tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1867678243594042401.post3868872318693734140..comments2024-01-18T02:11:31.995-05:00Comments on GLENN GREENBERG'S GRUMBLINGS: STAR TREK THROUGH FRESH EYES, PART FIVEGlenn Greenberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13080935309485100122noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1867678243594042401.post-90150990242176938622014-12-07T19:32:27.960-05:002014-12-07T19:32:27.960-05:00"Outraged Nigger Goes on Violent Murder Spree..."Outraged Nigger Goes on Violent Murder Spree After Seeing STAR TREK: THE MOTIONLESS PICTURE. Spook is Shot Dead, No One Cares."<br /><br />Okay, that was funny as all hell, and I am totally laughing my ass off right now, but I dare not repost it anywhere else because if I do someone is undoubtedly going to beat me to a bloody pulp.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1867678243594042401.post-16896123056035623272011-07-31T23:26:04.516-04:002011-07-31T23:26:04.516-04:00Bunche,
The Director's Cut probably isn't...Bunche,<br /><br />The Director's Cut probably isn't going to turn a movie that you hate into one that you love. Obviously, it's the same story, same performances, same dialogue, same music, etc. There's only so much that could be changed, after all. <br /><br />That said, the film is now somewhat better paced than it was originally, it moves along a bit more briskly and smoothly, and I should note that Kirk's character is actually altered somewhat by the new edits. Originally, Kirk was kind of a dick throughout the movie, snapping at Uhura at one point and being really dismissive and short-tempered toward McCoy--the guy he drafted back into service because he "needed" him so much. In the Director's Cut, a lot of that has been removed and Kirk comes off as more likable--or at least as much less of a dick.<br /><br />The one thing Robert Wise refused to change or edit down was the scene where Scotty takes Kirk over to the refitted Enterprise in the travel pod. Wise's assistants on the Director's Cut advised him to shorten that scene, since that's the one that most people seem to complain about (other than the V'Ger flyover sequence, which HAS been shortened). But Wise steadfastly refused, arguing that the scene came out exactly the way he wanted. Wise wanted to take the time to introduce the new Enterprise slowly, teasingly, with a dramatic buildup, so that we'd be seeing it the same way Kirk was. <br /><br />Also, Wise felt that the travel pod sequence was thematically married to the later sequence when the Enterprise confronted V'Ger--Wise wanted to establish the size difference between the tiny travel pod and the huge Enterprise, and then later on establish the same between the Enterprise and V'Ger. I have no complaints about that, since the travel pod scene is one of my very favorites and I think it's great as is--a perfect marriage of visuals and music.<br /><br />I don't think the Director's Cut is really going to change your overall opinion of the movie, but you might come away from it thinking it's at least a polished turd. I'd be curious to get your opinion on it.Glenn Greenberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13080935309485100122noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1867678243594042401.post-76897447574596175962011-07-31T19:26:42.391-04:002011-07-31T19:26:42.391-04:00Also, there appears to be a cut-and-paste glitch t...Also, there appears to be a cut-and-paste glitch that happened due to having to divide this feedback into two sections. The bit stating "(or maybe George Takei blowing some guy in deep space, but that would have been cool, especially when George knowingly turned to the camera with a huge smile on his face and said "Oh, MY!" directly to the audience)" was meant to follow the point about the rainbow warp effect.<br /><br />Oy, the Internet and its vicissitutdes...Bunche (pop culture ronin)https://www.blogger.com/profile/11831085937894725459noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1867678243594042401.post-23856577857927827922011-07-31T19:23:04.532-04:002011-07-31T19:23:04.532-04:00And when I say I was the first person to buy a ti...And when I say I was the first person to buy a ticket to see it, I obviously meant to specify "in my hometown."Bunche (pop culture ronin)https://www.blogger.com/profile/11831085937894725459noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1867678243594042401.post-8018708657076791112011-07-31T19:06:56.508-04:002011-07-31T19:06:56.508-04:00CONTINUED
Among the many things that made me want...CONTINUED<br /><br />Among the many things that made me want to climb a bell tower with a .30-06 and start taking potshots at innocent pedestrians were:<br /><br />-Goldsmith's sickeningly overstated score. Yeah, I know everybody and their dog loves the theme tune (which was incredibly lazily re-purposed for Next generation), but it always struck me as a collision of happy-go-lucky and a fifth-grader's attempt at writing a pompously over-bombastic theme for the epic battles he staged in his bathtubs with his toy boats (with his dick serving as a lighthouse). As for it being Goldsmith's best work, not by a longshot, pal. His Trek score might as well have been Goldsmith himself sitting in front of a mic stating things like "Would-be rousing theme tune!" or "Moment of wistful emotion!," it was so on the nose. In essence, it seemed to me like he was trying his damnedest to gild a turd, and, sadly, I think he knew that's what he was doing (or maybe George Takei blowing some guy in deep space, but that would have been cool, especially when George knowingly turned to the camera with a huge smile on his face and said "Oh, MY!" directly to the audience). Alien was an infinitely better and more subtle work that showed what he could really due when not stuck scoring what ended up amounting to cinematic candyfloss. I would also like to cite Planet of the Apes (innovative and startling in its sheer originality; listen to the album sometime and be blown away), Our man Flint, The Ballad of Cable Hogue (which is truly lovely), Papillon, Logan's Run, The Secret of NIMH and even Rambo: First Blood Part II as all being superior to the score for Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Just because it's associated with Trek absolutely does not necessarily make something great. (See Star Trek: Nemesis)<br />-The sparkly rainbow effect used to denote shifting into warp. The only things missing were some prancing unicorns and Rainbow Brite. People in the theater actually exclaimed "Lame!" and "Way to rip off Star Wars, you assholes!" when that effect was first seen.