Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

"A dying planet. A fight for life. The search for Spock."

1984 1h 45m EN

👍

6.6

SOLID

★6.6TMDB · 1,595

Science FictionActionAdventureThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A surprise visit from Spock's father provides a startling revelation: McCoy is harboring Spock's living essence.

“A dying planet. A fight for life. The search for Spock.”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

fuboTVSubscription

Paramount Plus PremiumSubscription

Paramount Plus EssentialSubscription

Paramount+ Amazon ChannelSubscription

Paramount+ Roku Premium ChannelSubscription

Amazon VideoRent

Apple TV StoreRent

Google Play MoviesRent

YouTubeRent

Fandango At HomeRent

Spectrum On DemandRent

PlexRent

Amazon VideoBuy

Apple TV StoreBuy

Google Play MoviesBuy

YouTubeBuy

Fandango At HomeBuy

Cast

William Shatner
Admiral James T. Kirk
DeForest Kelley
Dr. Leonard 'Bones' McCoy
James Doohan
Captain Montgomery 'Scotty' Scott
George Takei
Cmdr. Hikaru Sulu
Walter Koenig
Cmdr. Pavel Chekov
Nichelle Nichols
Cmdr. Uhura
Christopher Lloyd
Cmdr. Kruge
Robin Curtis
Lt. Saavik

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Leonard Nimoy
Writers: Harve Bennett
Languages: English, Russian
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 4.8× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

42 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Russian.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Part of the "Star Trek: The Original Series Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Leonard Nimoy, shot by Charles Correll. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by James Horner. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Robert F. Shugrue shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

William Shatner and DeForest Kelley and James Doohan carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Leonard Nimoy directs. Charles Correll behind the camera. James Horner scores. Robert F. Shugrue cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Russian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 4.8× over at the box office.
242 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Russian.
4Part of the "Star Trek: The Original Series Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Directed by Leonard Nimoy, shot by Charles Correll. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by James Horner. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Robert F. Shugrue shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8William Shatner and DeForest Kelley and James Doohan carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "A dying planet. A fight for life. The search for Spock.".
10IMDB entry: tt0088170 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 23 themes, including "spacecraft", "friendship", "teleportation", "genesis".
12Released under 24 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Charles Correll
Original score: James Horner
Editing: Robert F. Shugrue
Costume design: Robert Fletcher
Makeup / hair: Rick Stratton
VFX supervisor: Ken Ralston
Sound: Ray West
Stunt coordinator: R.A. Rondell
Runtime: 105 min · 1h 45m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $18,000,000
Box office: $87,000,000
Return: 483% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)

Part of

Star Trek: The Original Series Collection

Star Trek: Original Motion Picture Collection contains the first six Original Series films starring the U.S.S. Enterprise's cast and crew from the 1960s TV series of the same name.

Also by

Leonard Nimoy

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2015-05-09
★ 7/10
You Klingon bastards! Kirk gets personal. It is what it is folks, it's a good honest Star Trek story, it beats a real emotive heart and although some may decry the lack of blistering space battles, or end of the universe peril scenarios, it's an essential film for dealing with the protagonists we know and love. Into the mix here we have our favourite alien enemies The Klingons (led by the oddly cast Christopher Lloyd), Spock's father, Sarek, who adds grace to the story, and crucially Kirk gets an emotional kicker. While elsewhere hardcore fans get a big surprise with the beloved Enterprise. It's of course merely a set up for the next (and delightfully great) instalment of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, but on its own terms this stands up as one of the better character pieces in the series. Due in no small part to having Leonard Nimoy directing it because he shows care and thought about a subject he obviously knows quite a bit about. 7/10
GenerationofSwine2023-01-10
★ 7/10
I kind of feel that this gets a lot more hate than it deserves... because it follows Kahn and because it rewrites an emotional death. I know, I know, I love Spock too, but, really, should have left him dead. That was part of the emotional roller coaster of II. But, they didn't and that does sort of cheapen Kahn a bit. However, it's really not a bad entry on it's own. It's a solid film. It just followed the greatest of the bunch and pales in comparison.
CinemaSerf2023-06-08
★ 6/10
Picking up closely from the second film, this sees our crew of adventurers defy their superiors and steal the Enterprise in an attempt to rescue "Spock" from the Genesis planet. This is probably the best of the films for both DeForest Kelley and James Doohan as they both have some more of the play than normal; Christopher Lloyd is on fine form as the Klingon commander "Kruge" and there is plenty of phaser action to keep us all entertained. Not quite as well put together as the "Wrath of Khan" but it continues to develop the characters in an entertaining fashion.