MovieChat Forums > Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) Discussion > Who saw this in cinemas back in 1982?

Who saw this in cinemas back in 1982?

posted 9 years ago by bozo_500
40 replies | jump to latest

Who saw this back in the day? What were your memories - the anticipation of seeing it in the weeks/days before, the actually seeing it and how much a big deal was it where you were back then, the crowds, audience etc and after coming out of the cinema what were your thoughts and in the days/weeks that followed.

i was too young to fully appreciate it but my family took me along and vaguely remember being scared of Khan (but i cant remember what i thought of the brain bugs). also remember thinking the nebula at the end was The Black Hole which id seen recently and that they were going into it LOL. spocks death felt epic like it was really happening. and that he was really dead.

Either before or after seeing it I remember one of my family bought a foldout poster magazine (UK) showing the big logo onesheet surrounded by pics from the film and remember looking at it mesmerised lol

[–] DingelBerry 8 years ago

I saw it back in 1982, I was 21 years old, went to see it with my friends in Astoria NY, one of the movie theaters on Steinway, don't freaky remember much about the small details but we all loved Ricardo Montalban!

[–] degrimstead-1 8 years ago

What I'm wondering: How did the media & first audiences keep the secret that Spock gets killed?? Or, did we not worry about that back then, and just tell each other? People would have wanted to see the film in any case.

Eeuu, I remember those facial wounds on Khan were scary-gory! Of course we've come a long way since then, but at the time it was pretty gross.

[–] bozo_500 8 years ago

What I'm wondering: How did the media & first audiences keep the secret that Spock gets killed?? Or, did we not worry about that back then, and just tell each other? People would have wanted to see the film in any case.

it got out before the film was even filmed I think (there was a letter writing campaign to save spock. meyer even said he got death threats 'if spock dies you die!' etc)

so by the time the film came out it was pretty much an open secret (but I don't think anyone was absolutely sure). However they did something very clever in the movie. in the opening scene spock 'died' leading to Kirk asking spock afterward 'aren't you dead?' (no doubt a sly nod to the audience about all the 'spock dies!' stuff) which meant once people saw that the vast majority (im talking the opening night people) probably thought 'oh right - THAT was supposed to be spocks death!' which meant they could enjoy the rest of the movie unspoiled (and when the end happened and spock got out his chair and headed to engineering they will have been like 'wtf?! ohhh no!')

and then after the film was released it was like any other movie with a big spoiler (Apes, Empire, Sixth Sense, Force Awakens etc) - people either got spoiled before they saw it or they managed to avoid spoilers..of course back then no internet :)

the same happened with Generations (much less effectively of course) - it was an open secret Kirk died in the movie and people knew about it before the film came out, but again they had him 'die' in the opening..

[–] bjlevine 8 years ago

Yeah, the little misdirection at the beginning of the movie added some uncertainty to something that pretty much every fan knew going in.

I have to say that Spock got a much better, more satisfying death than Kirk did.

20 Fake CJs Ignored (and counting)

[–] ebhaynz (3525) 5 years ago

I was always a night owl, I remember one late night in early June 1982 where the FM rock station I always listened to had this little entertainment 60-90 second spot that would come on, usually promoting the latest movie or album. I think the spot even had a name like Hollywood Close-Up but no way do I remember it. Anyway, late at night the spot came on and the subject was Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan..they mentioned that Spock died and included a sound byte where some guy had just left the theater and he said "Spock dies trying to save the crew and they send his body to a planet that rejuvenates itself". Something to that effect.
Being a Star Trek buff, I had been reading about the new movie for over a year in magazines like Star Log. Star Log updated us throughout 1981-early 1982 with news like Roddenberry getting banned from the new set, the change of the movie title from The Vengeance of Khan, hiring a new producer, rejecting Roddenberry's horrible script, the tiny budget, and on and on.
I did see an interview with Harve Bennett where he says they showed the teaser trailer where they show a scene from the simulator as a tease to the audience, it was quite clever to throw us audiences off but I forget what that switcharoo was. I think there's only one Star Trek 2 trailer on YouTube and it's not the one in question. I'd love to see that trailer lol.

