CHUD.com Community › Forums › THE MAIN SEWER › CHUD.COM Main › MOVIE OF THE DAY: STAR TREK III: THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

MOVIE OF THE DAY: STAR TREK III: THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK

post #1 of 37
12/9/10 at 12:00am
Thread Starter 
David steals the Enterprise for this one.

More...
Reply
post #2 of 37
12/9/10 at 12:02am
A hearty Movie of the Day entry indeed. Always liked this film a lot.
Reply
post #3 of 37
12/9/10 at 12:06am
This is the first Trek film I got to see, and always enjoyed the hell out of it. And every time I watch Khan, I always have to follow it up with this one in order to finish the journey.
Reply
post #4 of 37
12/9/10 at 12:14am
But but but ... the journey isn't OVER at III.
Reply
post #5 of 37
12/9/10 at 12:15am
Great write up. Good choice for movie of the day.

Stealing the Enterprise is bar none one of the best sequences in the entire series of films. The model work, the music, everything...perfect.

All the space/ship sequences really stand out on the Blu Ray. The detail they put into the models used is outstanding.
Reply
post #6 of 37
12/9/10 at 12:17am
I've always loved this one. Definitely the most overlooked entry in the Trek canon (not saying much I know...)
Reply
post #7 of 37
12/9/10 at 12:17am
By sheer conincidence I watched this earlier in the week. It's actually a lot better than I rememberd, Shatner especially, does some good work after his son's death.
Reply
post #8 of 37
12/9/10 at 12:18am
I'm a commentary track fan. Are the new commentaries for the Star Trek films on Blu-Ray good?
Reply
post #9 of 37
12/9/10 at 12:29am
Good write-up. As noted, the stealing of the Enterprise really is a great sequence, starting with Sulu kicking some space-redneck ass and ending with the Excelsior as a broken down jalopy.

Also, one of my favorite Horner scores.
Reply
post #10 of 37
12/9/10 at 12:39am
Quote:
There is no disputing that Khan is the best of the Star Trek films to be sure. And The Voyage Home has long been touted as the most fun of the six. But how do you get from one to the next without this critical bridging film?
Very easily. I bought "Star Trek II" and "Star Trek IV", but not this movie and can happily watch them back to back skipping this one without feeling like I missed much. It's easy enough to fill in the blanks just remembering the key events in it connecting II to IV without having to endure its weak spots. It has some great parts like the hijacking of the Enterprise sequence and the ending, but the whole boring chunk of it where Saavik and David are stranded on the planet stops the movie dead.

It is not overlooked, it's rightfully regarded by many as one of the more passable Star Trek movies, but not one of the best. It's like "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country" - some wonderful parts, but not a resounding success as a whole. I'd rank it below II, IV, VIII, and even the latest Star Trek film.
Reply
post #11 of 37
12/9/10 at 1:16am
David Oliver, It is...Logical, to concur, that, Star Trek III, is...Awesome. Kruge is a great villain. I love the...ending as Admiral Kirk, takes out Commander Kruge, with kicks worthy of the...Radio City Music Hall Rockettes. The destruction of the Enterprise is a very sad scene. It was great to see the...Enterprise A, at the end of, Star Trek IV.
Reply
post #12 of 37
12/9/10 at 2:41am
Star Trek III is among the best of the Trek films, excepting Nimoy's direction of Robin Curtis. And the expanded edition of the soundtrack is a must have for fans of Trek and James Horner's works.
Reply
post #13 of 37
12/9/10 at 3:55am
Quote:
Originally Posted by UberNeuman View Post
Star Trek III is among the best of the Trek films, excepting Nimoy's direction of Robin Curtis. And the expanded edition of the soundtrack is a must have for fans of Trek and James Horner's works.
I've got both soundtracks for II an III. There are expanded ones?
Reply
post #14 of 37
12/9/10 at 10:07am
It is a shame, that...Kirstie Alley, did not return as...Lt. Saavik. To me, James Horner's Star Trek Scores are 2nd only to...Alexander Courage's Score for the classic series.
Reply
post #15 of 37
12/9/10 at 10:12am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Matt Hindmarch View Post
But but but ... the journey isn't OVER at III.
I didn't mean that the entire journey is over at the end of III. I just meant that the story of the loss and recovery of a friend isn't complete until I watch III.
Reply
post #16 of 37
12/9/10 at 12:07pm
I am full of nostalgic love for III. Here is my love letter to its civilian wardrobe choices.
Reply
post #17 of 37
12/9/10 at 12:19pm
My neighbor and I watched II and III a million billion times on cable when I was a wee lad. Kirk's "I...have had...enough...of YOU!" dispatching of Kruge got a lot of reenacting when we were playing Star Trek.

