Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

Movie
German title	Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Original title	Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Country of production	United States
original language	English
Publishing year	1982
length	113 minutes
Age rating	FSK 12
Rod
Director	Nicholas Meyer
script	Nicholas Meyer, Jack B. Sowards
production	Robert Sallin
music	James Horner
camera	Gayne Rescher
cut	William P. Dornisch
occupation
William Shatner : Admiral James T. Kirk Leonard Nimoy : Captain Spock DeForest Kelley : Dr. Leonard McCoy James Doohan : Commander Montgomery Scott George Takei : Lt. Com. Hikaru Sulu Walter Koenig : Commander Pavel Chekov Nichelle Nichols : Lt. Com. Uhura Merritt Butrick : Dr. David Marcus Bibi Besch : Dr. Carol Marcus Kirstie Alley : Lieutenant Saavik Ricardo Montalbán : Khan Noonien Singh Paul Winfield : Capt. Clark Terrell Ike Eisenmann: Peter Preston John Vargas: Jedda John Winston : Commander Kyle Judson Scott : Joaquim
synchronization
chronology
←  Predecessor Star Trek: The Movie Successor  → Star Trek III: In Search of Mr. Spock

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (original title Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan ) is an American science fiction film from 1982 . It is based on the popular television series Raumschiff Enterprise and continues its episode The Sleeping Tiger in the cinema about 15 years later: Khan, a person created through eugenics , escapes his exile and wants to take revenge on James T. Kirk for his exile. He seizes Genesis technology, which can create and destroy life at the same time, and ultimately wants to use it to drag Kirk with him to death.

The director and screenwriter Nicholas Meyer and producer Harve Bennett redefined Star Trek for the cinema. The atmosphere should be more realistic and more military than in the previous film . In particular, he addressed the advanced age of the leading actors. Before the release, the film death of the popular character Mr. Spock attracted a lot of attention and protests from fans. Series inventor Gene Roddenberry also resisted some of the project's ideas. The success of the production with audiences and critics guaranteed further sequels and persuaded the Spock actor Leonard Nimoy to stay in the film series. Today Star Trek II is considered to be one of the most successful and most influential screen adaptations within Star Trek .

action

The crew of the Federation starship Reliant is in the 23rd century in search of an inanimate planet suitable for a test of the Genesis Project. The secret project, led by Dr. Carol Marcus and her son Dr. Developed by David Marcus, the aim is to use terraforming to transform dead planets into worlds suitable for settlement. While exploring a desert planet, Captain Terrell and his first officer, Commander Chekov, encounter Khan, a human created by eugenics . He and his followers were exiled on this planet by Captain Kirk fifteen years earlier. Khan subdues Chekov and Terrell with mind-altering parasites and hijacks the Reliant to take control of Genesis technology and take revenge on Kirk.

The aging Admiral Kirk is meanwhile on inspection aboard his former spaceship Enterprise , on which cadets are trained under his friend Captain Spock. When Dr. Carol sends Marcus a cry for help, Kirk takes command. On the way to the science station, the Enterprise meets the Reliant , which suddenly opens fire. Although his spaceship is badly damaged, Kirk manages to use a bluff to incapacitate the re-emerged archenemy Khan and to put him to flight.

Arrived at the space station, Kirk finds most of the scientists murdered. Terrell and Chekov left Khan alive, but apparently traumatized . Looking for Dr. Carol Marcus and the Genesis device housed in a torpedo can be beamed to Kirk and his outside squad into the hollowed out interior of the nearby planetoid . There he not only meets Dr. Carol Marcus, with whom he had a relationship years ago: He is confronted for the first time with their son David, who blames Kirk for the situation. Terrell and Chekov try by force of arms on behalf of Khan, by Kirk and Dr. Blackmail Carol Marcus for Genesis Technology; Terrell goes mad and shoots himself; Chekov passes out and is abandoned by the parasite.

In fact, the interior of the planet reveals itself as a fertile landscape: the Genesis project was successfully tested in the cave. The Enterprise is also not as badly damaged as Khan was led to believe: Captain Spock will soon be able to beam Kirk and the others on board. Kirk lures the Reliant with the vengeful Khan on board into the Mutara Nebula, which overrides the most important security functions of both spaceships: This is the only way that the ailing Enterprise is equal to the technically superior Reliant .

Thanks to Kirk's greater experience, the Enterprise can defeat the Reliant . But when the seriously wounded Khan activates the Genesis projectile to drag Kirk with him to his death, only Spock's selflessness can save the spaceship and its crew: He repairs the reactor so that the Enterprise can escape the explosion at warp speed in good time . Before that, however, Spock conveyed his soul ("the Katra") to the ship's doctor, Doctor McCoy, with the help of a mind-meld. Spock dies due to the ionizing radiation from the reactor. He is buried on the planet newly created by the explosion of the Genesis projectile.

Before the end credits, Spock speaks from the off : “Space remains the big challenge. The spaceship Enterprise continues to advance into new areas on its travels. It remains his job to explore unusual new worlds, to search for new forms of life. The Enterprise bravely pushes where no one has been before. "

Production history

Script development

New producer

As a long-awaited production, the previous film, Star Trek: The Film, had become a great commercial success. But the artistic result disappointed both the public and the critics. Paramount's studio management decided to produce a second film based on the television series Star Trek . Initially planned as a television film , it should ultimately be another cinema production. The production costs, however, at around eleven million dollars, were only about a quarter of the budget spent on Star Trek: The Film . Gene Roddenberry , creator of Star Treks , had to leave his position as producer because the studio blamed him for the inflated budget and poor reception. Harve Bennett took his place . The experienced producer of television series such as The Six Million Dollar Man promised to stick to the tight budget and make the new film more exciting.

Bennett hadn't made a feature film before. For the complex task he got support from Robert Sallin , an experienced producer and director of commercials. It was due to his inexperience with cinema productions that he contractually guaranteed Sallin the title of producer and used himself as a less important executive producer : the latter position is only the more important in television productions. Because he hardly knew Star Trek , Bennett said he had all episodes of the television series shown. When looking for a suitable material, he was inspired by the episode The Sleeping Tiger ( Space Seed ): Ricardo Montalbán played a genetically engineered superhuman and tyrant who was finally defeated by Captain Kirk and banished to a planet with his followers. Bennett said this story was an excellent sequel. The strong antagonistic power of the character charismatically embodied by Montalban was supposed to give the new Star Trek film the drama that the first film lacked.

