Audience Reaction(s) at Theaters

I've seen all the movies bar 'The Final Frontier' and 'Nemesis', but the one movie that sticks out to me is seeing 'The Undiscovered Country' opening night in a packed theater and the cheer that erupted from the crowd when Sulu said, 'Target that explosion and fire'.
That and the standing ovation when the cast signatures came up at the end.

 

Seen each movie at the cinema (at the time ) except TMP (and that I saw as part of a marathon I-IV showing in 87) but don't recall any audience reaction for any. With the first few films was probably too young to remember. Maybe there was some lolling in TVH, some sniggers n TFF, but can't be certain. I do remember some guy leaning forward during the space walk scene in FC like he wanted to give it his complete attention take it all in and not miss anything. Oh and the I-IVshowing had 4 guys dressed in TWOK uniforms I guess that counts.. don't recall anything during the JJ films. Maybe my audiences were too engrossed to do anything

 

In 1989, there really were no online reviews...and most of the reviews for TFF didn't hit until after the movie premiered. It had a record-breaking opening, and then stalled once bad word or mouth and reviews hit.

Are you sure you're remembering this correctly?

 

I remember watching Generations at the cinema with my grandmother who, at the time, was in her late 70s. When the Torpedo hit the BoP and killed the Duras sisters, she jumped up, shook her fist and shouted

"Take that, you Klingon basta*ds!"

 

Because I detest crowds, I see most movies during the day, at least a week after opening. As you can imagine, there were very few reactions at all, and nothing comes to mind. That said, there were two notable exceptions that I did weather the crowds to see: Star Trek VI in '91 (which was the second trek movie I saw in theaters), and JJ Abrams' Star Trek in 2009.

Star Trek VI was just amazing. People started lining up more than eight hours before opening to get in. The line wrapped around the theater three or four times. Everybody was jazzed to be there.

I remember lots of shushing when the Paramount logo began, and more than a few murmurs if intrigue with Cliff Eidelman's very mysterious score started playing. Cheers for the first appearance of Captain Sulu. Laughter at "Only Nixon could go to China." A mix of shock and agreement at "Let them die!" Chuckles as Valeris reminded Kirk about using thrusters in spacedock. After that, it was mostly quiet until McCoy's "What IS it with you anyway?" which provoked loud guffaws. Cheers for "Target that explosion and Fire!" and tears and sniffles at the final signatures appearing on screen. And not one person left until the credits had finished rolling.

Star Trek '09 was really quiet after the opening teaser. You could feel the energy from everybody in the room during that act. Lots of murmurs, and talking, most of it positive. One person I recall saying "They really got the feel of Star Trek with this. It's amazing!" There were even sniffles as George Kirk heroically met his end. After that, though, almost complete silence. No laughs. No cheers. No leaning in chairs. Nothing. The next thing of note I recall about that film was in the bathroom after it ended; a couple of kids talking like a pair of street thugs, saying that 'this Star Trek shit ain't half bad'."

 

They definitely had read or heard some reviews -- maybe it was television (thought it was Roger Ebert's), but I remembered it as online. It's also possible that we didn't go to see it on the first day, but rather a few days later, which would have provided more opportunity.

Edited to add:
You know, there was some "internet" back in '89. Maybe not PCs and Macs, YouTube or Google, but rather TRS-80, Atari and Commodore, with CompuServe and Q-Link on 300-baud (or worse) modems. Some people really did review things online.
I think.

 

On the opening night of TVH, there were so many Seattle fans lined up outside the theater that I jokingly dubbed it "Sidewalk-Con." We were actually having such a good time hanging out and schmoozing, despite some persistent drizzle, that I remember being slightly disappointed when the doors opened and they started letting people in.

But then we all saw and enjoyed the movie, so all was well.

 

People laughed in The Undiscovered Country, when McCoy said to Kirk "What is it with you." when he kissed Martia.

Generations, people loved when Data pushed Dr. Crusher in the water.

During First Contact, I remember people laughing at Troi's line about Zephrame Cochran being nuts. I also remember someone groaning when it was revealed that Vulcans were the first contact aliens.

When I saw Insurrection in the theater I remember the crowd laughing at all the jokes in the film. I also remember when Troi and Riker rekindled their relationship, a girl turned to her friend and said she thought Troi was suppose to be with Worf.

With Nemesis, I remember one person sighing loudly about 15 minutes in and then leaving the theater.

I saw Star Trek 09 in the theater, but I honestly can't remember any specific reactions good or bad with this film.

I remember hearing a few grumbles and groans watching Into Darkness with Kirk's death and Spock yelling "Khhhaaann!!"

 

The audience stood up and applauded? I saw it the next day, twice, and there was no such reaction.

 

Back in those days, there were IBM Compatibles (what they used to call PC's) and Macs. The Internet was mainly comprised of Gopher sites for content and FTP for file transfers. Independent BBSes, that weren't directly connected to the Internet, were also very popular. I really miss that time before the Internet became sensationalized and commercialized.

 

Cross my heart, the audience (which, mind you, was packed with local Trek fan clubs who had bought tickets in advance) stood up and cheered.

Maybe opening night brought out the hardcore fans who HAD to see the very first showing and couldn't wait until the the next day?

 

I certainly believe it. It is, without a doubt, the most beautiful scene in the entire franchise.

 

And remember that, at that point in history, we hadn't seen the Enterprise in live-action for more than a decade--and never on the big screen before.

Nowadays, after all the subsequent movies and TV spin-offs, just seeing the Enterprise on screen may not have the same impact it had back in 1979. Remember, the very of idea of more Star Trek had seemed like an endlessly deferred pipe dream in the years preceding. This was the culmination of years of fannish hoping and lobbying . . . .

"The Enterprise! It's back! It's finally back . . . and not just as a cartoon!"

 

Seeing the movie Enterprise for the first time must've been akin to seeing the Enterprise for real. Like this is what its supposed to look like all along, and as if you were there in the shuttle. Those FX were state of the art no expense spared . The iconic never heard before Goldsmith theme. No surprise fans lost their s#@t when seeing it first time

 

This was very similar to my experience. I've seen all Treks in the theater except the first three, and VI was the only one where the audience treated it as a special event. It was the first time I'd seen such a long line for a movie, and somehow I got in before it sold out.

I guess you could describe it as an atmosphere of bonhomie. Complete strangers bonded together to share the emotional highs and lows of the movie. It was almost euphoric. To date, I've never experienced anything quite like it in the theater. This, combined with the fact that the movie totally washed the taste of Star Trek V out of my mouth, put Star Trek VI as my favorite Trek film for quite a while afterward.

As a result, when Generations came out, I went in expecting a similar experience. The theater was hardly packed and everyone sat in silence as the awfulness unfolded. Even though I went on to greatly enjoy the later seasons of DS9, Trek was never the same for me again.

 

I was asking in the event he was engaging in hyperbole.

 

The Voyage Home really sticks in my mind. Lots of laughter from a packed house. In fact i saw it about three times. It seemed really special at the time.

 

I've just remembered that when i saw First Contact back in 96 and Robert Picardo appeared every one clapped and cheered !