Rating: 
Summary: Dissapointed, movie is still too frigg'in slow!!
Review: After reading William Shattner's STAR TREK MOVIE MEMORIES, I learned that the film was rushed at the end for the special effects to be put in and without a good preview for test audiences and thus the movie was released to theaters with super slowness in it's progression. It is considered by most fans to be with STAR TREK V the worst movie in the series.Almost a year ago, I learned that the movie would be given the "Directors edition" treatment, with that the movie was going to be improved, and I thought, "alright, FASTER! It can be watched without falling asleep, it might even be good HA HA!" Seeing previews online with a new remastered Enterprise and awesome new Vulcan planet scene (those dopey moons are gone with killer statues replacing them), I thought this was going to be great. Thats what I thought. Honestly, I have never been let down more by a DVD. The menu page for the movie looks amatureish and dated, no clips from the movie or sound bites played, nothing. Great title menu designs can be found in the James Bond DVDs or Phantom Menace DVD. Secondly the movie is STILL too slow. The effects still dominate the movie and we are treated to just about every single shot of (again) the cast staring at the effects. Do I dare comment on the trip through the V'Ger cloud? It still takes like what seems an hour! Finally, I felt like I was watching the Star Wars Special Edition in the theater again. I paid to see something great and packed with new effects and scenes and ended up paying to see something I could have watched at home. As other then what I mentioned above with the Enterprise and planet Vulcan, this movie's only other reward is some touched up effects and sounds (along with a really great molecular walkway to get to V'Ger at the climax), and that was IT. No missing scenes (some are even taken away, but can be viewed on a different part of one of the discs) No super improved effects. I guess as another plus they got rid of that AWFUL and GRATING computer alert voice and replaced it with a much nicer sounding one and also that emergency (WAA! WAA! WAA!) klaxon is gone too. But as far as improvements go, that was it. I felt ripped off. The movie if I can mention anything else nice is that it still is the best representation of Gene Roddenberry's view of Star Trek and the most scientific one. I know that this wasn't a kind review and I apologize, but when your're expecting a steak and get liver, this is how you feel. Star Trek III still reigns supreme as the best odd numbered Trek movie.
Rating: 
Summary: A vast improvement over previous releases
Review: Okay. Most of us know the deal already with Paramount. They've released the cheap, featureless DVD editions of the Trek movies in reverse order, and now, starting with ST:TMP, they're going forward again with special editions. Meaning it was quite a wait for a set like this to come out. Was it worth the wait? Without a question. When I say the film is a vast improvement, I meant that in more than one way. First of all, this is one of the best DVD sets I've ever seen. I won't bother listing the features: Check the Amazon.com technical specs for those. This truly is the first Star Trek DVD truly worth owning. But they are not the reason why you should give serious consideration to this movie. The film. The glorious piece of film that is ST:TMP-The Director's Edition. I know... if you've seen the film, you must be scratching your head at that comment. But as Robert Wise explains in the featurettes, they simply did not have the time to put together the film that they wanted to back in 1979. This DVD is the glorious vision that ST:TMP was meant to be. Robert Wise has somehow created a much tighter cut of the film without shortening it. The movie is fast-paced (compared to the previous cuts, anyway), has astounding special effects (even where they haven't been re-enhanced), and showcases the relationships between the three main characters, as well as newbies Decker and Ilia. Scenes that were once long and boring (to be frank) now offer you more varied perspectives. It is now much more clear what is going on in many of the shots. And again, the character relationships that make the movie special have now come to the forefront. This really is the original Star Trek on the big screen -- oddly enough, a claim which may only be true of this film and Star Trek V (quality of the films notwithstanding). This is a film that was once a cure to insomnia. The Director's Edition repairs that. It is still not an action-packed film like Trek II/III/VI, nor should it be. However, it has become far easier to follow and much more interesting to watch. The old film I might have rated two or three stars. As for the new film, I wholeheartedly rate it five stars, even excluding the other DVD extras. The differences won't be enough to change everyone's mind, but it did change this film for me and for many others I know. The SFX Updates: If you have seen the Star Wars Special Editions, you likely both love and fear such updates. I'm glad to say that the updates are used to amazing effect to accomplish scenes that they simply did not have the time or money to do in 1979, all held together by the promise that they will not do any effect that was not possible in 1979 (although they may use more advanced means of actually ACCOMPLISHING the effects). Spock walks up to Kohlinar and sees 100-foot statues of Vulcan warriors -- a shot previously seen only in the Marvel Comics adaption. The awful matte painting is removed (and, with it, the debate over whether or not Vulcan has a moon). We fly past the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco, and see a busy spaceport (featuring one of the original Enterprise's shuttles). V'Ger extends out hexagonal footbridges to the Enterprise as crew members stand on the hull -- another shot that could not be properly realized in the original edition. Once again, the horrible Enterprise matte painting is removed from that scene, replaced by a to-scale digital simulation. And, no, they didn't digitally insert Cap'n Archer's Enterprise in the "ships named Enterprise" scene. ;) For absolute purists, many of the original scenes still exist on disk two, where a total of 16 deleted scenes from the 1979 and 1983 editions make their residence. But almost any fan will appreciate the work of love that is Robert Wise's definitive Star Trek: The Motion Picture. It is a true experience to behold.