Bennett consulted the writer Jack B. Sowards to develop the script . With ideas from Bennett, Robert Sallin and Art Director Michael Minor, several very different script versions were created; Working titles included: Star Trek: The Omega System , Star Trek: The Genesis Project and Star Trek: Worlds That Never Were . Bennett's idea of ​​a Federation super weapon, the Omega System, came from the early stages of script development . Dissatisfied with its purely destructive effect, he and Mike Minor developed the Genesis project to create new worlds that can be misused as a weapon. However, the team was unable to build a coherent story from the individual, promising elements. The level of action of the Khan figure also remained largely a marginal phenomenon in the various versions. In the version by the familiar Star Trek writer Sam Peeples , Khan even disappeared completely from the script. The project, whose schedule was well advanced, threatened to fail.

Director Nicholas Meyer (2008)

Nicholas Meyer joined the project in this crisis . The successful young writer (The Seven Percent Solution) made a respectable directorial debut with Escape into the Future and was recommended to Bennett as a director by a friend who worked at Paramount. Highly motivated to take on the artistic direction of a comparatively large production, he tried to solve the script problems: Together with producers Bennett and Sallin, he created a list of promising elements from the six previous scripts. From this list of plots, scenes, characters and lines of dialogue, Meyer, who hardly knew the series, created another script within twelve days. Because there was too little time for contractual formalities, he decided not to be named as an author. Meyer later justified this decision not only with his naivety: In this way, he also freed himself from additional pressure should his efforts disappoint.

The producers were convinced of the new design, but some actors were skeptical. William Shatner railed against the script the most. Meyer submitted a new version to this within just two days, to which Shatner responded enthusiastically. The theme of his or Kirk's age caused Shatner great discomfort. Bennett and Meyer eventually managed to change Shatner's mind and preserve this essential aspect of the script, but any indication of Kirk's exact age disappeared from the finished script.

Spock's death

Spock actor Leonard Nimoy, about a year before filming began

Spock's death was an integral part of the film from an early age. In this way, Harve Bennett succeeded in getting the initially unmotivated Leonard Nimoy interested in taking on the role of the popular Vulcan again. The dying scene, which was planned as Nimoy's exit from the franchise , was to hit the audience abruptly in the first half of the film. However, news of Spock's planned death reached the public. Bennett later suspected Gene Roddenberry: creator Star Treks was vehemently opposed to developments the project took; He wanted to avoid Spock's death and the heavy emphasis on military elements. His objections were ignored.

The following protests, calls for boycotts and occasional death threats from angry fans, however, made the studio feel insecure. Bennett responded by spreading rumors of alternate endings for his part. This enabled him to contain the protests and further increase public interest in the upcoming film. In fact, moving away from Spock's death was never up for discussion. Instead, Bennett and Meyer worked the dying scene as the climax of the film's finale. In addition, they let Spock die right at the beginning in the course of a battle that was revealed shortly afterwards as a simulation. In this way, the filmmakers not only saved the element of surprise in the actual death scene: They were convinced that they had significantly improved the structure of the solid script. In addition, scenes from the film in the trailer were cut in such a way that (as a false track) the impression was given that Kirk was dying.

Pre-production

Production design

The tight budget forced the production team to be as efficient as possible. So it fell back under the direction of Joe Jennings on structures that had been constructed for Star Trek: The Film and the never-realized television series Star Trek: Phase Two . Among other things, the backdrop of the bridge of a Klingon spaceship from the first film was converted into the Enterprise's torpedo room . Both the Kobayashi-Maru sequence and the scenes on the Reliant bridge were filmed on the Enterprise Bridge set . Only small variations in the structure and in the color scheme should make the difference between the spaceships clear. In addition, the production designers looked for usable props and scenery parts in the Paramount pool: The painted skyline of San Francisco , which can be seen through the window of Kirk's apartment, comes from Flammendes Inferno , the model of a spaceship from The Conquest of Space from 1955 found as Oxygen tank insert. Instead of new constructions, the team used borrowed film props for futuristic-looking devices, such as those intended for the Regula I room laboratory . The changes to the buildings initiated by Meyer had to be limited to details. He was particularly happy to incorporate flashing light-emitting diodes into the sets, which were supposed to convey the hustle and bustle of the computer. Bennett largely gave him a free hand in designing the costumes. Meyer had costume designer Robert Fletcher design completely new and far more military uniforms for the crew members of the Enterprise .

As a sister ship, the USS Reliant was originally supposed to look like the Enterprise ; however, it would have been difficult to tell the two spaceships apart during the planned battles. For example, Joe Jennings designed the only new construction for the film, a spaceship that re-combined familiar elements of the Enterprise . The draft reached Harve Bennett by post abroad. Since he was obviously looking at the blueprint upside down and thus approved it with his signature, the designers changed the design accordingly in view of the time pressure.

occupation

Kirstie Alley (1994)

Ricardo Montalbán was initially skeptical whether he wanted to and could take up the role of Khan again. At the time, he had played the leading role in the hit television series Fantasy Island for years . After a first reading of the script, Khan seemed too insignificant to him. It was only later that he realized the importance of the role.

In addition to Bibi Besch , daughter of Austrian actress Gusti Huber , who played Kirk's lover, and Paul Winfield as Captain Terrell, Kirstie Alley in her first film role as Lieutenant Saavik stands out from the new additions to the ensemble.

Filming

Leading actor William Shatner (2005)

Filming began in November 1981 under a high level of secrecy. The film was made almost exclusively on the Paramount studio premises. In the first week Meyer realized scenes with Ricardo Montalban. The closest working relationship in production arose between the experienced film actor and the young director: Montalban, unsure that he would be taken seriously in the role of the obsessed, superhuman avenger, was grateful for Meyer's directing instructions. Usually Meyer pointed out to him that Khan's insanity was stronger the less Montalban expressed it. Although the animosity between Kirk and Khan is central to the film, Montalban was never able to see or hear Kirk actor Shatner due to the schedule. Instead, Montalban had to react to a script girl behind the camera who read Shatner's lines of text, which did not make Montalban's work easier.

Walter Koenig , who spent most of his days shooting with him as Chekov , was particularly pleased with the collegiality of Montalban . So Koenig was spared Shatner's egocentricity for some time, which other supporting actors in the ensemble also complained about again and again. Shatner was also known for overacting . In order to get the desired performance from him, Meyer used a time-consuming trick, according to his own statements: He had important settings repeated until Shatner got tired and lost the desire to play. In this way he made his texts more straightforward and more believable.

