Internet reviewers have weighed in with their thoughts on the Special Edition DVD of 'Star Trek III: The Search For Spock,' commenting that although the quality of the film is excellent, this release doesn't quite live up to its 'Motion Picture' and 'Wrath of Khan' predecessors.

• Cliff Stephenson and Peter M. Bracke at DVD File praised the quality of the picture ("an excellent effort from Paramount") and sound ("a fine remix"), but found many of the DVD's extra features a letdown. "Alas, these featurettes suffer from poor editing and the lack of any real behind-the-scenes or production footage," the reviewers wrote. "While I don't mind 'talking heads' all that much, the pace is very sluggish and we hardly get to see any of what the participants are describing."

  In conclusion, the audio and text commentaries were listed as the highlights of the disc, but the review ended with this warning. "With no new transfer or deleted scenes and such poorly produced featurettes, only die-hard Trekkers may likely want to spend the money to upgrade." In the complete analysis, the DVD was rated 3.5 out of 5 for value of money.

• TrekWeb's Steve Krutzler also found some of the extra features wanting. "The material is definitely here, but unfortunately the presentation leaves a lot to be desired," he wrote. "Several deficiencies are apparent in all five featurettes and as you watch them it becomes increasingly difficult to even call them documentaries. As with the ST2 extras, these segments suffer from poor production values."

  However, the quality of the film and transfer partly made up for these deficiencies. "Visually the film is brilliant, with the few reds contained near the beginning every bit as vibrant as in ST2 and the film's contrasting, subdued blue hue (best illustrated in the automated docking sequence) comes through wonderfully to convey the mood of the piece." In the final assessment, Krutzler also gave the DVD a score of 3.5 out of 5, writing that "the film is Khan's intellectual equal in every respect and an absolute joy to watch in such excellent quality." Read the complete analysis here.

• Over at the Home Theatre Forum, Ronald Epstein seemed to enjoy all aspects of the DVD, especially the text commentary. "I can't begin to tell you how much cool information is provided within the subtitle portion of the picture. The best part of reading this text is that Michael and Denise [Okuda] seem to be having a lot of fun with it all, pointing out all the little goofs that are going around the main action sequences."

  Overall, Epstein described the release as "first-class. Though in many cases the transfer is the same as the original DVD releases, there is no denying that the wealth of supplements make the repurchase of these discs tempting." Read more at this page.

The 'Star Trek III: The Search For Spock' Special Edition DVD will be released in Region 1 (North America) on October 22. The two-disc set can be pre-ordered from Amazon.com (with 35% off the list price).

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