Star Trek II The Wrath of Khan Director’s Cut: An Essential Addition to Any Sci-Fi Nut’s Collection [Blu-ray Review]

by | Jun 3, 2016

STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN Director’s Edition arrives for the first time ever on Blu-ray June 7, 2016 from Paramount Home Media Distribution.  As part of the 50th anniversary celebration of the Star Trek franchise, this classic film has been digitally remastered in high definition with brilliant picture quality and will be presented in both Nicholas Meyer’s Director’s Edition and the original theatrical version.

Captain Kirk’s Starfleet career enters a new chapter as a result of his most vengeful nemesis: Khan Noonien Singh, the genetically enhanced conqueror from late 20th century Earth.  Escaping his forgotten prison, Khan sets his sights on both capturing Project Genesis, a device of god-like power, and the utter destruction of Kirk.

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Review & Special Features

  • Director’s Edition in high definition
  • Theatrical Version in high definition
  • Commentary by director Nicholas Meyer (Director’s Edition & Theatrical Version)
  • Commentary by director Nicholas Meyer and Manny Coto (Theatrical Version)
  • Text Commentary by Michael and Denise Okuda (Director’s Edition)
  • Library Computer (Theatrical Version)
  • The Genesis Effect: Engineering The Wrath of Khan—NEW!
  • Production
  • Captain’s Log
  • Designing Khan
  • Original interviews with DeForest Kelley, William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and Ricardo Montalban
  • Where No Man Has Gone Before: The Visual Effects of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
  • James Horner: Composing Genesis
  • The Star Trek Universe
  • Collecting Star Trek’s Movie Relics
  • A Novel Approach
  • Starfleet Academy: The Mystery Behind Ceti Alpha VI
  • Farewell A Tribute to Ricardo Montalban
  • Storyboards
  • Theatrical Trailer

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We’ve all seen Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Hailed as the greatest film in the franchise and potentially the best ANYTHING to ever have the Star Trek stamp on it, Wrath of Khan is a classic. It’s the Empire Strikes Back of the Trek world – sorry Trekkers, I’m a Star Wars guy first so I’m gonna use that comparison. Hell – the producer says the same thing in the new documentary that is included on this new Blu-ray set. And what a set it is – from that badass new cover featuring some of the coolest poster artwork to ever grace a Trek release, to the overwhelming amount of features included – this is a must-own for fans.

There’s an interesting feature where a guy shows off his insane collection of set props and in the process I could actually feel myself becoming nerdier than I ever imagined I could be before shutting it off… Then there’s a creepy farewell to Ricardo Montalban where director Nicholas Meyer goes on for what feels like a half hour – just him – no images or clips of Montalban, just Meyer in his livingroom reading off a teleprompter about how Montalban was more amazing than we’ll ever know because most directors would never cast him in “the big part”. Meyer also says that Montalban’s pecs were real in what I thought was a joke at first, but with Meyer’s deadpan serial killer eyes and tone, I’m not so sure anymore. The director was a lunatic and he admits he was the only one not crying or emotional on-set after Spock filmed his death scene. See? Patrick Bateman – he’s a psycho.

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If you had to own one Star Trek film (aside from the two new ones which I adore), then this would be the one to have and this would be the set to own. Having the director’s cut available, alongside the theatrical version, alongside a flurry of fascinating features, make The Wrath of Khan Director’s Cut Blu-ray an essential addition to any Trekker or Sci-Fi nut’s collection.

Rating: [star rating=”4″]