Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search
Star Trek III:
The Search for Spock

Theatrical poster art by Bob Peak
Directed by Leonard Nimoy
Produced by Harve Bennett
Written by Screenplay:
Harve Bennett
Characters:
Gene Roddenberry
Starring See table
Music by James Horner
Cinematography Charles Correll
Editing by Robert F. Shugrue
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Release date(s) June 1, 1984
Running time 105 min.
Country United States
Language English
Preceded by Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Followed by Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock is a 1984 motion picture released by Paramount Pictures. The film is the third feature based on the Star Trek science fiction franchise. After the events of the previous film, The Wrath of Khan, the crew of the USS Enterprise returns to Earth after losing their friend Spock (Leonard Nimoy), who died from radiation poisoning. When Admiral James T. Kirk (William Shatner) learns that Spock's essence or katra is held in the mind of Leonard McCoy (DeForest Kelley) and that neither can find peace until Spock's remains are brought to the planet Vulcan, Kirk and company steal the Enterprise against orders and return to Spock's resting place, the engineered Genesis Planet. At Genesis, hostile Klingons attempt to steal the planet's secrets to use as a weapon. The film is the second installment in a story arc that concludes with 1986's Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.

After positive critical and commercial reaction to The Wrath of Khan, Paramount commissioned a new film. Leonard Nimoy took over directing duties.

Contents

[edit] Plot

The USS Enterprise limps back to Earth, heavily damaged after the battle with Khan. Many were lost in the costly fight, including Admiral James T. Kirk's Vulcan friend, Captain Spock; Spock's casket was fired into orbit around the newly-formed Genesis Planet, created by the Genesis torpedo designed to create life from lifelessness.

On docking at Starbase 1 in Earth orbit, the Enterprise' crew learns that the ship is due to be decommissioned. Dr. McCoy is confined by security after he begins to exhibit strange behavior. David Marcus and Lieutenant Saavik return to Genesis aboard the Oberth-class research vessel USS Grissom; discovering an unidentified lifeform. Marcus and Saavik beam down to the planet and discover that Spock has been resurrected by the Genesis Device's effects, although his mind is no longer present and he operates on a purely child-like level. Marcus, pressed by Saavik, admits that he used unstable "Proto-matter" in building the Genesis device to solve "certain problems". Without it, he claims that the Genesis Project could have been delayed by years or would have never been completed at all. The unstable matter puts the planet in a state of accelerated evolution that will conclude with its premature destruction within a few hours. She tells him off, in a very Vulcan, cold, logical way, for his impatience and his habit of changing the rules to get his way, despite how many people (such as Khan and his entire crew, Captain Terrel, most of the scientists on the Genesis Project . . .) have died. Further complicating matters, a rapidly-aging Spock is beginning to go through the Vulcan mating surge "Pon Farr."

Unknown to them, a Klingon commander named Kruge has intercepted information about Genesis and becomes interested in it (for much of the same reasons as Khan: as a weapon) from a spy named Valkris. He travels to the Genesis Planet to learn its secrets after stealing additional information related to it.

Spock's father, Sarek travels to Earth and confronts Kirk about abandoning Spock's body on the Genesis planet. Sarek discovers, with Kirk's help, that McCoy possesses Spock's "katra" (soul), which explains his strange behavior. Both his katra and body are needed to properly lay him to rest on his homeworld Vulcan; without swift intervention, Spock's consciousness will overwhelm McCoy, and he will also die. Disobeying direct orders prohibiting anyone from visiting the Genesis Planet, Kirk reunites with his bridge officers and goes through a series of highly unorthodox events such as Uhura charming the watch officer (locking him in a closet), Kirk and Sulu springing McCoy from the Starfleet jail, and Scotty overriding the Starbase security system to open the Starbase doors so the Enterprise can escape, and secondly disabling the pursuing USS Excelsior's "transwarp drive", by removing several circuits.

