comment #1

Wrecktem says ...

More evidence that the Shat is a peerless legend.

comment #2

frankbooth says ...

My friends and I discovered, many years ago, that this moment -- pretty damned funny on its own -- is an absolute riot in slo-mo. Of course, alcohol consumption helps enhance the hilarity.

Impulse is still the Shat's greatest work, but this ranks up there. There's something perverse about Trekkies that they can watch this stuff with a straight face.

comment #3

BurmaShave says ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5vlco4yvSc

My respectful submission for their next project.

comment #4

DarthCorleone says ...

Here's the thing about this moment...

Khan has just told Kirk that he's leaving them buried alive inside the Genesis planet, and he taunts him with this. The Enterprise is (supposedly) crippled and unable to retrieve them. So Kirk flips out and yells Khan's name in rage.

HOWEVER, the Enterprise is not crippled, and Kirk KNOWS that. He and Spock had revealed in the scene previous to this via coded language that "by the book" a rescue would take place in two hours. Khan thinks he's in control of the situation, but he absolutely is not. So what is Kirk getting so genuinely upset about? The officer who killed himself instead of shooting him? Surely he feels bad about that, but is it worth that mighty bellow?

Consequently, Shatner - so often lampooned for overacting in probably his most famous and most indulgent acting moment - is not the one doing the acting here. It's the character of Kirk! Or rather, it's Shatner acting out Kirk's overacting. James Tiberius Kirk is not an actor, and consequently any element of overacting here is more or less on par with Kirk's acting capabilities. Thus, Shatner has nailed the moment perfectly at another level.

I realize they probably didn't have that in mind when they shot the scene, but I find it an amusing element to consider that is never discussed.

comment #5

bluefugue says ...

>There's something perverse about Trekkies that they can watch this stuff with a straight face.

Some of us just don't flee to irony quite as quickly. The "Khan" scream is overacting, but Shatner plays his character well enough in most cases. Not comparing Trek to Shakespeare, but the latter ain't subtle either -- and it works. (Branagh pulls out so many stops in his "Hamlet" that you think he might explode -- and the result is infinitely more mesmerizing than Gibson's lackluster take on the role.) Same with Twilight Zone or Singin' In The Rain or any number of other movies/shows that might seem alien to modern sensibilities. One sign of a flexible mind, IMO, is the ability to absorb various texts/styles/modes on their own terms without reflexively resorting to the derisive chuckle.

comment #6

Rich S. says ...

You know, Darth, I never thought of it that way, but you're probably right. Your explanation reminds me of Wallace Shawn in The Princess Bride.

"But what Khan doesn't know, is that Kirk knows that Khan thinks the Enterprise is crippled, but Kirk knows that Khan doesn't know that it isn't. So when Khan taunts Kirk about the Enterprise being crippled, Kirk screams at Khan to make Khan think that Kirk doesn't know it's not."

And then Kirk says, "I developed an immunity to Iocaine powder."

comment #7

BurmaShave says ...

Inconceivable!

comment #8

p.Vice says ...

That two minute bootleg is better than any feature I've seen in the last year and a half.

comment #9

Patrick Feerick says ...

Love this Martin Arnold style stuff!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXgjugI-iFU

comment #10

CitizenKanedforChewingGum says ...

"One sign of a flexible mind, IMO, is the ability to absorb various texts/styles/modes on their own terms without reflexively resorting to the derisive chuckle."

Or perhaps the sign of a flexible mind is finding an equal amount of humor in various texts/styles/modes, and never stop chuckling.

That's also a lot more fun.

comment #11

DavidF says ...

It's also worth noting how awesome Montalban is in this scene. So bitter and quiet about it.

Also hugely worth noting is that he shot all his stuff WEEKS before Shatner. They shot all the Reliant bridge stuff and then re-dresssed it as the Enterprise bridge so the interplay between the two - some of the best in Trek, most would acknowledge - is all the more remarkable.

(ALSO - a friend just told me, after randomly finding it on Amazon, that Nick Meyer, who is responsible for all the genius of the original cast films - has a book coming out in August.)

comment #12

markj says ...

God I hated that new Star Trek 'film'.

comment #13

crazynine says ...

That is awesome, except for one niggling detail they got wrong-- keeping the second "Khaaaaan!!!" in the sound loop, although each time in this cut Shatner only says it once.

Kinda ruins the "purity" of it all for me ;-)

comment #14

LYT says ...

Small correction...this LA Weekly piece ran A YEAR AGO, not last week. Check the year in the date.

comment #15

BurmaShave says ...

markj, no you didn't. Seriously, just think about it, lose your prejudice, and relax. It's not a hatable film.

comment #16

bryce_david says ...

Not as good as the many Mommie Dearest clips on youtube, certainly when Diana Scarwid says "i'm not one of your faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaans" which is totally freaky/brilliant. It's at 1:30 at the following clip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGkjmUsIFR0

comment #17

Ghost072 says ...

God I loved that new Star Trek 'film'.

comment #18

swag says ...

Warhol's "Empire" was a better use of my time.