Star Trek: The Original 4-Movie Collection brings to together the first four films featuring the original crew of the Starship Enterprise from one of the greatest and longest running science fiction franchises in history. We start out with the highly anticipated, highly budgeted, and somewhat disappointing Star Trek the Motion Picture (1979). The Enterprise must investigate when a strange alien species attacks and destroys three Klingon ships. Captain Kirk (William Shatner) takes over command and reassembles his old crew in this rather laborious film with a screenplay that seems more like an extended mid-season episode of the series than feature film material. Star Trek the Motion Picture is presented in its Theatrical Cut although there is a Director’s Cut on the way which will stream on Paramount+.
The second film, and arguably the strongest of the collection, is Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982). This film kicks off the “accidental trilogy”. Again, James T. Kirk at the helm of the Enterprise on a routine training mission that will likely be his last mission on his beloved ship. But things take a turn when they encounter an old adversary, Khan (Riccardo Montalban), the exiled superhuman and his band of exiled supermen who have come into possession of a stolen top-secret device that in their hands can be used as a super weapon which can wipe out entire planets. This is the essential film in the cinematic Star Trek canon, and it is presented here in both theatrical and director’s cuts.
At the end of Star Trek II, Spock (Leonard Nimoy) dies. With the unexpected success of the film, they needed a sequel and they needed one in a hurry. Spock was brought back, Nimoy brought on to direct, and Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) was born. The crew of the Enterprise are downtrodden despite defeating Khan and cresting the Genesis planet. Spock is dead, the Klingons want to start war, and Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley) is seemingly going insane. A visit from Spock’s father reveals that McCoy is harboring Spock’s essence in his mind and the hunt is now on to find Spock’s body on the Genesis planet to bring him back from the dead. While this film does leap through some hoops to bring back Spock and tie-in to Wrath of Khan, it’s watchable and still in keeping with the usual Star Trek fare.
Finally, we have Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986). This film stands out from the other films even more so than The Motion Picture in that it has a very comedic tone, and it is the only one that goes on-location, bringing the crew to “contemporary” 1986 San Francisco as they time travel to the past and wander around the city in their crazy getups. The crew of the Enterprise must try to save the Earth from an environmental threat in this fish-out-of-water sci-fi comedy.
The Video
All four of the original Star Trek movies have been “newly remastered from original elements” according to Paramount. Each film is presented in 2.39:1 HEVC 2160p (4K UHD) with Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible). From the beginning of Star Trek the Motion Picture there seems to be some grain manipulation going on. Detail on faces seems smoothed over, but things settle down after the opening scene and it is much crisper, but random grain suppression continues, and it seems that way throughout the entire collection. Overall, I wouldn’t say that it is heavy handed at all, but at times noticeable. There is still plenty of grain present that never looks noisy and mostly looks very natural. The greatest strength of the transfer is the fantastic Dolby Vision application. Colors really ‘pop’ in this release and you can see it in comparison to the Blu-rays that there is more of a vibrancy in the space scenes of nebulae, blacker backgrounds against bright white stars, and so forth.
The Audio
All four films come with a lossless Dolby TrueHD 7.1 remix on both the 4K and Blu-ray Discs. There are no original mixes included. Rest assured, for those wondering, since the packaging does not list them, there are also Spanish 2.0 mixes on both 4K and Blu-ray Discs as well as other dub options such as Japanese and German as well as a selection of subtitles including French, Spanish, German, English, English SDH, and more.
The 7.1 mixes are very robust. My system is setup up as a 5.4.2 “Atmos” system so this 7.1 mix plays back in 5.1 for me, but an upmix to 7.1 is always an option and sampling it upmixed to Neural:X sounds superb as well. Even as straight 5.1 the mixes don’t disappoint with the roaring engines of the Enterprise, the explosions of plasma cannons rumbling through the LFE and of course plenty of atmospheric bleeps and blurps throughout the surround channels.
The Supplements
This Star Trek: The Original 4-Movie Collection is loaded with special features on the Blu-ray Discs, but I can’t give it the highest rating since there is nothing entirely new here and plenty of much older standard definition material as well. Still, for anyone who has not owned these before, it is a treasure trove of interviews and making of featurettes in addition to multiple commentaries for each film.
Star Trek the Motion Picture
4K Special Features:
- Commentary by Michael & Denise Okuda, Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens, and Darren Dochterman
- Isolated Score Track
Blu-ray Special Features:
- Commentary by Michael & Denise Okuda, Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens, and Darren Dochterman
- Library Computer – An in-movie interactive experience that allows you to access information about people, technology, locations, and more – at the moment each appears on the screen.
