Customer Reviews

Star Trek - The Original Crew Movie Collection

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I was thrilled when I found this box set containing the first six "Star Trek" films in their two-disc collector's editions. I had to get it. Let's take a look shall we?

"Star Trek: The Motion Picture" Rating: 3.5/5
This is the long-awaited director's cut which actually subtracts about 12 minutes and adds a few necessary special effects. The film isn't as boring as it used to be and the focus is now more on the story than the special effects. The second disc is pretty good as well with three interesting documentaries and a load of deleted scenes.

"Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" Rating: 5/5
This timeless sci-fi classic is now in beautiful widescreen with all the action and intensity in tact. This is even the director's cut with three more minutes of footage, though granted you don't even notice the added scenes. Overall it's a great movie and the features on the second disc are very worth the money.

"Star Trek III: The Search for Spock" Rating: 4/5
This third film adventure for the original crew of the USS Enterprise is an exciting and action-packed ride that almost equals it's predecessor. A very enjoyable film with great special features.

"Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" Rating: 4.5/5
This is the black sheep of the bunch in the sense that it's mostly a comedy, but it's well-done and an enjoyable adventure worth seeing.

"Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" Rating: 2.5/5
This is probably the worst of the movies, period. It tries to blend the action and adventure of films two and three with the comedy of film four and fails on an epic scale, not to mention shoddy special effects at the end.

"Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country" Rating: 5/5
Nicholas Meyer returns to direct this final voyage and it's excellent. This wraps up the story with the Klingons and sets the stage for "The Next Generation," which had been on the air for a few years by the time this film came out.

Overall, it's a fantastic box set for any Trekkie or sci-fi movie buff. Each movie has a running audio as well as text commentary as well as documentaries on the makings of each film, trailers, and interviews. It's well worth it!

Although many have good points in their reviews of this disc set (good and bad), this is the newest box set release. I guess this is a perfect example of the saying "You can't please them all."

If you look at the title it says "Star Trek - The Original Crew Movie Collection (Special Edition)". "Special Edition" being the operative words. And if you enlarge the picture you can read that the first two are directors cuts and the remaining ones are special edition.

In saying this, I believe this is the box set to buy (unless you want them all to be director cuts). I give it 5 stars because I love Star Trek. It's true that some of the movies are better than others but the same could be said for the series. But I didn't stop watching just because a few of the episodes weren't up to par with the others.

It's Star Trek and that is the only thing that matters for us trekkies.

I liked the original box series very much. All of the extra special features discs contained enough production and interview sequences on each of the six films. Some of it was filler like "is time travel possible" or "terra forming" where a lot of experts get very far off the subject of Star Trek. Paramount did an honest job of remastering each film to DVD, they are clear, sharp and crisp. It would have been nice to see more of the deleted scenes from Star Trek V so many could see why Bill Shatner pooped on Paramount for butchering the film into under 2 hours. But you honestly can't complain. It's a great set. Get it while Amazon still has it cheaper than eBay and everywhere else.

I am a huge Star Trek fan. So far I have bought four of the DVDs: The Next Generation triology and ST:IV. I was very disappointed in the lack of extras. Star Trek: Generations did not even contain a movie trailer. (ST:IV contained some decent extras.) Most serious Trek fans would love commentary from the directors and/or actors. It is well known that there has been footage that was not included in the theatrical releases of almost every Trek film. Most notably, ST:II, where missing footage was shown when it was originally broadcast on TV. This footage made a GREAT movie even BETTER. None of this was included in the DVD. It is rumored that Paramount will be releasing Special Editions of the Trek films, including a 2-disc set for ST:II. Don't pay Paramount twice. The Trek films are all on TV so often, that you can tape a rough copy while you wait for Paramount to give us the extras we want and deserve. (The reason I gave the set 2 stars is because they are decent movies.)

Star Trek is truely a legend. To celebrate this legend after 25 years (in 1991), they put out this great box set of the first six Star Trek movies. And the case is beautiful too, so it'll look nice in with the rest of your videos. It's a must for any true Star Trek fan. If you don't have it yet, get it. It's worth it.

I completely agree with Mr. Harris. The wonder of DVDs are the special features of our favorite, classic films (take a look at Lawrence of Arabia, Superman: The Movie, and the upcoming DVD release of the Godfather Trilogy...spectacular extras which makes it worth spending the money on the DVD, even if you already have the VHS version). I was extremely disappointed when I heard that the Star Trek films had no special features. The Star Trek franchise has earned Paramount a fortune! The least they could have done to repay the loyal fans was to release the DVD versions with special features. I feel that it is a money-making scam. People were sure to buy the films once they were released onto DVD, special features or not. THEN they release a Director's Edition of The Motion Picture, so that the fans will have to buy the movie AGAIN to get the extras. And NOW there's this boxed set! Folks, don't waste your money! Only ONE of the films in the boxed set has the extras...The Motion Picture. The rest of the films in the set have no special features. And, yes, Paramount has been dropping hints that they will be releasing special editions of all of the Star Trek films...one by one, of course. So why waste your money on the boxed set? I plan on buying the Director's Edition of The Motion Picture when it is released. Then I will buy the special editions of the other films as they are released. I knew that there would be special editions of the films sooner or later...common sense could tell you that...which was why I decided to wait and see. Glad I did! Don't give Paramount more money than you have to! You've given them enough! I can't give this boxed set a decent rating. I'd give it 5 stars if there were a boxed set which featured a Director's Edition of ALL of the films. Watch, they'll release special editions of all of the films individually, THEN they'll have a boxed set of it! It's unfortunate that businesses are so greedy and want to make a quick buck. They need to think more about the CONSUMER...it's because of US that they make that money in the first place. They should at least be a bit more appreciative of that fact. Can't wait to buy the Director's Edition of The Motion Picture. This will truly be a grand experience for fans of the original Star Trek series.

