A lot of people have a lot of problems with “Star Trek: the Motion Picture.” The plot is a retread of “The Changeling.” It’s glacially slow. They’re wearing pajamas. Some of the effects are dodgy (especially some of the background matte paintings). While these are true, there are some aspects of the movie that are simply spectacular. The new Enterprise is a masterpiece of both design and model making. The intro with the Klingon ships was, for the time, spectacular cinematography. A lot of the visual effects remain beautiful. And unquestionably, the score by Jerry Goldsmith is not only the best in all of Star Trek, but is among the best movie scores ever. A lot of that may be due to the protracted development of the movie, which gave Goldsmith a lot more time to get it right. For example, here is his first take on music for the “beauty pass” scene where Kirk and Scotty fly around the Enterprise, giving six minutes worth of fan service to Enterprise aficionados. The first version… just doesn’t work. Had there not been more time, it’s what might have been included and the scene would have been lesser for it.
And here’s the first stab at recording the main theme for the movie. Interesting to hear the false start.