Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan Director's Cut Blu-ray

David Jimerson

David Jimerson

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Is fantastic. The movie has never looked or sounded better. They did a brand new 4K transfer, and everything is crisp; the colors are brilliant, and you will see details you've never noticed before. Watching it was ALMOST like watching it for that first time. Goosebumps. Really.

The disc contains both the original theatrical cut and the director's cut; both have the same transfer. It's nice to have both versions on the same disc, which we never had on DVD.

Of note -- Nicholas Meyer's commentary on the director's cut version is one of the most insightful commentaries I've listened to. I THINK it's the same one he did for the special edition DVD, but if you want to get inside the mind of a brilliant director, get some deep insights into the filmmaking process, and generally find some inspiration, there are few better examples.
 
Is it just a 4K transfer, or is it actually one of the new 4K Blu-Rays?

Also, just glanced at the reviews on Amazon - they're saying there are some QC issues with audio & some footage in the Kobayashi Maru footage is repeated?
 
It's a 1080p Blu-ray.

On Amazon, they say

1) there's a repeated shot during the Kobayashi Maru scene in the director's cut. I've watched it three times now (I watched it straight; I watched it with the director's commentary, and I watched it with the text commentary), and I've never noticed it, but I haven't gone back to look for it specifically. If there's a "glitch", it's hardly noticeable. I notice things. If it's there, it's not a problem.

And

2) That a line of dialogue is missing from a shot. But it's a line that the director, Nicholas Meyer, requested be removed. So that's not a glitch; it's what the director actually wanted. Not least because the actors are obviously not actually saying anything in that shot.

In all honesty, though, I prefer the theatrical cut. Yeah, I like seeing some of the added footage, but I do think it's largely superfluous. And he actually chose different takes for a couple of scenes, and I think those takes are the weaker takes.

EDIT: OK, I went back and looked for the "repeat shot" glitch, and it's there, on both the director's cut and theatrical cut. But here's why I didn't notice it: it's not something where it skips back and repeats a shot, like, you know, music and dialogue are repeated. When Sulu says "May I remind the captain . . . " that line is spoken over a repeat of a shot used a minute earlier. But it's the exact same camera angle as the shot which should be there, and it goes on for exactly the same length of time, and Sulu is facing away from the camera while he "speaks," so it's really, really easy to miss that it happens. It doesn't spoil anything. If you've never seen the movie before, you wouldn't know anything was wrong. You may notice a continuity jump when the angle switches -- he goes from facing the viewscreen to suddenly facing Saavik in the command chair -- but there are actually continuity jumps in the film (which have always been there) which are worse.

Would I prefer the glitch not be there? Sure. Would I take a corrected replacement if they offered? Sure. Is it worth getting into high dudgeon about in and of itself? I don't think so. And I'm particular.
 
Thanks for digging into that, David.

I'm still rocking an old 720p plasma for my movie viewing, so I'll probably snag this when this set gives up the ghost & I upgrade.
 
Update to the Blu-ray glitch -- Paramount offers exchanges for affected discs; I got mine replaced. It was pretty smooth and no cost to me.

Any version with a yellow frame around the UPC is updated and doesn't need replacing.
 
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