Star Trek II - The Wrath of Khan - Theatrical vs. Director's cut 

The loss of Scotty’s nephew, Peter Preston, broke my heart. To see Scotty devastated hurts.

The director's cut adds more depth to the story without sacrificing momentum. 2 priceless scenes that would have been tragic to leave on the cutting room floor: Bones and Spock arguing about genesis and Scott's emotional exit after the death of his nephew. These scenes gave these good actors a chance to show that they have a greater range of abilities than most people took them for. Truly, the best of Trek...

My biggest beef was erasing the fact that Preston was Scotty’s nephew. It made the movie more......human.

"I only use it for medicinal purposes": That line has never ceased to make me laugh.

Director's cut was superior in almost every way.

The added scene at 6:59 cuts even deeper in the novel. There, it's established that Scotty's nephew Peter not only stayed at his post, but thereby rerouted power and kept the ship from going dark completely. So, Kirk says, "We're alive only because I knew something about these ships that he didn't, and because one fourteen-year-old kid..." and there he trails off, unable to continue. Peter Preston was barely a teen in the novel.

A good director's cut - nicely cleaned up and the extra little scenes and even alternate takes are much better.

Wow, I've never seen alternate takes that arent bloopers. As a musician I find it fascinating how tight and consistent the takes are!

Gotta love what I call Shatner's "micro-acting" like his facial expressions when drinking unfamiliar beverages...Romulan Ale and Michelob (Star Trek IV).

I like how the audio is not quite synced up and it makes everyone sound like Borg.

I love seeing different takes side by side. It's amazing how they re-act a scene with almost precision timing.

I like the additional dialogue scenes. To me, they make the film more akin to the "feel" of the original series. I would very much like to own this version.

1:35 I can't believe that a history buff like Kirk wouldn't know what eyeglasses were. I'm sure that's why it was originally (and rightly) edited out.

My favorite re-edited scene is Preston’s death and the additional dialogue Kirk and McCoy have after Scotty leaves. They seem more troubled by Khan in the DC. The scene has more weight to it and doesn’t seem rushed like in the theatrical cut. On a different note, it’s hard to believe Kirk doesn’t know what reading glasses are when McCoy gives them to him. But I do like the added dialogue referring to the age of the glasses. It’s a nice touch knowing that Kirk will eventually sell the glasses at a pawn shop in Star Trek 4.

Spock's death (actually, from the moment Kirk noticed he was not on the bridge until the end) and Kirk's reaction to David's death (next movie) broke my heart

I always knew there were differences in these scenes, but this is great to see them side by side. Thank you!

I love how is zooms in on Kirk when Spock talks about ego. xD

it's "fascinating" how much the eyes forgive once you see a side by side comparison. it's like putting on a pair of new glasses for the first time and saying,"oh yeah, that's much better!".

No contest the Director cut . Most of the time they hurry to get their product in theaters than to take the time an rewatch scenes an see the mistakes or under studio saying to trim time off the film . I thought when the last Bluray of this film would have the scenes in it or at least both versions .

Have to agree with that last one particularly. The blue was intentional as it cues one into grief, loss, the darkness at the end of this movie that could (symbolically) become light with the previous sun shot.

I almost never comment on youtube anymore but: a) this was a spectacularly well-made vid...excellent showing of the comparisons. b) it's convinced me to buy a copy of the director's cut DVD even though I already own two copies of what I now have realized are the theatrical-only versions.

I never realised how ironic it was that Scottie should be the first of Kirk's crew to personally pat the price for Kahn's vendetta, as collateral damage in his quest of blood vengeance against his Captain, since Mr. Scott has originally been something of a fanboy admirer of Khan's historical accomplishments in The Space Seed. Upon having firmly established at last Khan's correct identity, Scottie is perhaps one of the only Enterprise officers present in the meeting already fully familiar with Khan's war record and historical reputation, who thinks he knows who he as and understands fully what kind of a person they find themselves confronted with, remarking "I always had a bit of a grudging admiration for this one.". Clearly such sentiment was not ever fated to be reciprocated, to put it mildly.

even without the reveal of Prescott being Scotty's nephew, we already kinda knew they were related, somehow; we weren't stupid.

Often confused: Color correction normalizes color across many shots, while color grading establishes the general color space within a scene. It's an important distinction.

