Star Trek 5 “This Other Eden”

I notice that several of the weaker reviews here are from viewers who watched this in isolation and not as part of BionicBob's series. I think they may not have fully grasped what he was going for, and of course it's nearly always better to watch earlier films in a series first (unless you have seen them recently enough to remember well.) Well, I had the opposite experience: watching these in order, in a short span... and this edit fares VERY well in that context.

As much as I appreciated what BB was going for in editing these films to be similar to ST: TOS episodes, this was the first one where I felt he really NAILED it. And it's fitting, too. STIV wraps up the "Spock Trilogy" and sees the crew all back in place with a new ship and a new commission. So here when we get a new, better-looking intro and new, better-sounding theme music, it's perfect. And as much as I liked the old intro, the style of this one is much better for the "TV series" feel. This is also the best yet of BB's edits in terms of the commercial breaks being evenly-timed throughout the film, the fades out and establishing shots back in having the perfect feel, and the music not being too jarringly grand and filmic. More so than any of his other edits, this one is the best realization of his idea of making the movies feel like double episodes. I've also been rewatching ST: TNG and this could easily fit alongside one of their grander 2-parters from season 4 or 5.

In terms of shoring up the weaknesses of the original film, I also think BB does the best job yet on this edit. Whereas he wanted to trim a lot of the goofy humor from STIV, I still found that film grating and dumb. But here he actually does manage to excise all the worst offenses and stupidest, most out-of-character moments. There is a little bit of humor still left, but it wasn't over-the-top for me, and I see that some other reviewers really liked it. I also haven't seen the theatrical cut recently enough to remember how bad the FX shots were, but here they didn't stand out to me at all. In fact, I was thinking how much better they looked than in the previous ST edits! BB has clearly done great work replacing them, and I did not notice any A/V issues that others have mentioned. It was all smooth sailing for me. The one weak point may be that the subtitle banner style is a bit large and off-putting. It would've been ideal to simply remove them from the original and find a way to type new ones in or add a sub file, but if this was what was required to rewrite the Klingon dialogue and other bits: it's worth it.

Unfortunately, there's only so much BB could do about the overall story and ending. Saibok is still poorly explained, the ending is messy and rushed, and Kirk overacts about half his scenes. But there's a lot of good here with all the worst bits cut out. (My review of the theatrical film on its own is here: https://letterboxd.com/film/star-trek-v-the-final-frontier/) So far, I think this is BB's most successful ST edit, and it makes the biggest improvements over the original film. I'd highly recommend this, not only for the TV conceit, but just as a replacement for the theatrical version.

A much improved Star Trek 5. I’ve only seen Trek V once so I wasn’t completely certain of everything cut but it flowed a lot smoother this time. I wasn’t a big fan of the commercial breaks, even though they didn’t bother me in earlier BB Trek edits. Editing was good but some things felt odd (don’t ask me what, I’m a terrible reviewer).

A/V Quality - 9
Editing - 8 visual, 8 audio
Narrative - 8
Enjoyment - 8 (original 6)

Recommended drink: Romulan Ale

Review by L8wrtr — April 19, 2011 @ 7:46 am

*This rating was given before reviews were required*

Review by LastSurvivor — April 19, 2011 @ 9:11 pm

It’s strange how some films obtain a bad reputation and yet at the same time attract many hardcore defenders at the same time. Or perhaps it isn’t. I for one am rarely put off a film by poor reviews – in fact some might say I actively seek them out to see if they really are that bad. One such movie back upon its release in the blockbuster packed summer of 1989 was of course WIlliam Shatner’s Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. The general opinion then, and indeed now, seems to be that it’s probably the worst of the series.

As the years have gone by it’s become general film knowledge that Shatner’s original vision for the film was severely compromised by various contributing factors; it is quite obvious that Paramount slashed the budget and that the wizards of ILM were not available to perform special effects duty. Yet, upon my first viewing of the film at the cinema I genuinely loved it – warts and all. So, when Bionic Bob reached this particularly chapter in his Original Series Trek Edits, I was very intrigued and excited to see what he would do.

First off, as much as I love the new classic TV style intro which has been seen in BB’s other Trek edits, I was delighted to see a new intro which whilst still obviously intended as a TV series intro, retains the wonderful Jerry Goldsmith score. I loved seeing all the various shots of the Enterprise and Bob timed it perfectly with the music. Hopefully this intro will be retained for the final Trek BB edit to come shortly.

Indeed, watching this edit reminded me just how amazing Goldsmith’s score is – I’d forgotten how good it really is and I truly think it stands alongside The Motion Picture as his best Trek score. As soon as we arrive on Nimbus III I knew I was gonna love this – Bob uses Jerry’s original score for the superbly staged pre-credits sequence and I immediately had a beaming smile on my face. The trimming of the shore leave sequence works a treat, particularly the cut of the awful green screen rock fall sequence. I must admit I kind of missed “row, row, row your boat” but by keeping the discussion about Bones’ secret beans recipe in there, I’m more than willing to forgive

Indeed, the one thing I am glad about is that Bob decided not to try and cut all the humor out of the movie. For me, the interplay between the main trio of Kirk, Spock and McCoy is at its absolute best here. Director Shatner deserves massive credit for this (along with his script writers of course!), and I still believe this is a quite beautifully directed Trek movie.

The idea to rescript all the Klingon dialogue with new subtitles (nice Starfleet title cards btw) works absolutely fine. I’ll admit I can’t remember how different it is to the original, but if the intention is to make the Klingon’s as ruthless as we knew them previously, then Bob definitely succeeds.

