Star Trek IV - The Voyage Home (Two-Disc Special Collector's Edition)

Having restored Spock's (Leonard Nimoy) life via the Genesis planet and a return to the planet Vulcan during the third film, the crew of the lost U.S.S. Enterprise now waits on Vulcan for repairs on their captured Klingon scout-class ship, as well as for Spock to retrain his mind, before returning to Earth to face various charges for having disobeyed orders. The crew includes Admiral James T. Kirk (William Shatner), Dr. Leonard 'Bones' McCoy (DeForest Kelley), Commander Montgomery 'Scotty' Scott (James Doohan), Commader Hikaru Sulu (George Takei), Commander Pavel Chekov (Walter Koenig) and Commander Uhura (Nichelle Nichols). The Klingons are also very angry with Kirk as expressed by the Klingon Ambassador (John Schuck) to the Federation President (Robert Ellenstein) in front of the full Federation Council, but the cool logic of Vulcan Ambassador Sarek (Mark Lenard) prevails. While on Vulcan, Spock gets to spend time with his human mother, Amanda (Jane Wyatt, who once played his mother in the 1967 "Star Trek" television series episode "Journey to Babel"). Also, a brief appearance is made by Lt. Saavic (Robin Curtis), who unfortunately never returns in any other "Star Trek" film. With their Klingon ship ready for departure, Spock and his Enterprise shipmates begin their voyage to Earth; but unknown to them, a bizarre space probe also en route for Earth has been wreaking havoc on any ship that approaches it. Arriving at Earth first, the probe turns Earth's atmosphere into chaos as it waits for a signal that the Federation cannot discern. Receiving a planetary distress call from Earth, Spock identifies what the probe wants: communication with long extinct whales. To save Earth, Kirk makes the decision for them to travel back in time to bring back whales to the present.

"Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" has more memorable scenes than could be mentioned here, but some of the best include: McCoy's conversations with Spock, the crew on the streets of twentieth-century San Francisco, Uhura and Chekov looking for nuclear vessels, McCoy and Scotty visiting the production facility, Kirk & Spock on a city bus, Kirk & Spock's conversations with Dr. Gillian Taylor (Catherine Hicks), Kirk's dinner with Gillian, and McCoy with Kirk & Gillian at the city hospital. Everyone's acting (including Shatner) was very good for this film, but what makes this film stand out from the rest is the emphasis on all of the original crew members. Each of the crew members have time on screen, contribute to the story and have a reasonable amount of dialog. Other familiar "Star Trek" characters have cameos in the film: Dr. Christine Chapel (Majel Barrett) and Janice Rand (Grace Lee Whitney). Another cast member in this film who later plays a pivotal role in the sixth "Star Trek" film is Admiral Cartwright (Brock Peters).

Overall, my rating of for "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" is a resounding 5 out of 5 stars. This film, along with the 1982 film "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn" and the later 1996 film "Star Trek VIII: First Contact", are the three best films ever made of the franchise; but this film will always stand out as being the most humorous, having the best & most memorable dialog and having the greatest spirit of the three. I highly recommend it to everyone who, in any form, has liked "Star Trek".


One of the best of the original six!   September 4, 2002
K. Wyatt (St. Louis, MO United States)
17 out of 18 found this review helpful

Star Trek IV The Voyage Home, in my opinion, is clearly one of the best out of the TOS six. Although not as high in the suspense aspect, like Leonard Nimoy says, it was good to lighten up a bit and have a good time with Star Trek. While other reviewers might feel the humurous aspects of this film wearout after repeated viewings. I understand that statement, but don't feel the same. I can still get a laugh out of these scenes even though I've seen them more times than I can remember. I especially love the scene with Scotty being handed a mouse and him trying to talk to it. Again, one of the best Star Trek films out of the original six. If you're one of the few people who've not seen this or are new to the genre, I definitely suggest you add this DVD to your collection.


Fellow Trek Fans, Please Don't Get Mad at Me...   April 23, 2000
Mike (Lauging at the basement-dwelling slack jawed yokels)
15 out of 20 found this review helpful

Star Trek IV is my least-favorite of all the films. (OH MY GOD! Is this guy crazy? )

I know, I know! It was fun and original and blah, blah, blah. Im not saying I hated it, but I just don't enjoy this type of Star Trek story. I think the film is very funny, light, and entertaining. I thoroughly enjoyed it when I first saw it. Unfortunately, the comedy aspects wear off in repeat viewings and you're left with a mediocre story with no real suspense or drama.

There are some priceless scenes, but many other parts of it are dull and slightly corny. The "science fiction" aspect of the previous movies has become more like "science fantasy" in "The Voyage Home".

William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy are fun to watch together, and the best parts of the movie are the 15 to 20 minutes where the crew splits up into groups to solve different problems. It's interesting to see the co-stars off on their own interacting without Captain Kirk leading the way.

Other than those high-points, this is pretty average. The DVD is weak as far as extras go, which I think is the main reason for buying them. The behind-the-scenes featurette is off the Director's Series VHS tape (which I own), so don't give Paramount too much credit!

Those demanding extras on Star Trek DVD's can e mail them by going to:

homevideo@pde.paramount.com


Seeing it for the first time.   December 27, 1999
Michael Kukielka (Rochester Hills, Michigan)
12 out of 13 found this review helpful

I was completely astounded by the quality of this DVD. This is the first time Paramount has used a dual-layered disc for the "Star Trek" films. The quality is 2 times better than the other Trek DVDs because they use 2 times the data. It's unfortunate that Paramount didn't have the foresight to use dual layered discs for their other Trek DVDs. Popping this DVD in the player was like watching the movie for the first time. The sound quality and picture quality is absolutely flawless. The quality of the transfer is remarkable. I've been use to watching the film on fuzzy VHS and poor quality broadcasts, so this was an exciting discovery for me. I can't wait for the ST III to come out on DVD, I'm sure the film quality will also be a big improvement. Go buy this DVD, you haven't seen this film until you buy it.


Star Trek IV, the "Special" Edition   February 16, 2003
F. Mull
12 out of 18 found this review helpful

Why is the Special Edition 9 minutes SHORTER than the regular edition??? Don't special editions normally have EXTRA footage, not have footage cut out??? Maybe that is why the Special Edition is [less expensive] than the regular edition, they cut out the 9 most expensive minutes!

I would be hesitant to buy this until I found out what they cut out and why.