<br />-Decker and Ilia, complete and utter non-characters.<br />-The seventeen-hour-long flyover of V'Ger. My friend Kenny fell asleep TWICE during that sequence.<br />-The groan-inducing reveal of what V'Ger turned out to be.<br /><br /><br /><br />But, in retrospect, it was not a total loss. Included among the diamonds found it the turd that was this film are:<br /><br />-The awesome new Enterprise, which did look just as great as you and Maddie both noted. It took me a little while to get used to it, kind of like when my Aunt Connie got her nose job; a case of something very familiar getting tweaked enough to make it "cooler" or more modern. I still prefer the original, though, both because it was an important element in my childhood flights of imagination and also because the newer version makes the original look retro and borderline-minimalist in its design, an aspect that I find far more appealing than the majority of the way over-detailed ships that have been in fashion since the original Star Wars and the first Alien. (Those films had great designs, but since then many of the ships that appeared in their wake seemed to feature pointlessly over-ornate surface detailing in favor of genuine design quality.)<br />-The "new look" turtle-shell-headed Klingons and their attendant updated cruiser, which is one of my all-time favorite spaceship designs.<br />-Kelly turned loose onscreen as McCoy.<br />-The too-brief look at the surface of Vulcan. (And what do the natives of that planet call it in their own language anyway? It always struck me as odd that there would just happen to be a planet that shared the Romanized name of a Greek deity.)<br /><br />And now you have me intrigued to set aside my hatred of this film and check out the director's cut...Bunche (pop culture ronin)https://www.blogger.com/profile/11831085937894725459noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1867678243594042401.post-81954787894573297702011-07-31T19:05:59.757-04:002011-07-31T19:05:59.757-04:00I was actively into Trek from the time when I was ...I was actively into Trek from the time when I was four — my mom was big on it when it first ran on NBC, and I remember watching "The Cloud Minders" in its original network airing — and throughout my childhood was a serious booster, drawing the ships and characters (my mom still has an accurate Enterprise that I drew when I was eight) and attending the infamous over-crowded Star Trek con in Manhattan in 1975, so when it was announced there would be a feature film, you can bet your sweet ass I was eager to see it. In fact, I was the first person to buy a ticket to see it on its opening day.<br /><br />That said, I am NOT a fan of this overlong boring endurance test of a film. Sure, it's pretty to look at and DeForest Kelly was as excellent as ever, but I found that the attempts at making a movie that would appeal to cineastes as well as the fans worked to rob it of its soul. Shatner was okay — and Maddie is right about his disco hair — and Nimoy's total emotionlessness was a part of the plot's point, but other than Bones there was not one character I really gave a damn about throughout the narrative. That, more than anything else, was the hardest blow to me as a Trek enthusiast, since those of us whole love Trek mostly got into it for its characters. When the time the film was over on that bleak opening day in 1979, the populace of my hometown (Westport, CT) were lucky not to awaken the next day to see the headline "Outraged Nigger Goes on Violent Murder Spree After Seeing STAR TREK: THE MOTIONLESS PICTURE. Spook is Shot Dead, No One Cares." The uniforms alone were enough to send me into a state of apoplexy, looking as they did like some bland fusion of then-contemporary Indian male fashion and a pair of children's "footie" pajamas. <br /><br />(To be continued because my comment is too long)Bunche (pop culture ronin)https://www.blogger.com/profile/11831085937894725459noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1867678243594042401.post-50906301788155592782011-07-31T10:54:43.344-04:002011-07-31T10:54:43.344-04:00Finally... Finally after all of this time, the nex...Finally... Finally after all of this time, the next movie in the queue is probably either my favorite film all-time, or at the least, in my top 3!!<br /><br />I liked Star Trek I - and knowing how fantastic Star Trek II - IV trilogy is, it allows me to like it just the way it is - and to look past some of the long, overdone scenes and Shatner's new hairdo. <br /><br />Whenever I watch the LONG scene with Scotty and Kirk approaching the new Enterprise, the music, emotions, and special FX always give me goosebumps... The Enterprise is truly an awesome site.<br /><br />Uncle DAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18073461797059953819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1867678243594042401.post-75188539617940489822011-07-30T13:01:24.151-04:002011-07-30T13:01:24.151-04:00Nice piece! I mention Star Trek: The Motion Pictu...Nice piece! I mention Star Trek: The Motion Picture in this comic I wrote:<br />http://www.sobuttons.com/SoOrderly.htmlJonathan Baylishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03823562606243222006noreply@blogger.com