Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)

Director:

Leonard Nimoy

Writers:

Gene Roddenberry (television series Star Trek)
Leonard Nimoy (story) ...
(more)

Release Date:

26 November 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Beaming down to Earth December 12 1986

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Probe | Whale | 23rd Century | Time Travel | Star Trek

Awards:

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 13 nominations

Cast

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
Michael Berryman	...	Starfleet Display Officer
Mike Brislane	...	Saratoga Science Officer
Grace Lee Whitney	...	Commander Rand
Jane Wiedlin	...	Alien Communications Officer
Vijay Amritraj	...	Starship Captain
Majel Barrett	...	Commander Chapel
Nick Ramus	...	Saratoga Helmsman
Thaddeus Golas	...	Controller #1
Marty Pistone	...	Controller #2 (as Martin Pistone)
Scott DeVenney	...	Bob Briggs
Viola Kates Stimpson	...	Lady in Tour (as Viola Stimpson)
Phil Rubenstein	...	1st Garbageman
John Miranda	...	2nd Garbageman
Joe Knowland	...	Antique Store Owner
Bob Sarlatte	...	Waiter
Everett Lee	...	Cafe Owner
Richard Harder	...	Joe
Alex Henteloff	...	Nichols
Tony Edwards	...	Pilot
Eve Smith	...	Elderly Patient
Tom Mustin	...	Intern #1
Greg Karas	...	Intern #2
Raymond Singer	...	Young Doctor
David Ellenstein	...	Doctor #1
Judy Levitt	...	Doctor #2
Teresa E. Victor	...	Usher (as Theresa E. Victor)
James Menges	...	Jogger
Kirk R. Thatcher	...	Punk on Bus (as Kirk Thatcher)
Jeff Lester	...	FBI Agent
Joe Lando	...	Shore Patrolman
Newell Tarrant	...	CDO
Mike Timoney	...	Electronic Technician
Jeffrey Martin	...	Electronic Technician
Joseph Naradzay	...	Marine Sargent (as 1st Sgt Joseph Naradzay USMC)
Donald W. Zautcke	...	Marine Lieutenant (as 1st Lt Donald W. Zautcke USMC)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Joseph Adamson	...	Doctor (uncredited)
Monique DeSart	...	Madeleine (uncredited)
Stephen Liska	...	Torg (archive footage) (uncredited)
Madge Sinclair	...	Saratoga Captain (uncredited)

Directed by
Leonard Nimoy

Writing credits
Gene Roddenberry		(television series Star Trek)
Leonard Nimoy		(story) &
Harve Bennett		(story)
Steve Meerson		(screenplay) &
Peter Krikes		(screenplay) and
Harve Bennett		(screenplay) &
Nicholas Meyer		(screenplay)

Produced by
Harve Bennett	....	producer
Brooke Breton	....	associate producer
Kirk R. Thatcher	....	associate producer (as Kirk Thatcher)
Ralph Winter	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Leonard Rosenman

Cinematography by
Donald Peterman		(director of photography) (as Don Peterman)

Film Editing by
Peter E. Berger

Casting by
Amanda Mackey Johnson		(as Amanda Mackey)

Production Design by
Jack T. Collis

Art Direction by
Joe Aubel
Peter Landsdown Smith		(as Pete Smith)

Set Decoration by
John M. Dwyer		(as John Dwyer)

Costume Design by
Robert Fletcher

Makeup Department
Silvia Abascal	....	hair stylist
Jeff Dawn	....	makeup artist
Wes Dawn	....	makeup artist
Monique DeSart	....	hair stylist
Deborah Holmes Dobson	....	hair stylist
Rolf John Keppler	....	special makeup effects artist
James Lee McCoy	....	makeup artist (as James L. McCoy)
Carol A. O'Connell	....	hair stylist (as Carrol O'Connell)
Richard Snell	....	special makeup effects artist
Brian Wade	....	Klingon and Vulcan prosthetics designer
Rick Stratton	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Mel Efros	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Joseph Adamson	....	dga trainee (as Joe Adamson)
Frank Capra III	....	second assistant director
Pat Kehoe	....	first assistant director (as Patrick Kehoe)
Michael Owens	....	second unit director
Randy Suhr	....	assistant director
Douglas E. Wise	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Richard J. Bayard	....	construction coordinator (as Dick Bayard)
James R. Bayliss	....	set designer (as James Bayliss)
Richard Berger	....	set designer
Lloyd A. Buswell	....	construction foreman
Ed Charnock	....	paint foreperson
William K. Dolan	....	property person (as Bill Dolan)
Huey Duval	....	property person
Douglas Freeman	....	construction coordinator
Jerry Gadette	....	stand-by painter
Daniel Gluck	....	set designer (as Dan Gluck)
Ron Greenwood	....	property master
Joseph E. Hubbard	....	assistant art director (as Joe Hubbard)
John Matheson	....	construction foreperson (as John H. Matheson)
Ralph McQuarrie	....	visual consultant
Nilo Rodis-Jamero	....	assistant art director (as Nilo Rodis)
Charles Sertin	....	property person
Mark Sparks	....	propmaker
Barton M. Susman	....	lead person (as Bart Susman)
Kaye Trapp	....	assistant property master
Robert Van Dyke	....	propmaker gangboss

