MovieChat Forums > Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) Discussion > Who saw this in cinemas back in 91/92?

Who saw this in cinemas back in 91/92?

posted 11 years ago by bozo_500
34 replies | jump to latest

Who saw this back in the day? What were your memories - the anticipation of seeing it in the weeks/days before, the actually seeing it and how much a big deal was it where you were back then, the crowds, audience etc and after coming out of the cinema what were your thoughts and in the days/weeks that followed….

i remember before VI came out reading the updates of info from various sources like the letters editorial in the back of the Trek DC comics at the time (which I bought monthly for a couple of years), The Official FanClub magazine (which I bought occasionally) and various magazines like Starlog and Starburst (which I very rarely bought, just flicked through). Obviously there was no net back then so checking out the magazines in comic stores on a Saturday was they way to do it.

I remember being fascinated that it was to be a klingon based story (the first proper klingon film since III), that it would involve the klingon homeworld, an ice prison planet, Captain Sulu, the excelsior, a new BOP and battle cruiser (not seen since TMP!), new space dock scenes (not just reusing FX from previous films), romulans, possible TNG connections, a TNG tie in episode, and of course Meyer directing again...there were also rumours a major character would die (Kirk?). It all sounded really exciting - far more so than the previous one. Almost like the ultimate Trek movie was being made - encompassing elements of all the previous films (unlike V which was pretty stand alone) and even TNG, whilst also being a sort of 25th anniversary capper so expect some strong visual ties to TOS (which I felt the previous films didn’t do so much). I don’t think the regular film goers/media were that bothered about VI - due to V being ridiculed, TNG becoming a real force (due to its great 3rd season), and the fact it was the sixth film (so in the eyes of non fans it was almost getting like Police Academy in terms of cracking them out) But for me the anticipation was HUGE (despite the disappointment of the last film) and usually when its at that level a film can only disappoint - but it didn’t. in fact it surpassed my expectations. was just amazing from start to finish. Incredible FX (felt like T2 with the blood and shapeshifter), felt like an epic star trek (as in going from planet to planet unlike some of the other films). feel good like IV, epic battle at the end. remember thinking it was the best one of all 6 (not now though) a true continuation and conclusion to Treks II, III, IV. (and totally made up for V. in fact V being like it was kind of made VI feel even more of a treat!). In fact for a while (maybe a couple of years) I considered it the best Trek film (yes even better than Khan!). Actually I think it was pretty much the same in Trekdom e.g. Check out the Trek VI Cinefantastique issue and in there Ed Gross reviews all the films in a sidebar that goes throughout the magazine and he gives VI a higher rating than II and said it was now considered the best Trek film.

It was also good to see the regular Movie goers/media give it great reviews, buzz etc. almost like a ‘sleeper’ they weren’t expecting anything of due to the reasons mentioned, yet it turned out to be a great film so it became one to see for even non fans

I also remember buying all the memorabilia for the film (I did for each trek movie but recall VI most of all) it was actually the Friday Dec 13 1991 and went in the comic store and saw the brand new hot off the press official Star Trek VI starlog movie magazine and the deluxe DC Adaptation and my head just about exploded http://en.memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Trek_VI:_The_Undiscovered_Country_-_The_Official_Movie_Magazine http://en.memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Trek_VI:_The_Undiscovered_Country_(comic) (the film wouldn't be out until Feb in UK though so pretty much knew the story backward by then - kind of stupid of me in hindsight) – also picked up the Pocket Books novel, soundtrack, plus the posters (teaser and main one sheet – both of which were awesome and probably the best Trek movie posters.. was obsessed with tracking them down eventually buying several different versions.http://www.impawards.com/1991/star_trek_vi_ver2.html), as well as the superb aforementioned Trek VI Cinefantastique magazine which became expanded in the book 'Charting the Undiscovered Country: The Making of Trek VI' which was an absolute fascinating read and is my all time fave Trek book (its kind of an 'unofficial' making of book that went with the Making of the Trek Films book by Ed Gross)
http://en.memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Charting_the_Undiscovered_Country:_The_Making_of_Trek_VI
http://en.memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/The_Making_of_the_Trek_Films

[–] riverkwai-1 11 years ago

This is the first Star Trek film I saw in the theater. I would have been 10 when it came out. I saw it with my dad and it started a father-son tradition of seeing Star Trek movies in the theater together that lasted through Nemesis. So it will always be a special one for me in that regard.

[–] michaelward15 11 years ago

I did. I mostly remember being relieved it wasn't another V and a little sad it was the last one but also feeling that it probably was time to wind the series up.

