Star Trek: The Motion Picture turned 40 years old this year. Perhaps one of the least-loved, yet utterly successful films that spawned multiple sequels in the last few decades, The Motion Picture is a bit of conundrum. While it is rooted in the same universe as shows and movies that came before and after it, it has a markedly different look and feel than much of the rest of the Star Trek canon. This makes it something of an odd man out. At the same time, it’s a movie that tried to express a number of character and plot ideas that were used again with much more success in other adventures in the Star Trek universe.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the theatrical release of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, which saw the crew of TV’s Star Trek make the leap onto the big screen. Now, Fathom Events and Paramount Pictures is bringing the film back to theaters nationwide for 2 days only this September.
Theaters nationwide will be showing the film on Sunday, September 15 and Wednesday, September 18, 2019, and will include a screening of the behind-the-scenes documentary short “The Longest Trek: Writing the Motion Picture.”
Daren R. Dochterman, a concept and storyboard artist and production illustrator, has worked on many notable feature films from recent years, from David Fincher’s breakthrough movie Seven to the 2010 sci-fi sequel Tron: Legacy. But as a visual effects artist he supervised the updating of the effects work for the 2001 Director’s Edition DVD restoration of Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
Most recently Dochterman has undertaken an ambitious high-definition reconstruction and restoration of the television spots from the original theatrical release of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, which he has been uploading to his YouTube channel.
You can watch the eight restored TV spots uploaded so far here below.
Students of the Unusual™ comic cover used with permission of 3BoysProductions
The Mercuri Bros.™ comic cover used with permission of Prodigal Son Press