Walter Koenig (1980)

The work on the surface of the desert planet where Terrell and Chekov were supposed to meet Khan turned out to be particularly strenuous: Huge fans simulated a huge sandstorm , which caused great problems, especially for the team behind the camera: They could hardly breathe the air and had to Protect fragile film technology from penetrating sand. The two actors had to wear heavy, airtight spacesuits that were locked with a helmet. After about five minutes, their breathing air was used up. In the end, trick experts helped with the finished recordings, as the sandstorm filmed on its own was not impressive enough.

During the filming, Spock's dying scene manifested itself as an emotional climax: all participants in the production reported an unusually depressed mood that had prevailed on the set during preparation and during the shoot. Members of the production staff wept. Leonard Nimoy began to regret his decision under the positive impression of the shooting. Harve Bennett, already thinking about a sequel, asked Nimoy for a way to continue spinning the story of Spock. Nimoy suggested a "Vulcan mind- meld " ( Mindmelt ) between Spock and McCoy, which Bennett followed up with the two actors.

The main filming came to an end in January 1982 when the scene in Kirk's apartment with William Shatner and DeForest Kelley , which can be seen at the beginning of the film, was realized. In retrospect, everyone involved reported that the atmosphere on the set was relaxed. Director Meyer was satisfied with the professional collaboration.

Special effects

The order for the optical special effects was awarded to George Lucas ' Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), although Douglas Trumbull and his company had made a USD 1.5 million cheaper offer. Paramount had already worked well with ILM in Raiders of the Lost Ark and was interested in further collaboration. Due to lack of time, work on these settings began very early during production and was strictly based on pre-defined storyboards . Most of the 150 optical effects were designed by Mike Minor. For cost reasons, the team used models and individual trick sequences from the previous film, which were made in Douglas Trumbull's studio.

The building of new models should largely be avoided. For the Regula I space laboratory , the specialists therefore used the existing model of a space station from the previous film and turned it from top to bottom to make it appear different. The model of the spaceship Reliant was realized in lightweight construction and was therefore much easier to handle than the large model of the Enterprise , which had to be moved by eight people and had a fragile inner workings due to the complicated wiring. During the shooting, the models were fixed in front of a blue screen . A computer-controlled camera moved around the model to create the illusion of a flying spaceship on film. To destroy the Reliant when the Enterprise was bombarded , the team detonated an enlarged model of the respective part. The process was filmed with a high-speed camera in order to give the impression of a larger scale when playing back more slowly. Sparkling sparks, as they can be seen after a drive nacelle has been separated, were animated by hand.

Aside from the spaceship models, the planet containing the Genesis Cave was also built in two sizes. One model weighed over 300 pounds and the other, smaller, was a hemisphere. Scenes in the paradisiacal landscape of the Genesis Cave were difficult to realize. The backdrop, which was only a few dozen square meters in size, had to be fitted into a matte painting that simulated a room around 100 meters wide. A background painting, which was inspired by the jungle impressions of the painter Frank Church, served as the basis. Using other classic trick techniques, a waterfall and sun rays were simulated. The Mutara Nebula was also created using an old but effective trick technique in a cloud tank . A latex solution is injected into an aquarium filled with water. The trick experts copied the filmed spaceship models into the resulting three-dimensional abstract patterns.

Make-up specialist Werner Keppler found his own solution for depicting the severe burn injuries: Instead of elaborate latex masks, he applied gelatine to the actors' skin and was thus able to significantly reduce mask times. The ceti eels , reptilian creatures whose young crawl into Chekov and Terrell's ears, were pupae that Ken Ralston moved from the underside with sticks. The non-adult eels were pieces of painted foam that were pulled across the performers' cheeks with a thread. For detailed shots of the animal crawling in and out of Chekov's ear, the team made a large replica of Walter Koenig's ear.

The implementation of the Genesis Effect made a lasting impression on the audience and experts. In the one-minute sequence, a camera circles a barren, lifeless planet while its surface is transformed into a paradisiacal landscape. This scene is considered to be the first use of computer-generated images ( CGI ) in a feature film, after partial CGI effects were already used in the films Star Wars and Tron . The team from a sub-department of ILM wanted to demonstrate the potential of the new technology. Ten computer graphic artists under the direction of Ed Catmull worked for about six months on this and the settings for the retina scan immediately before it. Pixar later emerged from this department . The use of computer-generated background images was also new. The opening credits of the film take the viewer on a flight through space. Jim Veilleux programmed 6000 stars for this sequence, whose positions changed relative to the movement of the camera, taking into account their supposedly different distances.

In addition to ILM, the company Visual Concepts Engineering (VCE) was involved in the creation of special optical effects . She contributed the sequences showing the shooting down and the effects of radiation weapons, as well as the light emanating from the opened reactor that can be seen towards the end of the film. VCE also designed the beam effect . For the first time, the figures were able to move during the beam process.

post processing

Final cut

The tight schedule and the set premiere date forced Meyer to work on the editing parallel to the shooting . He had to forego time-consuming experiments. To his displeasure, he learned at the time of the final cut that those responsible changed his originally planned title Star Trek II: The Undiscovered Country to Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan without consultation .

Even after the test screenings, Harve Bennett and the studio expressed their desire to make Spock's death appear less definitive than originally planned: the audience reacted too depressed at the end of the film. The optimistic mood on the set and with Leonard Nimoy also spurred Bennett's hope for further sequels - with Spock as the main character of the franchise.

A modified final sequence should keep the possibility of Spock's return open: The coffin with Spock did not burn up when entering the atmosphere of the Genesis planet, but came to lie in the middle of the newly created, paradisiacal landscape. Nicholas Meyer fought with all his might against this new conclusion, which in his opinion undermined the impact and credibility of the story, but he was defeated in a heated argument with the studio. Instead of Meyer, Robert Sallin, who is experienced with commercials, shot the new final sequence with an away team in Golden Gate Park . In addition, Bennett changed the last entry in Kirk's logbook , which now emphasized that Genesis meant "life out of death". As a final point, Leonard Nimoy as Spock now spoke a slightly modified version of the familiar introductory words “ Space. The final frontier… ”(German:“ The space. Infinite widths… ”), to further increase the viewer's hope for a sequel with Spock.

In another dispute concerning the final cut, Meyer was able to prevail: the reconciliation between Kirk and his son David remained despite clear objections from the studio management - Barry Diller said: “ It stinks! ”- part of his film.

Other subplots fell victim to the scissors in the theatrical version: Saavik's ancestry (half Vulcan, half Romulan) was ultimately just as little mentioned as Scotty's relationship with the young cadet, who died in front of Scotty and Kirk after Khan's first attack. Director Meyer reinserted the latter scene in the television version for ABC and in the Director's Edition DVD released in 2002, along with other minor additions.

music

Due to the limited budget, another collaboration with Jerry Goldsmith, who had set the first film, was out of the question. Instead, the choice fell on the young and ambitious composer James Horner , who had previously mainly written music for cheap horror films. The 28-year-old only had five weeks to complete the main work on the composition. Since the film was cut in parallel, Horner had to largely fall back on the available rough cuts of individual scenes.

