Star Trek VI - The best looking film?

[Commander Kielbasa]

Rewatching Star Trek VI, I have to say I noticed a few things:

-The color grading and lighting were perfect, and sadly, none of the other films of the original cast match up to it. It could easily be a modern film.
-Special effects were perfect as well as sets.
-The costumes were on point, and their color seemed to be toned down from the 'lobster red' of the earlier films.
-The appearance of all the actors was perfect. Kirk, for the first time since The Motion Picture, actually looked what an older Kirk would look like: Perfect weight, face not any hint of flab (He looked kinda puffy in IV), no silly TJ hooker perm; McCoy looked great; Spock looked like Spock; no crazy afro on Uhura or her gheri curl like in the 80s films; Even Chekhov and Sulu looked dignified and classy, whereas in say, II, Chekhov was a still goofy but older version of himself.

It feels like every element clicked together in this film, and it makes me sad since this was the last with the original cast. It's like they fixed every aesthetic error which plagued the 80s films...but too late.

Also, going back to the color tones and image: I'm not an expert on color grading, but VI seems to have a perfect balance of colors to create a vibrant but not overly colorful image. The film stock seems to have been of higher quality too, giving a more crisp image.

Each film seems to have had its own unique color palette:
-The Motion Picture, being made in the 70s, has a very brown/Earth tone color set
-II seems to be very harsh, red and browns and harsh colors.
-III and IV seem to be very blue in terms of the color grading, especially IV, I suppose going with the ocean theme of the film
-V is all over the place

If someone who is more of an expert on color grading/timing could weigh in and explain what I said better, I'd appreciate that.

But does anyone else agree that not only does the cast look the best in VI out of the films, but that the other aspects I mentioned were finally "just right"?

Kirk literally looks just like an older, dignified version of the guy we saw back in 1966 here.

Same for Uhura and Chekhov

Grumpy old Bones is Grumpy old Bones - perfect

Compare say to themselves and the look of IV:

Or II

Or I:

 

[plynch]

Well, in vi they're old instead of that gray area of lost youth, but not yet senior. It makes sense in my head. And yes the photography is very good, at least in those samples.

 

[FormerLurker]

TMP was a (sometimes) vain attempt to make the cast look just a couple of years older, rather than the decade older IRL. The bland, pastel palette they were walking around wearing didn't do the attempt any favors, nor did the sterile grey (or grey-looking) sets they were standing on.

 

[STEPhon IT]

Rewatching Star Trek VI, I have to say I noticed a few things:

-The color grading and lighting were perfect, and sadly, none of the other films of the original cast match up to it. It could easily be a modern film.
-Special effects were perfect as well as sets.
-The costumes were on point, and their color seemed to be toned down from the 'lobster red' of the earlier films.
-The appearance of all the actors was perfect. Kirk, for the first time since The Motion Picture, actually looked what an older Kirk would look like: Perfect weight, face not any hint of flab (He looked kinda puffy in IV), no silly TJ hooker perm; McCoy looked great; Spock looked like Spock; no crazy afro on Uhura or her gheri curl like in the 80s films; Even Chekhov and Sulu looked dignified and classy, whereas in say, II, Chekhov was a still goofy but older version of himself.

It feels like every element clicked together in this film, and it makes me sad since this was the last with the original cast. It's like they fixed every aesthetic error which plagued the 80s films...but too late.

Also, going back to the color tones and image: I'm not an expert on color grading, but VI seems to have a perfect balance of colors to create a vibrant but not overly colorful image. The film stock seems to have been of higher quality too, giving a more crisp image.

Each film seems to have had its own unique color palette:
-The Motion Picture, being made in the 70s, has a very brown/Earth tone color set
-II seems to be very harsh, red and browns and harsh colors.
-III and IV seem to be very blue in terms of the color grading, especially IV, I suppose going with the ocean theme of the film
-V is all over the place

If someone who is more of an expert on color grading/timing could weigh in and explain what I said better, I'd appreciate that.

But does anyone else agree that not only does the cast look the best in VI out of the films, but that the other aspects I mentioned were finally "just right"?

Kirk literally looks just like an older, dignified version of the guy we saw back in 1966 here.

