Bones, there’s a thing out there.”

And every five years or so, it seems I have to remind you that this movie is PERFECTION. Not “pretty good,” not “important to the franchise,” not “a noble misfire.” No. PER. FEC. TION. Gen‑X certified. Laminated. Filed under “Movies That Still Slap.”

Perfection in sound and vision looks exactly like this Director’s Cut of Star Trek: The Motion Picture — restored, remastered, resurrected, and ready to vaporize anyone who still insists it’s “the slow one.”

If Jerry Goldsmith’s opening preamble doesn’t give you goosebumps, then congratulations, you are dead, son. D‑E‑A‑D. The MIGHT. The FURY. The “oh‑my‑God‑turn‑it‑up” grandeur of that sequence hits like the first time you heard a CD and realized cassettes were trash. Then the Main Titles roll in, all glory and brass, and before you can recover, BAM — the Klingon Battle Theme detonates your living room. Sure, Goldsmith may have borrowed a little flavor from Vaughan Williams, but when the music slams into these newly upgraded visuals, who cares. It’s like watching God discover the synthesizer.

Here’s the truth: this Director’s Cut — fully restored, fully remastered — is basically a new movie. I know every line, every beat, every eyebrow raise, and yet somehow every damn scene feels brand new. It’s like someone cleaned your glasses for the first time in 20 years and you suddenly realized trees have leaves.

And because this is the REMASTERED and RESTORED Director’s Cut we’ve all been jonesing for since the Bush administration, credit must be given. The 4K Ultra HD transfer with Dolby Vision, HDR‑10, and Dolby Atmos is a damn fine way to celebrate Trek. It even comes with a digital copy and a buffet of bonus content, because Paramount knows how to keep us hooked.

Let’s rewind to 1979. Robert Wise — yes, the guy who directed West Side Story and The Day the Earth Stood Still — took Trek off TV and launched it into cinematic myth. Sure, the original release was rushed, the effects weren’t finished, and the studio basically shoved it into theaters with wet paint still drying. Didn’t matter. It still became the fourth highest‑grossing film of the year and nabbed Oscar nominations. Because even half‑baked, TMP was swinging for the fences.

But just as Admiral Kirk boots poor Will Decker out of the captain’s chair, we must now eject every previous version of this movie from our shelves. This 4K release is superior in every measurable way. It’s not even a debate. It’s a mandate.

Casual fans may roll their eyes when I call TMP a TRUE science fiction epic, but that’s because casual fans are wrong. This film is big ideas, big visuals, big emotions — the kind of sci‑fi that actually thinks. And now, thanks to producer David C. Fein and post‑production wizard Mike Matessino (who worked with Wise on the 2001 DVD Director’s Cut), the film finally looks and sounds the way it always should have.

The new 4K scan is jaw‑dropping. Scenes feel more intimate, more alive, more felt. The Enterprise refit reveal? Still holy. V’Ger’s approach? Still cosmic. The whole thing is a meditation wrapped in a starship wrapped in a fever dream of late‑70s futurism.

And the “why” of it all — the poetry of Shatner, Nimoy, Kelley, Doohan, Takei, Koenig, and Nichols confronting humanity’s own creation — hits harder than ever. V’Ger just wants to meet its maker and share what it’s learned. Honestly, same.

What’s the harm in that?

Well… the movie answers that. Loudly.

And for my fellow collectors — yes, the SteelBook is a whole event. This thing looks like it was carved off the hull of V’Ger itself. The brushed‑metal finish catches the light like a starship under a binary sun, the minimalist artwork feels like a classified Starfleet dossier, and the whole package radiates that “I survived the format wars and all I got was this gorgeous collectible” energy. It’s the kind of case you display, not shelve. The kind you dust. The kind you show off when people come over, even if they didn’t ask.

Every minute you delay buying this EPIC 4K release is another minute V’Ger barrels closer to Earth, and frankly, I’m not saving you when the cloud arrives.

Correct your course. Engage warp. Go get it.

4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital - 45th Anniversary SteelBook Edition

Home Video Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Available on Blu-ray - November 19, 2024
Screen Formats: 2.39:1
Subtitles: English SDH; French; German; Italian; Spanish; Danish; Dutch; Finnish; Norwegian; Swedish
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos; English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1; German: Dolby Digital 5.1; Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1; French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Discs: 4K Ultra HD; Blu-ray Disc; Two-disc set
Region Encoding: 4K region-free; blu-ray locked to Region A

Director Robert Wise’s ultimate cut of the film—long whispered about, long demanded, and long overdue—finally arrives in a fully restored 4K Ultra HD presentation. Enhanced with HDR‑10, Dolby Vision, and a thunderous Dolby Atmos mix, this definitive edition brings the film’s scale, sound, and spectacle to life like never before. A bonus Blu‑ray packed with both new and archival special features—behind‑the‑scenes material, deleted moments, production insights, and more—rounds out this essential release.