Great write up.
Reply
post #18 of 37
12/9/10 at 1:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by David Oliver View Post
I've got both soundtracks for II an III. There are expanded ones?
The new 2-disc set includes the complete score plus the great medley of 1940s Paramount songs from the bar.

Jerry Goldsmith's full score for Final Frontier is out now as well.

ETA: Here's the expanded Khan.
Reply
post #19 of 37
12/9/10 at 1:15pm
III is definitely a great movie. I remember seeing it when I was little and not really being that into it, then revisited it along with the all the rest of the original Trek films (My Dad has the entire collection on VHS that forms the Enterprise when they line up) my Senior year of High School and loved it.
Reply
post #20 of 37
12/9/10 at 1:25pm
This is actually my favorite TREK film...yes, even over ST2:TWoK. It's the best acted (Robin Curtis excluded) and it has the most emotional pull to it. I still get a lump in my throat when the crew is on Genesis, watching the Enterprise burn up in the atmosphere.

Great write-up.
Reply
post #21 of 37
12/9/10 at 1:31pm
Dead on about Lloyd being the template for the modern Klingon. After they were barely there in the first film, it was this one that really fleshed them out and ingrained that whole "death before dishonor" aesthetic that Next Gen ran with. Plus, come on, it's Reverend Jim as a Klingon. "I give ... two minutes ... to you and your gallant crew." He's just awesome in this.
Reply
post #22 of 37
12/9/10 at 1:34pm
I'd love to see a CANON explanation of how the Bird of Prey bridge changed so drastically between III and IV.
Reply
post #23 of 37
12/9/10 at 1:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard Dickson View Post
Dead on about Lloyd being the template for the modern Klingon. After they were barely there in the first film, it was this one that really fleshed them out and ingrained that whole "death before dishonor" aesthetic that Next Gen ran with. Plus, come on, it's Reverend Jim as a Klingon. "I give ... two minutes ... to you and your gallant crew." He's just awesome in this.
I don't think he's so much the template for the modern Klingon, though that warrior's honor stuff is in there. He's really a slimy fucker, not too far removed from the original Klingon antagonist from "Errand of Mercy."
Reply
post #24 of 37
12/9/10 at 1:46pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Phil View Post
I don't think he's so much the template for the modern Klingon, though that warrior's honor stuff is in there. He's really a slimy fucker, not too far removed from the original Klingon antagonist from "Errand of Mercy."
While truely honorable men of Quo'nos like Worf or Martok would consider him dishonorable, he seems to fit the "ends justify the means" kind of Klingon that would fit right in with guys like Chang and that lovely Duras family.
Reply
post #25 of 37
12/9/10 at 3:28pm
Perhaps common knowledge around these parts, but the embellishment of Klingon character in Search For Spock may have come about because in an early draft the villainous aliens were Romulans. Apparently it was Nimoy's decision to change this, probably because new audiences would be confused by the resemblance between Romulans and Vulcans. This was relatively late in pre-production, hence the Bird-of-Prey, which was later retconned as an exclusively Klingon vehicle.

A Nimoy choice that didn't make it to the screen: Edward James Olmos as Kruge. No slight to Lloyd, but how cool would that have been?
Reply
post #26 of 37
12/9/10 at 3:45pm
The behind-the-scenes documentary on the evolution/creation of the Klingon language is pretty interesting. The guy who did it took the job really seriously, and Christopher Lloyd was deadly serious about getting the words right. Lloyd always wanted another take whenever he messed up his Klingon, but Nimoy would be like 'Great, no problem, it sounded good' and move on. Because of his 'errors', the linguist actually went back and re-defined elements of the language to match what was actually spoken in the film.
Reply
post #27 of 37
12/9/10 at 4:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hammerhead View Post
A Nimoy choice that didn't make it to the screen: Edward James Olmos as Kruge. No slight to Lloyd, but how cool would that have been?
While I'm sure Admiral Adama would have done a fine job, Lloyd brought a great swagger to the role that I wouldn't want to see anyone topping.



