Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)

Admiral Kirk and his bridge crew risk their careers stealing the decommissioned Enterprise to return to the restricted Genesis planet to recover Spock's body.

Director:

Leonard Nimoy

Writers:

Gene Roddenberry (television series Star Trek), Harve Bennett

Stars:

William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley

7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
William Shatner	...	Kirk
Leonard Nimoy	...	Capt. Spock
DeForest Kelley	...	McCoy
James Doohan	...	Scotty
Walter Koenig	...	Chekov
George Takei	...	Sulu
Nichelle Nichols	...	Uhura
Robin Curtis	...	Saavik
Merritt Butrick	...	David
Phil Morris	...	Trainee Foster
Scott McGinnis	...	Mr. Adventure
Robert Hooks	...	Admiral Morrow
Carl Steven	...	Spock - age 9
Vadia Potenza	...	Spock - age 13
Stephen Manley	...	Spock - age 17

Storyline

In the wake of Spock's ultimate deed of sacrifice, Admiral Kirk and the Enterprise crew return to Earth for some essential repairs to their ship. When they arrive at Spacedock, they are shocked to discover that the Enterprise is to be decommissioned. Even worse, Dr. McCoy begins acting strangely and Scotty has been reassigned to another ship. Kirk is forced to steal back the Enterprise and head across space to the Genesis Planet to save Spock and bring him to Vulcan. Unknown to them, the Klingons are planning to steal the secrets of the Genesis Device for their own deadly purpose.

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Plot Keywords:

planet | sacrifice | regaining one's memory | dying planet | stabbed to death | 

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Taglines:

A dying planet. A fight for life.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

StarTrek.com [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Klingon Russian French

Release Date:

1 June 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Star Trek III: In Search of Spock

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$17,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$76,400,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Cinema Group Ventures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby (35 mm prints) 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the novelization, Saavik and David Marcus became romantically involved (the seeds for this were planted in the previous movie's novelization. This storyline was completely dropped from the films. Also, Saavik became pregnant with Spock's child. This was also dropped.

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Goofs

In the opening sequence when the Enterprise fires Spock's casket at the Genesis Planet, several stars from the background can be seen through the translucent Genesis Planet image. The planet moves slowly to the right as the shot progresses, and yet the stars bleeding through the image from the background remain stationary.

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Quotes

[first lines]
[Spock's dying words, repeated from the previous film]
Captain Spock: Don't grieve, Admiral. It is logical. The needs of the many outweigh...
Kirk: ...the needs of the few.
Captain Spock: Or the one. I have been and always shall be your friend. Live long and prosper.

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Crazy Credits

Leonard Nimoy is credited as director in the opening credits, but is not included in the cast list. There is a long gap between the names of William Shatner and DeForest Kelley, which lasts for the length of time Nimoy's name would have been displayed.

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: Gremlins/Star Trek III: The Search for Spock/Streets of Fire/Once Upon a Time in America (1984)

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Soundtracks

Genesis Project
by Craig Huxley (as Craig Hundley)

User Reviews

better than you've heard

I almost never agree with Trekkies! They usually pan "Star Trek III" and label it a disappointing follow-up to the classic "Wrath of Khan." But I just don't see anything wrong here. The Klingons are delightfully over-the-top villains, the effects and spaceship models are great (arguably the best in the series), and the theft of the Enterprise is a wonderful sequence loaded with humor and tension. DeForest Kelley gets some great material as the "possessed" McCoy, and Shatner's performance

• slightly more understated than in the last film - is again rock

solid.

So what's the problem? I suppose this movie has difficulties standing on its own; it relies heavily on knowledge of "Khan." But, such issues inevitably crop up when you're dealing with a long-running series of interconnected movies, and they don't matter much in terms of raw entertainment value. Some fans complain that nothing really happens in this film - it's just about getting Spock back and nothing else - but the death of David and the destruction of the Enterprise load it up with more than enough dramatic punch for me.

And, can you possibly imagine Picard stealing the Enterprise to go on a rescue mission? I can't. This movie's storyline captures exactly what makes the original crew so warm, funny, and rebellious...and so it's a good Trek movie, despite what the fans will tell you.