The story ignites when a mysterious alien force wipes out a trio of Klingon cruisers, prompting Admiral James T. Kirk to reclaim the captain’s chair aboard a newly refitted U.S.S. Enterprise. What follows is the grand, ambitious adventure that launched one of cinema’s longest‑running franchises, uniting the beloved original cast: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, Walter Koenig, and James Doohan.

VIDEO

Paramount’s 4K restoration doesn’t just clean the film up — it revitalizes it. The image is crisp without scrubbing away the grain that gives the movie its soul, and the contrast work is stellar. Those muted late‑’70s colors finally look intentional instead of washed out, and every shimmer, sparkle, and cosmic “what‑the‑hell‑was‑that” effect pops like it’s been waiting decades for the right display.

Honestly, this is as close to a perfect transfer as we’re ever going to get. The organic depth of color absolutely obliterates the old Blu‑ray releases. From the first frame to the last, the blacks are deep, inky, and cinematic, while the vibrant hues leap off the screen with a confidence the film has never been allowed to show before.

Sure, a handful of shots drift a hair soft, and the optical effects are more noticeable at this resolution — but that’s part of the charm. It’s faithful. It’s filmic. It’s the movie as it was meant to be seen, not sanitized into plastic smoothness. This restoration is the real deal, and these films have never looked better.

AUDIO

The new Dolby TrueHD 7.1 mixes aren’t just an upgrade — they’re a full‑body awakening, the kind that reminds you Jerry Goldsmith didn’t just compose a score, he carved a cathedral out of sound. With the added overhead channels, the audio blooms into a towering, three‑dimensional soundscape that wraps around you like the world’s most dramatic force field.

From the very first notes of Goldsmith’s majestic overture, the difference is immediate and almost overwhelming. The horns don’t just play — they ascend. The percussion doesn’t just hit — it reverberates through your ribcage. The Klingon Battle Theme practically strafes your living room.

This mix doesn’t simply enhance the film; it restores its grandeur, letting Goldsmith’s iconic score flex at full power. Aurally and visually, the film wastes zero time announcing that you’ve never experienced it like this before.

Supplements:

Commentary:

The commentary lineup on this release is basically a masterclass in Trek history disguised as bonus content. You get a brand‑new track with David C. Fein, Mike Matessino, and Daren R. Dochterman — the trio who’ve been lovingly shepherding this Director’s Cut for decades — and they dive into the restoration with the kind of detail only people who’ve lived inside this movie can provide.

But the real flex is that Paramount didn’t ditch the legacy tracks. You still get the vintage commentaries featuring Robert Wise, Douglas Trumbull, John Dykstra, Jerry Goldsmith, and Stephen Collins — a murderers’ row of the people who actually built this film from the ground up. It’s like sitting in on a time capsule of filmmaking legends casually explaining how they reinvented cinematic sci‑fi.

And for the detail‑hungry fans (you know who you are), the text commentary from Michael and Denise Okuda returns, packed with production lore, tech notes, and the kind of deep‑cut trivia that makes you feel like you’re earning Starfleet credits just by reading it.

Special Features:

The SteelBook release doesn’t just give you the definitive version of the film — it loads the torpedo tubes with a full arsenal of special features, both newly produced and lovingly preserved. This is the kind of bonus‑content spread that makes collectors grin, archivists weep, and casual fans suddenly realize they’ve been missing out. From deep‑dive documentaries to legacy commentaries, restoration breakdowns, and archival production materials, this set treats The Motion Picture like the cinematic milestone it always deserved to be. It’s a treasure chest of Trek history, filmmaking craft, and behind‑the‑scenes wizardry, all wrapped in a SteelBook that looks ready to be slotted into a Starfleet archive.

• NEW audio commentary with David C. Fein, Mike Matessino, and Daren R. Dochterman
• Legacy commentaries featuring Robert Wise, Douglas Trumbull, John Dykstra, Jerry Goldsmith, and Stephen Collins
• Text commentary by Michael and Denise Okuda
• Behind‑the‑scenes documentaries exploring the restoration, visual effects, and production history
• Deleted scenes and trims from various stages of the film’s evolution
• Archival featurettes from previous releases, preserved and remastered
• Production galleries showcasing concept art, models, and design materials
• Trailers and TV spots from the film’s original marketing campaign

	Movie
	Video
	Audio
	Extras
Composite Blu-ray Grade