Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)

To save Earth from an alien probe, Admiral Kirk and his fugitive crew go back in time to 20th century Earth to retrieve the only beings who can communicate with it, humpback whales.

Director:

Leonard Nimoy

Writers:

Gene Roddenberry (television series Star Trek), Leonard Nimoy (story),

Stars:

William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
William Shatner	...	Kirk
Leonard Nimoy	...	Spock
DeForest Kelley	...	McCoy
James Doohan	...	Scotty
George Takei	...	Sulu
Walter Koenig	...	Chekov
Nichelle Nichols	...	Uhura
Jane Wyatt	...	Amanda
Catherine Hicks	...	Gillian
Mark Lenard	...	Sarek
Robin Curtis	...	Lt. Saavik
Robert Ellenstein	...	Federation Council President
John Schuck	...	Klingon Ambassador
Brock Peters	...	Admiral Cartwright
Michael Snyder	...	Starfleet Communications Officer

Storyline

James Kirk who after rescuing Mr. Spock and bringing him to Vulcan where he is fully restored, is now the most hated man in the universe, because he disobeyed his superiors and killed a Klingon crew and took their ship. After three months on Vulcan, Kirk decides to return to Earth to face the consequences of his actions along with his crew who aided him. Also accompanying them is Mr. Spock, who is still trying to understand his human side. What they don't know is that an alien probe approaches Earth and is emitting a signal that nullifies all power systems. And it is now vaporizing the planet's oceans covering the planet in a cloud that covers the earth cutting them off from the sun - the planet's main source of energy. The President of the Federation sends a transmission telling everyone about what is happening and to stay away from earth. Kirk upon hearing it, checks out the probe's transmission and Spock postulates that the alien is not hostile merely unaware that it's ...

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Plot Keywords:

probe | whale | humpback whale | 23rd century | vulcan | 

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Taglines:

Beaming down to Earth December 12 1986

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

Startrek.com

Country:

USA

Language:

English Finnish

Release Date:

26 November 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

Star trek IV - Retour sur Terre

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$109,713,132 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Industrial Light & Magic (ILM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Chekov is running away in the ship the Finnish Jaeger march is playing in the background.

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Goofs

During an early scene on the Klingon vessel, Sulu says "Estimating 1.6 hours to planet Earth." The ship does not appear to be traveling at warp speed, so a journey from Vulcan, which is been shown to be 16 light years away, would take far longer than 1.6 hours (at least 16 years).

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Quotes

Elderly patient: [the dialysis patient is being wheeled down the hall after being given the pill by McCoy]
[joyfully]
Elderly patient: The doctor gave me a pill, and I grew a new kidney! The doctor gave me a pill, and I grew a new kidney!
Intern #1: [in disbelief, walking ahead of the patient] Fully functional?
Intern #2: [incredulous] Fully functional!

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Crazy Credits

The end credits play on top of photos and clips from the film.

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Connections

References Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)

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Soundtracks

"Genesis Project"
by Craig Huxley (as Craig Huxley)

User Reviews

Silly but Trek at it's best!

'Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home' is the most popular of the Trek films and quite right too. Not only does it appeal to both fans and non-fans of the show but it revels in the spirit of what Trek has always been about: how perfect and Utopian the citizens of the twenty-third century are compared to their Neanderthal ancestors of the late twentieth century!

The film sees Kirk and his crew, in disgrace after disobeying Starfleet orders to save Spock following the events of 'Star Trek III: The Search for Spock', travel to 1986 San Francisco to retrieve a pair of hump-back whales, a species extinct by Kirk's era. The whales are the key to communicating with an alien probe that is in the process of destroying Earth. As well as the non-too-subtle eco-message ('don't allow any animal be hunted to extinction as they may save us all in the future!'), there is much fun to be had as Kirk, McCoy, Uhura, Sulu, Scotty and the ever-logical Spock struggle to integrate themselves into most alien situation they have ever been in. They are clueless about exact-change buses, pizzas and why 1986 doctors think it's a good idea to drill into someone's head.

It is very light-hearted at times but I imagine this is the film Gene Roddenberry is most proud of given the way it portrays the best of all our favourite characters and reaches the heart of the ethos of 'Star Trek'. When I first watched this as a child, I wished Kirk would come and let me join him in the twenty-third century. In fact, the only thing that could improve this film would be if the probe had aimed its venegeance entirely at Japan and Norway in retaliation for the sins of these countries' backward twenty-first century 'ancestors'. After all, it's these two countries who will surely bring about the extinction of whales.

While this doesn't delve too much into the mythology and background of Trek, it is a great film and deserves to be counted as the best of the ten films. It is also an excellent option for Trek fans trying to convert friends and family to 'seeing the light' and loving Trek!