Star Trek VI: The Unknown Country1991.
Directed by Nicholas Meyer.
Starring William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, George Takei, Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols, Kim Cattrall, David Warner, Christopher Plummer, and Iman.
SYNOPSIS:
A lots of star trek Fans may not be in love with the fifth installment in the film franchise, but those who do will want to get this new 4K release, which also includes the movie on Blu-ray, along with a code for a digital copy. Extras from past editions were also carried over.
Now this was more like: Get Out star trek vDue to lukewarm box office performance and poor reviews, Nicholas Meyer returned to writing and directing to send off the original cast with a flourish. Following the example of the history found in the 20th century of the Earth, Star Trek VI: The Unknown Country finds our heroes dealing with a new galactic order as the Federation tries to make peace with the Klingon Empire.
However, as in real life, not everyone on both sides agrees with the idea, and galactic peace is threatened when the Klingon Chancellor is assassinated before the peace talks and Captain Kirk and Dr. McCoy are killed. convicted of the crime in a Klingon. court. While Kirk is not 100% on board with the idea of a peace treaty with the Klingons, he is dismayed to discover that his old friend Spock is part of the group advocating the movement.
Given the Star Trek: The Next Generation The TV show’s move to make the Klingons allies of the Federation in the 100-plus years since the original team’s adventures, it made sense to cap off this era of the franchise this way. As Kirk points out at least once in this movie, his son was murdered by a Klingon, so it’s understandably difficult for him to overcome that resentment and work with his former enemies.
While most of Kirk’s comrades agree with that view, it is Spock, with his cold logic, who understands that it is inevitable that the two sides put aside their differences. An explosion on a Klingon moon threatens to render their home planet uninhabitable within a few decades, so the Federation must show some compassion and extend an olive branch. As Spock points out, only former US President Richard Nixon could go to China.
The cast is in fine form in this one, with Christopher Plummer joining them to gleefully chew up the stage as Klingon General Chang, David Warner coming aboard to provide a more measured presence as the Klingon Chancellor, and a pre-sex and the city Kim Cattrall taking on the role of Vulcan Valeris. Meyer’s script, which she wrote with Denny Martin Flinn, is on par with the Star Trek IV script in which he collaborated.
As with Meyer Star Trek II, there is a Director’s Cut of this movie, and it is included here along with the theatrical version. However, like the second film, there are no major differences in the longer version, although I have read that it is now cropped to the proper aspect ratio, unlike previous home video edits.
And of course Paramount Remastered the unknown country for 4K, topping off the original cast movies with the closest to cinematic quality you can get on a disc these days. Unlike star trek vILM was on board to do the effects for this one, and the 4K remaster really improves its quality.
This edition features both versions of the film on the 4K disc, while the included Blu-ray only has the theatrical edition. There is also a code for a digital copy. The studio carried over the bonus features from previous home video releases, including:
• Theatrical Audio Commentary with Meyer and Flinn: Among many other things, the director and his writing partner talk about the real world parallels with the plot of this film, the progression from the first draft of the script to the end, and how they tried to fit this installment into the whole Emigrate myths. I found it interesting that Meyer still sees himself as a Emigrate outsider, despite the huge impact it had on the original cast’s film series.
• Theatrical audio commentary with Emigrate Expert Larry Nemecek and writer Ira Steven Behr: This is an interesting conversation that actually digs into the movie’s flaws a bit, without, of course, getting into the kind of tirades that are all over the internet.
• Director’s Edited Text Commentary with Michael and Denise Okuda – Found only on the 4K disc, this is a trivia-packed track sure to be of interest to many Trekkies.
• Library computer: This is an extra found in other Emigrate disks too. It allows you to watch the movie and press the Enter button on your remote at various points to read various bits of information about the characters, EmigrateThe technology of and more. You can also go directly to an index and browse through all the information without rewatching the movie.
• The dangers of pacification (26.5 minutes): While “Only Nixon could go to China” was an iconic line from this film, Star Trek VI it was made when the former Soviet Union was falling apart, so this article is a great opportunity to delve into that history. Meyer and Nimoy are joined by Georgetown University professor Dr. Angela Stent and Ambassador Dennis Ross as the four discuss the parallels between fiction and reality.
• Star Trek VI stories (57 minutes): Comprised of six feature films that come with a handy “play all” option, this is a solid documentary that covers the making of the film from start to finish, with commentary from many cast and crew members. The final feature film goodbye and goodbye, is a good farewell to the original cast. (Having the movie’s end credits start with the cast’s signatures was a really nice touch, too.)
• The Star Trek Universe (76.75 minutes) – This is a group of eight feature films covering everything from Nicholas Meyer’s thoughts on being a part of Emigrate to a real-world production of Shakespeare Village in Klingon. (If you don’t know, there’s a great line in the movie where Plummer’s character talks about reading Shakespeare “in the original Klingon.”) There’s also an in-depth look at Klingons throughout the movies and TV shows, some trivia about Star Trek VI supporting cast members who appeared in other Emigrate productions and a tour of the unknown country props found in the Paramount archives.
• DeForest Kelley: A Tribute (13 minutes): The actor had died a few years earlier Star Trek VI was released on DVD, so this was a timely tribute then. It’s still nice to remember, of course, but it makes me wish Paramount had created new extras to commemorate cast members who have since died.
• Original Interviews (43.5 minutes): William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, Nichelle Nichols, George Takei, Walter Koenig and model Iman (she has a small role in the film) appear in archival interviews filmed in 1991. while the movie hit theaters. It’s a nice time capsule view of how the cast members felt at the time; Interestingly, all the interviews have a similar duration, so no one falls short.
Rounding out the plate is a production gallery, storyboards for four scenes, the sneak peek and theatrical trailer, and a 4.75-minute presentation by Meyer that was used to promote the film at the 1991 conventions.
Flashing Myth Rating – Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
brad cook
