Paramount has announced the details of the two-disk DVD edition of the first Star Trek film, Star Trek: The Motion Picture.  The deluxe package includes the 'Director's Cut' of the film, which runs about 5 minutes longer than previous versions of the film.  Many of the effects shots were refurbished or reshot for this widescreen DVD release.  In addition to additional footage included in the film itself, the DVD edition includes over two hours of extra features.  The double disk Star Trek: The Motion Picture - The Director's Edition DVD has an SRP of $29.99 and will go on sale on November 6th in what will the most crowded marketplace in the short meteoric history of the DVD  (see 'Final Fantasy et al.').

 

The new 'Director's Cut' of Star Trek: The Motion Picture has enough features that many fans may grudgingly have to spring for the feature-loaded 2-disk set even if they already own the VHS version.  Academy Award-winning director Robert Wise has personally re-edited and supervised the production of the original Star Trek film on DVD. Although no new scenes were added, new shots were created, and the 'Director's Cut' has a running time of 136 minutes compared with the 131 minutes for the original DVD.  Over 90 effects shots were completely overhauled and redone, though Wise and company were careful to improve the special effects shots without making them look like anything that couldn't have been done 20 years ago when the film debuted.  The VHS edition did have some extra footage, but much of the extra stuff wasn't fully completed, but it has been finished to a high gloss for the DVD.  The soundtrack has also been extensively reworked and remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1 and many sound effects, which were originally created for the film, but were never used, have been included in this version.

 

Disk #1 in the Star Trek set contains the new Director's cut of the film in anamorphic widescreen complete with an all-new commentary track featuring Wise, Douglas Trumbull, John Dykstra, Jerry Goldsmith, and actor Stephen (Seventh Heaven) Collins.  The second disk contains 3 new documentaries complete with cast and crew interviews, all the original trailers and teasers, five additional scenes from the theatrical version, plus trims and outtakes as well as 11 deleted scenes from the (1983 TV version).  Overall there are over two full hours of additional material in addition to the improved 'Director's Cut,' which according to Robert Wise, 'is the film that I really wanted to make.'