Sound Department
Agamemnon Andrianos	....	sound mixer: san francisco unit
Michael J. Benavente	....	sound effects editor
Destiny Borden	....	assistant editor
George Budd	....	special sound effects
Gene S. Cantamessa	....	sound mixer
Steve Cantamessa	....	boom operator (as Steven G. Cantamessa)
Christopher Flick	....	assistant editor
Stephen Hunter Flick	....	sound effects editor (as Stephen Flick)
Warren Hamilton Jr.	....	sound effects editor (as Warren Hamilton)
Doug Hemphill	....	sound effects recordist
Ellen Heuer	....	foley by
Alan Howarth	....	special sound effects
David J. Hudson	....	re-recording mixer (as Dave Hudson)
Mark Jennings	....	utility
Nicholas Vincent Korda	....	adr editor (as Nick Korda)
Mark A. Mangini	....	sound effects (as Mark Mangini)
Tim Mangini	....	foley editor
Mel Metcalfe	....	re-recording mixer
Dan O'Connell	....	foley by
Terry Porter	....	re-recording mixer
John Pospisil	....	special sound effects
Solange S. Schwalbe	....	foley editor (as Solange Schwalbe)
David E. Stone	....	sound effects editor (as David Stone)
Raul A. Bruce	....	boom operator (uncredited)
Ezra Dweck	....	sound effects recording (uncredited)
Clive Taylor	....	sound recordist (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Donald Elliott	....	special effects (as Don Elliott)
Pieter Folkens	....	designer
Pieter Folkens	....	sculptor
Michael Lantieri	....	special effects supervisor
Tim Moran	....	special effects
Clay Pinney	....	special effects
Robert Spurlock	....	special effects
Brian Tipton	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Rick Anderson	....	whale mechanical designer: ILM
Craig Barron	....	matte photography supervisor: ILM
John Bell	....	storyboard artist: ILM
Dale Brady	....	creature crew: ILM
Rob Burton	....	animation camera
Jo Carson	....	assistant camera: ILM
Sean M. Casey	....	whale mold supervisor: ILM (as Sean Casey)
Craig Caton	....	creature crew: ILM
Eric Christensen	....	modelmaker: ILM
Donald Clark	....	optical camera operator: ILM (as Don Clark)
Walt Conti	....	project supervisor: ILM
Walt Conti	....	whale design supervisor: ILM
Peter Daulton	....	camera operator: ILM
Dick Dova	....	stage technician: ILM
Don Dow	....	effects director of photography: ILM
Selwyn Eddy	....	camera operator: ILM (as Selwyn Eddy III)
Christopher Evans	....	matte painting supervisor: ILM (as Chris Evans)
John V. Fante	....	camera operator: ILM
Ellen Ferguson	....	rotoscope artist: ILM
Allen Feuerstein	....	creature crew: ILM
Robert Finley Jr.	....	pyrotechnician: ILM (as Bob Finley Jr.)
Warren Franklin	....	general manager: ILM
Tim Geideman	....	lab technician: ILM
Jim Gerken	....	computer animation: Novocom, Inc.
Ray Gilberti	....	assistant camera: ILM
Michael Gleason	....	visual effects editor: ILM (as Mike Gleason)
Ralph Gordon	....	optical supervisor: ILM
Ned Gorman	....	production assistant: ILM
Caroleen Green	....	matte artist: ILM
James Hagedorn	....	optical camera operator: ILM (as Jim Hagedorn)
Donald Hansard Sr.	....	process coordinator
Toby Heindel	....	camera operator: ILM
Todd Heindel	....	lab technician: ILM
Edward Hirsh	....	production manager: ILM (as Ed Hirsh)
Richard E. Hollander	....	computer animation: Video Images (as Richard Hollander)
Tony Hudson	....	puppeteer: ILM
Tony Hudson	....	whale operator: ILM
Peg Hunter	....	optical lineup: ILM
Erik Jensen	....	visual effects coordinator: ILM
Brad Jerrell	....	stage technician: ILM
Randy Jonsson	....	matte photography: ILM (as Randy Johnson)
Sean Joyce	....	matte artist: ILM
Pete Kozachik	....	assistant camera: ILM
Paul Kraus	....	modelmaker: ILM
Ellen E. Lichtwardt	....	animation supervisor: ILM (as Ellen Lichtwardt)
Jeff Mann	....	model shop supervisor: ILM
David McCue	....	optical camera operator: ILM (as Dave McCue)
Mark S. Miller	....	puppeteer: ILM (as Mark Miller)
Mark S. Miller	....	whale operator: ILM (as Mark Miller)
Lori J. Nelson	....	optical coordinator: ILM
Nancy Nimoy	....	creature crew: ILM
Michael Okuda	....	graphic designer
Michael Olague	....	stage technician: ILM (as Mike Olague)
Frank Ordaz	....	matte artist: ILM
Terrence Peck	....	assistant effects editor: ILM (as Terry Peck)
Mark Peterson	....	computer animation: Novocom, Inc.
Ken Ralston	....	visual effects supervisor
Jay Riddle	....	animation camera operator: ILM
Nilo Rodis-Jamero	....	visual effects art director: ILM (as Nilo Rodis)
Pete Romano	....	underwater whale photography: ILM
Martin Rosenberg	....	assistant camera: ILM (as Marty Rosenberg)
Randall Rudd	....	creative director
Shannon Shea	....	creature crew: ILM
Pat Sweeney	....	camera operator: ILM
Larry Tan	....	chief modelmaker: ILM
Bruce Vecchitto	....	optical lineup: ILM
Brian Wade	....	creature crew: ILM
Bruce Walters	....	animation camera operator: ILM
John C. Wash	....	computer animation: Video Images (as John Wash)
Christopher Duddy	....	visual effects (uncredited)
Jenny Fulle	....	visual effects (uncredited)
Ian Hiebert	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Sandy Houston	....	rotoscoper (uncredited)
Steven Kosakura	....	motion control camera operator (uncredited)
Richard Miller	....	sculptor (uncredited)
George Muhs	....	visual effects (uncredited)
Thomas Rosseter	....	optical lineup (uncredited)