I had the HUGE privilege to watch this Directors Cut in January 2020 during a tour of William Shatner across Europe where he talked about all kinds of things and this was also the first time to have the chance watching this film on a big screen, together with my father. :) This was 2 dreams coming true at one evening. During that scene 1:48 the audience giggled and chuckled.

I personally find the added scenes and different takes are unnecessary and detract from the pacing of the film. Editors are unsung heroes, and this editor did a great job at cutting the fluff to make the movie move better and keep the tension building. The scene where Carol explains to her staff that they're leaving the station totally removes the tension from the Kirk and landing party scene arriving on Regula One. In the Director's Cut we already know they're not there, even if we don't know exactly where they went. That's probably exactly why the editor cut it. There really isn't one added scene I like more. The only benefit of the Director's Cut is the colour correction, but even then sometimes the Theatrical Cut looks better. Thanks for the video, though. Very interesting to see both run side to side. I just disagree that the DC is superior. A lot of Star Trek fans I've talked to online agree that the theatrical version is better overall. It's all subjective and personal preference. I usually prefer the theatrical version of films, with a few exceptions. Blade Runner's DC is definitely the superior version because it gives the audience credit, and doesn't spell everything out. Again, TWOK DC spells too much out and doesn't respect the audience and in doing so ruins the mystery, tension, and pacing.

At 5:09, Crewman is SO dead, McCoy does not even give the usual "He´s dead, Jim." Bone´s not looking at the monitor or takes the vital signs by hand or whatever. He just lets the Guy lay back, and pulls the blanket over his face. Nobody questions the Doc at work.

The director's cut was broadcast on TV in the 80s. I recorded it and wore out the tape. Nice to see these scenes and takes again.

Thank you for making this. I just got to see this in theaters yesterday and had never seen this version, and wasn't sure if the Director's cut was this version. I'm incredibly happy it is, because I didn't want to lose that watching experience ever again This is an amazing make. Thank you!

The directors cut seems better in every way, except a handfull of missing frames.

Starfleet uniforms are smart

I remember watching this on TV once after the theatrical release had run its course. Some of the scenes from the Director's cut made the edited for TV version, including the scene where Spock mentions "The human ego"

Well, they did film the Genesis planet jungle sequences in San Francisco in Golden Gate Park. I lived in SF for 17 years. Fog comes with the territory, particularly in the park which gets it coming off the Bay & the ocean.

I really get aggravated sometimes seeing scenes like these cut which would add so much more, and give more background and meaning, just to save what...15 minutes? An extra 15 to 30 minutes of Star Trek is every fan's dream, and especially if it adds more understanding. Now the mention of the 400-year-old glasses with the lenses intact makes the joke in Star Trek IV that much funnier, when the shop owner said they'd be worth more if the lenses were intact.

ST 1 and 2 are some of the most cut and recut movies I've ever seen. Between the TV versions, the theatrical releases, the director's cuts, etc., I've seen both the top and the bottom cuts, and at least one version with some of both, before. Same with ST1; I remember a TV version that aired in the 80s that had a few different sound FX than the ST1 we've had since 2000. Without question though, the 2003 DVD looks much better.

Whenever I watch my copy of Star Trek 2, whenever Scotty's nephew says that Kirk is as blind as a bat, I always like watching the taller kid, standing beside Scotty's nephew. Whenever the nephew is saying his lines, the other guy is standing there with strange expressions on his face, like he's either very surprised by what the nephew is saying, or like he's drunk, when he's supposed to be standing there expressionless. Hahaha

Despite being a fan of TWOK since 1984 (I was only 3 years old on its release) and watching it at least 2 / 3 times a year STILL - I have never seen the DC and am only aware of the extra plot points (Preston's friendship with Saavik + his relationship to Scotty) due to the novelisation. I am however in awe at the surgical precision of the acting when the alternative takes are shown side to side (even the random kerfuffle aboard Regula 1 matches). Best. Film. Ever. At least equal in 1st place compared to all the other best films ever.

Wow - this video was brilliantly done! Vudu is having a special on the HDC Director's cut version, and I have seen the theatrical cut so many times, I wonder what the difference were and your video answered that question. Excellent job!

Director's cut failed to add Sulu's missing dialogue when they are heading over to the main ship. Far as I know this has never been fixed, they have the VO but maybe did'nt film the complete scene, which makes no sense as they pretty much filmed everything else including stuff I never even knew about.

The theatrical blu-ray version is so... "blueish"

"That young man...he's my son" Spock: "Fascinating" I'm a Star Wars guy through and through, but in my heart of hearts I believe I'm muthafuccin Starfleet.

