"Library Computer" interactive experience

Each film has been newly scanned in 4K from the original 35mm camera negatives and master interpositive elements, restored, and color graded for High Dynamic Range (HDR). The results are uniformly fantastic, with all four films boasting better sharpness, depth, and detail than previous releases and without some of the problematic noise reduction that marred earlier Blu-rays (notably Star Trek: The Motion Picture, although the other films also suffered from digital smoothing that removed some of the image density and resulted in a less film-like appearance.). Film grain is present throughout and beautifully rendered to create a genuinely filmlike experience that looks gorgeous in motion. There are some inconsistencies in the image, notably some softer shots here and there and notable matte lines in the visual effects shots, but these are all inherent to the source material. Colors look bold and beautiful (note, for example, the intense swirling hues in the nebula in Wrath of Khan), and darker scenes hold up well. Colors on all three movies are excellent throughout, with strong blacks and often stunning detail. All four films appear to include the same Dolby TrueHD 7.1-channel surround soundtracks that were originally created for the 2009 Blu-ray releases. I can see why they didn't create new mixes, because these are pretty incredible already, immersing you in both the orchestral scores and the various space battles. Surround effects are consistently impressive, especially during the shoot-outs in The Wrath of Khan and The Search for Spock.

All of the supplements have been ported over from previous DVD and Blu-ray releases.

Library Computer

The "Library Computer" is an interactive experience that allows you to access information about the Star Trek universe while watching the film. The Blu-Ray creates a frame around the film with constantly shifting icons that represent different categories of information related to whatever is on screen at that moment: Culture, Science & Medicine, Starfleet Ops, Life Forms, Planets & Locations, People, Technology, Ships, and Miscellaneous. At any given point there can be six or seven of these icons available for clicking, and you also have access at all times to an Index that includes every term in the computer.

Audio commentary by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman

This new screen-specific audio commentary by the scribes of the Star Trek reboot is a self-proclaimed "fan commentary," which makes it that much more enjoyable. Orci and Kurtzman certainly know their Trek, and they discuss and reminisce about The Voyage Home like two old friends who just happen to be two of the most powerful screenwriters working in Hollywood today.

"Pavel Chekov's Screen Moments" featurette

In this 6-minute interview, Walter Koenig talks with infectious delight about his character's greatly increased presence in The Voyage Home and also defends his exaggerated Russian accent.

"The Three-Picture Saga" featurette

This 10-minute featurette focuses on the "accidental trilogy" of Star Trek II, III, and IV. It features new interviews with writer/producer Harve Bennett, executive producer Ralph Winter, Wrath of Khan director Nicholas Meyer, Voyage Home screenwriters Steve Meerson and Peter Krikes, Star Trek novelists Garfield and Judith Reeves-Steven, and actor Walter Koenig, who offers a wonderfully ridiculous explanation for why Khan recognizes him in Star Trek II even though Chekov hadn't yet been added to the Trek series when the original episode aired

"Star Trek for a Cause" featurette

Brief but informative, this six-minute featurette includes interviews with Greenpeace members Karen Sack and John Frizell, who discuss both the work that Greenpeace started in the 1980s to bring attention to depleting whale populations and the important role Star Trek IV played in popularizing their movement (Sack refers to it as one of Hollywood's first environmentally conscious films).

"Starfleet Academy: The Whale Probe" featurette

A relatively worthless bit of filler that takes the form of a faux training film.

All of supplements below originally appeared on the Special Edition DVD release:

Commentary by William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy

It's something of a surprise that it took the fourth DVD in the series to get Star Trek's two iconic actors to sit down and record a commentary together. For Trek fans, it was certainly worth the wait, though, as Shatner and Nimoy have a fun, easy-going banter that is entertaining and informative. Obviously old friends with many memories together, they have a good time reminiscing about the making of the film and working with their costars.