Stunts
Gregory J. Barnett	....	stunt double: Leonard Nimoy (as Gregory Barnett)
Steve M. Davison	....	stunts
Cliff Fleming	....	stunts (as Clifford T. Fleming)
Eddie Hice	....	stunts
John Meier	....	stunt double: William Shatner
Bennie Moore	....	stunts (as Bennie E. Moore Jr.)
Chuck Picerni Jr.	....	stunts (as Charles Picerni Jr.)
R.A. Rondell	....	stunt coordinator
Sharon Schaffer	....	stunts
Spike Silver	....	stunts
Jim O'Rear	....	stunts (uncredited)
R.A. Rondell	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Patric J. Abaravich	....	electrician
Wayne Baker	....	assistant camera: underwater scenes
Bruce Birmelin	....	still photographer
Mike Brooker	....	second company grip
Jack Cooperman	....	underwater director of photography
Richard Dow	....	dolly grip
Ray Gilberti	....	assistant camera
Lloyd Gowdy	....	assistant chief lighting technician
Jon Kranhouse	....	aerial photographer
Hal Landaker	....	video supervisor
Norman Lang	....	electrician
Kal Manning	....	chief lighting technician
Jim McConocha	....	electrician
Frank McKane	....	assistant chief lighting technician
Ken Nishino	....	first assistant photographer (as Kenneth Nishino)
Jay Peterman	....	second assistant photographer
Keith Peterman	....	camera operator
Pete Romano	....	underwater photographer: whale photography
Waverly Smothers	....	second company grip
Calvin Sterry	....	first company grip

