Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)

On the eve of retirement, Kirk and McCoy are charged with assassinating the Klingon High Chancellor and imprisoned. The Enterprise crew must help them escape to thwart a conspiracy aimed at sabotaging the last best hope for peace.

Director:

Nicholas Meyer

Writers:

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

Stars:

William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
William Shatner	...	Kirk
Leonard Nimoy	...	Spock
DeForest Kelley	...	McCoy
James Doohan	...	Scotty
Walter Koenig	...	Chekov
Nichelle Nichols	...	Uhura
George Takei	...	Sulu
Kim Cattrall	...	Lt. Valeris
Mark Lenard	...	Sarek
Grace Lee Whitney	...	Excelsior Communications Officer
Brock Peters	...	Admiral Cartwright
Leon Russom	...	Chief in Command
Kurtwood Smith	...	Federation President
Christopher Plummer	...	Chang
Rosanna DeSoto	...	Azetbur (as Rosana DeSoto)

Storyline

After an explosion on their moon, the Klingons have an estimated 50 years before their ozone layer is completely depleted, and they all die. They have only one choice - to make peace with the Federation, which will mean an end to 70 years of conflict. Captain James T. Kirk and crew are called upon to help in the negotiations because of their experience with the Klingons. Peace talks don't quite proceed, and Kirk and McCoy are convicted of assassinating the Klingon High Chancellor, and imprisoned on Rura Penthe, a snowy hard-labor prison camp. Will they manage to escape? And will there ever be peace with the Klingons?

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Plot Keywords:

male alien | type 2 phaser | ship's surgeon | pavel chekov character | lt nyota uhura character | 

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Taglines:

On the verge of peace. On the brink of war.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

Startrek.com startrek.com

Country:

USA

Language:

English Klingon

Release Date:

6 December 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

Star Trek 6: The Undiscovered Country

Filming Locations:

Alaska, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$74,888,996

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$96,888,996

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby Digital (some test prints) Dolby Stereo (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The subtitle, "The Undiscovered Country", had been considered as a title for the installment which became Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982). It comes from Hamlet's famous "To be or not to be" soliloquy, as do many of General Chang's William Shakespeare quotes. Two of the more obscure lines Chang speaks during the final battle between the Klingons and the Enterprise are "Our revels now have ended..." from "The Tempest" and "The game's afoot" from "Henry V". Chang's line "Have we not heard the chimes at midnight?" is from Henry IV: Part 2.

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Goofs

No one's breath is ever visible on the ice planet Rura Penthe.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Captain Hikaru Sulu: Stardate 9521.6. Captain's Log, USS Excelsior. Hikaru Sulu commanding. After three years, I have concluded my first assignment as master of this vessel, cataloguing gaseous planetary anomalies in Beta Quadrant. We're heading home under full impulse power. I'm pleased to report that ship and crew have functioned well.

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Crazy Credits

In the end credits, the character of Uhura is misspelled as "Uhuru."

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Connections

Featured in Half in the Bag: Get Out and Logan (2017)

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Soundtracks

Theme From Star Trek TV Series
by Alexander Courage

User Reviews

Classic Space Opera

The final Star Trek film to feature the original cast is an enormous improvement after the awful fifth film, and might just be the best in the series. Much of it is probably thanks to the return of director Nicholas Meyer, who is responsible also for the classic Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan (while film III through V were directed by cast members). Meyer's very professional directing shows in every scene on ST-VI, and the old cast - William Shatner (Kirk), Leonard Nimoy (Spock), DeForest Kelly (McCoy), James Doohan (Scotty) and the rest - give here what is without doubt their finest performance. Mind - Shatner and Nimoy are by now 60 years old, while Kelly and Doohan are well into their 70s. But there isn't a trace of the pathetic silliness that characterized the fifth movie; Meyer knows what to do with these aging actors that wouldn't make them look like idiots. What we see in Star Trek VI is a much more mature approach, and the crew members have to face, more than an outside enemy, their own aging, and their fear of change. That fear is a key element here, and it's an issue that is well handled and is always relevant.

While the old cast members are doing splendidly here, the movie introduces some fantastic new characters. First and foremost, the experienced Shakespearean actor Christopher Plummer makes a fascinating villain in the conservative and suspicious Klingon General Chang, endlessly throwing out Shakespeare quotes on every turn. ('You haven't truly enjoyed Shakespeare until you've read it in the original Klingon') Also, Kim Cattrall, who achieved much success lately in the acclaimed 'Sex And The City'), plays the Vulcan Lt. Valeris and gives a great performance. Finally, David Warner gives a brief but memorable performance as the visionary Chancellor Gorkon. The real stars here, though, are Shatner and Kelly, whose attempt to save the Chancellor's life, as well as their trial for assassination before a Klingon court (CAMEO: Michael Dorn, who plays Worf in the Next Generation, plays Kirk and McCoy's attorney here - Colonel Worf. An ancestor, probably) make for some of the best scenes ever seen on Star Trek. The directing and camera work are splendid, and the script has just the right amount of self humor, which was dreadfully lacking from the fifth movie (e.g.: Spock: 'If I were human I believe my response would be "go to hell." ...If I were human.' All in all, a remarkable sign off for the original crew of the Enterprise and one of the best sci-fi movies of all time.