Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #43821 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-01-13
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Dubbed, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Dubbed in: German
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 101 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
With hindsight, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock is the satisfactory middle instalment of a well-rounded trilogy that began with The Wrath of Kahn and ended with The Voyage Home (after which this crew really should have retired gracefully). But on its first release, few fans knew what to expect and initial impressions were disappointing. The biggest talking points were that the film was Leonard Nimoy's directorial debut and that his name wasn't in the opening credits. Naturally, the biggest question was just how would the loss of Spock affect the franchise? That question was neatly dodged and what audiences got instead was a tale of team-spiritedness, sacrifice and rebellion that ended on a question mark. In other words it was a fun ride without many answers. The centrepiece of the movie has to be stealing The Enterprise, a beautifully conceived sequence that remains at the heart of classic Trek's filmic storyline: sacrificing all for the sake of friendship, Kirk and co. set out to rescue their lost companion; this single action defines everything the characters had ever meant to each other, and has an effect on everything that followed. And if the loss of Spock had left audiences eager for more, that was as nothing compared to the loss of The Enterprise.

On the DVD: Star Trek III on disc does not come in a new transfer as the previous two special edition DVDs, and you won't find any deleted or new scenes either. The extras package is fascinating, nonetheless, especially with the contributions from Nimoy. His fond reminiscences in the commentary track are priceless, with good support from writer-producer Harve Bennett, director of photography Charles Correll, and Robin Curtis (Saavik). The text commentary from the Okudas isn't as involving as the others, sadly, but this is made up for by the trivia dished out in documentaries covering: model-making, costume design, the science of Terraforming, and how to speak Klingon. The best inclusion is "Captain's Log" featuring interviews with an enthusiastic Nimoy, a sarcastic Shatner, an appreciative Curtis and the rarely seen Christopher Lloyd. --Paul Tonks

Special Features
Commentary by Director Leonard Nimoy, Writer and Producer Harve Bennett, Director of Photography Charles Correll and Actress Robin Curtis
Text Commentary by Michael Okuda and Denise Okuda
Captain's Log (Interviews)
Space Docs and Birds of Prey
Speaking Klingon
Klingon and Vulcan Costumes
Terraforming and Prime Directives
Theatrical Trailer

2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen
Dolby Digital 5.1, 3.0 Surround
Language: English, German
Subtitles: English for the hearing impaired, English, Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, German, Hungarian, Icelandic, Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Swedish, Turkish
Commentary Subtitles: English, German

Synopsis
In the third STAR TREK feature film, directed by Leonard Nimoy, Admiral Kirk (William Shatner) has defeated the genetically created genius Khan, but Spock (Nimoy) is dead and McCoy (DeForest Kelley) is suffering from a strange mental aberration. Defying Starfleet orders, Kirk takes the Enterprise to Genesis to recover the body of Spock. Wonders--and dangers--await the Enterprise crew on the strange new planet.

Customer Reviews

Excellent release of this underated gem
A gem of a movie that's often discounted as it is one of Star Trek's "odd numbered" movies, popularly believed to all be poor. Star Trek 3 suffers unfairly under this: through directoral flair it succeeds as a film in it's own right while still serving as an excellent sequel to Star Trek 2, and maintains the same high standard that film set. The cast all shine in their own moments (especially Sulu), and William Shatner is at his best - performing as well as he did in Star Trek 2 but with a meatier part. Spock may have died at the end of the last film, but here Kirk is forced to risk everything, and looses much. Perhaps Leonard Nimoy observed how Nick Meyer managed to pull so convincing a performance from Shatner in the previous film, because he's certainly never as good after Star Trek 3.

This DVD is a great improvement over previous releases - two dics gives you extras that are always informative and for the most part truly interesting. The directors commentary gives Leonard Nimoy the chance to speak with his directors hat on for a change instead of as an actor, and gives good insight into what it's like for an actor to direct for the first time - it makes me want to buy "Three men and a baby" purely to see how his experiences develop.

All else that can be said is that the sound and picture quality are excellent throughout (especially considering how old this movie is), as are the discs animated menus. Oh, and hunt out for the easter egg - it contains probably the best documentary on this two-disc set.

'Someone is stealing the Enterprise-!'
MOVIE: Possibly my favourite of these films. Basically a simple story about loyalty and sacrifice, but all the best stories - and films - boil down to such a simple concept, and unlike almost ever science fiction movie made since Star Wars the story is never overshadowed by the visuals. Indeed, part of my fondness for this film is its low-budget look; it has a greater resemblance to the classic series than any of the other films. First-time director Leonard Nimoy gives all directors of science-fiction films an important lesson with the 'stealing the Enterprise' scene - that tension and excitement can be generated far more effectively by having things move painfully s-l-o-w-l-y than by filling the screen with action and explosions. Are you listening, George-?
THE DVD: Isn't it nice when these things are done properly? The clutch of documentaries is entertaining and informative, especially Shatner's contribution... his interviews are becoming the highlight of these discs - is really a egomaniac or is he just teasing us-? There is a lot of duplication of material between the documentaries and the commentary - more careful editing would have been good - otherwise the commentary is excellent - a generous amount of it is Nimoy's own recollections. The text commentary (which takes the form of subtitles) is padded out with a lot of nerdy trivia but also full of intriguing stuff- especially when it points out the little tricks and economy measures in the set design and special effects - also there is one tragically ironic reference to the space shuttle Columbia, evidently recorded shortly before its sad end.

The Star Trek Universe Expands
Often derided as one of the poorer Trek films due to its chance place in the broad "odd-numbered film curse," Star Trek III is one of my very favourites. It continues successfully in the vein of "Wrath of Khan".

The character interaction is at its very best, with the possibility of bringing Spock back to life causing Kirk, McCoy, Sulu, Uhura, Chekov and Scotty to steal the Enterprise and effectively end their Starfleet careers in the ultimate gesture of friendship: the needs of the one outweigh the needs of the many. Even the action element of the movie is up there with the more acclaimed Star Trek II; Klingon Commander Kruge is a great bad guy and it's a testament to the actor that after a few minutes I've almost forgotten he was in Back to the Future.

The only flaw with the DVD is that, aside from the commentary and special features, there's little to entice those who already own the much cheaper Star Trek III DVD; although colours are striking and the picture is sharp, it doesn't seem as 'clean' as the re-released Star Trek II, and there are no deleted scenes inserted like in the previous two movies. In terms of the film however, it's a funny ("how can you be deaf with ears like that?") and exciting journey that expanded the Star Trek universe visually for the first time, even if Shatner is still wearing a wig.

The special features are extensive and interesting, for the most part. Klingon language creator and teacher Marc Okrand gives insight into how the language was developed for this film, and altered according to the great Christopher Lloyd's pronunciations, while Industrial Light and Magic effects crew explain how they developed the designs for the U.S.S. Excelsior, Spacedock and Klingon Bird-of-Prey - all of which would be used again and again in the Next Generation. The director's commentary from Leonard Nimoy is also one of the best commentaries I've heard for a couple of reasons: firstly, it is informative and gives insight to how Leonard directed scenes, and secondly it's Spock.