Return of “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” to movie theaters means more than marking forty-year anniversary

There’s a large graphic dominating one of the walls in “Star Trek: Exploring New Worlds” currently at The Henry Ford, along the bottom setting out chronology of related television incarnations. [1]

It starts with the original series, known simply as Star Trek, at far left, labeled “1966-1969.” The following decade brought an animated series, conventions fueled by blooper reels, and failed development of Phase II. [2-6]

In the years that followed production of the last new episode in 1969, the commercial future of =Star Trek was not only anything but certain; it appeared to be chaotic if not actively faltering.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture, then, holds a place among those interested in mainstream studies of film history for having kept the essence of what it had been on the small screen and fully bridged that to financially successful theatrical releases. And beyond. [7-15]

For Star Trek fans, its September 2019 return to Emagine Theatre via Fathom Events is compelling as a first since it played on screens such as those that used to be an important draw to Briarwood Mall in 1979. At that time, there was only one Star Trek movie, this was it — and it tended to be reviewed accordingly. [16,17]

Here’s what Roger Ebert had to say about it in Chicago Sun-Times on December 7, 1979. [18]

… “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” is probably about as good as we could have expected. It lacks the dazzling brilliance and originality of 2001 (which was an extraordinary one-of-a-kind film). But on its own terms it’s a very well-made piece of work, with an interesting premise ….

There is, I suspect, a sense in which you can be too sophisticated for your own good when you see a movie like this. Some of the early reviews seemed pretty blase, as if the critics didn’t allow themselves to relish the film before racing out to pigeonhole it.

The sentiment, it seemed, was to hold back out of some fear that any review contributing to a slide against maximized box office receipts would risk nixing the chances at taking another shot at a subsequent effort, getting something better if not great.

Unencumbered by any such constraints, Den of Geek reviewed Star Trek: The Motion Picture five summers ago, and seemed to have rated it somewhere between The Search for Spock and The Undiscovered Country. That’s more or less where it should be placed. [19]

Fathom Events will offer four screenings on two separate dates at Emagine Theatres.

• September 15, 2019 (Sunday), starting at 1:00pm and 4:00pm
• September 18, 2019 (Wednesday), starting 4:00pm and 7:00pm

Tickets for Star Trek: The Motion Picture can be purchased through Emagine Entertainment online or at the theatre. Before making final arrangements for any showing, check their website to confirm show dates and times.

References

1. “Set coordinates on The Henry Ford and beam down to see ‘Star Trek: Exploring New Worlds’ exhibit, until September 2, 2019” Dell Deaton (May 10, 2019) Saline Journal.
2. “Star Trek” IMDb.
3. “Star Trek: The Animated Series” IMDb.
4. “Nimoy to Roddenberry: Stop ‘Jeopardizing Our Future’ with Bloopers” Scott Edelman (December 12, 2012) SyFy Wire.
5. “A Cancelled Star Trek Show from the 70s Quietly Shaped Every Sequel Since” Don Kaye (September 27, 2017) SyFy Wire.
6. “Did Star Wars’ Success Spur Paramount to ‘Go’ on ST:TMP?” Maria Jose and John Tenuto (October 4, 2014) Star Trek.
7. “Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)” IMDb.
8. “Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) Trailer #1 | Movieclips Classic Trailers” Movieclips Classic Trailers (May 13, 2019) YouTube.
9. “Modern Trailer – Star Trek: The Motion Picture” Orange Band (November 9, 2017) YouTube.
10. “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn (1982)” IMDb.
11. “Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)” IMDb.
12. “Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)” IMDb.
13. “Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)” IMDb.
14. “Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)” IMDb.
15. “Star Trek: Generations (1994)” IMDb.
16. Emagine Entertainment (show times).
17. Fathom Events (home page).
18. “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” Roger Ebert (December 7, 1979) Chicago Sun-Times.
19. “Looking back at Star Trek: The Motion Picture” Stefan Mohamed (June 12, 2014) Den of Geek.