- Production – The Longest Trek: Writing The Motion Picture (1080p; 00:10:44)
- The Star Trek Universe:
- Special Star Trek Reunion (1080p; 00:09:37)
- Starfleet Academy SCISEC Brief 001: Mystery Behind V’Ger (1080p; 00:04:24)
- Deleted Scenes (SD; 00:08:02)
- Storyboards (1080p):
- Vulcan
- Enterprise Departure
- V’Ger Revealed
- Trailers
- Teaser Trailer (1080p)
- Theatrical Trailer (1080p)
- TV Spots (SD):
- Hardware
- Startle Your Senses
- Enterprise
- Cast/Human Adventure
- Spiritual Search
- Spiritual/Startle Your Senses
- Spiritual/Human Adventure
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
4K Special Features:
- Commentary by director Nicholas Meyer
- Commentary by director Nicholas Meyer and Manny Coto (Theatrical Version)
Blu-ray Special Features:
- Commentary by director Nicholas Meyer
- Commentary by director Nicholas Meyer and Manny Coto (Theatrical Version)
- Text Commentary by Michael and Denise Okuda (Director’s Cut)
- Library Computer (Theatrical Version)
- The Genesis Effect: Engineering The Wrath of Khan (1080p; 00:28:21)
- Production:
- Captain’s Log (SD; 00:27:21)
- Designing Khan (SD; 00:23:55)
- Original Interviews with William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, and Ricardo Montalban (SD; 00:10:57)
- Where No Man Has Gone Before: The Visual Effects of Star Trek II The Wrath of Khan (SD; 00:18:15)
- James Horner: Composing Genesis (1080p; 00:09:33)
- The Star Trek Universe:
- Collecting Star Trek’s Movie Relics (1080p; 00:11:05)
- A Novel Approach (SD; 00:28:56)
- Starfleet Academy SCISEC Brief 002: Mystery Behind CETI Alpha VI (1080p; 00:03:07)
- Farewell: A Tribute to Ricardo Montalban (1080p; 00:04:43)
- Storyboards (1080p)
- Theatrical Trailer (1080p)
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
4K Special Features:
- Commentary by director Leonard Nimoy, writer/producer Harve Bennett, director of photography Charles Correll, and Robin Curtis
- Commentary by Ronald D. Moore and Michael Taylor
Blu-ray Special Features:
- Commentary by director Leonard Nimoy, writer/producer Harve Bennett, director of photography Charles Correll, and Robin Curtis
- Commentary by Ronald D. Moore and Michael Taylor
- Library Computer
- Production:
- Captain’s Log (SD; 00:26:13)
- Terraforming and the Prime Directive (SD; 00:25:53)
- Industrial Light & Magic: The Visual Effects of Star Trek (1080p; 00:13:50)
- Spock: The Early Years (1080p; 00:06:22)
- The Star Trek Universe:
- Space Docks and Birds of Prey (SD: 00:27:49)
- Speaking Klingon (SD; 00:21:04)
- Klingon and Vulcan Costumes (SD; 00:12:16)
- Star Trek and the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame (1080p; 00:16:52)
- Starfleet Academy SCISEC Brief 003: Mystery Behind The Vulcan Katra Transfer (1080p; 00:02:42)
- Photo Gallery (1080p):
- Production
- The Movie
- Storyboards (1080p)
- Theatrical Trailer (1080p)
Star Trek IV
4K Special Features:
- Commentary by William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy
- Commentary by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman
Blu-ray Special Features:
- Commentary by William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy
- Commentary by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman
- Library Computer
- Production:
- Future’s Past: A Look Back (SD; 00:27:32)
- On Location (SD; 00:07:26)
- Dailies Deconstruction (SD; 00:04:13)
- Below-the-Line: Sound Design (SD; 00:11:45)
- Pavel Chekov’s Screen Moments (1080p; 00:06:09)
- The Star Trek Universe:
- Time Travel: The Art of the Possible (SD; 00:11:15)
- The Language of Whales (SD; 00:05:46)
- A Vulcan Primer (SD; 00:07:50)
- Kirk’s Women (SD; 00:08:19)
- Star Trek: Three Picture Saga (1080p; 00:10:12)
- Star Trek for a Cause (1080p; 00:05:40)
- Starfleet Academy SCISEC Brief 004: The Whale Probe (1080p; 00:03:42)
- Visual Effects:
- From Outer Space to the Ocean (SD; 00:14:43)
- The Bird of Prey (SD; 00:02:48)
- Original Interviews
- William Shatner (SD: 00:14:33)
- Leonard Nimoy (SD; 00:15:40)
- DeForest Kelley (SD; 00:13:02)
- Tributes:
- Roddenberry Scrapbook (SD; 00:08:17)
- Featured Artist: Mark Lenard (SD; 00:12:44)
- Production Gallery (SD)
- Storyboards (1080p)
- Theatrical Trailer (1080p)
The Final Assessment
This is a wonderful collection for Trekkies. A/V enthusiasts may find one or two things to nitpick with, but ultimately this is a satisfying and enjoyable 4K Ultra HD presentation that everyone who is a fan of this franchise should get.
Star Trek: The Original 4-Movie Collection is out on 4K Ultra HD Combo September 7, 2021 from Paramount.
- Rating Certificates: G | PG | PG | PG
- Studios & Distributors: Paramount Pictures (presents) | Century Associates | Robert Wise Productions | Paramount Home Entertainment
- Directors: Robert Wise | Nicholas Meyer | Leonard Nimoy
- Writers: Harold Livingston (screenplay) | Alan Dean Foster (story) | Harve Bennett (story) | Jack B. Soward (story & screenplay) | Leonard Nimoy (story) | Harve Bennett (story & screenplay) | Steve Meerson (screenplay) | Peter Krikes (screenplay) | Nicholas Meyer (screenplay)
- Street Date: 7 September 2021
- Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
- Video Format: HEVC 2160p (4K UHD)
- HDR Format: Dolby Vision (HDR10 Compatible)
- Primary Audio: English Dolby TrueHD 7.1
- Secondary Audio: German Dolby TrueHD 2.0 | Spanish (Castilian) DD 2.0 | French DD 2.0 | Japanese DD 5.1