Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)

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

Director:

Leonard Nimoy

Writers:

Gene Roddenberry (based on "Star Trek" created by), Harve Bennett

Stars:

William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley

1 win & 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. Unbeknownst 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:

Kirk must battle the Klingons to protect the Genesis Planet and save a friend's life.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Excelsior was supposed to debut in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) and be identified as newly-promoted Captain Sulu's (George Takei's) first command. This plotline was dropped, and the Excelsior was saved for this film. Sulu finally took command of her in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991). The ship design was reused for the U.S.S. Enterprise-B in Star Trek: Generations (1994).

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Goofs

After the USS Grissom is destroyed by the Klingons, Saavik tries to hail the Grissom then tells David that it would seem the ship has been destroyed by an enemy attack. Even though the Grissom's captain told her they were under attack, she could not possibly know it had been destroyed simply because they were not responding to her hails.

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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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Alternate Versions

Some versions have no subtitles in the Klingon spoken scenes.

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Connections

Spoofed in To Boldly Flee (2012)

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Soundtracks

Theme From Star Trek (TV Series)
by Alexander Courage

User Reviews

A Good Search It Is

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)

*** (out of 4)

After the events in the previous film, Kirk (William Shatner) risks his career by stealing the Enterprise to go to a restricted planet in hopes of finding Spock's body who they feel might be alive. Along the way they run into a Klingon leader (Christopher Lloyd) who wants to kill them all. STAR TREK III: THE SEARCH OF SPOCK probably shouldn't have worked since if you've seen the second film then you know what happens to Spock. In order for this "trick" to work the producers and writers really needed to come up with something good and thankfully they did that. I won't ruin what this trick is in "the search for Spock" but I thought it was a rather smart move and it helped make the film a lot more believable. Leonard Nimoy steps into the director's chair here and it's obvious he's very comfortable there as he delivers a good looking film with a good pace and of course the main people back in action. Once again we've got Shatner turning in a good performance as Spock and there's no question that he helps keep the film moving. I don't care what you want to say about the guy but there's no question that he owned this role and could play it in his sleep. Regulars like DeForrest Kelley, James Doohan and George Takei are also good in their roles. It seems a lot of people are split on Lloyd but I thought he was pretty good here. I liked seeing him under all the make-up and thought he did a good job even if the role itself wasn't the greatest. The special effects here are certainly a step up from the previous movie and I'd also say that battle sequences are much better directed. Overall this film doesn't quite reach the levels as the second but it's certainly a worthy sequel.

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: Return to Genesis

Filming Locations:

Occidental College - 1600 Campus Road, Eagle Rock, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$17,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$16,673,295, 3 June 1984

Gross USA:

$76,471,046

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$76,471,046

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:

2.39 : 1