Casting Department
Barbara Harris	....	voice casting
Bill Shepard	....	casting administrator
Judith Bouley	....	location casting: Monterey (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Dan Bronson	....	wardrobe: men
Eric Harrison	....	wardrobe supervisor: men
Mary Etta Lang	....	wardrobe: women
James Linn	....	wardrobe supervisor: men
Joseph Markham	....	wardrobe: men
Wingate Jones	....	costumer (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Thomas R. Bryant	....	assistant film editor (as Thomas Bryant)
John Haggar	....	assistant editor
Robert Raring	....	color timer (as Bob Raring)
George C. Villaseñor	....	assistant film editor (as George Villaseñor)

Music Department
Else Blangsted	....	supervising music editor
Tom Boyd	....	musician: oboe soloist
Alexander Courage	....	composer: theme "Star Trek"
Russell Ferrante	....	composer: jazz music
Ralph Ferraro	....	orchestrator
Jimmy Haslip	....	composer: jazz music
A. David Marshall	....	music editor (as David Marshall)
Dan Wallin	....	music scoring mixer
The Yellowjackets	....	composer: additional music

Transportation Department
Raymond A. McLaughlin	....	transportation captain (as Ray McLaughlin)
Stewart Satterfield	....	transportation coordinator (as Stu Statterfield)

Other crew
Kevin Barry	....	production assistant (as Kevin F. Barry)
Rebeca Brookshire	....	assistant: Mr. Winter (as Rebeca R. Brookshire)
Kevin Richard Buxbaum	....	assistant accountant
Craig Caton	....	creature crew
John Craig	....	assistant production auditor (as John R. Craig)
Dan Curry	....	title designer
Tom Jones	....	craft service
Lily La Cava	....	script supervisor (as Lily LaCava)
Alan Landaker	....	chief engineer
Andrew Lipschultz	....	unit publicist
Michael Mann	....	location manager
Lorenzo Marchessi	....	production assistant
Michael John Meehan	....	location manager (as Michael Meehan)
Harry Moreau	....	title designer
Gina Neilson	....	production coordinator
Gene Roddenberry	....	executive consultant
Brigette Roux-Lough	....	assistant: Mr. Bennett
Sylvia Rubenstein	....	assistant: Mr. Bennett
Susan Sackett	....	assistant: Mr. Roddenberry
Ori Seron	....	assistant: Mr. Nimoy
Susan Smith	....	production assistant
Robert Thorson	....	production auditor (as Robert Cecil Thorson)
Michael Besman	....	production executive (uncredited)
Bundy Chanock	....	set medic (uncredited)
Cliff Fleming	....	helicopter pilot (uncredited)
Philip Weyland	....	stand-in (uncredited)

Thanks
Roy Danchick	....	the producers extend special thanks to
Walter Davis	....	the producers also acknowledge the cooperation of (as Capt. Walter Davis)
Mark Ferrari	....	the producers extend special thanks to: The Humpback Whale Fund
Debbie Glockner-Ferrari	....	the producers extend special thanks to: The Humpback Whale Fund
John Horton	....	the producers also acknowledge the cooperation of (as Mr. John Horton)
Charles Reynolds McGrail	....	the producers also acknowledge the cooperation of (as RADM Charles Reynolds McGrail)
Roger Payne	....	acknowledgment: Humpback whale sounds courtesy of
Lee Saunders	....	the producers also acknowledge the cooperation of (as Lt. Lee Saunders)
Sandy Stairs	....	the producers also acknowledge the cooperation of (as Lt. Sandra Stairs)
Howard Weinstein	....	the producers extend special thanks to

Production Companies

• Paramount Pictures (presents)
• Industrial Light & Magic (ILM)

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1986) (USA) (theatrical)
• Paramount Home Video (1986) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (1987) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• CIC Video (1987) (UK) (VHS)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (1989) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Home Video Hellas (HVH) (1989) (Greece) (VHS)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1990) (USA) (TV)
• Paramount Home Video (1991) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Paramount Home Video (1992) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• René Malo Vidéo-Malofilm Video (1992) (Canada) (VHS)
• CIC Video (1993) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (1993) (Finland) (TV)
• Paramount Home Video (1995) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Paramount Home Video (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• Paramount Home Video (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2001) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Entertainment Finland (2009) (Finland) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Paramount Home Video (2009) (Canada) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Argentina Video Home (Argentina) (DVD)
• Argentina Video Home (Argentina) (VHS)
• CIC-Taft Home Video (19??) (Australia) (VHS)
• Esselte Video (1988) (Finland) (VHS)
• Finnkino (200?) (Finland) (DVD)
• Nelonen (1997) (Finland) (TV)

