(VERSION 2.1 NOW AVAILABLE - check last post for info!)

Hey everybody, long-time lurker, first-time poster, and I figured I’d start off with a bang.

I just finished my first fan edit of a film, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, one of the films that got me into filmmaking and editing. When I was a kid, I knew there was something ‘wrong’ with the movie, so I took two VCRs and tried to cut it down a couple of times. I always had a project like this in the back of my head for the past 25 years or so and now I finally did it. And just in time for the 40th anniversary of the film!

Here’s a rundown of the edit:

STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE - 40TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION v1.0 BY BAD ATOM

This cut is based on the Blu-ray version of the theatrical cut of the film with the 5.1 sound mix. While I would have liked to have included footage from the Special Longer Version (SLV) and the Director’s Edition (DE), that material does not yet exist in high enough quality to make use of without the transitions being too jarring. Some of the edits are similar to what was previously done on the DE. I also would have liked to include some elements of the DE sound mix, but I would need to separate and recut many of them and decided to stick with the original audio for this version. The goal with this cut was to find a balance between the many versions of the film without making too many drastic changes and restoring the original look and feel of the film.

LIST OF SIGNIFICANT CHANGES:

Overture removed
Opening titles recolored to yellow/gold - in between the yellow of the Original Series titles and the gold of the DE
Starfield added to opening titles
ST:TMP title zooms in as it does in the DE
Opening titles reframed to be properly centered.
Opening titles retimed to better fit the score
Klingon subtitles added, based on SLV font with original capitalization
Epsilon 9 establishing shots trimmed, astronaut shots switched as in the DE
First shot of Spock on Vulcan removed
Vulcan subtitles added, based on original theatrical font and wording
Slight zoom effect on UFP logo
Floating office - Kirk’s transporter entrance trimmed
Travel pod reflections added on most shots, closeup of Kirk similar to the DE
Last flyby shot color-corrected (reds in shot were originally green, an error)
Kirk’s “Oh my God” removed
“Decker unit” covered up
82 AUs is now 2AUs
Astronaut escaping V’ger effect slightly altered to make clear he was hit/engulfed
Slight zoom in on last viewscreen shot and Kirk’s reaction
Second “Viewer off” removed
Bridge establishing shot and Chekov’s line removed (ADR and he’s clearly not saying the line in the shot)
Closeups of Ilia now have a slight soft-focus filter similar to the Original Series but more subtle. This is consistent throughout until she is zapped and is not used for her reappearance as the probe
McCoy’s transporter entrance trimmed
Shots of Ilia and Decker inserted as Enterprise passes Jupiter, as in the DE
Slight trims to wormhole sequence, including shot of Ilia shaking after the explosion
Vulcan shuttle approach shortened
Spock sending signal to V’ger, shots trimmed to minimize shaky frames
Major trims and switched out/shortened reaction shots to cloud journey - some shots sped up by 1.3x to 1.8x - approximately 90 seconds shorter in total
Kirk and Sulu’s lines about magnification removed
Major trims and shortened reaction shots to V’ger flyover - some shots sped up by 1.5x to 2x - approximately 105 seconds shorter in total
Increased brightness as V’ger probe approaches
Cleanup and recomposite of V’ger probe in all shots - brighter, more consistent energy core
“Negative control at helm” shortened
Shots of Enterprise entrance inside V’ger and viewscreen shots trimmed
Shots of tractor beam and photic sonar displays removed
Slight zoom in on Decker’s reaction to the Ilia-probe
V’ger now visible in windows of rec deck scene, similar to DE with colors more closely matching previous exterior shots
Mirror shots of Ilia slightly softened
Thruster suit vocal instructions removed
Slight reflection added to Spock’s helmet in one shot
Shots of multiple planets sped up so animation no longer appears slowed-down
Scene with Spock being ejected from V’ger and Kirk catching him removed
Kirk grabbing Spock, McCoy trimmed down, similar to DE
Shots of V’ger energy bolts firing flipped upside down, similar to DE
Approach to V’ger island, viewscreen shots trimmed
Shot of saucer hatch opening sped up 2x
Slight trims and moved reaction shots between Decker and Ilia by V’ger
Starfield continues to move under THE HUMAN ADVENTURE title
THE HUMAN ADVENTURE title and end credits also recolored to yellow/gold

Color regraded throughout to remove blue tint from Blu-ray version - color timing now more consistent with DE look

Slight film grain/noise added to make up for excessive DNR on Blu-ray transfer

Many scenes have very slight trims between shots, a few frames here and there, many of them to remove frame movement between cuts that existed on the original reels.

FINAL RUNTIME: 121 minutes, 4 seconds

To compare:
Theatrical cut: 132 minutes
Director’s Edition: 136 minutes
Special Longer Version: 143 minutes

This entire project took approximately 20 hours over a period of four days. Any comments would be appreciated. At some point I might revisit it if and when HD-quality footage becomes available for the DE and SLV scenes, and to possibly work on the sound mix. Anyone interested in watching it, please PM me, I will try to respond as quickly as possible.