Uhura’s fan dance is not missed at all, neither is the turbo shaft/rocket boots from the jailbreak. Only thing I thought was that it’s strange that Scotty appears and then in the next scene is just gone without us knowing what he’s up to, but I think it still works well enough. What’s more, the turbo shaft scene always felt like an added scene – at least the humour certainly did. By removing it and getting on straight with the story as Kirk, McCoy and Spock have to face their pain, the movie is all the better for it. Ah yes, the pain. Have to give Bob massive credit here, as when he announced we were going to see Kirk’s pain for the first time I was somewhat skeptical as to how he would achieve this. Well, the clips he used from the classic series and the preceeding movies are superbly chosen, not to mention how skillfully he intercuts them with the scenes on the observation deck. I’m sure he worked on it for some time and it’s one of the best moments in the edit for me. Also, by adding music to the scene it seems to lend even more emotional weight.

One aspect I wasn’t too keen on were the flash forward scenes where Kirk foresees his death. I can see what Bob was trying to do, but the placement of the scenes just feels jarring and don’t work that well for me. I know that Bob states it ties in with his last Trek fanedit, which I have to admit I haven’t viewed yet, so it may well work better if one has seen that first.

All the colour correction on the God planet works without distracting, and I liked the new Klingon gun sound effects – very nice. As for the earthquake filter effects, for the most part they work surprisingly well. It was only when I noticed that the actual 2.35:1 framing was moving as well as the image inside the frame that it became distracting. A shame, as I thought it worked really well otherwise and is a great idea.

The freeze frame style fades, as if going to an advert break, mostly work very well. There was just the one on the observation deck where we hear Sybok continuing to speak after his image is frozen that didn’t work for me. Otherwise, all good.
The picture quality is very good throughout and for the most part the audio is far better than the previous BB Trek edit I watched, The V’ger Incident. However, there are still moments where the background sound/music overpower the dialogue somewhat, which is a shame, but I have to say it certainly doesn’t lessen the impact of the edit.

Most importantly of all though is how good the actual fanediting is here. BB has done a brilliant job and if you hadn’t seen the movie before you would never know where the editing was to tell the truth. I still love the original theatrical version, turbo shaft scene and all. Yet, for the most part Bionic Bob’s This Other Eden has the edge and would now be my go to version, as the saying goes.

I now look forward to seeing Bob’s other Trek edits, and it will be kinda sad when he finally leaves the Trek universe upon the completion of his fanedit of Star Trek VI. However, at least it opens the pathways for Cyborg, his long awaited Six Million Dollar Man edit… now that’s one I really can’t wait for.

Review by DwightFry78 — April 18, 2011 @ 5:13 am

Ah, Star Trek V. The one nobody seems to like. However, for all that’s wrong with this movie, it has a more than intriguing premise and a lot of interesting ideas within that have made me have a soft spot for it, warts and all. And so does BionicBob, who in this newer entry of his TOS-ized Trek film series removes a lot of contrivance and stupidity, and about all of the really offensive material of the theatrical cut, to deliver an excellent edit that’s one of his best and makes up for the slight disappointment that was his version of IV, which I still liked a lot, just not as much as the previous three. Interestingly, I tend to like the odd-numbered entries in the Bionic Trek saga better than the even-numbered ones, unlike what most Trekkers seem to feel about the official cuts.

Gone is the Uhura/Scotty romance, gone is the dance of Uhura’s body double, gone is the belching Klingon, gone is Scotty hitting his head, gone are the worst FX shots, and gone are all the inconsistences that could be removed without the aid of deleted scenes. I expected that Sybok would no longer be Spock’s brother in this version, but he still is. Not the worst of problems with STV, anyway. The overall result? Pretty solid Trek that streamlines the best The Final Frontier had to offer.

This time around the excellent Jerry Goldsmith music is kept, and for good reason as it’s by far one of the best Trek scores. We also get a different TV-style intro than the one in the previous edits, which is somewhat controversial apparently, but I personally love it. A celebration of the Enterprise that’s a comeback to the classic TOS intro, plus the amazing Goldsmith theme. What’s not to like?

On the downside, Bob left in some silly and overly comedic bits, with lines like “I ought to knock you on your ass” and moments like Spock nerve-pinching a horse, while I would have preferred the feel to go further towards the serious, as I think the material in question demands that (but hell, I’m the guy whose favorite ST film is the deadly serious TMP and would like a similar treatment being applied to this one, so most people will no doubt disagree). Also, Bob added a tiny flash-forward near the beginning and reprised it near the end. I understand why he has done it and have nothing but respect for his decision, but I think both sequences (particularly the first) worked better without it. It’s a bit too obvious, and a bit of overkill. On the other hand, I loved the “Kirk’s pain” sequence. One of the best TOS montages by Bob.

Technical stuff… let me joyfully shout it: IT’S 16:9 ANAMORPHIC! :D And no interlacing either! Finally! This is how all of Bob’s edits deserve to look like. Other people have pointed out technical problems, but I haven’t noticed much other than some slight blocking in one shot, and maybe the music being a bit too loud during the characters’ walk through the Sha-Ka-Ree desert. The audio level problems in IV bothered me much more. Yet keep in mind I have watched the edit on a computer, so in a proper Home Cinema system there may be more noticeable flaws.

Overall? I’ll just say: someone send the Shat a copy of this edit! Let him see how good his maligned movie can actually be. I think he… would… love… it. 9/10

Looking forward to VI.