtracks. Musical fidelity is pretty darn good, with Leonard
Rosenman's upbeat score coming across with a genuine sense of presence.
English and French Dolby Surround tracks are also encoded onto the DVD, as
are English subtitles.
Computer
animation and sound serve to enhance the DVD's nicely designed interactive
menus. Through the menus, one has access to standard scene selection and
set up features, as well as a solid supplemental section. Starting things
off on disc one is an audio commentary with director Leonard Nimoy and
leading man William Shatner. This is a fun commentary track that features
the two old friends reminiscing over the making of the film. Disc one also
features a text commentary on a subtitle track by Michael and Denise
Okuda, authors of The Star Trek Encyclopedia. Again, the
text commentary is a great source of information that every fan will want
to experience.
Moving
on to disc two, we find various programs and errata that comprise the
remainder of supplements. Under the section entitled The Star Trek
Universe one will find Time Travel: The Art of the Possible,
The Language Of Whales, A Vulcan Primer and Kirk's
Women. Time Travel: The Art of the Possible is an
eleven-minute program that features theorists, who speculate on the
plausibility of time travel. The Language of Whales is a
five-minute program that looks at various species of whales and the
possibility of their songs being an actual language. A Vulcan Primer
is seven minutes with Trek author Margaret Bonanno, who looks at the
"Vulcan culture" of the STAR TREK universe. As for Kirk's
Women, this eight-minute program feature interviews with some of
the actresses that became "involved" with the most amorous
Captain in Starfleet.
In
the Production section, one will find Future's Past: A
Look Back, On Location, Dailies Deconstruction
and Below-the-Line: Sound Design. Future's Past: A
Look Back runs roughly twenty-eight minutes and offers new
interviews with cast & crew who bring the production of the most
popular STAR TREK movie into perspective. On Location
offers a seven-minute look back on filming the "present day"
sequences of the film in San Francisco. Dailies Deconstruction
is a four-minute split screen look at footage shot on the streets of San
Francisco. Below-the-Line: Sound Design is an eleven minute
program that looks at the process of creating new and interesting sounds
for the film.
The
Visual Effects section offers From Outer Space to the Ocean
and Bird of Prey. From Outer Space to the Ocean
is an original 1986 featurette that runs fourteen minutes and looks at the
challenges of depicting time travel and creating mechanical whales for the
film. Bird of Prey is a three-minute look at design of the
confiscated Klingon ship used by Kirk and company for this particular
adventure. The Original Interviews section comes from 1986
and offers fifteen minutes with Leonard Nimoy, fourteen minutes with
Shatner and another twelve minutes DeForest Kelly. The Tributes
section offers the eight minute Roddenberry Scrapbook, with
son Eugene talking about The Great Bird of The Galaxy. Featured
Artist: Mark Lenard is a twelve-minute program with the late actor’s
wife, who talks about the man who was "Spock’s father." The Archives
section features rather nice production and storyboard galleries. A
theatrical trailer closes out the supplements.
I
must say that Paramount is doing a terrific job with their two-disc
Special Edition releases of the STAR TREK movies. STAR TREK IV:
THE VOYAGE HOME is the series most popular entry and this DVD is
certainly the best way to experience it. This DVD is something that both
fans and non-fans will enjoy greatly. Highly recommended!