Kruge arrives at Genesis first, accidentally destroying the Grissom with all hands (save for the landing party). He then summarily executes his weapons officer responsible for the Grissom's destruction as Kruge wanted prisoners. Saavik realizes that something has happened to the Grissom, and believes they were destroyed. She suspects that enemies are nearing, and attempts to go. David instead says he will search for the threat, leaving she and Spock alone. With Spock still going through "Pon Farr," Saavik begins to allieviate this tormented time for him.

Kruge's crew locates and captures Saavik and a now-teenaged Spock - with David already having been taken prisoner. Kirk and the skeleton crew of the Enterprise arrive, unaware that the Klingon ship and its crew are cloaked nearby. Unable to hail the Grissom, the Enterprise crew eventually detect the possible presence of a Bird of Prey and are able to fire on her first, hitting the Klingon ship as it de-cloaks. The Klingon ship then returns fire and cripples the automation system controlling the Enterprise. Kruge demands that they surrender, and orders the troops that he had sent to the surface of the Genesis Planet to kill one of the prisoners as a show of strength. David defends Saavik, who was to be the intended victim. David briefly tussles with the Klingon, but is no match with him physically and dies as a result. Saavik is forced to tell Kirk that David is dead, and Kirk is devastated to hear his son has been killed.

Rather than surrender, Kirk orders McCoy and Sulu to the transporter room. Kirk, Scott and Chekov order the ship to self-destruct, and they leave the Enterprise for the last time. The computer countdown confuses the majority of Kruge's crew who had just beamed over to complete the ship's capture and are all killed as the ship self-destructs. The crew of the Enterprise watch from the planet's surface as their home for the last twenty years burns up in the atmosphere. They find Saavik and Spock and free them from their captors. Kirk finds a communicator and tempts Kruge, who is mourning his crew, in an attempt to get him to beam them all up before the planet destroys itself. Moments later, Kruge beams to the planet and has everyone but Kirk and Spock beamed aboard his Bird of Prey. Still demanding the technology of the Genesis project, Kruge engages Kirk in hand-to-hand combat on the disintegrating planet. Kirk tries in vain to get Kruge to cooperate so they can both escape the planet, but Kruge would prefer a fight to the death. Kirk defeats Kruge who subsequently falls into a volcanic rift. Kirk quickly grabs Spock and imitates Kruge's voice shouting the order to beam them both aboard Kruge's ship. The Enterprise crew are able to easily capture the Klingon vessel and the one crewman left on board.

The crew travel to Vulcan, where Spock's katra is reunited with his body in a dangerous procedure called "Fal-tor-pan". Dr. McCoy agrees to the ritual, knowing the extreme risk for both him and Spock. The ritual is successful and Spock is resurrected alive and well, though his memories are still extremely fragmented. The final scene, a brief discussion between Kirk and Spock, ends with Spock slowly remembering the man before him: "Jim. Your name is Jim."