The Star Trek Universe featurettes

This section of the disc is comprised of four featurettes of varying lengths. First up is Time Travel: The Art of Possible (11 min.), which consists of interviews with Nick Herbert, Fred Alan Wolf, and Jack Sarfatti, three quantum physicists who discuss the theoretical possibilities of time travel in language that most anyone can understand. The only problem with this genuinely intriguing featurette is the use of goofy animation and silly music to illustrate the physicists' various points. Next is The Language of Whales (5:30 min.), in which Ree Brennin, a marine biologist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium (where parts of Star Trek IV were shot) gives a brief primer on whale behavior and communication. After that is A Vulcan Primer (7:30 min.), in which Star Trek novelist Margaret Wander Bonanno (see-all Trekkies aren't men) discusses Vulcan lifestyles and behavior. This featurette includes numerous clips from the original TV show. Finally, we have the humorously titled Kirk's Women (8 min.), which brings together four actresses-Catherine Hicks, Katherine Browne, Louise Sorel, and Celeste Yarnell-who all played Captain Kirk's love interest (Hicks appeared in The Voyage Home, while the other three women all appeared in episodes of the TV series). There are plenty more clips from the TV show, and virtually all of them agree that William Shatner is sexy-or at least funny.

Production featurettes

This section of the disc gives us four more featurettes, all organized around various aspects of the film's production. It begins with a general retrospective production history in Future's Past: A Look Back (27 min.), which features interviews with Nimoy, Shatner, cowriters Harve Bennett and Nicholas Meyer, executive producer Ralph Winter, actress Catherine Hicks, and associate producer Kirk Thatcher (who also played the punk on the bus). One of the funniest revelations in this featurette is that the studio suits tried to pressure Nimoy to add subtitles to the film so we would know what the alien probe was trying to say to the whales, which would have added a whole new level of absurdity to the film. On Location (7 min.) gives us more interviews with Nimoy, Winter, and Thatcher, along with location photos and footage of the film's production on the streets of San Francisco. Dailies Deconstruction (4 min.) is a somewhat odd bit that gives us dailies footage of the scene where the Star Trek crew crosses a street in downtown San Francisco. Using split-screen, it shows us two different takes of the same camera angle simultaneously. So, by the end of it all, you've heard William Shatner say, "Well, a double-dumb-ass on you" about 20 times. Below-the-Line: Sound Design (11:30 min.) is an extended interview with sound effects editor Mark Mangini who discusses the film's sound work (including how Leonard Nimoy himself made the sounds for the alien probe).

Visual Effects featurettes

There are only two featurettes included here. The first, From Outer Space to the Ocean (14 min.), is the much more substantial of the two. It features interviews with various special effects technicians and supervisors who discuss how most of the film's major effects sequences were done, from the robotic miniature whales (I really thought some of that was made up of stock footage of real whales), to the creation of the probe. It also features a bit of FX text footage, including the creation of the computer-animated time travel sequence. The second featurette, The Bird of Prey (2:40 min), is pretty much useless, as it only features an interview with Nimoy about the Klingon ship that had already been designed for Part III.

Tributes

The first featurette here, Rodenberry Scrapbook (8 min.), is an interview with son Eugene Roddenberry, who discusses his relationship with his father. The second featurette, Featured Artist: Mark Leonard (12:30 min.), is an interview with Leonard's wife Ann and two daughters, Robert and Catherine, who have nothing but great things to say about the man who played Sarek.

Archives

The Production Gallery is actually a four-minute featurette that edits together behind-the-scenes photos to the film's score. Most of it goes by too fast to really appreciate, and one wonders why they didn't set this up as a slideshow gallery. That is how the Storyboards section is arranged, with complete storyboards for eight major sequences at the viewer's control.

Original Interviews

There are three 1986 interviews included here with the Star Trek wonder triplets, William Shatner (14:30 min.), Leonard Nimoy (16 min.), and DeForest Kelly (13 min.). All three interviews were shot on-set (or, in Nimoy's case, in the editing room) as part of the film's marketing. Shatner's is by far the most entertaining as he doesn't seem to want to be there and therefore proves to be a difficult subject to interview.

Theatrical Trailer