Same for Uhura and Chekhov

Grumpy old Bones is Grumpy old Bones - perfect

Compare say to themselves and the look of IV:

Or II

Or I:

Aspect ratio appeared to be all over the place in every new version of the movie I'd seen. The sets looked liked sets something I got from another Meyer film TWOK in particular in the Regula scenes. Particular scenes like the Kitamer conference, Rura Pentha penal colony just wasn't thought through, I didn't like how obvious TNG sets were, I mean there's an earlier scene where Kirk is dishing out his Captain's Log in his cabin and the access door is open to see TNG corridor present as he walks to his closet. I disagree the cast looked their best in their final outing, IMO I thought the crew looked their best in TMP and TWOK, 1. the outfits in TMP appeared comfortable for the actors--ALL OF THEM, and 2. in TWOK although the cast were quite fit in the film and could bare those impractical outfits I thought they looked decent, but as the series progressed and the actors' waist lines increased the outfits appeared cumbersome.

I get this is a fan-loved thread of VI, but it can only be best looking when the person lacks knowledge of superior filmmaking, or what examples of superior cinematography and camera work looks like. Robert Wise may have made a snore of a movie but no way is that movie not superior than whatever Nicholas Meyer could execute as a director or a visionary in camera work and execution. No! Sorry. TMP just needed more editing to keep it's pace a lot better. Look at TSFS and I can see the flaws of a director who was working the bugs on his craft, and then came TVH and Leonard Nimoy not only mastered his craft in all aspects of movie making but orchestrated a masterpiece which is timeless. From sound, cinematography and execution, what a drastic improvement- - what my man would call "A drop the mic" moment.

VI doesn't remotely covers the qualities described from the host, it doesn't and I like this movie. When looking at TWOK, Meyer appeared to be an up and coming director, but contrasting it to TUC there appeared to be a decline in visual storytelling and execution. It felt more like a play than a motion picture and it's saving grace was having a lot coverage for the editor, the real hero of this mess, to make it barely work. SFX shouldn't be the end all to save a picture, it should compliment it but what would VI be if it had the guys who did V SFX???

I know it's just an opinion and beauty is in the eye of the beholder but these samples just proves you like bad looking movies.

 

[XCV330]

starting off with the opening credits, I think TWOK sets the tone much better. I know TMP/TNG theme has its fans, but to me the movie starts out a bit brash. It's got one foot in the past in old epic filmmaking and one color coordinated tan boot reaching for the disco floor or Enterprise. The look that TMP was bound up in was already on the way out when the movie was filmed. It's the 50 year old divorce that rode his Mustang II too late to the disco for the first time, the day before they turned it into a new wave club. At least the titles didn't have some round bulbous 70's thing going on. I have to believe TMP sets smelled of Hai Karate.

I digress. The credits. TWOK gets down to business with that score and lets you know some bad-ass moments are going to go down later on. There's some wrath to be had. Later on 3, 4, and even 6 just cant compare to those credits and they just seem a bit episodic. I am leaving TFF out of my discussions as its the worst of anything in any kind of comparison I could make. It's not even worth it for me to discuss.



The lighting IS harsher in TWOK, I agree, but its reasonable considering the more martial aspect of the film. I think it compares well enough with VI. 3 spends a lot of time in reused sets and footage, saving a lot of money, and the studio set for planet Genesis i suppose could look a little quaint now, but for everyone who'd spent years watching reruns, it was cool, a TOS tyle landing party mission in some ways complete with rubber bugs and worm things. 4 is an outlier due to so much of its scenes filmed in modern settings. Some of it looks TWOK'ish but most is all on its own. I do think on the whole TWOK looks better then TUC.

 

[X24actor]

Technical details. Star Trek VI was indeed shot on a higher quality film called Super 35. It's designed to be matted to a 2.35:1 aspect ratio for cinemas, and completely opened up for home video release. Films shot on Super 35 have slightly less detail in the cinema presentation compared to traditionally shot Star Trek movies, but it is made up for with it's inherent sharpness, and much higher depth of focus.

The SFX were shot on Vistavision cameras, which is even higher quality.

The director's edition of Star Trek VI is in a 2:1 aspect ratio, providing more image area than the theatrical version, but still less than the VHS.


Other films shot on Super 35:
First two Harry Potter films
Terminator 2
Titanic
All three Austin Powers

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

The best looking of the old school Trek films is still The Motion Picture. It's the only one of those movies that has the scope of a big-budget feature. The rest of the 80s-90s Trek movies look like B-movies, which they kinda were.

 

[F. King Daniel]

The Motion Picture is the best looking Trek film until 2009. Big epic vistas, Starfleet command in all it's glory.

