The firstStar Trekmovie seemed poised to snag an Oscar in 1980, but it lost out to a far superior science fiction film. TheStar Trekfilm franchise got off to a slow start with the release ofThe Motion Picture. Essentially the gap between eras, it was incredibly mixed and largely failed to impress audiences and critics.
Fortunately, theEnterprisecrew returned for another adventure a few years later, andThe Wrath of Khanput the franchise back on the right course. Critical achievement and box office success came in tandem for most of theStar Treksequels throughout the ’80s and early ’90s, andTrekeven returned to TV in the late ’80s as well.
BecauseStar Trekis first and foremost a science fiction series, its chances of winning major movie awards are somewhat diminished. However, the Academy Awards does feature quite a few technical categories that are specifically suited for effects-heavy spectacles. Despite releasing a new movie every few years for over 20 years,Star Trekdidn’t fare in those either.
TheStar Trekmovie franchise has lost a lot of Oscars, including the more recent films by J.J. Abrams, but its first loss is particularly powerful.Star Trek: The Motion Picturemight be one of the worst oftheStar Trekmovies, but its Academy Awards failure 45 years ago came at the hands of another sci-fi franchise starter.
Star Trek: The Motion Picture Was Nominated For Best Visual Effects In 1980
It Lost All Three Categories It Was Nominated For That Year
Even thoughStar Trek: The Motion Picturewas a disappointmentoverall, it got a considerable amount of Oscar buzz in certain categories. The movie snagged nominations for Best Art Direction, Best Original Score, and perhaps most importantly, Best Visual Effects. This was a big win for the movie, sinceits visuals were its strongest asset.
While the story was somewhat sluggish and the characters behaved oddly,The Motion Picturecouldn’t be faulted for its amazing visuals.The camerawork by Richard H. Kline set the tone for the rest of the originalStar Trekmovies, and he had the difficult task of creating the look for the franchise’s jump to the big screen.
The movie had a lot of hurdles to clear, not the least of which was establishing a new tone, and Kline’s cinematography helped that transition along.What really stole the show was the visual effects, and they had come light-years from the days ofStar Trek: The Original Series.
CGI was years away, so the heroic shots of the USSEnterprisewere all created using painstaking miniature work and special photography.
The space sequences are some of the most beautiful ever put on the big screen, and the practical nature of the work is all the more impressive. CGI was years away, so the heroic shots of the USSEnterprisewere all created using painstaking miniature work and special photography.
Other effects were crisp, such as the transporter beams and Spock’s journey into V’ger. The extended sequence towards the end of the filmborrowed heavily from2001: A Space Odyssey, which ironically won the Best Visual Effects Oscar in 1969. Sadly,Star Trek: The Motion Picturecouldn’t repeat that feat, andactually got swept in all three of its categories.
The Sci-Fi Horror Film Beat Out Star Trek
1979 was an underrated year for science fiction, andRidley Scott’s extraterrestrial terror,Alien, was the top of its class. The movie was one of the first to truly blend science fiction and horror, and it is a thrilling ride from start to finish. It also helped kick off a franchise that is still going strong to this day.
93%
42%
59%
1941
39%
Robert Wise
52%
Alienwas also nominated alongsideStar Trek: The Motion Picturefor Best Visual Effects, and it would eventually win the category. Legendary Swiss artist H.R. Giger and the movie’s special effects team accepted the award, andit was Giger’s art that really gaveAlienits iconic look.
Alienwas also nominated for Best Art Direction but lost toAll That Jazz.
The mix of synthetic and organic designs was unlike anything seen in a film before, andthe Xenomorph was a far cry from the rubber-headed alien monsters from previous sci-fi movies. It’s no surprise thatAlienbeatStar Trek: The Motion Picture, but that’s not to say that the latter didn’t have great effects too.
In a rare bit of forethought from the Academy,Alienwon because it wasn’t just an example of strong technical execution, but something never before seen.Star Trek: The Motion Picturewas technically perfect, and likely would have won in any other year, butAlienwas clearly the better choice at the 1980 Academy Awards.
Only 1 Win In Nearly 50 Years On The Big Screen
Since the franchise’s first Oscar nomination in 1980, theStar Trekseries has only won one Academy Award. Sadly, none of the classic films won any major awards, andinstallments likeThe Wrath of Khanwere actually completely snubbed. NoTrekfilm has ever been nominated for categories like Best Picture, but that’s to be expected with sci-fi.
After decades of Oscar heartbreak,Star Trekfinally broke through when the 2009 eponymous film by J.J. Abrams won Best Makeup. It was the franchise’s most nominated installment sinceStar Trek IV: The Voyage Home, but only managed to win one of its four awards.
Even if moreStar Trekmovies are released in the future, it’s expected that they won’t fare too well at the Academy Awards. Not only are movies likeStar Treknot particularly popular with Oscar voters, but there’s a high chance that another film likeAlienmight come along and snatch up the awards first.
