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NEW ULM -- The New Ulm Film Society is continuing its special-effect film series by boldly going into the frontier of computer animation with a screening of "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn."
The screening begins at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 8 in the New Ulm Public Library.
"Wrath of Kahn" is often cited as one of the best films in the Star Trek franchise and one of the best sequels ever made.
The film was released in 1982 over a decade after the "Star Trek" series went off the air. In syndication, the show was extremely popular leading to the first film coming out in 1979. The first Star Trek film was a financial success, but fans and critics were unimpressed. It was decided to take a different approach with the sequel.
"Wrath of Khan" is not only a film sequel, it is a follow-up to a specific episode of the original Star Trek TV series, "Space Seeds." In "Space Seeds" the crew of the starship Enterprise encounters a fascist warlord named Khan (Ricardo Montalban) who once tried to conquer the Earth 300 years earlier. At the end of the episode, Capt. Kirk (Wiliam Shatner) had Khan exiled to an uninhabited planet with his crew.
"Wrath of Khan" is set 20 years after "Space Seeds". Khan has managed to escape his planetary exile and steal a starship, which he plans to use to get revenge on Kirk.
"Wrath of Khan" was a huge success with Star Trek fans as well as critics. The consensus was "Khan" had improved on the previous movie in every way. The story, the acting and the special-effects were all better in the second movie.
Over 40 years later, the film’s contribution to the science fiction genre is still being felt. One of its longest-lasting contributions to special effects was the use of computer-generated images, more commonly known as CGI.
"Wrath of Kahn" is often cited as the first film to use CGI effects, but it does so sparingly. CGI is only used in a single scene of the movie.
Early in the film, the crew of the Enterprise reviews a 3D computer simulation of a proposed scientific experiment. In the context of the scene Capt. Kirk, Spock and Dr. McCoy are watching a video created with computer graphics. In other words, the first use of CGI in a movie was used to depict CGI in a movie.
Originally, the filmmakers planned to create computer simulation using traditional animation, with images drawn on paper but the studio worried this would look dated. The film is set in the 23rd century, it was decided a more futuristic approach was needed for animation.
The CGI effects were created by the graphics division of Lucasfilm. The graphics department would eventually use its expertise in CGI animation to found the Pixar film studio.
Though "Khan" is responsible for planting the seeds of CGI animation, these special effects are a small part of the movie. In 1982, Star Trek fans were focused on the return of their favorite characters.
The presence of new CGI graphics in a single scene went unnoticed by most. CGI would not become commonplace in films for another decade, but "Wrath of Khan" took the first small steps into CGI special effects so that later generations could run with the technology.
The New Ulm Film Society's screening of "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" is free to the public. Before and after the film, there will be a discussion about the film's place in special effects history.