Rating:
Summary: GREAT DIRECTOR'S VERSION
Review: WELL HAVING AT LAST SEEN THIS MOVIE, I THINK IT'S AS GOOD AS IT WILL EVER BE. ROBERT WISE AT LAST FIXED THE EDITING SO THAT THE MOVIE MOVES ALONG MORE SMOOTHLY, AND THE NEW EFFECTS BLEND IN WITH THE ORIGINAL FOOTAGE VERY NICELY. JERRY GOLDSMITH'S MUSIC SCORE IS JUST AS WONDERFUL AS`EVER. I RANK AMONG THE BEST OF THE STAR TREK MUSIC COMPOSERS; JERRY GOLDSMITH, LEONARD ROSENMAN, AND CLIFF EIDELMAN. WHERE AS JAMES HORNER AND DENNIS McCARTHY HAVE SCORED THE WEAKER MUSIC SCORES OF THE TREK MOVIES.The new DVD has a lot of good bonus features including a large look at how this director's edition was put together and how it was originally filmed in 1979. It's about as good as George Lucas's Speical Edition work on the classic STAR WARS trilogy with the new footage blending with the original footage quite nicely. Much better then the "Director's Cuts DVDs on Superman and Close Encounters of the Thrid Kind.
Rating: 
Summary: Uhm, I liked the original better
Review: The extras are great, lots of material there. Most of the revisions in this version are good additions, too. There are just some moments where I think the original cut was better. Particularly the formation of the bridge between the Enterprise and V-Ger. The new version is just too long. Most all the other additions were good, though. I'd like an original version of the movie on DVD all the same. But that's just my two-cents, and I'm the only guy on the planet that hates every "Next Generation" movie...
Rating:
Summary: Good science fiction
Review: This movie undeniably went right over most people's heads. Some of those who are fans of Star Trek have a tendency to focus on a narrow view concerning what they believe to be good sci-fi entertainment. Star Trek The Motion Picture represents a delightful complexity of underlying meaning that is sorely missed by those expecting to see the Star Trek TV series on the big screen. The mystery and awe as well as the tribulations of this adventure is what brings the main characters out of their somber state of apathy as they are portrayed in the beginning. Many viewers were disappointed to find out what V'ger really was only to miss the real meaning that constituted the end of the story. With great effects and music aside, this is a good movie but requires more indepth viewing to really enjoy it. The new director's cut DVD is a wonderful rendition of the film with added visuals and sound affects and definitly worth adding to one's own video library.
Rating:
Summary: STMP Set the Bar
Review: Q: How did a low-budget 60's t.v. series make the leap to the big screen without becoming a campy, big-budget flop? A: Robert Wise. Just imagine if the Shatner-directed "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" had been the first (instead of the 5th) in the series. It might have been the last. By tackling an epic story with a thoughtful and serious tone, Wise enabled the subsequent feature films to take far more latitude without the risk of being dismissed out of hand as silly and trivial. Some of the Star Trek films are a bit ridiculous, but we can always anticipate the next one that aspires to the mark set by Robert Wise.
Rating:
Summary: A Beautiful Film
Review: I have always been a fan of Star Trek: TMP, but it is even better in this new Director's Edition. Some of the special effects have been redone very well, seamlessly adding them in in such a way that it is hard to determine which are the new effects and which are the original. The thing I like most about this film is just how beautiful it is, both the special effects and the music. Especially scenes like the first approach to the Enterprise, and flying through V'ger. This movie has an interesting idea and a good plot. There is also some good characterization in this movie, although it is not as fully realized as one would hope. We get to see a little bit of the dark sides of both Kirk and especially Spock in the beginning of the film. And of course there is the great scene where we Spock weep for V'ger. The two new characters, Decker and Ilia, work well enough, but I felt that their relationship with each other, and also Decker's relationship with Kirk, should be more developed. But as it is it does a good job. This new director's edition of TMP is now my favorite of all the Trek films. I highly recommend it to anyone, especially Trek fans.
Rating: 
Summary: Impressive added effects but too choppy
Review: Not bad. I was really hoping to see the entire spock walk scene where they enter the enter V-ger. The memory wall scene, beacause I enjoy looking at the visual the vast designs and so on. Very interesting. The bones dialogue sequence to kirk about the mission was very BAD. They cut up the jerry goldmith music quite a bit. I liked the long journey sequence. I still find myself falling asleep but it's like a long winding trip when you wake up to discover the alien presence onboard. The sounds were fine from the original as well as the computer voice. I can see why they left out the computer voice. They changed too much though. The Vger attacking earth sequence was pretty bad I thought. I think I'll stick to the original VHS widescreen format. If you enjoyed the new star wars perhaps or babylon V effects then you will like this DVD. I am not to thrilled about it, I like the added features TV SPOTS and Teaser Trailers. That was Cool!
Rating:
Summary: Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Review: A lot of Trekkers don't like this movie, but I think it's a good show. It's well worth buying just to complete your DVD collection of Star Trek movies.
Rating:
Summary: Very Cool
Review: I have always liked Star Trek TMP,now I love it.
The film really looks great on DVD,and the newly remastered sound in Dolby 5.1 is wonderful.As for the movie itself,it is better than ever in my opinion,really tightened up.Certain scenes from the 1979 theatrical/1983 TV versions of the film have been trimmed,others removed.
Some of the special effects have been digitally redone.They are wonderful and blend in seamlessly with the original effects.
Even the opening/closing credits have been redone and look better! As far as special features go,there is a feature length commentary which I haven't listened to yet.However I did view the film with the text commentary by Michael Okuda(co-author of the Star Trek Encyclopedia),and found it absolutely fascinating.I wish more DVDs had a feature like that!
On the second disc there are three documentaries,as well as trailers/TV spots,deleted/trimmed scenes,etc.
The deleted scenes are very interesting to watch.They are broken down into two sections-1979 theatrical and 1983 TV.Included are the orginal versions of scenes that have been digitally altered for the Director's Version. Overall a great DVD package which most fans should love.
Hat's off to director Robert Wise and Paramount!
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