Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home | | Cast : | Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner, DeForest Kelley | | Director : | Leonard Nimoy | | Studio : | Paramount Home Video | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby | | Released Date : | November 26, 1986 | | DVD Released Date : | March 04, 2003 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), French (Dubbed), English (Subtitled), English (Original Language), French (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | August 21, 2005 | | Summary | "What does it mean, "exact change"? " | Content
 | Foregoing the heavy drama of the first 3 films, Star Trek 4 is actually more or less a comedy classic due to its hilariously anachronistic nature: folks from the future trying to get through a "modern" world and all of its quirks.
The ultimate message of the film--save the planet for future generations to enjoy--could have been heavy handed but is beautifully covered by ample doses of seriously laugh-out-loud humor which even non-trekkies would enjoy. This is one of the best "fish out of water" (pun intended) films ever created.
Previous reviews cover the storyline well enough so we don't need a rehash of that. I'd rather like to focus on the humor present in this ostensibly light-hearted look at a serious matter. Imagine Spock trying his best to sound "modern" by swearing, or watching Scotty try to use a "modern" computer. The laughs do not stop. McCoy and Spock's dialogues are gut-wrenchingly funny. Here are some examples:
[McCoy trying to discuss what death was like with Spock]
McCoy: Perhaps we can cover a little philosophical ground. Life, death, life. Things of that nature.
Spock: I did not have time on Vulcan to review the philosophical disciplines.
McCoy: C'mon Spock, it's me, McCoy. You really have gone where no man's gone before. Can't you tell me what it felt like?
Spock: It would be impossible to discuss the subject without a common frame of reference
McCoy: You're joking.
Spock: A joke...is...a story with a humorous climax.
McCoy: You mean I have to die to discuss your insights on death?
Spock: Forgive me Doctor. I'm receiving a number of distress calls.
McCoy: I don't doubt it.
.........................
Spock: Your use of language has altered since our arrival. It is currently laced with, shall we say, more colorful metaphors--"double dumb-ass on you" and so forth.
Kirk: Oh, you mean the profanity.
Spock: Yes.
Kirk: Well that's simply the way they talk here. Nobody pays any attention to you unless you swear every other word.
...................
[Spock is still learning how to use profanity correctly]
Spock: They like you very much, but they are not the hell "your" whales.
Dr. Gillian Taylor: I suppose they told you that.
Spock: The hell they did.
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Kirk: Spock, where the hell's the power you promised?
Spock: One damn minute, Admiral.
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[After deciding to travel back in time--much to McCoy's distress--Kirk asks Scotty about the possibility of customizing a room in their Klingon ship to contain water for the whales]
Kirk: Can you enclose it to hold water?
Scotty: I suppose I could. You planning to take a swim?
McCoy: Off the deep end, Mr. Scott!
Kirk. We've got to find some Humpbacks.
Scotty: Humpbacked...people?
Kirk: Whales, Mr. Scott. Whales!
The anachronistic comedy is used ingeniously here, and makes this one hilarious, but ultimately serious, film. An absolute classic. Personally, I feel that "The Wrath of Khan" is the most fulfilling film in the series, but you simply can't go wrong with "The Voyage Home" for non-stop laughs.
And you don't need any "LDS" to enjoy it.
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| Rating | | | Date | July 19, 2005 | | Summary | Free Speech and Humpback Whales | Content
| Picking up where Star Trek III ended, our familiar space heroes are forced to use a Klingon Rust-bucket to once again fool Father Time. A space probe that looks like an upside down mechanical whale - from where-abouts unknown - threatens to annihilate Earth, and maybe Starfleet itself, unless the Earthen creature "Hump-back Whale" can adequately respond to the probe's emissions. Thus, go back in time to the late 20th c., return with a Hump-back whale in hopes of satisfying the probe, and order will be preserved. Captian Spock remains a bit under the weather, having died in Star Trek II, only to be resurected in Star Trek III, and seems rather confused by all the goings on. On Earth, the Enterprise officers, split into teams, each with a different task. When the tasks are completed, the crew returns to thier home century having once again saved the world. THOUGHTS: no one has ever belived the Premise of the Star Trek franchise has anything to do with science, or even science fiction. Star Trek is phantasmogorical at best. Spock results from his Vulcan father, and Earthen mother, marrying each other and biologically producing Spock. This is as likely as a horse succsessfully mating with a mermaid. Then again, Star Trek has never pretended to be what it's not. Very pretty actress Catherine Hicks plays a 20th c. Marine biologist, and that character provides the solvent to keep the plot together. In the first Star Trek film, one of the lead characters is "Decker". Both of these actors show up later in 7th Heaven. In ST-IV, Scotty tells Kirk that the Klingon food reproducer is giving him a belly-ache. Kirk responds by whispering to no one, "Oh so that's what it is". This clearly is a slam at James Doohan who, along with Nichele Nichols, have claimed that Shatner had been selfish, dictatorial, and treated the lesser stars like they were nothing more than props. None-the-less, Voyage Home is cute funny, and tense. |
| Rating | | | Date | June 28, 2005 | | Summary | Where is Alameda?? | Content
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Admiral Kirk--or should I say CAPTAIN Kirk--and the rest of the Enterprise crew go back in time to save the world in the 23rd century. How do they save the world? By bringing two humpback whales into the future to talk to a probe in space that is destorying the Earth.
