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Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan Director's Cut Goes Blu

Hey Guys!

I know it has been a while since I posted anything on TLR--I apologize....one of my goals with the relaunch has been to do less stories that just regurgitate film news per se--That's what Twitter handle @TheLastReel is here for--and instead focus on stuff that allows for a bit more commentary from me...I hope the slight shift makes for a better blog.

Moving on.


Tuesday June 7th will see the Blu-ray debut of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan Director's Cut! This version of the popular sequel has been around since about 1985 when the film made its network television bow. Director edited back in three minutes of material that adds some great character moments between Kirk (William Shatner) and McCoy (); Spock () and his protegee' Saavik (); And finally gives Scotty () a meat on the bone subplot-his expanded scene in Sickbay gets me every time...Among other bits of footage.

Meyer did a similar addition thing when his 1991 franchise return Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country hit home video. I hope the powers that be will release that cut on Blu as well.


In the Prime timeline Khan Noonien Singh is the genetically enhanced human--An American Sikh of the 1967 episode of "Star Trek" called Space Seed played both times by the great Ricardo Montalban...Despite making $467 million worldwide, "Star Trek Into Darkness" still divides the core fanbase...Thanks to the fact that Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch's baddie "John Harrison" in  J.J. Abrams’ sequel is really Khan in the rebooted timeline....Before STID opened I was totally against the notion of reimaging Kahn and stated my position loudly...Once I saw the film I was won over in large measure because of Cumby's magnetic portrayal ...All of that said though it's widely regarded that Montalban's version is the best Trek villain in its 50 year history. The debate will continue...

Here are specs on the TWOK-DC Blu-ray:

The Blu-ray  release will be presented in 1080p high definition with English 7.1 Dolby TrueHD, French 2.0 Dolby Digital, Spanish Mono Dolby Digital and Portuguese Mono Dolby Digital with English, English SDH, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles.
  • Director’s Edition in high definition
  • Theatrical Version in high definition
  • Commentary by director Nicholas Meyer (Director’s Edition & Theatrical Version)
  • Commentary by director Nicholas Meyer and Manny Coto (Theatrical Version)
  • Text Commentary by Michael and Denise Okuda (Director’s Edition)
  • Library Computer (Theatrical Version)
  • The Genesis Effect: Engineering The Wrath of Khan—NEW!
  • Production
o   Captain’s Log
o   Designing Khan
o   Original interviews with DeForest Kelley, William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and Ricardo Montalban
o   Where No Man Has Gone Before: The Visual Effects ofStar Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
o   James Horner: Composing Genesis
  • The Star Trek Universe
o   Collecting Star Trek’s Movie Relics
o   A Novel Approach
o   Starfleet Academy: The Mystery Behind Ceti Alpha VI
  • Farewell
o   A Tribute to Ricardo Montalban
  • Storyboards
  • Theatrical Trailer
 Sure most of the extras port over from previous releases of the film. The tech specs are an upgrade though. For the record I am not a fan of the box art here...

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