STVI is shot nicely, but it's micro budget is immediately obvious.

 

[Smellmet]

The best looking of the old school Trek films is still The Motion Picture. It's the only one of those movies that has the scope of a big-budget feature. The rest of the 80s-90s Trek movies look like B-movies, which they kinda were.

Agree with this, TMP was a grand looking movie, but I still kind of agree with the OP at the same time. I always liked the look of TUC, I thought the sets combined with the lighting looked more realistic than in II-V.

 

[JonnyQuest037]

I agree that STVI was probably the best-looking film of the original movies. The production design was great. The bridge looks far better than it did in STV (My least-favorite bridge design from the films). The more cramped & metallic design on board the Enterprise looks more militaristic, perfect for the story. The Excelsior bridge looks like a credible midpoint between the TOS films and the TNG aesthetic. There's great use of locations in the Starfleet briefing scene & the Khitomer conference finale, giving them more bang for the buck. The Klingon courtroom looks great. The UFP President's office is an inventive redress of Ten-Forward from TNG.

The second unit shots from Alaska for the escape from Rura Penthe are absolutely gorgeous, giving the film a more epic scope. And there's great makeup and costume design. The new Klingon uniforms look great, and there are some really inventive aliens at the Khitomer conference and Rura Penthe. There's a good matte painting for the exterior of the Khitomer conference. The effects for the Praxis explosion and the shockwave are so iconic that ILM ripped themselves off a few years later to use them for the Death Star explosion in the Special Edition of Star Wars.

And I agree that all of the actors look good and the hairstyles haven't dated. Shatner's weight is at a reasonable level, and I like the little flecks of grey he has in his hair (They went missing when he filmed Generations, though.) He looks like a gracefully-aged version of the guy we saw on TOS. Uhura isn't sporting the unfortunate afro or Jheri curl hairstyles of previous films, or the unflattering grey hair of STV. Takei looks great, and seems newly-energized by his character's promotion.

Yeah, the movie's not flawless. Valeris' mismatched uniform bugs me and sometimes the TNG sets are too obvious, but overall, I think the film looks great. TMP has an epic scope, great set design, and some great cinematography that the other films lack, but the soft focus and the unflattering 70s style, footie pajama uniforms keep the film from looking as good as it could be. Most of the other TOS movies look like TV episodes with slightly bigger budgets. TUC has the scope of a movie.

 

[WarpFactorZ]

I do like the look of TUC, and feel that each film has its own particular image. TMP was the big bash that started it off -- a multi-million dollar, big picture epic with a budget that was clearly evident. TWOK took a sharp downturn in look, but it was matched by a good story. TSFS and TVH clearly showed they were mid-80s films, from costumes to hairdos. TFF suffered the misfortune of a horrible FX house and budget mismanagement.

I also appreciate the age of the actors in TUC, and how it relates to the story. This is the end -- they're done. They just bought a boat, for frack's sake! It bookended the series nicely. I wish Generations had never happened.

 

[JonnyQuest037]

I wish Generations had never happened.

Agreed. If they couldn't do a big crossover film with everybody all together, it wasn't worth doing.

 

[Smellmet]

I agree that STVI was probably the best-looking film of the original movies. The production design was great. The bridge looks far better than it did in STV (My least-favorite bridge design from the films). The more cramped & metallic design on board the Enterprise looks more militaristic, perfect for the story. The Excelsior bridge looks like a credible midpoint between the TOS films and the TNG aesthetic. There's great use of locations in the the Starfleet briefing scene & the Khitomer conference finale, giving them more bang for the buck. The Klingon courtroom looks great. The UFP President's office is an inventive redress of Ten-Forward from TNG.

The second unit shots from Alaska for the escape from Rura Penthe are absolutely gorgeous, giving the film a more epic scope. And there's great makeup and costume design. The new Klingon uniforms look great, and there are some really inventive aliens at the Khitomer conference and Rura Penthe. There's a good matte painting for the exterior of the Khitomer conference. The effects for the Praxis explosion and the shockwave are so iconic that ILM ripped themselves off a few years later to use them for the Death Star explosion in the Special Edition of Star Wars.

