Star Trek: First Contact

Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek: First Contact is another critically acclaimed installment in the Next Generation of Star Trek. Led by their dominatrix queen (Krige)—the Borg that nearly killed Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Stewart)—the Borgs are planning to alter human history. But Picard uses his knowledge of the half-organic, semi-robotic Borg to try to stop their latest strategy in achieving universal domination. (Tricia Spears)

Special features include commentary By Director and Actor Jonathan Frakes; commentary by Screenwriters Brannon Braga and Ronald D. Moore; commentary by Damon Lindelof and Anthony Pascale; and a Library Computer interactive experience that allows you to access information about people, technology, locations, and more at the moment each appears in the film. The following featurettes can be found under Production: Making First Contact (SD 20:19), The Art Of First Contact (SD 16:34), The Story (SD 15:29), The Missile Silo (SD 14:04), The Deflector Dish (SD 10:30), and From "A"' To "E" (SD 06:38). Scene Deconstruction includes the Borg Queen Assembly (SD 11:10), Escape Pod Launch (SD 04:58), and Borg Queen's Demise (SD 03:12); and The Star Trek Universe offers Jerry Goldsmith: A Tribute (SD 19:46), The Legacy Of Zefram Cochrane (SD 12:19), First Contact: The Possibilities (SD 19:31), Industrial Light & Magic The Next Generation (HD 12:17), Greetings From The International Space Station (HD 08:31), SpaceShipOne's Historic Flight (HD 04:41), Brent Spiner Data And Beyond Part 2 (HD 07:30), Trek Roundtable First Contact (HD 12:51), and Starfleet Academy Scisec Brief 008 Temporal Vortex (HD 02:36). Three featurettes are found under The Borg Collective, including Unimatrix One (SD 14:15), The Queen (SD 08:31), and Design Matrix (SD 18:10). Archives includes four storyboards and a photo gallery, and there is also a teaser trailer, the theatrical trailer, BD-Live interactivity, and upfront ads.

The 2.39:1 1080p AVC encoding shows richly saturated reds, vibrant blues, and deep blacks (now a trademark of the series); giving it a bold picture quality. Color fidelity is superb, with hues that appear to pop from the screen, especially when vibrant hues are contrasted by the deepest blacks. Fleshtones are also nicely balanced, with good definition. The picture is sharp and detailed, revealing satisfying textures and clarity, particularly in close-ups of facial features, hair, clothing, and object textures. The source element is consistently revealing and pristine throughout. Contrast is defined nicely with deep, solid blacks, and near-black shadows are delineated well. The combination provides a dimensional-looking image that will please fans. (Gary Reber)

The Dolby® TrueHD 5.1-channel encoding exhibits an excellently layered soundtrack that delivers an engaging three-dimensional holosonic® soundfield. The sound design envelops the soundfield with aggressive surround and dynamic energy, with foundational bass levels centered at about 50 Hz. Fidelity is superb, as this mix is another one of the best remasterings regarding the film franchise of Star Trek. Deep bass is tight, powerful, and impactful with, at times, powerful low frequencies in the sub-25 Hz range. Atmospherics and sound effects nicely define the spatial dimensionality, giving the listener a more immersive surround envelopment, with a much cleaner and wide open soundtrack, with nicely crafted pans. The orchestral music score is expansive, with a wide and deep soundstage presence that extends to the surrounds. Dialogue spatial integration is excellent. This is yet another great soundtrack that won't disappoint. (Gary Reber)