8mm Forum: Star Trek the Motion Picture 3 x 400

This is topic Star Trek the Motion Picture 3 x 400 in forum 8mm Print Reviews at 8mm Forum.

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Posted by Tom Photiou (Member # 130) on February 06, 2018, 04:03 PM:

No need to tell you the plot of this 1979 movie, This is the marketing 3 x 400ft version joined onto an 800ft spool, we bought this one new upon its release so this copy is probably around 35 years old at least. Bearing that in mind this copy ,while showing early signs of fade, has held up very well. As always i am a little frustrated with these images as you cannot see the colours we do on the screen, the blacks are still black with only one or two scenes in reel one showing that light red hue. Now this is one that marketing did edit quite well, and with a Paramount logo to open up and an original end caption, you do actually feel like you have watched the film. No sudden edits and no cuts in the soundtrack. If only they did this well with All of there 3 x 400ft releases.
The last time i viewed this print was 31/01/2013, five years ago, the comment on my log, (captain Tommy's Log), was "light fade,5%". This doesn't appear to be any different today so we are very pleased. There should be a few good years left in this one yet. Well edited, fast moving and great quality.
As this is a review here is a summary,
The Federation calls on Admiral James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and the crew of the Starship Enterprise to contain an immense nimbused object that's on a crash course with Earth. After investigating, the crew discovers that the alien cloud harbours artificial intelligence with an ominous primary directive. Crisis strikes when a probe dispatched by the energy cloud attacks the crew, abducting navigator Lt. Ilia (Persis Khambatta). An android look-alike containing her memories shows up soon after

Posted by Burton Sundquist (Member # 5813) on February 06, 2018, 10:19 PM:

Very good Tom, excellent screen captures as usual. I too purchased this mini feature when it was released about 35 years ago and mounted the three parts on one 800' spool. I haven't screened it in decades as my original Super 8 collection is, and has been in storage for years. I hope that when I finally have the chance to retrieve my copy it will be in the same condition as yours.

Posted by Tom Photiou (Member # 130) on February 07, 2018, 01:22 AM:

Hope so to Burton. Are your films all stored in a cool tempreture?

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on February 07, 2018, 11:24 AM:

I only have the "making of" extra long trailer for this, (also released by Marketing), and the color is about the same on that reel O mine.

I hope that this 3X400ft was released low fade, either Agfa or fuji. I wouldn't mind finding a great color copy.

Posted by Burton Sundquist (Member # 5813) on February 07, 2018, 12:05 PM:

...In an indoor storage facility in the city of Victoria, British Columbia. I lived there for 17 years. Anyway they maintain a temperature of 20 degrees so I hope that is cool enough.

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on February 07, 2018, 12:29 PM:

As long as the indoor storage facility stays in business ...

I had a fellow collector friend who went overseas for awhile (a little over a year), who didn't know that the business/storage facility went out of business and didn't tell him. Many of the storage units were broke into but worse (in his case) was that all facilities were obviously shut off, and with temperatures in Idago getting to, sometimes 108 degrees during the summer, (and this was a brick facility) ...

Many of his prints "baked" and while the low fade prints survived, largely unscathed, he had a great number of non-low fade prints, and they were toast! [Frown]

Great review as always, Tom!

Posted by Tom Photiou (Member # 130) on February 07, 2018, 02:03 PM:

Blimy Osi.imagine coming back to that!!!
Thanks for the comments [Wink]

Posted by Douglas Meltzer (Member # 28) on February 07, 2018, 06:02 PM:

Tom,

Thank you for the review. I bought my print on eBay back in 2002, shortly after my return to this hobby. I had picked up a number of badly faded digests and was getting discouraged, then I screened this beauty and I was amazed. Gorgeous color, sharp focus and nicely edited. The best part is I watched it recently and it still looks great!

Doug

Posted by Tom Photiou (Member # 130) on February 08, 2018, 01:38 AM:

Thanks Doug,
Its good to know there are a few good agfa prints out there. Ours,as you can all see, should hopefully still have a good many years left [Wink]

[ February 09, 2018, 04:00 PM: Message edited by: Tom Photiou ]

Posted by David Coppola (Member # 4209) on February 09, 2018, 09:21 AM:

ST TMP is a very long, sometimes tedious movie.
That being said, an 800' version of it would probably be very good.
I watched it once, back in the early 80s and got very bored.
Now ST2 The Wrath of Khan, well that's a different story altogether.. ;-)

Posted by Martin Dew (Member # 5748) on February 09, 2018, 10:48 AM:

I actually love the whole film and the Super 8 cutdown. I know the feature is considered boring and overlong, but I think the music score and look of the film are superb. I'm not even a Trekkie but I'm a big fan of Robert Wise, and I always admired his ambition and appreciation of scale.

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on February 09, 2018, 11:26 AM:

I hate to admit this, (as I at least used to be a major Trekkie), but when i saw this in the movie theater as a double feature (with "battle Beyond the Stars"
as the first feature), I actually fell asleep during Star Trek!