And I agree that all of the actors look good and the hairstyles haven't dated. Shatner's weight is at a reasonable level, and I like the little flecks of grey he has in his hair (They went missing when he filmed Generations, though.) He looks like a gracefully-aged version of the guy we saw on TOS. Uhura isn't sporting the unfortunate afro or Jheri curl hairstyles of previous films, or the unflattering grey hair of STV. Takei looks great, and seems newly-energized by his character's promotion.

Yeah, the movie's not flawless. Valeris' mismatched uniform bugs me and sometimes the TNG sets are too obvious, but overall, I think the film looks great. TMP has an epic scope, great set design, and some great cinematography that the other films lack, but the soft focus and the unflattering 70s style, footie pajama uniforms keep the film from looking as good as it could be. Most of the other TOS movies look like TV episodes with slightly bigger budgets. TUC has the scope of a movie.

I have to agree on all these points.

 

[WarpFactorZ]

The Excelsior bridge looks like a credible midpoint between the TOS films and the TNG aesthetic.

I felt the exact opposite about the Excelsior bridge. The ship design has been my favourite since it was introduced in TSFS. It was the future of starships, and it was BIG. It deserved that kind of aesthetic. When we are shown the bridge as Styles enters in TSFS, it's grand and looks ultra-techy (albeit TOS blinky lights...). The captain's chair is levitated by a force field. You can feel the power of this new ship.

But in TUC, all of that is gone and the bridge looks smaller than the Enterprise's, and is also developing a TNG feel. That really bummed me out to see.

 

[JonnyQuest037]

When we are shown the bridge as Styles enters in TSFS, it's grand and looks ultra-techy (albeit TOS blinky lights...). The captain's chair is levitated by a force field. You can feel the power of this new ship.

Wow, I definitely feel the opposite. The SFS Excelsior bridge looks really chintzy and cheesy to me whenever I rewatch that film now. The exterior still looks great, but that bridge... Nah. The computer graphics are all obviously early 80s graphics that somebody dashed off on an Amiga or something instead of something that looks believably futuristic. The giant red alert graphics by the turbolift look like they're there to take up space more than anything. I like the size of the bridge, but that's about it.

And that Captain's chair is definitely mounted to the floor. Check out this screencap and compare it to the chair in the background. They're both mounted to the floor by those neon green tubes.

 

[Galileo7]

.... TMP has an epic scope, great set design, and some great cinematography that the other films lack, but the soft focus and the unflattering 70s style, footie pajama uniforms keep the film from looking as good as it could be. Most of the other TOS movies look like TV episodes with slightly bigger budgets. TUC has the scope of a movie.

Absolutely agree. TMP is still my favorite Star Trek film, but I do wonder how it would have been with either updated TOS uniforms as seen in J.J. 2009/STID/Beyond or the WOK uniforms.

 

[X24actor]

I like the motion picture too. And I thought the Admiral's uniforms looked decent. The rest look like pajamas. Maybe that's why they revisited the Admiral's uniform style in the reboot movies. They're missing the belt in those ones. That always bugged me

 

[WarpFactorZ]

I like the motion picture too. And I thought the Admiral's uniforms looked decent. The rest look like pajamas. Maybe that's why they revisited the Admiral's uniform style in the reboot movies.

Yeah, Pike wore that uniform well.

 

[Lance]

Interesting points everyone, and well made.

On the subject of Kirk's look in particular, I'll make this observation: I like that for the first time since... probably the original series... we get to see Kirk looking really gritty and worn down at times. People mock the trope about Shatner always getting his shirt ripped in TOS, but like Han Solo or Indiana Jones, it suggests a character who gets caught in the rough and tumble sometimes and comes out with scratches and bruises. That makes James T. Kirk more relatable, more human. When Kirk arrives back on the Enterprise after his stay on Rura Penthe, and he stands there on the bridge, his uniform is dirty, his hair messed up and matted, and he's got a noticeable beard starting to grow through. He looks like he's actually been through hell for months, and that sense of reality is much better than Captain Clean walking through beige sets looking pristine. It makes him more human.

 

[JonnyQuest037]

He looks like he's actually been through hell for months, and that sense of reality is much better than Captain Clean walking through beige sets looking pristine. It makes him more human.

And Meyer always made a point of giving Kirk character flaws to overcome, too. In TWOK, Kirk is convinced he's old and worn out. By the end of the story he's rediscovered his youthful vigor and faced the death of his best friend. In TUC, he realizes that he's become closed off to change and overcomes his prejudice against the Klingons. Kirk is a substantially better person at the end of both of those stories than he was at the beginning.