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 (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. 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:

Join the search

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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: Return to Genesis

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$17,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$16,673,229, 3 June 1984

Gross USA:

$76,471,046

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$87,000,000

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Originally, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) was supposed to be Leonard Nimoy's last ever time playing Spock, due to Spock being killed off at the end of the film. But, Nimoy regretted his decision, and it was decided for Spock to be resurrected.

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Goofs

The Security Alert screen features a diagram of a Constitution-class vessel from Star Trek The Original Series instead of the refitted version from the movies. Also, the registry on the diagram is NCC-200.

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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

During the closing credits, they thank US Marine Corp/Twenty-Nine Palms, California.

It should have been spelled Marine Corps.

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Alternate Versions

On pan-and-scan VHS releases, the opening credits are chyroned in, looking compressed. This is done so the background picture would not be compressed.

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Connections

Featured in Atop the Fourth Wall: Superman: Distant Fires (2011)

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Soundtracks

Tangerine
by Johnny Mercer & Victor Schertzinger

User Reviews

Competent, but not great...

Perhaps it is the inevitable comparison to the previous episode, but Star Trek III very much has a feel of being low-rent or second-rate. An excellent example of this can be seen whenever Saavik is on the screen. Kirstie Alley may not be the greatest actor in the world, but Robin Curtis succeeds in making her look like Anna Paquin or Sigourney Weaver by comparison. The strange thing is that Merritt Butrick seems to suffer a decline in performance whenever he is in the same frame with her.

Let's face it, any dialogue heavy film was going to be a letdown after the epic battles in Star Trek II. A very personal battle between two enemies that have been festering in one another's minds for years is always going to make a brief fight with a crew of Klingons seem pretty restrained by comparison. A lot of the film's plot elements also come second-hand from the previous film, so it isn't as if much is done to separate it.

The spaceship sequences also look far less realistic in this film than is the case in the past two films. It seems that Paramount hired another effects house to simulate these moments, and the result is that the ships look as if they are under a constant invisible spotlight, rather than the realistic tones that were evident in the previous two films. The combat doesn't seem nearly as realistic, either. After the massive tradings of torpedoes and phaser energy in the previous film, expecting us to believe the Enterprise can be disabled by a single torpedo is a bit much.

The dynamic between Kirk, Spock, and McCoy was always a big part of what made the original series work, so it's not surprising that an entire film be dedicated to restoring this dynamic. To the credit of the screenwriters, it works. The fights on the surface of Genesis, and some of the dialogues, give the whole film a connection with the audience that later films in the franchise particularly lack. Everyone certainly has a friend that they'd do things like this for if they had to, so it's hard not to get behind the Enterprise crew as they battle for one of their most prominent members.

I would have appreciated more footage to show how Uhura arrives on Vulcan, and what the Federation does when they learn that the crew is on Vulcan. Still, the film is much more tightly paced than some give it credit for, so we can let that one slide. It is, however, interesting to note how little internal security the Starfleet orbital station has. I would have thought that the Starfleet version of the drunk tank would have more than just two security guards, given the wide variation in alien races that make up the organisation.

In all, I gave Star Trek III a six out of ten. Most sequels try to be bigger and bolder than the previous episode. Star Trek III is an exception, but it certainly is a worthwhile viewing if you like a bit of science fiction.