Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Star Trek: The Motion Picture (Paramount Pictures, 1979; see also 1979 in film) is the first feature film based on the popular Star Trek science fiction television series. It is often referred to as ST:TMP or TMP. It is widely regarded as a disappointing film due to its plodding pace and emphasis on special effects over story and characterization, and is considered by many as one of the lesser films in the series.Synopsis
18 months after the end of the events of the Star Trek TV series, a powerful alien force - in the shape of a cloud - is detected to be heading for Earth, destroying starships and other objects it encounters. Starfleet decides to dispatch the starship Enterprise to intercept the thing, requiring that its lengthy refit process be quickly finished and tested while in transit.As part of this plan, now-Admiral James T. Kirk (William Shatner) assumes his old command of the ship, angering Commander Will Decker (Stephen Collins), who had been overseeing its refit and its nominal new captain. After gathering many of the former crewmembers of the ship, the Enterprise embarks on its journey, but testing of its new systems goes poorly, resulting in further steress between Kirk and Decker. Many problems are resolved by the addition of Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy), who had been on his home world of Vulcan trying to expunge his last trace of emotion. His failure to do this led him to conclude that his destiny lay with humanity and Starfleet.
The Enterprise meets with the alien cloud, survives its initial assault, and is brought inside the cloud, which the crew learns is named V'ger. The ship gradually journeys to the center of V'ger, suffering some casualties along the way, as well as experiencing the strange transformation of Lt. Ilia (Persis Khambatta). It all leads to a transcendent finale at the center of V'ger.
TMP exhibits a pair of themes familiar to viewers of Star Trek and Star Trek: The Next Generation. First is the notion of "Kirk as destroyer of machines". Kirk often encounters and destroys computers which have become too powerful for the humanoids around them. TMP takes a slightly different tack, as V'ger is not actually destroyed.
Second is the notion of a being transcending the material plane to become something greater, usually represented as a being of light. Creatures such as the Organians from the original series episode "Errand of Mercy" have this characteristic, as do several beings from TNG. Star Trek almost always portrays this transformation in a positive light, something to which humanity can aspire, and V'ger's transformation here certainly is in this mold.
The theme of rebirth is a minor one in the film as applied to the characters. Decker and Ilia are removed from the stage through their own rebirth, while Kirk comes to command the Enterprise again as a sort of rebirth.
The film is very short on conflict or excitement; other than Kirk's conflicts with Decker and the obvious threat of V'ger, there is precious little conflict in the film, and both of these elements are dealt with by the deus-ex-machina nature of the ending. The story, in effect, is a relatively straightforward puzzle for the characters to solve, and, having done so, their other problems evaporate.
An extended cut of the film on videotape consisted of little more than an additional 40 minutes of special effects and reaction shots. However, the 2003 DVD release cut out much material and re-worked several effects sequences.
The film was originally intended as the pilot episode for an aborted second TV series, Star Trek: Phase Two. It likely would not have been made were it not for the success of Star Wars, though creatively it owes more to 2001: A Space Odyssey.
The film was scored by Jerry Goldsmith. Its theme to the film was later reworked as the theme for the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation. Other elements of the film were also preserved in TNG, such as the dashing young executive officer, who once had a personal relationship with the empathic alien woman, and the pyjama-like Starfleet uniforms.
It's been theorized that Will Decker is the son of Matt Decker from the original series episode "The Doomsday Machine".
The next film in the series is Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
Themes
Warning: Wikipedia contains spoilersNotes
The film was directed by Robert Wise, supposedly after the studio decided they wanted a better-known film director than Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry at the film's helm. It displays state-of-the-art (for the time) special effects, set design and use of models. Despite this, the film is widely regarded as ponderous and even boring, especially in the second half, which often consists of little more than scenes of the Enterprise flying through the interior of the cloud, with the awed reactions of the crew. The story is clearly little more than an hour-long TV episode fleshed out to two hours. Despite this, the first hour of the film contains some witty moments and good character moments.External link
