Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

Synopsis
Final Star Trek feature film featuring the cast of the original science fiction series. In this episode the aging crew must stop a plot to prevent a peace treaty between the Klingon Empire and the United Federation of Planets.
An explicit reference to Hamlet (III.i.79) in the title, the film itself is full of Shakespeareana. Shakespearean actor Christopher Plummer as villainous Klingon General Chang quotes Shakespeare throughout (see notes) and the shapeshifting chameloid Martia (played by Iman) paraphrases Hamlet when she says, "I thought I would assume a pleasing shape" (cf. II.ii.602).
Series
Star Trek
Language
English
Country
United States
Medium
Film
Technical information
Colour / Sound
Year of release
1991
Duration
113 mins

Credits

Director
Nicholas Meyer
Producer
Gene Roddenberry; Leonard Nimoy; Ralph Winter; Steven-Charles Jaffe
Cinematographer
Hiro Narita
Writer
Lawrence Konner; Leonard Nimoy; Mark Rosenthal
Screenplay
Denny Martin Flinn; Nicholas Meyer
Music
Cliff Eidelman
Costume
Dodie Shephard
Art Direction
Nilo Rodis-Jameiro
Cast
Brock PetersAdmiral Cartwright
Christopher PlummerGeneral Chang
David WarnerChancellor Gorkon
DeForest KelleyDr. Leonard H. McCoy
George TakeiCaptain Hikaru Sulu
Grace Lee WhitneyCommander Janice Rand
ImanMartia
James DoohanCaptain Montgomery Scott
John SchuckKlingon Ambassador
Kim CattrallLieutenant Valeris
Kurtwood SmithFederation President
Leon RussomStarfleet Commander in Chief
Leonard NimoyCaptain Spock
Mark LenardAmbassador Sarek
Nichelle NicholsCommander Uhura
Walter KoenigCommander Pavel Chekov
William ShatnerCaptain James T. Kirk

Additional Details

Production type
Fiction Films
Historical period
Future
Subjects
Drama
Keywords
science fiction films; Shakespeare, William (1564-1616); Klingon

Notes

Notes
Quotes from Shakespeare’s plays include:
Hamlet (I.iii; II.ii; III.i; V.i; V.ii)
Romeo and Juliet (II.ii)
2 Henry IV (III.ii)
Richard II (III.ii)
Henry V (III.ii)
Julius Caesar (III.i; III.ii)
The Tempest (III.i)
The Merchant of Venice (III.i)
General
In one of the film’s scenes Chancellor Gorkon, a Klingon, claims that one has never "experienced Shakespeare" (specifically, Hamlet) until his works are read in "the original Klingon" language, to which General Chang replies: "taH pagh, taH be?". In 1996, linguists from the Klingon Language Institute (Philadelphia) actually did publish The Klingon Hamlet (ISBN 0671035789). A paperback version followed in 2000, published by Pocket Books (ISBN 0671035789).
The variety of Shakespeare/Star Trek connections has been the subject of numerous essays. This database lists only those episodes or feature films in which the Shakespeare reference goes beyond a single quotation (various episode titles are borrowed from Shakespeare plays).
Figures
Budget: $ 30.000.000 estimate (imdb)
Gross: $ 94.000.000 worlwide (imdb)
Awards
Nominated for 2 Oscars in 1992:
Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing
George Watters II, F. Hudson Miller
Best Makeup
Michael Mills, Ed French, Richard Snell

Online Availability

Online URL
www.startrek.com

Production Company

Name

Paramount Pictures

Distributor (Sale)

Name

Retail outlets

Online Retailer

Name

amazon.com

Web
http://www.amazon.com External site opens in new window

How to cite this record

Shakespeare, "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country". https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/shakespeare/search/index.php/title/av37639 (Accessed 03 Oct 2024)