Special Effects

• Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) (visual effects)
• Westheimer Company (additional visual effects)

Other Companies

• Apple Computer  the producers extend special thanks to (as Apple Computer Company)
• Department of Defense, The  the producers also gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of
• Department of the Navy  the producers also gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of (as The Department of the Navy)
• ILM Computer Graphics  time travel effects
• MCA Records  original soundtrack album available on (as MCA Records and Tapes)
• Monterey Bay Aquarium  the producers extend special thanks to (as Monterey Bay Aquarium, Monterey, California)
• Nabisco  the producers extend special thanks to
• New York Zoological Society  acknowledgment: Humpback whale sounds courtesy of
• Novocom Inc.  computer animation
• Officers and Men of Marine Detachment, USS Ranger, The  the producers also gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of
• Officers and Men of U.S. Coast Guard, Long Beach, The  the producers also gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of
• Officers and Men of U.S. Coast Guard, San Francisco, The  the producers also gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of
• Officers and Men of the USS Ranger, CVA-61  the producers also gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of (as The Officers and Men of USS Ranger)
• Post Logic Studios  digital film mastering
• Record Plant Scoring  scoring
• Reel People Inc.  negative cutting
• Richard Snell Make-Up Designs  Klingon and Vulcan prosthetics created by
• Todd-AO/Glen Glenn Studios  sound
• Video Images  computer animation

Also Known As:

Runtime:

119 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Finnish

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

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

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Finland:K-12/9 | France:U | Norway:10 (1988) | Norway:11 | UK:PG | USA:PG | West Germany:12 | Netherlands:AL | Singapore:PG | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Italy:T | Canada:G (Canadian Home Video rating) | Iceland:L | South Korea:12 | Brazil:Livre | Sweden:11 | Canada:G (Régie du Cinéma Québec) | Peru:PT | Portugal:M/12

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The film was originally supposed to have Eddie Murphy instead of Catherine Hicks. Murphy was supposed to have played a professor concerned with UFO's who spots the de-cloaking Klingon ship at the Super Bowl. Apparently, all others are convinced the ship is a half-time special effect while Murphy believes it is real. Paramount declined this script for two reasons: Paramount didn't want to combine their two most profitable franchises ("Star Trek" (1966) and Beverly Hills Cop (1984)), and Murphy had signed on to do The Golden Child (1986) instead.

Goofs:

Factual errors: 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).

Quotes:

McCoy:My God, man! Drilling holes in his head isn't the answer! Now put away your butcher knives and let me save this patient before it's too late!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Soultaker (#11.1)" (1999)

Soundtrack:

I Hate You

Hugely enjoyable!

First off, I'm not a big BIG 'Star Trek' fan. I've seen the first six films, and catch an episode of the TV series every now and then (I saw the whole first season recently, which made me re-visit the Shatner/Nimoy films). I did however, find this film extremely entertaining! In fact, it was about as much fun as I think you can have at home with a (tasteful) video! I found 'Star Trek: The Motion Picture' a tad dull, although I still enjoyed it. And II and III work well together, and are both enjoyable sci-fi action flicks ('Wrath of Khan' is another classic, but I feel IV pips it to the post). However, when 'The Voyage Home' was over, I had no idea that a film with a plot which involved two humpback whales and mid-1980s San Fransico could be so damn fun.

Shatner is on great form as the rogue Capt. Kirk, and Nimoy is brilliant in conveying Spocks absolute confusion at being stuck on a planet he partly understands, in a time he cannot comprehend. When Kirk explains Spocks oddness to the brilliant and frankly underused actress Catherine Hicks, Kirk says that Spock did a lot of "LDS" back in college.

Kelley, Takei and company are all on fine form, and the score, direction and script all work brilliantly. The fact that the 1980s now seems so long ago (it after all, did not age as well as some decades) only adds to the films premise.

I would thoroughly recommend this film to anyone - 'Star Trek' fan or not - as it is a wonderfully entertaining film for all ages. I'm sure wherever Gene Roddenberry is, he looks back on this film venture with a wry smile and a bag of popcorn.