This is my favorite "classic Trek" movies. It doesn't take itself too seriously, but that's what makes it enjoyable. This also stars Catherine Hicks from "7th Heaven"
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| Rating | | | Date | June 28, 2005 | | Summary | The best film in the series | Content
| I have several friends who acted as if I had grown another head when I said that Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home was my favorite Star Trek film. Star Trek II had the epic battle between Khan and Kirk as well as the (supposed) death of Mr. Spock. Star Trek VI had a great whodunit mystery and the final sendoff of the original crew. Star Trek VIII: First Contact had the inspiring story of how the Next Generation crew saved postwar Earth from the Borg and thus helped humankind begin its idealistic journey towards the foundation of Starfleet. Star Trek IV, however, "just had a bunch of whales and a lot of dumb humor." They said that the latter quality was especially out of place since the original series was so serious in tone. And that's where I had them.
True fans of the original series know that it had loads of humor. From Spock and Dr. McCoy's verbal battles to Kirk getting buried under tons of tribbles to Kirk and Spock's impersonation of old Chicago gangsters to the Enterprise crew's tangles with Harry Mudd, the series was rife with comic relief that made the characters all the more appealing. Even the most serious episodes had moments of humor. For example, in the classic City on the Edge of Forever, when Kirk and Spock travel back to New York City circa 1930, Kirk must try to explain Spock's appearance to a police officer. He explains that Spock is Chinese and that his ears are the result of getting his head caught in a rice picker. The scene is hilarious and works beautifully even within the very serious story line.
That's why Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home works so well. It has an entertaining story that even non-Star Trek fans can enjoy. But it still remains faithful to the tone and character of the original show. Gene Roddenberry and crew brilliantly addressed problems in modern society through the use of science fiction. In this case, the crew of the Enterprise must counter 20th Century man's short sightedness by retrieving two humpback whales -- which are extinct in the 23rd Century -- so they can communicate with an alien probe that will destroy the Earth unless it can communicate with the whales. As Spock says, "To hunt a series to extinction is illogical." The audience can't help but agree.
But Leonard Nimoy, who directed and co-wrote the screenplay, does not beat the audience over the head with the message. The previous two films were very heavy and serious in nature, so Nimoy opts for a light touch reminiscent of episodes like "The Trouble with Tribbles," "I, Mudd" and "A Piece of the Action" from the original series. Kirk and company must deal with hostile traffic in 1986 San Francisco, bus drivers demanding exact change, punk rockers with 40 decibel boom boxes, an ornery female marine biologist and other hazards of the 20th Century. After watching Spock's death, the Enterprise crew's mutiny against Starfleet, the death of Kirk's son and the destruction of the Enterprise, the jovial, humorous tone of this film is a welcome change.
Naturally Star Trek fans will get the most out of the film. When Spock's father Sarek (Mark Lenard) and mother Amanda (Jane Wyatt) appear, a dedicated Trekker can't help but remember the great episode "Journey to Babel" where we learned of Spock's complicated and often hostile relationship with his father. And when we see the brand new Enterprise at the end of the film, only Star Trek fans can truly appreciate what a happy moment it is.
But the fact that this film was the most commercially successful of the series -- over $100 million in 1986 -- shows that general audiences and not just Star Trek fans found the film entertaining and appealing. Roger Ebert, who was very lukewarm about most of the other entries in the series, raved about The Voyage Home. Star Trek fans have always seen the films as surrogate family reunions. The actors playing the characters may have aged and gained weight, but the fans loved seeing Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scotty, Uhura, Sulu and Chekov return for another adventure. Star Trek IV, however, allows even non Trekkers to enjoy the reunion. |
| Rating | | | Date | May 09, 2005 | | Summary | Wonderful film! | Content
| I remember watching this in the theatre when it first came out and now that all the films are available on DVD I have been steadily collecting them..This is one of the best in that it has a fantastic commentary by William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy that offers quite a bit of insight into the making of the film! This film has quite a bit of humor..more so than the earlier and subsequent films..I think this made the film a lot more fun and gave us more of a glimpse into the characters and chemistry among the original cast..I think Nimoy did a fine job of directing the film and from what I understand this film was one of the bigger successes of the 6 films..no wonder..it's a classic! Like many of TOS episodes I feel the producers and directors of the films wanted a lasting testament to the ideals that Gene Roddenberry first crafted in his original stories..they did a fine job! The DVD quality is excellent and the audio is amazing! |
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