In order to emphasize the connection to the original television series, which was particularly important to producer Bennett, Horner once again incorporated the Star Trek fanfare Where No Man Has Gone Before, composed by Alexander Courage , prominently into the title melody . In Star Trek: The film had been largely dispensed with the familiar theme from the TV series. In addition, Horner made no borrowings from previous musical arrangements for Star Trek . According to Nicholas Meyer's ideas, the music should be based on seafaring adventurers, such as the soundtrack of Mutiny on the Bounty and similar film classics. Horner and Bennett disagreed about the use of the Amazing Grace piece : Horner was against using it at Spock's funeral, but Bennett insisted after hearing it at a funeral of a senior British military man.

At Meyer's insistence, the studio surprisingly allowed an orchestra with 90 musicians to record the film music, although initially a cheaper synthesizer was to be used. The recording of the 70-minute film music took five days. Horner said he was very satisfied with the result of his work and praised the exceptionally productive collaboration with Nicholas Meyer, who comes from a family of musicians.

synchronization

The German synchronization was carried out by Berliner Synchron GmbH based on a dialogue book by Jürgen Neu, directed by Wolfgang Schick . Some of the original voice actors were hired for the film. Manfred Schott , the actual German voice of Dr. McCoy passed away before he could speak his part. Christian Rode took over his role . This time, William Shatner was not dubbed by Gert Günther Hoffmann , as usual , but by Klaus Sonnenschein . Sven Plate was responsible for the synchronization of the new scenes .

role	actor	Voice actor
Admiral James T. Kirk	William Shatner	Klaus Sunshine
Mr. Spock	Leonard Nimoy	Herbert Weicker , Norbert Gescher (new scenes)
Dr. Leonard "pill" McCoy	DeForest Kelley	Christian Rode
Lt. Cmdr. Montgomery "Scotty" Scott	James Doohan	KE Ludwig , Kaspar Eichel (new scenes)
Lt. Cmdr. Hikaru Sulu	George Takei	Helmut Gauss
Lt. Pavel Chekov	Walter Koenig	Elmar Wepper , Stefan Staudinger (new scenes)
Lt. Cmdr. Uhura	Nichelle Nichols	Joseline Gassen
Dr. David Marcus	Merritt Butrick	Ulrich Matthes
Dr. Carol Marcus	Bibi Besch	Almut Eggert
Lt. Saavik	Kirstie Alley	Susanna Bonaséwicz
Khan Noonien Singh	Ricardo Montalbán	Heinz Petruo
Capt. Clark Terrell	Paul Winfield	Jürgen Kluckert
Peter Preston	Ike Eisenmann	Stefan Krause
Jedda	John Vargas	Thomas Petruo
Joaquim	Judson Scott	Lutz Riedel

Synchronization failure

In the scene in which the crew returns from the Genesis planet to the Enterprise, the 87th minute in the bluray edition, there is the following dialogue:

Admiral Kirk: "Paragraph 46a: when messages are transmitted during a battle ..."
Lt. Saavik: "... encrypted messages are prohibited in any case."

The original English text is:

Admiral Kirk: "Regulation 46a: if transmissions are monitored during battle ..."
Lt. Saavik: "... no uncodes messages on an open channel."

The German dubbing translated the opposite of what was said.

Film analysis

Staging

dramaturgy

The film follows on from a TV episode, but you don't need to know this or any other episode of Star Trek to follow the plot. At the beginning of the film, Meyer had a text panel showing the time "In the 23rd Century", which he wanted to further facilitate orientation for those viewers who were not familiar with Star Trek .

A special dramatic function is given to the new figure Lieutenant Saavik: In their inexperience Captain Spock can protégé serve as a role model of the viewer. The same goes for Captain Terrell, who meets Khan at the beginning of the film without knowing his past. The independence of this sequel goes so far that the events of the previous film Star Trek: The Film are completely ignored. For example, the starting situation of the main character Kirk is the same: Again he struggles with his admiral post, which denies him adventure on "his" spaceship.

The title main plot is Khan's vindictiveness. Although Khan appears relatively infrequent, his hunt for Kirk is the driving element of the plot. The enemies never face each other face-to-face: all confrontations take place electronically. A planned duel between opponents with futuristic weapons was deleted from the finished script not least for cost reasons.

Until the first confrontation between the unambiguous main character Kirk and his adversary Khan, which takes place around the middle of the film, the film introduces the subplot around the Genesis project, among other motifs: research into this technology for the creation and destruction of life leads to the accidental discovery of Khan, who uses the opportunity to escape. His striving for the powerful Genesis technology reinforces Khan's antagonistic power and also brings Kirk together with a former lover and his unknown son: Both developed the Genesis project, which the defeated Khan wants to use, as the last act of Kirk and his spaceship to be dragged along to death.

Two hopeless scenarios (no-win scenario) form the dramaturgical bracket of the film: the Kobayashi-Maru test at the beginning confronts cadets with a loss-making situation that cannot be avoided by any decision. With Spock's selfless sacrificial death in the finale, this test situation becomes a bitter reality for the main characters, above all Kirk. However, whether Spock's death is actually final is left to the viewer's interpretation: The final shots show that his coffin is lying in the middle of the paradisiacal flora of the newly created Genesis planet, which itself was created from dead matter. In fact, according to some recipients, the ending calls for a sequel. But as film critic Roger Ebert observes, Spock's death would have reached such an extraordinarily emotional climax that the film did not need an end in the traditional sense to be satisfactory.

Visual style

While in Star Trek: The Film the world in the 23rd century was to be presented as visionary and new as possible, for Star Trek II director Meyer took the opposite direction and consciously built bridges to the past. The starting point for Meyer's interpretation was the fact that Roddenberry had conceived Star Trek as a kind of " Captain Hornblower in space". In order to create the desired maritime atmosphere, the spaceships should glide through space like mighty sailing ships. The sequence in the Mutara Nebula, in which the two spaceships are practically blindly chasing each other, was based on submarine films. The film set itself apart from the popular Star Wars films, in which the depictions of space battles were based on aerial battles .

A new, more military uniform

The new appearance on board dominates not luxury but functionality. The light is subdued and the rooms appear narrower. The sets should look as realistic as possible: Meyer had fire extinguishers installed visibly in the backdrop of the command bridges. He also wanted to have a “no smoking” sign posted on the Enterprise Bridge, but the producers forbade him to use these and similar ideas that seemed too extreme or inappropriate for the established Star Trek world . However, Bennett accepted the new, burgundy uniforms suggested by Meyer , which were based on the uniforms of Napoleonic soldiers as well as German soldiers from the Second World War and thus appeared much more military than ever before. Meyer coined the expression “nautical, but nice” for the basic line of the revised production design. Film critics welcomed these changes. Mark Altmann stated ten years later, "Though it may have pissed Roddenberry off, turning the Enterprise from a country club in space into a warship really helped the film."

Meyer's concept is clearly evident in the furnishings of Kirk's apartment on earth: against the background of a futuristic skyline that can be seen through the window, there are antiquarian collectibles such as old pistols and, as a direct reference to Captain Hornblower, the model of a sailing ship. As an expression of Kirk's advancing age, Meyer starts by introducing antiquarian glasses that Kirk gets for his birthday. This and an antiquarian edition of the book A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens , also a birthday present for Kirk, form an important visual theme of the futuristic film. In contrast to the previous film, the special effects took a back seat. For reasons of cost, Meyer used the same images that show Kirk's shuttle on its way to the Enterprise. But instead of admiring the spacecraft in awe as in the first film, Meyer lets Kirk read a book.

Meyer realized his concept of staging those elements in a science fiction film that are most familiar to the viewer with the first shot: It shows Spock's pointed ear and the concise design of the spaceship Enterprise , which Spock observed on that Screen can be seen. Meyer consciously combined the two most famous elements of the series. Meyer aroused curiosity among some viewers by having Khan keep his right glove on throughout the film. When asked about this striking detail, he could not and would not give a reason for it, since he only tells the story: "You know more than I do ... you are the audience."

music

Although director Meyer aggressively addressed the military structure of the Star Trek world in the production design , he wanted to refrain from the background music: "I'm tired of these constant marches [in science fiction films]." The film music was based on the soundtracks of classic seafaring films , for example by Erich Korngold . Associations with large windjammers setting sail hoisted to sea should be awakened. Composer Horner also incorporated ship bells into the soundtrack, which the audience perceives rather unconsciously and which should enhance the maritime atmosphere on board. Many ideas went back to the director, including the requirement to develop a maritime main theme instead of a scenario-independent work like John Williams ' Star Wars .

Horner's work contains four main themes. The film opens with the fanfare Where No Man Has Gone Before by composer Alexander Courage , which had already started the television adventures of the Enterprise . Producer Harve Bennett underscored the loyalty he was striving for to the established world of Star Treks . In Star Trek: The film had even dispensed with this landmark issue. After a few bars, a tritone, which is typical due to its signaling character, joins the actual main theme. It is associated with the Enterprise in the course of the film and is intended to convey the seafaring atmosphere intended by Meyer. The opening music is played in the middle tempo range .

In addition, Horner wrote character themes for Khan and Spock. The Khan theme, heard well in Khan's Pets , is characterized by dissonances and a juxtaposition of very low and high tones played slowly and quietly, which are supposed to "subtly underline the madness of the figure". The music should appear threatening and disturbing. In contrast, the descriptive music of Khan is said to be "wild and pagan when he is fighting." In these sequences Horner also used the four-note motif for the first time , which he used over the next 20 years to signal danger.

The subject of the strictly rational Spock described Horner as "emphasizing the human, and not the foreign". It was played using conventional instruments and is intended to evoke feelings of warmth and friendship in the audience. Finally, the Genesis theme is more dynamic. Horner consciously wanted associations with the Genesis Suite , composed a. a. by Igor Stravinsky , avoid what he found too predictable. Instead, he says he was inspired by a few passages from 2001: A Space Odyssey .

The late phase of the film is dominated by a thick carpet of sound. Meyer staged the confrontation in the Mutara fog in the style of a submarine film. Horner accompanied this with unexpected sforzati and shrill, loud dissonances, in order to depict extreme weather conditions and the lack of orientation. The epilogue takes up the Spock theme again and is concluded with a monologue by Leonard Nimoy, a variation of the introductory words from Starship Enterprise . In this way, the music adds an optimistic note to the mood of the end of the film. There is a smooth transition to the credits in the end credits, in which the main topic is re-enacted.

Main topic ^{? / i}

Sub-topic of the main topic ^{? / i}

Secondary topic of the main topic, short version ^{? / i}

Themes and motifs

Myth, Age, and Loss

At its core, Star Trek II is a story about accepting loss. The opening sequence makes this clear: Lt. Saavik, the young prospective commander, has to face the Kobayashi Maru test. During a simulation flight she gets into an unsolvable dilemma in which she has to accept the death of the crew of another spaceship (Kobayashi Maru) or that of her own crew through her decision. The test forces the participants to face a hopeless situation. The behavior in such a situation reveals the character.

At the moment of the lost space battle, director Meyer introduces the legend Kirk in a mystifying way: His first appearance shows him in the blue backlight of a projector, which gives the figure a glowing aura. Through the metaphorical intervention of the hero, the catastrophe of the lost space battle is exposed as an illusion. Kirk's hero status is then consistently dismantled as the film progresses. He teaches the inexperienced Saavik that it is important to master death as well as life. Later it is revealed, however, that Kirk doesn't even know what he is talking about, since he has avoided every hopeless situation in his life so far. He was the only cadet to successfully solve the test scenario - but, as it turns out, only because he secretly changed the programming. In the television series, too, Kirk liked to bluff in order to escape sticky situations. Now he's struggling to come to terms with having half of his life behind him. For his birthday he is given glasses because of his onset of poor eyesight, and the fact that his spaceship now serves as a training ship for young cadets, on which he is no longer needed, reinforces Kirk's impression that the best time is behind him. In the course of the film, his behavior changes from arrogant gesture to modesty.

The dismantling of the myth about Kirk and his crew shows some parallels to the late Western due to the break with familiar rules : The hero has to admit weaknesses, and new identifying figures like Saavik and David Marcus are skeptical about his self-image. Due to this differentiation, the main roles gain depth and facets compared to the television series. The myth is not lost through the confrontation with Khan, but is renewed in analogy to the further development of the western: Kirk acts as an aged sheriff far behind the frontier , who can once again live up to his reputation by confronting Khan. By the end of the film, he no longer feels old and burned out, but young. In the second half of his life, many more, perhaps more exciting experiences can await him. This change of consciousness of Kirk is mainly triggered by the death of his best friend: Spock sacrifices his life for that of the ship's crew. It is Kirk's first real confrontation with death, his personal Kobayashi-Maru test.

Although Spock loses his life, he seems to be best at dealing with loss. With his stoic loyalty to friends and, not least, his logic, he seems prepared for death. In the television series, Spock had repeatedly risked his life to protect others. Accordingly, contrary to what he said in the film, he had already taken the Kobayashi Maru test several times. McCoy, its emotional counterpart, said in the episode Bread and Circuses ( bread and circuses ) to Vulcan, he had probably why so little fear of death because he feared life more. But his voluntary death does not seem to be the result of a death wish, but the consequence of his logical ethics - and the appreciation of the people around him: "The well-being of many outweighs the well-being of a few, or of an individual."

Khan too is struggling with a painful loss. The once powerful tyrant was banished; his lover died in exile. He goes his way of revenge with fatal consequence: In order to achieve Kirk's annihilation, he accepts his own death. According to Roger Ebert, the viewer feels peculiar compassion for the mad Khan thanks to Montalban's portrayal: "He plays his character as a man with deeply wounded pride, whose hatred of Admiral Kirk is stronger than his typical desire as a villain to rule the universe." Khan ignites the Genesis torpedo to destroy the Enterprise. Spock dies while saving the ship from exploding; at the same time a new planet is born. The fact that loss and gain, life and death lie close together culminates in the Genesis project.

Seafaring and literature

Khan and his entourage are not only reminiscent of pirates in their appearance; they hijack a spaceship and “sail” under a false flag in order to overwhelm the enemy with a surprise attack. Further references also fit harmoniously into the conception of the film in the manner of an offshore adventure. Khan's main motive for revenge on Kirk is the death of his wife, which he blames on Kirk. This is a reference to Captain Nemo from Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea . A meaningful zoom shows Paradise Lost , King Lear, and Herman Melville's Moby Dick on Khan's bookshelf. When creating Khan, director and screenwriter Meyer refers to both Satan, who was chased from Paradise, and King Lear. But especially Moby Dick and Captain Ahab are an obvious source of inspiration for the film.

Khan paraphrases the vengeful Ahab who ultimately dies in agony himself while hunting the hated "white whale". Khan as Captain Ahab pursues Kirk in blind vengeance despite his regained freedom. In the finale, the original literature is reflected particularly clearly in the film: If Ahab's ship sinks, Khan's ship is destroyed in the Mutara Nebula; when Ahab drowns in order to maltreat the whale with his harpoon, dying Khan activates the Genesis torpedo. Khan reproduces Ahab's last words: “ To the last I will grapple with thee… For hate sake… I spit my last breath at thee! ”(In the German version:“ I would fight with you to the end… The hate wins now… I spew my last breath on you… ”).

There is another parallel to Moby Dick : In the novel, the exotic whale hunter Queequeg knows after mystical rituals about his approaching death, which he now looks towards in silence and with dignity. Spock also seems to foresee his death and is preparing his friend for it. At the beginning of Star Trek II he gives Kirk the book A Tale of Two Cities ( A Tale of Two Cities ). Charles Dickens ' novel culminates in the sacrificial death of a character in order to save others. The first and last sentences of it form a kind of thematic bracket for the film. Kirk recites at the beginning: “ It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. ”(German:“ It was the best of all time, it was the worst of all time. ”) This reflects the end of the film: Although Spock is dead, Kirk has won a son in David. In addition, there is the phenomenon of the newly created Genesis planet to be admired. A quote from this book closes the film and refers again to Spock's death: “ It's a far, far better thing I do than I have ever done before. A far better resting place that I got to than I've ever known. "(German:" It's much, much better than anything I've ever done. A much better resting place than I ever knew it. ") Kirk now thinks he knows that Spock wanted to tell him this with his gift. Ultimately, the depiction of Spock's funeral scene is also a reference to seafaring.

Genetic Engineering and Genesis

The plot of the Genesis project corresponds to contemporary fears of the 1980s about a technology that is no longer controllable and that, in addition to revolutionary achievements, also produces dangerous weapons of destruction. With the term “Genesis”, however, a connection to religious motifs is also established, since with the creation of new life mankind has moved into a domain reserved for deities. The dualism between the use and danger of technical progress, as well as the presumption of humanity, is brought to mind by the fundamentally different reactions that Spock and McCoy show according to the video demonstration. In contrast to the fascinated Spock, McCoy is deeply disturbed by the power presented by the Genesis project. At the same time, a parallel is revealed between the Genesis project and Khan, who, as a genetically manipulated adversary, embodies the technical progress in the field of human recreation of life, which has been directed against his own creator. The theme of life, death and resurrection taken up in The Wrath of Khan found its continuation in Star Trek III .

publication

Star Trek II premiered on June 4, 1982. In order to stand out from the previous film, a new lettering was initially designed for the logo. But the posters and other marketing material ultimately advertised with a logo based on that of the first Star Trek film. Compared to the immense effort involved in the premiere of the first film, the marketing seemed modest. The range of merchandising items was also kept within manageable limits. Nonetheless, the opening weekend brought a new revenue record in the United States.

Most US critics reacted positively to this new screen adaptation: The New York Times stated at the beginning: “Yes, that’s getting closer,” and continues: “The film is everything that should have been the first, but not was "too. Variety joined the opinion that in this lower-cost production of the spirit and the quality of the popular TV series will better captured:" Star Trek II . is not a very satisfying space adventure "that time special effects, but the figures in The focus was, for example, Roger Ebert noted with benevolence. Like many other critics, he praised Ricardo Montalban's strong performance: "... only a great opponent can turn a good film into a triumph."

A reviewer of the Time Out Film Guide was less enthusiastic. He complained about the “comic strip campaign”: “The film, which relies on the bag of tricks of its predecessor from the start, tries to be a moderately affected melodrama.” Richard Schickel, who wrote his review in the Time Magazine closes with the statement that while you leave the cinema neither disappointed nor excited, you leave it with the good feeling of having seen good friends age so well. With total revenues of around $ 85 million in the US, the film, which opened a week before Steven Spielberg's E.T. came to the cinemas among the ten most successful films of the year.

The premiere in Germany on November 5, 1982, however, was hardly noticed by the majority of the press and public. The film reached around 500,000 German citizens, while the revival of Star Wars saw more than 1.2 million. Benevolent German-language reviews also noted an improvement over the previous film. In the film observer, Norbert Stresau praised the “remarkably consistent, well thought-out and funny plot” and welcomed the unobtrusive but “legendary” tricks of the ILM company. The film is characterized by its optimism, and thus sets a counterpoint to other contemporary works in the genre such as Blade Runner .

However, some reviews denied the series and the film any quality. The Fischer Film Almanach (1983) wrote of a “bland infusion of the primitively cobbled together adventures of the spaceship crew, who are now quite old.” Joe Hill from film-dienst also saw nothing more than a “gimmick for children”, but also observed “pseudoscientific things” Gossip ”and a“ pseudophilosophical exaggeration of a rather silly story ”that contains too much of the brutality typical of the genre.

Classification and aftermath

Star Trek II is now considered the most important film in the Star Trek franchise: Its success ensured the continuation of the series in theaters and shaped subsequent productions in terms of style and content.

His composition for Star Trek II marked the beginning of a career for the then unknown James Horner as one of the busiest film music composers in Hollywood. The film can also be seen as the starting point of the career of Kirstie Alley , who, unlike Leonard Nimoy, never had to suffer from an identification with her role as a Vulcan. Leonard Nimoy himself decided to stay with the series in view of the satisfactory result. With the direct sequel Star Trek III: In Search of Mr. Spock , he staged the return of his alter ego . Nicholas Meyer was responsible for the most successful follow-up films through his subsequent collaboration on Star Trek IV: Back to the Present (screenplay) and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Land (screenplay / director).

See also

• List of awards and nominations for Star Trek films
• List of Star Trek novels

literature

• Star Trek II. The Wrath of Khan. The Official Movie Magazine . Starlog Press, New York 1982, ISBN 99905-46-59-2 (English).
• Kay Anderson: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan . In: Cinefantastique . Special Double Issue, Vol. 12, No. 5 / vol. 12, No. 6, 1982, Oak Park (Illinois / USA), ISSN  0145-6032 , pp. 50-75. (English)
• Allan Asherman: The Making of Star Trek II. The Wrath of Khan . Pocket Books, New York 1982, ISBN 0-671-46182-6 (English).
• Allen Asherman, The Star Trek Interview Book . Pocket Books, New York 1988, ISBN 0-671-61794-X , pp. 257-278. (English)
• Allan Asherman: The Star Trek Compendium . Pocket Books, New York 1989, ISBN 0-671-68440-X . (English)
• Cinefantastique . Vol. 22, No. April 5, 1992, Oak Park (Illinois / USA), ISSN  0145-6032 , pp. 30-37. (English)
• Ronald M. Hahn: The Star Trek Films . In: Film Library . No. 189 . Heyne-Verlag, Munich 1993, ISBN 3-453-06552-2 , p. 78-87 .
• William Shatner, Chris Kreski: Star Trek Movie Memories . Paperback edition. Harper Paperbacks, New York 1994, ISBN 0-06-109329-7 (American English).
• Ralph Sander: The Star Trek Universe . 3. Edition. tape 2 . Heyne-Verlag, Munich 1995, ISBN 3-453-07759-8 , p. 43-78 .
• Michèle Barrett, Duncan Barrett: Star Trek. The Human Frontier . Polity Press, Cambridge 2001, ISBN 0-7456-2490-1 (English).
• Ross Shepard Kraemer, William Cassidy, Susan L. Schwartz: Religions of Star Trek . West View Press, Boulder (Colorado) 2003, ISBN 0-8133-6708-5 (English).
• Andreas Rauscher: The Star Trek phenomenon. Virtual spaces and metaphorical expanses . Ventil-Verlag, Mainz 2003, ISBN 3-930559-98-6 , p. 103–112 (also dissertation, University of Mainz 2001).

Web links

Wikiquote: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan  - Quotes

• Official website
• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan in the online movie database
• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan in the Star Trek Wiki Memory Alpha
• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan atRotten Tomatoes(English)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Nicholas Meyer: The View from the Bridge . Viking Penguin, New York 2009, ISBN 978-0-670-02130-7 , pp. 102 (American English).
2. ↑ Star Trek II. The Wrath of Khan. The Official Movie Magazine . Starlog Press, New York 1982, ISBN 99905-46-59-2 , pp. 46 .
3. ↑ See Cinefantastique (1982), p. 53.
4. ↑ William Shatner, Chris Kreski: Star Trek Movie Memories . Paperback edition. Harper Paperbacks, New York 1994, ISBN 0-06-109329-7 , pp. 133 ff . (American English).
5. ↑ ^{a b} William Shatner, Chris Kreski: Star Trek Movie Memories . Paperback edition. Harper Paperbacks, New York 1994, ISBN 0-06-109329-7 , pp. 154 ff . (American English).
6. ↑ Allan Asherman: The Making of Star Trek II. The Wrath of Khan . Pocket Books, New York 1982, ISBN 0-671-46182-6 , pp. 21-29 .
7. ↑ Allan Asherman: The Making of Star Trek II. The Wrath of Khan . Pocket Books, New York 1982, ISBN 0-671-46182-6 , pp. 94 f .
8. ↑ ^{a b c} See DVD Star Trek II - Director's Edition , Disc 2, Visual Effects
9. ↑ ^{a b} See DVD Star Trek II - Director's Edition , Disc 1, text commentary.
10. ↑ ^{a b} See DVD Star Trek II - Director's Edition , Disc 2, Designing Khan
11. ↑ William Shatner, Chris Kreski: Star Trek Movie Memories . Paperback edition. Harper Paperbacks, New York 1994, ISBN 0-06-109329-7 , pp. 160 ff . (American English).
12. ↑ Allan Asherman: The Making of Star Trek II. The Wrath of Khan . Pocket Books, New York 1982, ISBN 0-671-46182-6 , pp. 201-209 .
13. ↑ Star Trek II. The Wrath of Khan. The Official Movie Magazine . Starlog Press, New York 1982, ISBN 99905-46-59-2 , pp. 33 f .
14. ↑ ^{a b} See DVD Star Trek II - Director's Edition , Disc 2, Captain's Log .
15. ↑ See Cinefantastique (1992), p. 36 f.
16. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} See DVD Star Trek II - Director's Edition , Disc 1, audio commentary.
17. ↑ William Shatner, Chris Kreski: Star Trek Movie Memories . Paperback edition. Harper Paperbacks, New York 1994, ISBN 0-06-109329-7 , pp. 175 ff . (American English).
18. ↑ Star Trek II. The Wrath of Khan. The Official Movie Magazine . Starlog Press, New York 1982, ISBN 99905-46-59-2 , pp. 37 .
19. ↑ See Cinefantastique (1982), p. 54.
20. ↑ Star Trek II. The Wrath of Khan. The Official Movie Magazine . Starlog Press, New York 1982, ISBN 99905-46-59-2 , pp. 52 .
21. ↑ See. Cinefantastique (1982), p 63 et seq.
22. ↑ See Cinefantastique (1982), p. 69.
23. ↑ See. Cinefantastique (1982), p 64 et seq.
24. ↑ Allan Asherman: The Making of Star Trek II. The Wrath of Khan . Pocket Books, New York 1982, ISBN 0-671-46182-6 , pp. 132 .
25. ↑ ^{a b} See Cinefantastique (1982), pp. 60, 67-71.
26. ↑ See DVD Star Trek II - Director's Edition , Disc 2, Visual Effects .
27. ↑ See Cinefantastique (1982), p. 62
28. ↑ Allan Asherman: The Making of Star Trek II. The Wrath of Khan . Pocket Books, New York 1982, ISBN 0-671-46182-6 , pp. 137 .
29. ↑ William Shatner, Chris Kreski: Star Trek Movie Memories . Paperback edition. Harper Paperbacks, New York 1994, ISBN 0-06-109329-7 , pp. 165 ff . (American English).
30. ↑ William Shatner, Chris Kreski: Star Trek Movie Memories . Paperback edition. Harper Paperbacks, New York 1994, ISBN 0-06-109329-7 , pp. 180 f . (American English).
31. ↑ Ralph Sander: The Star Trek Universe . 3. Edition. tape 2 . Heyne-Verlag, Munich 1995, ISBN 3-453-07759-8 , p. 54 f .
32. ↑ William Shatner, Chris Kreski: Star Trek Movie Memories . Paperback edition. Harper Paperbacks, New York 1994, ISBN 0-06-109329-7 , pp. 179 (American English).
33. ↑ See Cinefantastique (1982), p. 72
34. ↑ ^{a b c} See Cinefantastique (1982), pp. 71-73
35. ↑ Allan Asherman: The Making of Star Trek II. The Wrath of Khan . Pocket Books, New York 1982, ISBN 0-671-46182-6 , pp. 211-214 .
36. ↑ Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. In: synchronkartei.de. German dubbing file , accessed on February 14, 2019 . 
37. ↑ James Berardinelli: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. In: www.reelviews.net. Retrieved March 1, 2009 . 
38. ↑ See review of the New York Times , (accessed March 1, 2009)
39. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Soul of Star Trek: Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan. Retrieved March 1, 2009 . 
40. ↑ William Shatner, Chris Kreski: Star Trek Movie Memories . Paperback edition. Harper Paperbacks, New York 1994, ISBN 0-06-109329-7 , pp. 164 (American English).
41. ↑ See review by Roger Ebert , (accessed on March 1, 2009)
42. ↑ ^{a b c} Michèle Barrett, Duncan Barrett: Star Trek. The Human Frontier . Polity Press, Cambridge 2001, ISBN 0-7456-2490-1 , pp. 36 f .
43. ↑ See DVD Star Trek II - Director's Edition , Disc 2, Captain's Log
44. ^ "Turning the Enterprise from a country club in space to a naval vessel may have angered Roddenberry, but it served the film well (...)" Cinefantastique (1992), p. 30 ff.
45. ↑ Ralph Sander: The Star Trek Universe . 3. Edition. tape 2 . Heyne-Verlag, Munich 1995, ISBN 3-453-07759-8 , p. 66 .
46. ↑ "You know more than I do ... You're the audience." Quoted from: Allan Asherman: The Making of Star Trek II. The Wrath of Khan . Pocket Books, New York 1982, ISBN 0-671-46182-6 , pp. 108 .
47. ^ " [...] very quiet music that underplays his insanity in a subtle way ". James Horner in Cinefantastique (1982), p. 72
48. ↑ “ When he's involved in battle, the music is wild and pagan. "James Horner in Cinefantastique (1982), p. 72
49. ↑ See analysis on filmtracks.com www.filmtracks.com , (accessed on March 17, 2009).
50. ↑ “ It emphasizes his humanness more than his alienness. "James Horner in Cinefantastique (1982), p. 72.
51. ↑ “ The last three reels are almost wall-to-wall music. "James Horner in Cinefantastique (1982), p. 72.
52. ↑ Allan Asherman: The Making of Star Trek II. The Wrath of Khan . Pocket Books, New York 1982, ISBN 0-671-46182-6 , pp. 162 .
53. ↑ ^{a b c} Andreas Rauscher: The Star Trek phenomenon. Virtual spaces and metaphorical expanses . Ventil-Verlag, Mainz 2003, ISBN 3-930559-98-6 , p. 104 ff .
54. ↑ ^{a b c d} Allan Asherman: The Making of Star Trek II. The Wrath of Khan . Pocket Books, New York 1982, ISBN 0-671-46182-6 , pp. 64-72 .
55. ↑ For example in the episodes The Apple , The Menagerie and Operation: Annihilate.
56. ↑ "He plays the character as a man of deeply wounded pride, whose bond of hatred with Admiral Kirk is stronger even than his traditional villain's desire to rule the universe." Review by Roger Ebert (accessed March 1, 2009).
57. ↑ Andreas Rauscher: The Star Trek phenomenon. Virtual spaces and metaphorical expanses . Ventil-Verlag, Mainz 2003, ISBN 3-930559-98-6 , p. 110 .
58. ^ Ross Shepard Kraemer, William Cassidy, Susan L. Schwartz: Religions of Star Trek . West View Press, Boulder (Colorado) 2003, ISBN 0-8133-6708-5 , pp. 4 .
59. ↑ “ It's everything the first one should have been and wasn't. " New York Times Review , (accessed March 1, 2009)
60. ↑ “ Star Trek II is a very satisfying space adventure… ” See review on www.variety.com ( Memento from April 2, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) (accessed on March 1, 2009).
61. ↑ “ […] only a great villain can transform a good try into a triumph. "See review by Roger Ebert (accessed March 1, 2009)
62. ↑ Quoted from: Ronald M. Hahn: The Star Trek Films . In: Film Library . No. 189 . Heyne-Verlag, Munich 1993, ISBN 3-453-06552-2 , p. 86 f .
63. ↑ See www.time.com , (accessed March 1, 2009)
64. ↑ Ralph Sander: The Star Trek Universe . 3. Edition. tape 2 . Heyne-Verlag, Munich 1995, ISBN 3-453-07759-8 , p. 599 .
65. ↑ " http://insidekino.de/Djahr/D1982.htm "
66. ↑ ^{a b c} Quoted from: Ronald M. Hahn: The Star Trek Films . In: Film Library . No. 189 . Heyne-Verlag, Munich 1993, ISBN 3-453-06552-2 , p. 82 ff .
67. ↑ See Cinefantastique (1992), pp. 30 ff.

This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on May 27, 2009 .