[edit] Cast

  • William Shatner as Admiral James T. Kirk: Shatner remarked that being directed by his longtime co-star and friend was initially awkward, although as the shoot went on it became easier as Shatner realized how confident Nimoy was.[1]
  • Leonard Nimoy as Captain Spock: Nimoy found the most difficult scene to direct was the one where McCoy talks to an unconscious Spock in sickbay. "Not only am I in the scene, but I have to play [it] with my eyes closed. So I can't even look to see if the actor I am playing the scene with is looking anything like I think he should look. It drove DeForest crazy. He swears that I was trying to direct him with the movement and flutter of my eyelids." Nimoy was thankful the story only permitted him to appear in a minimal amount of scenes.[1]
  • DeForest Kelley as Doctor Leonard McCoy: He carries Spock's katra (living soul), and he is victimized by all sorts of strange 'ghost in the machine' elements throughout most of the picture. He receives treatment from Kirk in order to join the crew in their hijacking of Enterprise.
  • James Doohan as Commander/Captain Montgomery Scott: Mister Scott has managed to repair most of the battle damage from Khan's attack in the time since Spock has died. He yearns to supervise the refit of Enterprise, but is trumped by Admiral Morrow, who requires him to report to Excelsior as Captain of engineering. Scott dislikes both the ship and its commander, Captain Styles. To cover the Enterprise's escape, Scott took the opportunity to sabotage Excelsior's new drive system, which he declares is easily done by removing a few parts, because they over-complicated it. "The more they overthink the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the drain" was his comment. He happily aids the theft of Enterprise, rerouting power through the automation center to allow the ship to travel to Genesis. But he makes the fatal mistake of failing to anticipate a battle. This is the first time we see him serving as the navigator on the Enterprise. As chief engineer, he is able to authorize a self-destruct sequence.
  • George Takei as Commander Hikaru Sulu: Sulu bravely stands by Kirk, going with him to help rescue McCoy, then taking willful part of the theft of Enterprise.
  • Walter Koenig as Commander Pavel Chekov: Taking over as acting science officer, Chekov notices that Spock's quarters have been unsealed, despite his personally sealing it. He takes over for Uhura as the communications officer en route to Genesis, and spends a great deal of time relaying information to Kirk about Starfleet's intentions. He is, naturally, the first to be worried that Grissom refuses to answer any communications from anyone, and the first to detect the Klingon ship. As acting science officer, he is able to aid in authorizing a self-destruct sequence.
  • Nichelle Nichols as Commander Uhura: She is concerned for Dr. McCoy, as she expresses at the gathering in Kirk's apartment at Starfleet. However, she chooses to work as a transporter technician. When Kirk and company enter the transporter, she transports them to the Enterprise.
  • Mark Lenard as Vulcan Ambassador Sarek: Sarek, Spock's Vulcan father, comes to see Kirk alone. Assuming Kirk has the katra, he mind-melds with him, but fails to find it and fears all is lost for Spock. Kirk realizes that McCoy may have it, which a video tape confirms. Sarek warns Kirk that he must take both of them back to Vulcan.
  • Merritt Butrick as Dr. David Marcus: David is a young scientist who, alongside his mother, Carol, created the Genesis Project. He dies to save Saavik later, fighting with a Klingon, and failing.
  • Judith Anderson as Vulcan High Priestess T'Lar: A Priestess of the Vulcans. She leads the other Vulcans, including Sarek and Saavik, in the restoring of Spock's soul into his body.
  • Christopher Lloyd as Klingon Commander Kruge: Kruge knows that the Klingons are negotiating for peace with the Federation, but he still believes that the Genesis Project is little more than a base to bring about the end of the Klingon Empire. He decides to take it and use it against the Federation. He is far from surprised that Kirk arrives to rescue David and the Vulcans, but he is actually not heartless at all. He allows two minutes to Kirk and his 'gallant crew' to prepare for surrender instead of one minute. Furthermore, he beams up McCoy, Sulu, Chekov, Scotty, and Saavik, leaving only himself, Kirk, and Spock on the planet below. He insists on being given Genesis, which results only in a physical fight. He loses, falling to his death.
  • Robert Hooks as Starfleet Admiral Morrow: The commander of Starfleet, who wants to make sure the Enterprise is decommissioned, and the crew reassigned elsewhere. He denies the entire crew the right to discuss Genesis with anyone, and he tries to dissuade Kirk from going to Genesis, warning him that he's going to destroy his career.
  • James Sikking as Captain Styles: The captain of the Excelsior, "the Great Experiment" equipped with a new "transwarp drive" that is supposedly faster than the conventional warp drive. Styles boasts about breaking some of the speed records set by the Enterprise (much to the annoyance of Mr. Scott, acting as chief engineer on the Excelsior) and the superiority of his vessel. Sent to pursue Kirk after the Enterprise is hijacked, Styles warns that Kirk's days in the captain's chair are over, and prepares to go into warp; however, thanks to a little tinkering by Mr. Scott, the engines fail, leaving Excelsior dead in space.
  • John Larroquette as Maltz: The sole surviving officer of Kruge's Bird-of-Prey.
  • Stephen Liska as Torg: Kruge's first officer, killed (along with most of the Bird-of-Prey's crew) with the destruction of the Enterprise.
  • Cathie Schirriff as Valkris: A Klingon spy who acquired a tape of Kirk's report of the Genesis device.
  • Grace Lee Whitney, who played Janice Rand in the show, cameoed as a "Woman in Cafeteria." Formerly, she was the yeoman to Captain Kirk in the first season of Star Trek. She was not seen again until Star Trek, the motion picture, in which she was the transporter technician. Like Majel Barett, she was a major cast member of the Enterprise who was left out in Star Trek II, and thus lost her place. She is seen here, welcoming the Enterprise back as it flies by the windows.
  • Phillip R. Allen as Captain J.T. Esteban: Captain of the science vessel Grissom.
  • Scott McGinnis A young man wishing for more adventure and thrill in his life. He is forced into the closet at phaserpoint by Uhura.