I first saw Star Trek II on a recorded-from-TV VHS tape. It had all that added footage (save for a few bits involving the Ceti Eel). I later got a two-disc DVD version and saw the alternate bits. Still, nothing out of the ordinary to me. Then I got this double-feature DVD from Best Buy that turned out to contain the theatrical cuts of the two movies (The Motion picture being the first). It was so jarring to me to see the extra stuff I had gotten used to just not be there. Although, seeing some of the alternate takes was interesting. The argument on Space Lab Regula 1 sounded like a rehearsal, though.

This means that HBO at some point had aired the Director's Cut back 1983-84, I believe when we bought our first VCR. My father must have taped the Director's Cut version of WOK, because I totally remember the extra scenes from way back then with Scottie's nephew and such. Geezus, my little bro and I watched this movie over and over until the tape snapped - to the point that we used to recite the movie line for line. ... well this movie and also "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" where he and I LARPed the alien abduction scene of little Gary (Don't laugh... I was eight and my bro was five). Anyway, I recall the DC cut of Bibi Besch's "I *CAN-NOT* and *WILL NOT* subscribe to your interpretation of this event!!!" take where she puts a ton of emotional emphasis on the scene versus the theatrical subdued version of the same line. Hey! Thanks for posting this. I really enjoy seeing both versions side-by-side. It's a real treat.

6:20 "I know you tried, Doctor!" Poor Scotty.

The Director has less blue tint in the image leaving the Directors cut more warm. Defiantly more shadow detail in the directors cut too. The view of Regular 1 with the planet behind it is great example of this.

These scenes were also included in the network broadcast on ABC. I had recorded it on VHS and watched it about a million times. When I got the official VHS release I was surprised that these scenes were missing!!!!

If you can find it, there is third (the real original) opening title of this movie. It said "STAR TREK THE WRATH OF KHAN" There was no II in it. I remember that vividly and when I re-watched it in IMAX as the Air and Space Museum in DC one night 16 years later, they played it then.

Bought the Blu-ray box set, watched wrath of khan and noticed the scene where Kirk is introduced to kirks nephew was missing, and immediately turned it off... there’s a lot of other small but key scenes that were cut.... years later a stand-alone blunray release dropped on amazon and of course I bought it and fixed my box set... the Garbage Blu-ray cut was given away

The filtering and coloring process make it too crisp/clean. You fix a hole with a little spackle, you don't take a hammer to the sheet rock and replace it with new sheet rock and you certainly don't repaint the wall if the old paint can do with a light scrubbing. Put the cuts in but there's a point where you just don't cross the line at punching up the color or even add/change effects. Less is always more when done correctly the first time.

Director's Cut: Paying the price of watching a full movie for 5 minutes of the movie.

I didn't get to see this film in the theater (I was about 8 when it came out), so my first viewing of it was the TV Broadcast a couple years later that had these same extra scenes in it that the director's cut has. I'd recorded it on VHS, carefully pausing it during the commercials, and that's what I watched over and over for years. So it was rather shocking when I got my first DVD copy and these scenes were missing because it was the theatrical release (same story with TMP).

Can't wait for my 4K set of I-IV and TNG Complete Series Blurays on Monday to satisfy my new Trek kick.

In a modern movie that involves a crisis everyone has to be running around and screaming, whereas in real life, this is how people would be acting. Scotty still does his job after his nephew dies, Kirk isn't panicking and keeps the bridge crew together and McCoy mans his post. A movie like this would be "boring" to modern audiences.

How do you not choose to keep the hilarity of this moment in the Final Cut 7:35

The version of the movie i recorded off of local ABC network onto our old BetaMax had most of these scenes in it. We would watch it every other day after school.

Thank you. I hadn't seen the deleted scenes before. I'm not a strict ST fan, but I am very fond of TOS, the original cast films and later seasons of TNG. I alwasy thought that 'Wrath of Kahn' wouldn't have been hurt by an extra 10 to 15 minutes running time. I realise storytelling momentum and economy were in the cinema edit, but the film always moved a bit too fast for my liking and I would have appreciated a few more character interaction scenes.

Without a doubt (in my humble opinion), the Directors cut is superior. Makes one wonder, how many more segments were left on the cutting room floor. Films have to be edited. I get that. In an era of special effects, I often think Producers and in particular, Paramount, tend to believe storylines are secondary relative to photography.