Greetings, all. I was gonna warn you to not get this set 'cause Paramount will soon be releasing all of these in Special Edition format. Slowly. One by one. Probably on a monthly-to-bi-monthly basis, so they can all revel in the glee of the DVD-collectin' Trekkie's frustration whilst rakin' in the bucks from the sorry people who bought the regular-edition flicks. Like I did, unfortunately.

However, it looks like a couple folks have beaten me to it in the kvetching department. So, just ignore my review, and take a look at what most of my other fellow Amazonians are saying about this sad collection. As you can see, we're pretty much on the same page regarding this situation. Thank you for your attention.

'Late!

I'm a big fan of all of the movies so naturally I bought the complete movie set. However the original crew movies really did stand out from the last four. Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and the rest of the crew of the Enterprise gave us a fitting conclusion to their adventures in these movies spanning twelve years. Without the original motion picture, Trek would've stayed dead and the sci-fi world as we know it would be very different. These movies were pioneers in a world dominated by action movies and they took us to a world we could never forget.

Individual Reviews

The Motion Picture - Just seeing every again after ten years made this movie pretty memorable. The director's cut is pretty cool and the bonus features are pretty good. All of the bonus discs of the movies are pretty good.

The Wrath of Khan - A fan favorite and my favorite as well. This movie really showed us how good Trek really was and the ending is the second most sentimental moment of all the movies. I doubt I'll ever be able to forget Kirk screaming Khannnn at the end.

The Search For Spock - Almost as good as The Wrath of Khan. It's bonus features are awesome and this proves that this set was a good value.

The Voyage Home - A great mix of comedy, sci-fi, and action. You'll laugh at a lot of moments and it's one of my favorite trek movies.

The Final Frontier - Everyone seems to hate this one but I don't mind it. The arguments between McCoy and Spock really brought me back to the old days of Trek. It's a sentimental movie for Spock as well.

The Undiscovered County - The final original crew movie. It incorporated Michael Dorn from the Next Generation into the movie playing Worf's grandfather. One of the best send-offs of any series and the ending was one of the most sentimental moments of any movie that I have ever watched.

Overall this set is great for people who didn't think that the Next Generation movies were that good. However if you do like TNG's movies then the complete set is an ever better value for your money. I thank Paramount for giving the fans an affordable set that had all the special editions and I highly recommend this set.

What a letdown. I agree with the other fans here, don't waste your money. Paramount continues to show us that they're trying to take the bucks from us. It started with those two episode only DVDs of the first series--what a waste of DVD space! Don't settle for second best. Wait for Paramount to get their act together.

There's nothing unique about this boxed set. If you have the films in their individual format, you've already got this as well. Since Paramount plans on re-releasing all these movies in special editions, you'll end up duplicating what you've already purchased.

ST:TMP Director's Edition is actually an improvement on the original film. Gone are the unfinished special effects sequences (such as the extended space walk with the struts supporting the Enterprise set visible). Gone also are dialog and other sequences were duplicated by other scenes. Director Robert Wise has tightened the film and improved the overall structure.

The special effects sequences have been improved. Some of the scenes that Wise didn't have time to have finished because of the looming release date deadline. The sequence on Vulcan is most notable. The sequence in the shuttle bay landing area at Star Fleet San Francisco has been improved with additional digital effects as well. Unfortunately, the matte lines around the Klingon ship at the beginning are still there. It's a minor flaw.

Wrath of Kahn has a number of extended scenes and bits of dialog that actually give greater depth to the relationships of the characters throughout the film. Nicholas Meyer has improved the overall feel of the film by adding these sequences back in. Additionally, the second disc of supplmental material is quite good as well.

Search for Spock isn't a "director's edition" so, perhaps, Leonard Nimoy felt that he got the film right the first time. Instead, it does offer an enhanced widescreen transfer that's beautiful and a second disc of supplemntary material. There's also a running commentary by Nimoy, Harve Bennett and cast members that's quite good (although it is duplicated on the supplementary section of the second disc).

The other films are the previously available discs without any extras. ST: TMP 3 stars: WOK 4 stars: SFS 3 stars: IV 5 stars: V 2 stars: Undiscovered Country 4 1/2 stars.