[edit] Production

Upon seeing Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Leonard Nimoy became "excited" again with playing Spock. When asked by Paramount Pictures if he wanted to reprise the role, Nimoy also told them "You're damned right, I want to direct that picture!"[1] Harve Bennett began writing the screenplay, which he noted "seventeen other people could have written" due to the hints at Spock's resurrection in the second film. Nimoy remarked if Spock had not been resurrected and instead, they just had "Captain Kirk turn to the camera and say 'Sorry, we didn't find him,' people would throw rocks at the screen."[3] Because of the story's predictability, Bennett decided to have the USS Enterprise destroyed, and intended this plot element to be kept a secret (that was until a television spot showed the scene two weeks before the film's release, without Bennett knowing).[2] It was also shown on its own Star Trek III: The Search for Spock "Enterprise Destroyed" glass that was sold at Taco Bell prior to the release date.

Originally, the Romulans were the villains, but Nimoy preferred the more "theatrical" Klingons. However, the name of the antagonists' ship, the Bird-of-Prey, remain unchanged.[4] Early script drafts mention Kruge stole his ship from the Romulans, but this was eventually left out.[5] Costumer and make-up designer Robert Fletcher wanted the forehead designs of the Klingons in the film to be less pronounced than those seen in Star Trek: The Motion Picture's opening sequence. Fletcher was satisfied with the costumes he made on the first film, which he intended to have the feel of feudal Japanese armor, but he had to make new versions as the previous costumes had been lost, destroyed or loaned to other productions and altered beyond repair. Kruge's dog-like pet was not in the script, but was added by Industrial Light & Magic's Ken Ralston for atmosphere. The full-scale puppet was controlled by three people, including Ralston, who hid inside Kruge's chair.[6]

Production on the film was temporarily shut down after a fire destroyed several soundstages at Paramount Studios on August 25, 1983, one of which was adjacent to the set for the Genesis Planet. Initially, the set's pyrotechnics were suspected of causing the fire, but the cause was ultimately ruled to be arson. The fire is discussed in a making-of featurette included with the Special Edition DVD.

Visual Effects Supervisor Ken Ralston supervised the destruction of the Enterprise. In an interview with Cinefex Magazine in 1984, Ralston said that he had always hated the model's design, which made it difficult to film and mount, and delighted in destroying parts of it. A smaller 12' model was used for the vessel's final plunge to the Genesis Planet, while only the saucer section of the main 25' model was actually destroyed. Insert shots of the saucer section dissolving were accomplished by dissolving styrene plastic with acetone, while the burning underneath was steel wool set ablaze.

[edit] Novelization

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock  
Author Vonda N. McIntyre
Publisher Pocket Books
Publication date June 1984
Media type print (paperback)
Pages 297 pp
ISBN ISBN 0-671-49500-3 (first edition, paperback)
Preceded by The Final Reflection
Followed by My Enemy, My Ally

A novelization was published to coincide with the movie premiere.