Anyway, it turned out to be the best Star Trek movie, I saw it several times that summer and the rest of the summer movies were great as well; The Thing, Tron, Blade Runner(although boring the first time viewed), Poltergeist, Psycho 2, E.T. Firefox,Rocky III, An Officer and a Gentleman.
I honestly don't think there's ever been a summer as great as 1982 for movies..but that could be my long lost youth talking.

[–] bozo_500 (12174) 5 years ago

Wow that was kind of a dick move the radio station flat out spoiling it lol. Imagine doing that today.(although theres the internet now which is worse).. also theres an interview with Shatner promoting STII on JoanRivers and she says 'so Spock dies at the end right' and he's like 'er..what.? um..not really..er you have to see the movie' (its on YouTube)

82 has to be the top year for summer SF films. I mean Trek II, The Thing, Blade Runner.. 3 absolute classics ...and then there were all the others and even Conan.. think the only years that come close are 84 and 89..of course this current era spawns a ridiculous amount of summer movies ..but do they compare to the 80s classics? I mean most of the time they are inferior remakes or 'legacy' sequels to the 80s films with so much CG its like a video game (actually with Trek II, The Thing, Blade Runner the remake/prequel/sequel weren't too bad esp BR2049)

[–] ebhaynz (3525) 5 years ago

Actually let me clarify, the radio station Kansas City's KY-102 or Q-104(KY was rock, Q was top-40) was just playing a nationally syndicated spot so it wasn't them doing the spoiling. Also, it was very well known already that Spock was going to die, and when the guy being interviewed said they buried him on a planet that rejuvenates itself we all went "ahh, they're setting up for a sequel to bring Spock back", which is exactly what happened. Funny sidenote, the script was supposed to be kept secret, they only handed them out to about 6 people in 1981 but guessed who leaked it to the public? Yep, Gene Roddenberry! He purposefully leaked it out and Paramount was flooded with thousands of letters demanding them to not kill Spock. In hindsight, I think they knew what they were doing. The first Star Trek was such an expensive bore they knew they had to create as much buzz for the new Star Trek movie, which we all went along with as it was all a ton of fun back then.

[–] 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] WaldoLydecker1 8 years ago

I did, but I was high as a kite and only remember Ricardo Montalban's pecs.

waldolydecker

[–] Jacks1981 7 years ago

I just remember the ending and my old man being shattered by Spock's death...

To be honest it was so emotional at the time....I wasn't even sure if I liked the movie at first. That only happened on reflection.

[–] northernfrostchild 7 years ago

In the olden days going to the movies was whole different experience. My father says he saw it in the theater and he and his friends couldn't wait for it. in those days they would get to the theater early and hang out in the area to talk and be sure to get a good seat. They would talk about the last episode and what could happen in this one. It's really weird to think about but they didn't have internet or cell phones then!! In the olden days they had house phones and only one person at time could use it. and somebody else in the house could listen in what you were saying! But anyway going to the theater was a big event for everyone and my Dad said it was really cool.

[–] jthm-1 7 years ago

I was 10. My family went to see it at the 53 Drive-in in Palatine,IL. It was double-billed with Poltergeist.

That drive-in also had a re-release of Star Wars and Fast Times at Ridgemont High playing as well. I kept turning around in the station wagon to watch the other movies and caught a giant, naked Jennifer Jason Leigh across the way. Star Trek did not get a lot of love that night.

[–] bozo_500 7 years ago

shame these reminiscing seeing in cinema threads will soon be no more 😖

[–] kenburke (2279) 5 years ago

I remember seeing it way back when. After it was over I knew Star Trek had returned in all its glory. As for Star Trek - The Motion Picture - well, it tried.

[–] liscarkat (16483) 5 years ago

I did. I, and everyone in the theater (it seemed) were hopeful, then delighted and relieved when it proved to be so much better than the disappointing first "Star Trek" movie.