"WE ARE KLINGONS!"

Also, interesting that Christopher Lloyd characters own two of cinema's most famous time traveling vehicles.
Reply
post #28 of 37
12/9/10 at 4:34pm
Also, Lloyd's a big guy. More physically intimidating than Olmos would have been.

My favorite thing about the Klingon language: "Kill one of them" is a single word.

ETA: Every time I read about the Republicans obstructing the Administration I flash on this:

"No!"
"Why?"
"Because you wish it!"
Reply
post #29 of 37
12/9/10 at 4:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hammerhead View Post
My favorite thing about the Klingon language: "Kill one of them" is a single word.
That sequence is the one that Lloyd screwed up the worst. He only remembered half of the words and wanted another take but Nimoy was satisfied with the result and moved on.
Reply
post #30 of 37
12/9/10 at 4:46pm
Maybe it was just for economy of personnel in scenes, but I always thought it was a disservice to Uhura to leave her out of most of the action.
Reply
post #31 of 37
12/9/10 at 4:54pm
And let's not forget John Larroquette as Maltz:

"Help us or die."
"I do not deserve to live."
"Fine, I'll kill you later."
Reply
post #32 of 37
12/9/10 at 5:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by David Oliver View Post
Maybe it was just for economy of personnel in scenes, but I always thought it was a disservice to Uhura to leave her out of most of the action.
Agreed. Nichelle looked damned good in this movie, too.
Reply
post #33 of 37
12/9/10 at 5:01pm
So this write up went and got me in the mood to revisit this, but Netflix took Khan and Spock off instant watch. Just those two; the rest are up. What the hell?

This is also the only odd numbered Trek that irks me that Paramount hasn't given it its own single Blu-Ray release, like they did with the even numbered ones.
Reply
post #34 of 37
12/9/10 at 5:06pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard Dickson View Post
And let's not forget John Larroquette as Maltz:

"Help us or die."
"I do not deserve to live."
"Fine, I'll kill you later."
Dickson, I didn't want to doubt you, but i had to research this to be sure you meant John "Dan Fielding" Larroquette. How many other sitcom stars were on that Bird-of-Prey? Next i'll find out that Kruge's pet (FEED HIM!) was Arnold from Green Acres.

Another great line:

"Admiral Kirk, this is your opponent speaking. Do not lecture me about treaty violations! The federation in creating an ultimate weapon has become a gang of intergalactic criminals. It is not I who will surrender it is you!"

I love how he doesn't even bother introducing himself. He's not concerned with his ego, making him a different, although just as deadly villian as Kahn. Also, he feels morally justified in his actions. A few galaxys over, fighting the people with planet-killing superweapons is what the good guys do.
Reply
post #35 of 37
12/9/10 at 5:17pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Judas Booth View Post
Agreed. Nichelle looked damned good in this movie, too.
At least the "Mr. Adventure" scene is a good one. Also, for better or worse it helps nail the coffin shut on the topic of introducing younger characters to the franchise.
Reply
post #36 of 37
12/10/10 at 11:55am
The real seeds of the honorable Klingon were planted originaly by Michael Ansara in the TOS third season episode titled Day of the Dove. Before that they were just your standard TV one-dimensional bad guys. This was the first time they were ever portrayed in any form of a positive light. It's also were the famous Klingon quotes "A running man can cut a thousand throats in one night." and "Only a fool fights in a burning house." were first spoken.
Reply
post #37 of 37
12/10/10 at 4:02pm
This, along with Wrath of Khan and The Undiscovered Country are by far the best and my favorites in the series.
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: CHUD.COM Main
CHUD.com Community › Forums › THE MAIN SEWER › CHUD.COM Main › MOVIE OF THE DAY: STAR TREK III: THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK