Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Land
| Movie | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| German title | Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Land | ||
| Original title | Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country | ||
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| Country of production | United States | ||
| original language | English | ||
| Publishing year | 1991 | ||
| length | 113 minutes | ||
| Age rating | FSK 12 | ||
| Rod | |||
| Director | Nicholas Meyer | ||
| script | Nicholas Meyer, Leonard Nimoy , Denny Martin Flinn |
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| production | Steven-Charles Jaffe, Ralph Winter |
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| music | Cliff Eidelman | ||
| camera | Hiro Narita | ||
| cut |
William Hoy , Ronald Roose |
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| occupation | |||
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| chronology | |||
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Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (Original title: Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country ) is an American science fiction film from 1991. It is the sixth Star Trek cinema film and the last in which the complete Original crew plays and is based exclusively on the television series Starship Enterprise . The film premiered on February 13, 1992 at the Berlinale in Germany.
The title is an allusion to Shakespeare's Hamlet , III. Act, scene 1; unlike in the play, however, what is meant here is not death, but the future.
action
After the explosion of the moon Praxis, which was the main energy source of the Klingon homeworld Qo'noS (pronounced: Kronos) and thus also of the empire, the Klingons are suddenly forced to negotiate peace with the Federation as part of relief efforts. Captain James T. Kirk is given the task of providing the Klingon Chancellor Gorkon with the Enterprise for the negotiations on Earth .
The first meeting with the Klingons on board the Enterprise , during which they toast "the undiscovered land" - the future - is cool despite the goodwill of the Chancellor. After the meal is over and the Klingons have returned to their ship, the Kronos 1 , suddenly two photon torpedoes apparently fired by the Enterprise shoot the battle cruiser incapable of maneuvering. In addition, two masked men with gravity boots beam onto the Kronos 1 and, after they have lifted the force of gravity, open fire on the helpless Klingons. Gorkon is seriously injured.
To avoid the destruction of the Enterprise and to protest her innocence, Kirk and ship's doctor beam McCoy onto the cruiser and surrender to the Klingons. There McCoy tries in vain to save Gorkon's life. After his death, the two are arrested and charged with murder. Since the peace negotiations are not to be jeopardized, the Federation agrees to a court hearing. Kirk and McCoy are sentenced to life imprisonment in a show trial on Qo'noS in which Gorkon's adviser General Chang is prosecuting. They are then locked in the mines on the icy penal asteroid Rura Penthe, where the prisoners are sometimes exposed to barbaric conditions.
Meanwhile, Spock has his crew on the Enterprise look for an explanation for the attack on the Klingon ship. There is only one explanation for Spock: A Klingon warship with the latest camouflage technology fired the torpedoes unnoticed. There must also be accomplices on the Enterprise .
Thanks to the help of the shapeshifter Martia, a fellow prisoner, Kirk and McCoy manage to escape from the mines. Although their escape will only result in an ambush and should serve their inconspicuous execution, both can be beamed aboard the Enterprise at the last minute .
Here, not only the two, now dead bombers are exposed, but also their clients: Lieutenant Valeri, Spock's Vulcan protégé and actually his successor on board. With the help of a thought-amalgamation between Spock and Valeris, the crew uncovered a conspiracy between humans, Klingons and Romulans , the goal of which is to boycott peace and maintain the warlike status quo in space. For this purpose, the Klingons have a special stealth cruiser commanded by Chang, which is now supposed to provide back cover for an assassination attempt during the peace conference on the Klingon outpost of Camp Khitomer.
With the help of the USS Excelsior , commanded by Captain Sulu, the crew of the Enterprise can finally defeat the camouflaged warship and thwart the assassination attempt at the last moment.
Kirk and his crew have successfully completed their task and all they have to do is return to Earth. The team should be signed off there. Kirk, however, lets the Enterprise set out on one final journey.
Production history
Script development
Frank Mancuso, President of Paramount , met with Leonard Nimoy to discuss the possibilities of another Star Trek film. The franchise disappointed commercially with the last film Star Trek V: On the Edge of the Universe , but a final cinema production with the original crew was to be realized for the upcoming 25th anniversary of the cult series.
Under the impression of the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, Leonard Nimoy came up with the idea of dropping the "Berlin Wall in Space": The story should revolve around peace negotiations with the Klingons, who served as the classic enemy in the series . He didn't want to write the script himself, however, nor would he take the trouble of directing himself. Instead, he contacted Nicholas Meyer, who was the director and writer behind the success of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and was also instrumental in the script for Star Trek IV: Back to the Present . In a long conversation between Nimoy and the interested Meyer, the foundations of the later film were formed, such as the metaphorical integration of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster , Kirk's meeting with the Klingon Chancellor, the assassination attempt on the same, Kirk's conviction at a show trial and the hunt for the real ones Assassins.
The studio accepted the story idea, but gave the order for the elaboration to two authors who were independently already under contract with Paramount for a script and were waiting for a suitable film. Meyer, who was only intended as a director, was nevertheless contacted when the writing duo got into creative difficulties: In meetings that, according to Meyer, he passed on his and Nimoy's story ideas to the authors. Their finished script was nevertheless rejected by the studio and Meyer was officially hired as an author. The studio was now very open to Meyer's inquiries, accepted Meyer's producers Steven-Charles Jaffe and Denny Martin Flinn as co-authors. The latter was of particular concern to Meyer, as he had been battling cancer for months.
The script was created under time pressure and via e-mail between Meyer and Flinn. The finished script met with general approval from both the studio and Nimoy, who acted as executive producer. Nimoy continued to press for improvements and suggested a scene in which Spock's protégé Valeris, who turns out to be a traitor, is faced with the decision to shoot Spock. Although Meyer and Nimoy later often praised each other for each other's contributions, differences of opinion between the two overshadowed the entire production.
Significantly greater opposition to Meyer's ideas and interpretation of the Star Trek universe came from Gene Roddenberry. The creator of the series, whose health was in bad health , had no decision-making power since the first Star Trek film , in which he worked as a producer. In his advisory role, however, he tried to gain influence, for example combating the display of open racism among some Federation officers. In particular, he wanted to prevent the Vulcan Saavik, introduced as a positive figure in Star Trek II, from being a traitor. Just because Kirstie Alley was not available to resume her role, Saavik was dropped and the Vulcan Valeris was established instead.
Budget disputes
At the end of 1990 there were disputes between Meyer and those responsible at Paramount about the film budget: instead of the 30 million dollars previously mentioned by Mancuso, 25 million should now be available. Meyer's protest against a budget under 30 million (and thus below the cost of the previous film Star Trek V ) led to Mancuso's decision to cancel the project. Regardless of this, Mancuso had to vacate his post shortly thereafter. His successors Stanley Jaffe (not related to Meyer's producer Steven-Charles Jaffe) and Sherry Lansing guaranteed Meyer the desired minimum budget without further ado.
synchronization
The German synchronization took over the cine adaptation under the dialogue direction of KE Ludwig , who also wrote the dialogue book together with Claudia Walter. Harald Wolff was responsible for the synchronization of the new scenes .
Historical background
Star Trek VI was created a good two years after the fall of the Berlin Wall and a year after German reunification and the global political upheaval of state socialism in the Eastern Bloc . The film strives to translate the end of the Cold War into the fictional world of Star Treks.
The trigger for the peace negotiations in the film is the explosion of the Klingon moon Praxis . In reality, the nuclear catastrophe that occurred in the Ukrainian nuclear power plant Chernobyl in 1986 comes very close to this, although this event hardly caused such political waves as the detonation of the moon in the film.
useful information
- Since the series Spaceship Enterprise: The Next Century was still in production at the time of shooting, parts of the props for the movie were also used. During the attack of the stealth cruiser, crew members can be seen running through corridors and parts of the engine room known from the TNG series. The interior of Bar Ten Forward from the Enterprise-D was used as the backdrop for the Parisian office of the President of the Federation . The dining room at the beginning of the reception of the Klingons and the room in which Scotty finds the boots in the ventilation shaft is the observation lounge of the Enterprise D. Parts of the engine room of the Enterprise D are also used.
- In 1997, the film was released again in a revised version, with the image and sound being completely digitally revised and republished in a widescreen version. In addition, scenes were added that had been removed from the original version. You can see, among other things:
- How the Federation President, after the departure of the Klingon ambassador, is offered a plan of a rescue operation by Federation officers and other ambassadors to free Kirk and McCoy .
- how Spock , Scotty and Valeris personally
- how after the failed attack a human Federation officer is exposed as an assassin masked as a Klingon.
Reviews
“Science fiction adventure with approaches to self-irony and a nostalgic touch; modernized with a lot of trick technology. "
"An acceptable Star Trek adventure, which with Worf's appearance already indicates the transition to the 'Next Generation' and shows clear parallels to real events (the collapse of the Eastern Bloc)."
“The mixture of action, exotic space and irony is at least successful, the story is simple, but exciting, straightforward and yet not too superficial, even if some fantastically trivial hooks are hooked for the sake of the beautiful story and the humor. Allusions to the present are presented with a twinkle in the eye so as not to appear obtrusive, and five Star Trek films form an ample source of ironic quotes. "
“Now that even for American southpaws the realm of evil has disappeared from the map, war in space no longer makes sense either. Even the stubborn Capt. Kirk purifies himself under the pressure of the relations with the Apostle of Peace. Star Trek VI once again confirms the old truism that the science fiction genre is nothing more than a reflex to the present. "
Awards
The film was nominated for an Oscar in 1992 in the categories Best Makeup and Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing . In 1993 the film received a Saturn Award for best science fiction film . The film received nominations for the Saturn Award in the categories of Best Costumes , Best Make-Up , Best Supporting Actress (Kim Cattrall) and Best Writing .
literature
- Meyer, Nicholas: The View From The Bridge . Viking Penguin, New York 2009, ISBN 978-0-670-02130-7 , pp. 198-231.
Web links
- Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Land in the online movie database
- Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Land in the Star Trek Wiki Memory Alpha
- Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Land atRotten Tomatoes(English)
- Comparison of the theatrical version with the special edition (DVD) on www.schnittberichte.com
- Comparison of the DVD first edition with the Special Edition (DVD) on www.schnittberichte.com
Individual evidence
- ^ Nicolas Meyer: The View From The Bridge: Memories of Star Trek and a Life in Hollywood . Plume, 2009, p. 200.
- ^ Meyer: The View From The Bridge , pp. 200-202.
- ^ Meyer: The View From The Bridge , pp. 202f.
- ^ Meyer: The View From The Bridge, p. 212f.
- ^ Meyer: The View From The Bridge , pp. 206ff.
- ↑ Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Land. In: synchronkartei.de. German synchronous index , accessed on February 18, 2019 .
- ↑ Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Land. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ^ Criticism at Prisma Online
