Galaxy Quest (Steelbook) (4K UHD Review)
- Review Date: Nov 22, 2024
- Format: 4K Ultra HD
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Director
Dean ParisotRelease Date(s)
1999 (December 3, 2024)Studio(s)
Gran Via Productions/DreamWorks Pictures (Paramount Home Entertainment)- Film/Program Grade: A
- Video Grade: B+
- Audio Grade: A+
- Extras Grade: B+
Review
The best way to describe Galaxy Quest (1999) is that it’s Dean Parisot’s tongue-in-cheek spoof of (and tribute to) Gene Roddenberry’s original Star Trek TV series—and not just the show’s fictional on-screen world, but its now iconic ensemble cast and fandom as well. It’s also one of the most affectionate send-ups ever made; the humor here is completely good-natured, so if you’re a Trekkie or Trekker, you’ll love this. It’s also wonderfully universal, so you’re likely to still enjoy the film whether you’re a Trek-savvy viewer or not. Bottom line: Galaxy Quest is just damn funny.
Tim Allen (Home Improvement, Toy Story) stars as Jason Nesmith, the washed up yet full of himself actor who played Commander Peter Quincy Taggart (think William Shatner’s Captain James T. Kirk) on a beloved twenty-year-old TV show called Galaxy Quest. Nesmith and his fellow cast members make their living now mostly on the sci-fi convention circuit, doing public appearances and signing autographs for their overenthusiastic fans. But just as things are getting truly sad for these typecast thespians, a group of fans approaches Nesmith with a job offer… except these particular fans are actually aliens (Thermians to be exact), whose race is being wiped out by the villainous Sarris. As it turns out, the Thermians have been watching reruns of Galaxy Quest for years. They assume the show is really a “historical document,” and they’ve based their entire culture (and the last hope for their people) on its example. They’ve even built a real replica of the show’s NSEA Protector spacecraft! So naturally, in their darkest hour, they turn to the great Captain Taggart and his crew for help.
What ensues is a clever science fiction fish-out-of-water tale, with an extremely funny twist. The script is smart and well-crafted, loaded with hilarious gags and throw-away dialogue that will have you rolling. And for those familiar with Star Trek and other sci-fi shows, there are plenty of in-jokes. One of the actors (played by Sam Rockwell, JoJo Rabbit) was only an extra who was killed in the first five minutes of Episode 81 on the Galaxy Quest TV show. So naturally, he’s afraid he’s going to die at any moment. Later in the film, when the crew lands on a strange planet, Fred Kwan (Monk’s Tony Shalhoub, aka Tech Sergeant Chen) opens the door of their shuttlecraft too hastily, causing another cast member to exclaim: “Hey, don’t open that—it’s an alien planet! Is there air?! You don’t know!” And when Nesmith and Gwen DeMarco (Sigourney Weaver, as Galaxy Quest character Lieutenant Tawny Madison) find themselves crawling through one of the ship’s air shafts, she dryly comments, “Why does there always have to be ducts?” (in a wry nod to her role in the Alien films).
But without great performances, Galaxy Quest simply wouldn’t work, and the ensemble cast here rises to the occasion delightfully. Allen is simply perfect as the show’s overconfident Captain—his performance is part Kirk, part Buzz Lightyear. Alan Rickman (Die Hard) is hilarious as former British stage actor Alexander Dane, who got pigeon-holed as the super-intelligent alien Dr. Lazarus on the show. (His droll manner recalls the title of Leonard Nimoy’s autobiography, I Am Not Spock.) Weaver is equally good as the original show’s buxom blonde, who yearns for her character to play a more significant role. Daryl Mitchell (Ed, Fear the Walking Dead) is the boy-genius who flew the ship (think Wesley Crusher), now grown up. And Shalhoub steals the show with some of the film’s best lines as the Scotty-like chief engineer, while Just Shoot Me’s Enrico Colantoni steals it right back as the geek-boy leader of the Thermians. Points also for appearances by Missi Pyle, Patrick Breen, Jeb Reese, and Rainn Wilson (he of NBC’s The Office) as Thermian crew members, Justin Long (also Ed, and the Apple Mac commercials with John Hodgman) as one of Galaxy Quest’s biggest human fans, and Robin Sachs (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) as Saris, not to mention the terrific make-up and creature designs by the folks at Stan Winston Studios.
Galaxy Quest was shot on 35 mm film by cinematographer Jerzy Zieliński (Powder, Home Fries, Dodgeball) using Panavision cameras and anamorphic lenses, with a combination of practical models (filmed with motion control) and CG imagery employed to complete the visual effects. The theatrical release featured three different aspect ratios: 1.37:1 for the film’s first two minutes (featuring vintage Galaxy Quest TV show footage), 1.85:1 for the next twenty minutes (set on Earth, starting at the convention), and finally 2.39:1 (when Nesmith departs his first visit of the Protector and realizes that he’s actually in space). The previous Blu-ray only replicated two of these ratios, 1.37 and 2.39. But in honor of the film’s 25th anniversary, Paramount has remastered the film in 4K and restored all three. Both the 1.37 and 1.85 presentations sit pillar-boxed within the 2.39:1 frame, just the way you would have experienced the film in theaters back in 1999.