The novel expands greatly on what happens between the end of Star Trek II and where the Star Trek III movie begins, including a romantic story between Saavik and David Marcus, the re-assigning of David and Saavik to the USS Grissom and the introduction of Captain Esteban and the Grissom returning to Regula and David and Saavik noticing that the Genesis Cave has greatly developed its plant life at an accelerated rate. Another sub-plot involves Scotty returning the body of his nephew Peter Preston to the family plot in Scotland and having an argument with his niece. Also it is revealed in the novel that Sulu's command of The Excelsior is taken away from him due to the ongoing investigation of the Genesis Planet.

[edit] Release

The film received mostly positive reviews. Upon its release in 1984, film critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert gave the film two thumbs up calling it "good but not great" - the only odd numbered Star Trek film to receive a thumbs up from both critics. The Los Angeles Times praised the film because "for all its spectacle in space, its humanity once again outweighs the hardware, and its innocence is downright endearing". USA Today praised it as the best of the three, "and the closest to the original spirit" of the show, which they attributed to Nimoy's direction.[7] Richard Schickel called it "the first space opera to deserve that term in its grandest sense," while The Washington Post found the cast "agreeable, familiar old fixtures that you feel absurdly protective and tender about them".[4]

President Ronald Reagan screened the film for friends during a weekend away from the White House in 1984, spent with White House staff chief Mike Deaver and his own close friend Sen. Paul Laxalt (R-NV). Wrote Reagan: "It wasn't too good."[8]

The film has a 76% "fresh" rating at Rotten Tomatoes.[9] The film broke the opening weekend gross that Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom set just a week before,[4] and it made $76,471,046 in the domestic box office.

[edit] Home video

The film was given a "bare bones" DVD release on May 11, 2000 with no extra features. Two years later, a two disc "Collector's Edition" was released with supplemental material but with the same video transfer as the original DVD release. It featured a text commentary by Michael Okuda, an audio commentary from director Leonard Nimoy, writer/producter Harve Bennett, director of photography Charles Correll, and actress Robin Curtis[10]

The film was released on Blu-ray Disc in May 2009 to coincide with the new Star Trek feature, along with the other five films featuring the original crew in Star Trek: Original Motion Picture Collection.[11] The Search for Spock was remastered in 1080p high-definition from the 2000 DVD transfer. All six films in the set have new 7.1 Dolby TrueHD audio. The disc features a new commentary track by former Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager television writers Ronald D. Moore and Michael Taylor.[11][12]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b c Dillard, 80.
  2. ^ a b Dillard, 79.
  3. ^ Dillard, 78.
  4. ^ a b c Reeves-Stevens, 215, 217.
  5. ^ Reeves-Stevens, 219.
  6. ^ Reeves-Stevens, 226-228.
  7. ^ Dillard, 81.
  8. ^ Reagan, 250
  9. ^ Star Trek Search for Spock at Rotten Tomatoes
  10. ^ Collector's Edition Review @ IGN DVD
  11. ^ a b Pascale, Anthony (2009-02-16). "TrekMovie: CBS & Paramount Announce First Star Trek Blu-ray sets - TOS S1 & All TOS movies coming April/May". TrekMovie. http://trekmovie.com/2009/02/16/cbs-paramount-announce-first-star-trek-blu-ray-sets-tos-s1-all-tos-movies-coming-apmarily/. Retrieved on 2009-05-15. 
  12. ^ Latchem, John (2009-02-20). "Boldly going onto Blu-Ray". The Gazette: p. D4. 

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Search Wikiquote Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Star Trek III: The Search for Spock


Preceded by
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom		 Box office number-one films of 1984 (USA)
June 3, 1984		 Succeeded by
Ghostbusters
v • d • e
Star Trek Klingon stories
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek: The Animated Series
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Enterprise
v • d • e
Star Trek Vulcan stories
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek: The Animated Series
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Enterprise
v • d • e
Star Trek: The Original Series
Primary characters
Primary cast
Feature films
Other topics
v • d • e
Star Trek
Television series
Feature films
Fictional elements
Other topics
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek_III:_The_Search_for_Spock"
Personal tools