The Director's Cut will be out on Blu Ray soon, but hopefully not too blue.

Scotty's reaction to Peter's death made more sense in the directors cut

Now if only Sulu's edited scene was restored to its full entirety,"I'm delighted! Any chance to go aboard Enterprise."(interruption to exterior shot)

Overall, I like the additional scenes, but some of the takes that they had to use in order to get them weren't as good.

7:35 the dialogue between Kirk and Spock is missing on the director's cut since the 2009 release, it's only on the DVD. I don't know if Nicholas Meyer himself decided years later he didn't want to keep those lines, or if it's a literal mistake that somehow nobody at Paramount has caught in 15 years. Honestly I think it's the latter, it's a fun moment and I love Spock's "so what else is new" delivery. What really seals it for me as being an error, is that without the dialogue you just have a shot of them opening a hatch and climbing for 10 seconds.

The extra scene makes Peter’s death have more depth and meaning

I just rewatched this yesterday. It struck me how this movie depicts Kirk as a more selfish person, a bit like Kahn. Less heroic, but at the same time a more believable and human version. The Directors version enhances this. Perhaps this is why it was cut differently, to make Kirk more heroic.

i wonder if the blu ray of the directors cut that was released not to long ago, looks like the color corrected version. if so, im buying it now lol. Why they cut these scenes is beyond me. makes the movie so much better.

Well, at least the edits in the director's cut in II (and also VI) weren't anywhere as complicating as those of TMP. With TMP, the edits between the theatrical version, the special longer version and the director's cut were just all over the place. Like there are scenes in each version that are cut from the other versions. Or scenes that are arranged or edited differently.

There is no dispute the Director's Cut has a superior picture in both color and resolution

Seeing this informs me that I've never seen the theatrical cut

“That’s why so many hate the blu-Ray transfer?” I LOVE the blu-Ray transfer. So I don’t understand your thesis. They did a phenomenal job with it. I thought the whole point of the comparison was to see the improvements in every way.

I think when ABC aired this movie for its network premiere, many of those scenes were part of the TV telecast.

The director's cut was also the cut.used on Network TV (ABC) 1984.

That poor crewman might have lived if Scotty had taken him to sickbay first instead of going to the bridge.

I like the way you present the footage for comparison--it's very easy to follow. You could improve these presentations, however, by using the correct terms. I think in every case, it should read as "ADDED/DELETED SHOT" --- not "SCENE". A scene is made up of several camera shots--and it's really at the shot level that the two versions are being compared. Adding or dropping a 'scene' is a bigger deal, because it represents a lot more footage and plot/story development. Otherwise, nice work comparing these Star Trek film versions.

My favorite deleted scenes are McCoy's accusation against Spock (great delivery), and the conversation between Kirk and McCoy in sickbay, which Kirk admits he's only alive by luck. (could do without the crying scotty half)

Great job! However you "cut" it, however, it's such a great movie....

I've got The Wrath of Khan. I have the theatrical cut, which came with the Original Motion Picture Collection DVD set. I have the Director's cut on DVD. I have the Director's cut (Also came with the theatrical cut) on Blu-ray as well and a few years later, I've got the 10 film Blu-ray set called Star Trek: Stardate Collection. I've swapped the two discs around. The Blu-ray version of The Wrath of Khan: Director's Cut, is now included in the Stardate Collection box set and the theatrical only version, in the single Blu-ray case and gave it to charity.

I think it's in the director's cut that there was an edit made that confused me and kinda screwed with the pacing of one particular scene: when Enterprise makes a successful shot at the bridge of Reliant, the resulting damage causes Khan's right-hand man to get crushed. Khan lifts up the debris to get to him, but then suddenly it cuts to I think Saavik saying something on the Enterprise and then right back to Khan's goon saying his last words. I dunno, I don't remember that scene playing out that way, but it felt kinda sloppy.

Scotty carrying the midshipman to the bridge when he was wounded and being so shook up over it, makes more sense in the director’s cut. I never understood, after all the people that had been killed on that series, why they were so upset over this guy that was hardly shown.

Jesus Christ, what's with that horrible teal-filter color "correction" on the Blu-ray? It's bad enough that every single new film gets slathered in teal. Do they have to tamper with old films too? Insane. The original colors look FAR better. (They did this to Blade Runner too -- only the original version of the five-disc compilation of all of the versions has the original coloring, and it looks the best.)

I am glad kept Director's cut .And besides that there was a ton of features.on the extra disc. Which is why did have bought any Star Trek movies on blu ray ,As a great Star Trek movie .