Posted by Douglas Meltzer (Member # 28) on February 09, 2018, 01:31 PM:

I'm a fan of this feature. Robert Wise and Douglas Trumbull were rushed by Paramount to get this in the theaters so corners were cut on the FX. There is a DVD release where additional funds were given so the film could end up looking as originally planned.

Doug

Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on February 09, 2018, 02:50 PM:

This one was kind of a big deal in the history of the franchise. None of the features and new TV series would have happened without this first step.

Grant you: not their strongest offering, but based on the latest one or two it's becoming pretty respectable!

If I have any gripe with it at all: it has the worst uniforms in the history of Star Trek!

Seriously: Star Fleet Admiral or Dentist?

"Be honest with me: have you been flossing?..."

Posted by Tom Photiou (Member # 130) on February 09, 2018, 04:09 PM:

Thats a good one Steve, [Big Grin]

Have to say this edition is very good and fast moving but also captures those scenes where the scale of the alien cloud/thingy is seen when the enterprise is shown gliding across it and together with the music, it is very well done. No CGI crap here.
My favourite in the series, and i would love a full colour scope 16mm copy, is Star Trek 2 The Wrath of Kahn. That is a great treky film and like many, i am not a treky fan, i just like a few of the films and prefer the original TV series to any of the others that followed [Wink]

Posted by Burton Sundquist (Member # 5813) on February 10, 2018, 12:03 AM:

Like Doug and many others, I was a big Fan of this Trek entry.
I was really pleased with this Marketing films release. Great idea to do it letterboxed too.

Found These in my basement...Even Back then I thought to keep The OB and reels/spools, Now I really want to retrieve the print!

Posted by Tom Photiou (Member # 130) on February 10, 2018, 10:22 AM:

We also kept all the original boxes on this should we ever sell it. Those marketing cases were fantastic. [Wink]

Posted by Brian Fretwell (Member # 4302) on February 11, 2018, 04:02 AM:

I'm sure that when this was show on UK television, possibly for the first time, the print supplied was longer than the company expected. It over-ran its allocated time-slot by about 20 minutes.

Posted by Tom Photiou (Member # 130) on February 11, 2018, 01:27 PM:

Brian, i remember once a TV showing was the version with the extra footage. It was around 30 minutes longer than the theatrical version. I must admit though this 50 minute version is long enough for us. I did see it on its release in pictures and i was at times a bit bored. [Wink]

Posted by Rob Young. (Member # 131) on February 17, 2018, 02:24 AM:

Great review, Tom.

You just have to love those Marketing boxes. I still get quite excited seeing them and remembering as a kid gazing at them in the cine section of my mother's Marshall Ward catalogue...and the prices I could never afford...

I hired the 8mm many years back and found the fast pace and short running time (that of an episode!) actually improved the movie.
[Smile]

That said, the DVD Director's Version (Region 1) is worth seeing, as it was Robert Wise's chance to go back and re-edit, tightening it up and adding some of the more character driven scenes only previously seen the extremely lengthy extended TV version.

An effects company also re-did and added effects scenes which help matters, especially the finale when Vger launches the threat to Earth.

Sadly no HD version - rumour is the effects and re-edit were only rendered at 480 lines...Doh!!!

Posted by Martin Dew (Member # 5748) on February 17, 2018, 08:25 AM:

Rob, that is really sad to hear. I thought a UHD BD disc would eventually come out with both theatrical and DVD 2001 director's cuts, but that looks rather unlikely! How could they spend all that money on the director's cut and only render at 480? I sold my SD DVD of Wise's cut in the US, thinking it would certainly come out on BD.

Posted by Tom Photiou (Member # 130) on February 17, 2018, 09:44 AM:

Rob, i wish we could get all nice new marketing style boxes for all our super 8s. The library would look great.
Im surprised at the lack of a decent HD disc of this title, after all it was the first of the star treck films and was very talked about prior to its release which was a major event at the time.

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on February 17, 2018, 11:54 AM:

I forget who it is, but someone on this forum or elsewhere, makes his own reproductions of boxes (or brand new boxes that never existed before), and kind of follows the marketing look for his covers. They are very nice.

It's funny, I sold my "Raiders of ther Lost Ark" 400ft, but i recently dug out the original box for it, (Marketing), now I'm wishing that i had the film in it. [Confused]

Posted by Martin Dew (Member # 5748) on February 17, 2018, 05:15 PM:

Yes, the Marketing boxes are great. Still have the box for the 1 x 400' STTMP trailer/cutdown thingie reel (complete with score from Marathon Man mixed in!).

Tom, the Paramount BD of the theatrical release is stunning, and the 7.1 audio is booming.

Posted by Tom Photiou (Member # 130) on February 18, 2018, 04:21 AM:

Thanks Martin, i think i'll give that a whirl. [Wink]

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