[–] 06986 10 years ago

I remember seeing it in the theater in MO, I remember having a headache and they really cranked the speakers up for the movie which just made my headache worse, the praxis moon exploding and the shockwave that followed. The audience seemed to get into the movie, laughing at the scenes with Kirk and Bones in the prison, I remember a few comments when Christian Slater appeared for a cameo. I enjoyed the movie when I saw it in the theater, much better then previous one which I also saw in the theater along with 3 and 4. The dinner scene and beaming on board the Klingon ship was interesting.

I have watched it a few times recently, it has held up pretty well but much of the score I don't care for, I like Wrath of Khan's score much better, I noticed it was definitely shot in a different more modern aspect ratio and a different way then the previous movies which I did not really care for. I like the way/aspect ration 2, 3, and 4 were shot and the look of them over Undiscovered Country which looks more like a tv show at times, same with the Next Generation movies that resembled the look of the tv show instead of looking like big budget movies like the early Star Trek movies.

[–] beernpizzalover 10 years ago

I did. And I just finished rewatching it on Netflix for the first time since then. At the beginning of the film, there is a 'For Gene Roddenberry' tribute - and that got a round of applause in the theaters when it first came out (since he had just died). Now, Spock (Leonard Nimoy) just passed away last week; so I thought it was time for a rewatch...

[–] zaphod67 10 years ago

I saw it in the theater on opening day.

I remember when I saw the first preview when watching Terminator 2 and suddenly my interest in T2 disappeared and was replaced with a strong desire to see the new Star Trek movie. The release couldn't come fast enough. I saw it multiple times in the theater. I remember non stop applause for the cast sign-off at the end.

Time to make up a new signature.

[–] hoochiemoochie 10 years ago

Oh, I vividly remember seeing this film in theaters! I was 5 years old and my dad thought it was a good idea to go see this with me and my brother (who was 10).

They loved it...I was scared out of my pants. See my parents didn't let me see anything above PG (which this film was, surprisingly) until I was like 11 (and I'm thankful they didn't) so all those creatures scared me to death and I spent a good portion of the movie with my hands over my eyes and very upset.

It wasn't until probably three years later that I gave it another chance and realized what a great film it is.

=Last time I taught, I was like Robin Williams in Dead Poets Society...by which I mean I got fired=

[–] AdmiralTugBenson 9 years ago

I saw it in the theater when I was 11, one of my favorite movie-going experiences. It's also the only Star Trek movie I've seen in the theater. I was a Star Wars kid, and hadn't really been exposed to much Star Trek. I hadn't planned on going to see this, or any movie, but I was at the mall with my mom and her friend and they decided they were going to see a movie. They were going to see Ghost, I could either go with them to see that, or watch the only other movie starting around the same time, Star Trek VI. I knew Ghost wasn't for me, I don't know what I knew about it (it had been out a while, and I'm sure I'd seen parodies on SNL or whatever), but I remember thinking it was some boring/romantic/grown-up movie. So I chose Star Trek, I wasn't expecting much, but something with Star in the title had to pass the time better than a chick flick. In hindsight I dodged a huge bullet, because watching that sex scene with my mom and her friend would have probably been one of the most uncomfortable moments of my young life.

I don't think it was opening weekend, but I do know it wasn't that long after it opened. It was December of '91, I know I saw it before Christmas because after seeing the film I saw the first of the long-running line of Hallmark Star Trek Ornaments (a light-up USS Enterprise) and bugged my dad to buy it for me. He refused to spend money on some worthless little spaceship. This later became a running joke in our family around Christmas time because the ornament became a somewhat valuable collectible worth like $150-$200 at various times. Several years ago he was Christmas shopping and saw that year's ornament, the USS Reliant, and bought it for me as a joke Christmas gift to "shut me up" after 17 years.

But anyway, it was within the first couple of weeks of it opening, the theater wasn't too crowded but not empty or anything. Among the people in the theater were my second grade teacher (I was probably in 5th by then) and her family. They invited me to sit with them but I declined and just sat by myself. As I wasn't sure if I was even going to stay. The whole point of me having to go see either of these movies was that my mom didn't want me wandering around the mall alone for a couple of hours, but I was thinking that if this movie sucked I'd do just that then come back and pretend like I had stayed the whole time. That didn't happen though because the movie blew me away. I was really into it, at one point I specifically remember noticing that I was on the edge of my seat, and at that moment understanding where that saying came from.