And still is on blu ray. Just seen new version at cinema, it was so dark with this HDR added.

Not in ST 2 but in ST3 do you see scenes & little things in the background on the Blu Ray version that you don’t see on the DVD or VHS version, like when the Enterprise comes into spacedock all burned and battered and two people are in an observation window looking at the ship & then we see Janice Rand’s reaction.

These parts were already in the extended version that somehow people forgot about

at the end it says "and now another reason why so many hated the blue ray transfer" - or something like that - and what follows is the end sequence where the only difference I see is that it's not as murky and the plants and things look more alive and vibrant. What the hells wrong with it? I don't see it at all.

2:43 Preston acts like a captain who has an order from military 😂

Nice job on the presentation! It works well one on top of the other and notes in between.

Apart from the colours/image quality, Theatrical version. The extra snippets are not necessary, and seem to be there for the purposed of exposition, which is not needed.

We had a Fathom showing of this and it's really incredible all the new stuff. It changed the viewing experience for sure. Specifically Scotty's nephew and the scenes with Kirk, Spock and Bones discussing a bit more

I'm so surprised that the original script didn't have Checkov blaming the change of orders on Kirk. We dont realize it fully that moment but later we understand why Carol and David become so much more emotional.

I don’t agree with Meyer cutting the “ That man in my son!”, “Fascinating!” Dialogue between Kirk and Spock in the Jefferies tube for the Blu-Ray.I always loved that exchange ever since my worn out copy of my vhs ABC broadcast recording from the eighties.

it sure would have been nice to have the directors cut versions on the blu-ray boxset. i was a Star Trek maniac in my youth. Though i haven't watched any of the movies for about 15 years. the past 2 weeks i've been watching all the movies again in glorious 1080p. such a pleasure!!!! and tons of extras!!! directors cuts would have been icing on the cake.

I just watched this the other night from the 10 movie Blu Ray boxset which has the theatrical cuts of all films from "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" to "Star Trek: Nemesis", and I don't recall it looking as blue and indistinct as it does here. On the contrary, the image was bright and sharp, and the blue tint is not nearly as exaggerated as it appears in this comparison. Did Paramount re-transfer it for latest boxset which was released around February 2019? As for the added content, this is one of those cases where the director's cut is merely different, not better. I don't think the movie is missing anything essential without it, and I don't think it's dramatically improved with it. In fact, I would suggest that the theatrical cut is superior in a couple of, minor ways: 1) it leaves us in suspense about the fate of the crew on the science station. In the director's cut, Dr. Marcus announces that they're leaving, so the audience knows they'll be safe from Khan and his crew. The theatrical cut doesn't reveal the science team's fate until much, much later, which I think makes for a better narrative; 2) I don't like how the director's cut makes Kirk seem a bit obtuse for not knowing what eyeglasses are. We're talking about a man who has flintlock firearms, models of sailing ships, and even a Commodore PET computer on display in his home. Surely he's familiar with spectacles. Contrast this with Robert Wise's cut of "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" which is significantly improved with reediting, the reintroduction of key lines and scenes, and the addition of a few new special effects shots. I wish they would release it on Blu Ray already. Normally, I'm a big fan of director's cuts, but with "The Wrath of Khan", I'm largely indifferent.

I don't get the last segment: what was so 'hateful' about the Bluray transfer of the end of the movie? It looked identical to me except brighter. I might have preferred the darker original 'dawn' style of the theatrical release, but there was nothing to 'hate' in the brighter re-master for bluray!

I guess purists didn't like the altered colors but I think they make the movie look brighter and more life-like. Or maybe that's just the way it looks on my monitor.

I'm so glad that I have the directors cut on DVD. the color correction is not something I noticed before.

after only seeing the directors cut, I'm astonished some of these scenes didn't make it in the theatrical cut.

The added scenes are sort of extra explanations. If you know the original Space Seed episode, you know Khan, and you see why he's gone mad with hatred for Kirk. Kirk wouldn't need to explain things to Scotty. Wrath of Khan is so exciting because the pace keeps moving.

It's much better if Scotty likes the kid as a trainee with spunk versus being his uncle. I think similarly the other additions were cut for a reason. The only thing I would keep is the glasses stuff.

1:24 is not an alternate take, it's just zoomed in a little. Anyway, thanks for posting these!

The color grading is SO much nicer in the Director’s Cut 👍