While Galaxy Quest was finished in the pre-Digital Intermediate era, it incorporates so many visual effects shots that it appears as if essentially the entire film was edited and finished in a digital post-production pipeline—probably capped at 2K resolution—then rendered out to interpositive film, which is what likely got scanned in 4K for this release (not original camera negative). As a result, there’s a pretty strict limit to the amount of detail available in this image. Photochemical grain is very light, though still present throughout. But fine detail and texturing is definitely lacking compared to most 4K remasters. That said, this image certainly looks far cleaner (not scrubbed but cleaner) and more stable than the previous Blu-ray, with genuine improvements in color and contrast. The HDR in particular (which includes Dolby Vision as well as HDR10) is pleasing and makes a real difference. Highlights are more bold than ever before, with truly deep blacks, and colors appear more nuanced and vivid (though the film’s palette is somewhat limited by design—especially aboard the Protector, which is dominated by shades of silver, blue, and gray). The image is encoded for a 66 GB disc, which is plenty in this case. Essentially, Galaxy Quest looks better in 4K than it ever has before, but don’t expect much of an uptick in detail—it’s the HDR and lack of Blu-ray’s edge enhancement that matters here.
Perhaps the biggest upgrade however, is that Paramount has also produced a brand new Dolby Atmos object-based sound mix for this 4K release, and it’s genuinely impressive. (Note that it replaces the previous Blu-ray’s 5.1 Dolby TrueHD mix.) The dynamic range is excellent, with deep rumbling bass and plenty of sonic bluster. Directional effects, panning, and movement during action set pieces remains smooth and lively. Dialogue is clean and clear, and David Newman’s score is staged with pleasing fidelity. Additional audio options include German, Spanish, French, Italian, and Japanese 5.1 Dolby Digital mixes, along with the beloved Thermian audio track in 2.0 Dolby Digital. Optional subtitles are available in English, English (for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing), Danish, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese, Dutch, Norwegian, Finnish, and Swedish.
One additional note: Fans may be wondering whether Gwen’s “Fuck that!” line has been restored here. It hasn’t—I’ve learned that Paramount asked Parisot about this and was told that the line being overdubbed with “Screw that!” actually is the intended joke, and he’s fine with it.
Whether you buy the Amaray version or this Steelbook SKU, Paramount’s new Ultra HD release contains only a single disc, featuring the remastered film in 4K UHD. (No Blu-ray is included, though the original 2009 Blu-ray release is still available separately.) The 4K disc itself includes the following special features:
- Filmmaker Focus with Director Dean Parisot (HD – 19:30) – NEW
- Historical Documents: The Story of Galaxy Quest (SD – 18:13)
- Never Give Up, Never Surrender: The Intrepid Crew of the NSEA Protector (SD – 23:25)
- By Grabthar’s Hammer, What Amazing Effects (SD – 7:02)
- Alien School: Creating the Thermian Race (SD – 5:21)
- Actors in Space (SD – 6:09)
- Sigourney Weaver Raps (SD – 1:58)
- Deleted Scenes (SD – 7 scenes and 2 introductions – 11:33 in all)
- Theatrical Trailer (HD – 1:52)
- Thermian Audio Track
Filmmaker Focus is a good new interview with the director, created exclusively for this 4K release, in which Parisot looks back at the film and its legacy. The piece is illustrated with clips from the film as well as behind-the-scenes footage. The rest of this material is a nearly complete archive of the features found on the Blu-ray, with one exception: Mike and Denise Okuda’s terrific Galactopedia viewing option is not included. (It was apparently left off to simplify the authoring.) But all of the great featurettes and deleted scenes from the Blu-ray are still here. The 4K Steelbook package also includes a Digital Copy code on a paper insert (it redeems with both Apple and Vudu/Fandango at Home), and it comes with an attractive O-card slipcover.
It should be noted that the original 2000 DVD release included an additional featurette, On Location in Space (SD – 10:07), that isn’t here, nor do the DVD’s 6 Cast and Crew Easter eggs or Omega 13 feature carry over. The Easter eggs were essentially just brief press junket comments by Allen, Weaver, Rickman, Shalhoub, Mitchell, and Rockwell (about 6 minutes in all), so it’s not a huge loss. But if you want to retain that content, be sure to hang onto those discs. You may also wish to purchase Jack Bennett’s terrific and feature-length Never Surrender: A Galaxy Question Documentary (2019), which is also available separately on Blu-ray here.
Galaxy Quest is an oft-overlooked comedy gem. For years, there was hope that DreamWorks and Paramount might commission a sequel film or series, and there’s still talk of something being produced for the Paramount+ streaming service, though the Skydance Media merger seems to have placed a hold on things. (And to be fair, by this point Seth MacFarlane’s The Orville has essentially beaten them to the punch.) In any case, Paramount’s new 4K Ultra HD release offers best-ever video quality (that represents a modest improvement over Blu-ray), matched with a major Atmos audio upgrade, a new special feature, and a nice batch of legacy bonus content. If you’re a fan, the UHD is worth a look.
- Bill Hunt
(You can follow Bill on social media on Twitter, BlueSky, and Facebook, and also here on Patreon)