I became a big fan from that point, but I dragged my feet on quite a few things, hence not seeing another Star Trek movie in the theater. For instance, once I got into Star Trek, I only wanted to watch the original crew, I didn't want anything to do with this new Next Generation bullsh*t. But even with the TOS crew, I only watched the movies, the show looked a bit silly. Then finally when I was like 29 or so I broke down and watched the series, which IS silly, but I love it. And at one point in college I was on the couch and watched First Contact because I was too hungover to get off the couch and find the remote, which I also loved and changed my mind about Next Generation being bullsh*t. That change of heart came 12-13 years ago or so (too late to see any TNG movie in the theater), but I only recently started watching TNG on Netflix. I've enjoyed the 3 seasons I've watched so far. But at the rate I'm going I can't imagine I'll ever see all the episodes of all the different shows. I'll be doing good to finish TNG and watch the rest of those films. I don't mind the Abrams movies, but they don't get me excited enough to go to the theater.

See you guys at the 10 year prison reunion - Ben Richards

[–] bozo_500 9 years ago

cool memories, great way to get into Trek (yeah you lucky you missed Ghost with your mother and her friend oof lol), and yeah I heard about those Hallmark Enterprises becoming much sought after!

like you I became a Trek fan through seeing the original cast movies, was taken to see II & III as a very young kid which I enjoyed as much as a young kid could but really became a fan with IV so by VI I was really into it (I even liked V but VI was a great movie). 1991 was such a great time to be a Trek fan. That Christmas..Such a happy time :)

I got into TOS show between V and VI when you could watch them all on VHS. Before that I think I just caught the odd episode if it was showing on TV and yeah it looked silly/fun but when you got into it and watched them all properly it didn't matter as they were absolute classics

I get where you coming from regarding TNG .. at the time when it came out in late 80s it was difficult to accept after TOS but once the 3rd season happened it was a worthy sequel to TOS (I didnt really get into TNG until later as they didn't show the episodes until much later in UK) but theres probably only about 30-40 episodes that are really worth watching (stuff like Yesterdays Enterprise, Best of Both Worlds, Unification, Inner Light, Chain of Command etc). The movies didn't really take off the way TOS ones did (and never really felt like proper movies the way TOS ones did), although it looked like they would with First Contact which was pretty much as good as the best of TOS movies, but after they just couldn't recapture 'it' (unlike TOS movies)

Actually after VI I kind of tuned out of Trek as that was it for TOS and wasn't a huge fan of TNG (as hadn't really seen much of it especially the later seasons, it wasn't easy trying to see them in UK anyway) and the new DS9 looked boring (I rented the pilot and saw one of the early eps then didn't bother. Same with Voyager. I still haven't bothered with those shows lol) and I started to get into other stuff anyway (more adult SF like Aliens, Terminator, Blade Runner etc plus I had lots of study to get through).. It wasn't until I flicked though a SF magazine in about early 94 to see what was going on and saw a picture of Shatner as Kirk in "Star Trek VII" (as the magazine called it, the much anticipated crossover film with TNG) that I decided it was time to find out WTF was going on and get back into Trek (which I pretty much stayed with ever since).

And the announcement of JJ film was such a huge deal for Trek at the time (huge budget, cool 'in' director, big stars, the original characters, nimoy) esp after the demise of Berman Trek (I didn't even watch Enterprise until after it was cancelled - 4th season was good!) and it was great when it did so well and to have 'original' Trek back on the big screen and in such a big way.. am looking forward to 'Beyond' for the 50th like the way we had 'The Undiscovered Country' for the 25th (25 years ago! jeez.. time really is the fire in which we burn..)

[–] ravi02 8 years ago

the new DS9 looked boring (I rented the pilot and saw one of the early eps then didn't bother.

You should give it another chance because DS9 is fantastic and IMO, surpasses TNG.

The first season of DS9 is very uneven and the show's still trying to find itself, but I recommend watching the entire show from start to finish sometime. It truly was a great show and by mid-season 2, it really picks up and its main storyline (the Dominion War) gives it an epic feel the previous shows didn't have. Also, Miles O'Brien and Worf from TNG both are big characters on the show.

Sorry to break from the thread topic, but carry on discussing The Undiscovered Country. Man, I wish I could have seen this film in theaters.

[–] RunsWithScissors86-82-799188 9 years ago

I certainly did. We had great audience participation; everyone laughed and cheered in all the right places. The cheering was especially intense after Kirk's sign-off speech at the end; there was a standing ovation and non-stop applause for the signatures in the credits, and the roar was astounding for the Big Three. It was so cool.

[–] DarkReviewer2013 9 years ago

Sadly, I did not. 

This movie came out when I was 7 years old and before I'd become a Star Trek fan. I didn't get to see it until 1998, by which time it was years old.

Would have loved to have seen it on the big screen when it was first released though.