Star Trek on Blu-Ray

August 10, 2010 7:05 AM

I'm looking to buy blu-ray versions of all of the Star Trek movies. Problem is, I just want high-quality versions of the VHS tapes I had as a kid in the 80s and 90s (because really, most of the allure is nostalgia here). I don't want director's cuts, special versions, or anything like that- just the original VHS releases. Amazon is confusing the hell out of me, because there are about 40 versions of each movie and I'm not sure what is what. Does anyone have a link to the original movies, for sale, on blu-ray?
posted by zap rowsdower to media & arts (6 answers total)

Star Trek: Original Motion Picture Collection

"Prepare to boldly go where no man has gone before with the Star Trek: Original Motion Picture Collection, an action-packed box set featuring the six films in their original theatrical versions starring the U.S.S. Enterprise's legendary crew."
posted by sharkfu at 7:13 AM on August 10, 2010

The box set hasn't been remastered. The picture has been cleaned up but that's it.

(This annoyed me because the original cut of Star Trek 1 is horrible compared to the director's cut, but as far as I can tell that's only available on DVD. Oh well.)
posted by Mwongozi at 7:13 AM on August 10, 2010

I guess that's one of my questions, sharkfu- is the "original theatrical version" the same as the original 80s VHS? I can't remember how they used to package movies before DVD for some reason- were the old tapes just what was in the theater?

(formatted for your screen, of course)
posted by zap rowsdower at 7:24 AM on August 10, 2010

The VHS version would be pan-and-scan, a format very few movies are currently released with due to the fact wide aspect ratio televisions are now the norm.
posted by mikeh at 7:26 AM on August 10, 2010 [1 favorite]

Here's a run down of the various VHS versions of the movies. I'm not sure which ones you most likely purchased. And, as mikeh said, most were probably pan-and-scan, which aren't released any more because they assume if you've upgraded to blu ray you want the full aspect ratio of the movie as it was seen in theaters.
posted by sharkfu at 7:46 AM on August 10, 2010

All of the ST and TNG Blu-rays are the original theatrical versions. There are a couple PQ issues with the original series movies, most notably III through V, but they are essentially the same versions as first released.
posted by zombieflanders at 9:52 AM on August 10, 2010