Finally released on blu ray for the first time (unless you count horrendously expensive movie box set from last year). Thought it was about time for a reappraisal...
I first saw this at a preview screening way back in '79. It was clear even then that the movie was not quite finished (it was being rush released for a Christmas opening), and in some sequences that is painfully obvious.
Back then I quite enjoyed it though...i thought it had a good sence of scale, great model work and it was indeed good to see the old crew back again. I even enjoyed the story, thought it was reasonably clever at the time.
Watching it now, I kind of feel the same. I know it's not held in high regard (probably just behind The Final Frontier in most people opinions), but it still appeals to me despite it's faults.
And those faults rest largely with the special effects...particularly those where the actors have to interact with green screens and unseen objects. They just don't convince, the actors just look ridiculous. The 'wormhole; sequence and the probe invading the bridge are the worst examples.
And like a lot of movies of that era, the effects sequences look pretty ropey on blu ray. Tons of grain and faded colours. Which is a shame because the rest of the movie looks very good. Decent sound though. Certainly looks and sounRAB better than I expected, that's for sure.
Unfortunately this is the original version, with no extras either.
I liked the restored version, because I thought this was a movie that was sorely in need of restoration, and like I said before largely because it simply was never properly finished. And it's not just the effects sequence upgrades, but the pacing was tightened up a little too. It was fairly ponderous in places.
Plus, as I recall the restored version was of superior picture quality to the original anyway...but I guess that version will be released eventually.
One thing that did strike me after watching it again - the constant costume changes! Blimey, it's like watching a Cher concert! They seem to change uniforms in every scene, and always horrible, bright pastel coloured garments, and even short sleeved in some cases. Thank god for the uniformity of the later movies.
In a way it feels like a different movie from the rest of the series, it was stand-alone and largely ignored by the other movies (no continuity in the storyline)...but for all it's awkwardness I guess it did at least get the crew back together and start the ball rolling, and we got some good movies out of them over the years.
I first saw this at a preview screening way back in '79. It was clear even then that the movie was not quite finished (it was being rush released for a Christmas opening), and in some sequences that is painfully obvious.
Back then I quite enjoyed it though...i thought it had a good sence of scale, great model work and it was indeed good to see the old crew back again. I even enjoyed the story, thought it was reasonably clever at the time.
Watching it now, I kind of feel the same. I know it's not held in high regard (probably just behind The Final Frontier in most people opinions), but it still appeals to me despite it's faults.
And those faults rest largely with the special effects...particularly those where the actors have to interact with green screens and unseen objects. They just don't convince, the actors just look ridiculous. The 'wormhole; sequence and the probe invading the bridge are the worst examples.
And like a lot of movies of that era, the effects sequences look pretty ropey on blu ray. Tons of grain and faded colours. Which is a shame because the rest of the movie looks very good. Decent sound though. Certainly looks and sounRAB better than I expected, that's for sure.
Unfortunately this is the original version, with no extras either.
I liked the restored version, because I thought this was a movie that was sorely in need of restoration, and like I said before largely because it simply was never properly finished. And it's not just the effects sequence upgrades, but the pacing was tightened up a little too. It was fairly ponderous in places.
Plus, as I recall the restored version was of superior picture quality to the original anyway...but I guess that version will be released eventually.
One thing that did strike me after watching it again - the constant costume changes! Blimey, it's like watching a Cher concert! They seem to change uniforms in every scene, and always horrible, bright pastel coloured garments, and even short sleeved in some cases. Thank god for the uniformity of the later movies.
In a way it feels like a different movie from the rest of the series, it was stand-alone and largely ignored by the other movies (no continuity in the storyline)...but for all it's awkwardness I guess it did at least get the crew back together and start the ball rolling, and we got some good movies out of them over the years.