Watching the evolution of Star Trek is like watching the evolution of James Bond. It's not out of place that it's been more than 50 years since Gene Roddenberry launched America's most celebrated era of science fiction movies. In 1966, he launched the first episode of the series with the first pilot, The Cage. Still with Captain Pike,but already with Spock, played for almost 50 years by Leonard Nimoy.
Over the course of almost 80 episodes and 3 years there have been many stories, many mysterious encounters with aliens, threats to the Enterprise, the planets and the universe. The series ended, but thanks to the fan base, a new series, called Phase II, was started, which eventually ended up being the first film.
In 1977, another Sci-Fi film (Star Wars) came to cinemas, proving that the genre was not dead. The producers of the Star Trek series therefore couldn't pass up the opportunity to revive the whole phenomenon. They took the first story from the upcoming series and expanded it into a movie. The actors who were already contracted to form the original Phase II crew were placed in either the same characters (Ilia) or cameo roles (Lieutenant Xon – Commander Branche, commander of Epsilon 9 monitoring station)
For a long time, the producers deliberated over who to choose as director, but in the end chose Robert Wise, who seemed the right fit. Robert Wise had already made a science fiction film in 1951 (The Day the Earth Stood Still), and his two Oscars in 1962 (West Side Story) and 1966 (To the Sound of Music) were an adequate testament to his experience.
The first arrival of the entire main crew, James T. Kirk (William Shatner), the first officer, Vulcan Spock (Leonard Nimoy), chief medical officer Dr. Leonard McCoy (DeForest Kelley) and others like Uhura,Chekov and even Janice Rand, was spectacular. It was one of the most successful films of 1979 when it premiered.
Compared to the new Star Trek films by J. J. Abrams' new Star Trek movies, the whole film is of a completely different style. It's a film with no phasers. It's like 2001's Space Odyssey, where the appropriately chosen music and plot make the film a visual and aural opera. An opera in space, with Jerry Goldsmith's music playing instead of arias, and spaceships dancing in space instead of people singing in an opera house or ballet. The film is non-action, only performed by actors. But the best gimmicks at the time (right after Star Wars) play a primary role, which is not lost even after more than 30 years. Computers didn't exist at the time, so everything is done with the old optical method and doodling.
When the first film arrived on DVD in 2002, it was edited, lightly edited, and some of the better tricks were added using computers. This didn't detract from the film, only enhanced it, as the filmmakers themselves, with the supervision of the director, tried to keep the original analogue form. It's just a great pity that the new cut, including the tricks, was made for DVD only, and so we don't get to enjoy a slightly better film in the director's cut on Blu-ray.
In a comparison of Star Trek's original crew and the alternate crew directed by J. J. Abrams, the 1st film comes out better. But it's incomparable in terms of the current modern trend of movies, CGI gimmicks, and most importantly, a new era without the division of the world by the "Iron Curtain". It's wonderful that a 1979 film can still get some people to marvel at the infinite universe and its boundaries.
Photo © Paramount Pictures
Original release of this article October 18, 2021 – Kritiky.cz
