I remember seeing The Wrath of Khan in theatres. It blew me away. Even as a child I loved The Motion Picture, the grandeur, the beauty and the effects, but The Wrath of Khan was a completely different experience and I was left stunned by what I had seen. I remember there were a couple of people crying when they left the theatre, I was shook, but there were no tears for me.

It did leave me in awe of the power of film in general, and these characters specifically. I remember reading the novel and trying to reenact and record scenes on my tape recorder using the Photostory as my script. I played the soundtrack record over and over.

And I loved hearing about how things came together behind the scenes. Now over forty-one years later, the Tenuto’s beautifully put-together book, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan – The Making of the Classic Film from Titan Books takes us inside the development process, from the creation of the plot all the way through to the film’s reception.

And it goes by at warp speed.

While I didn’t find it as in-depth and comprehensive as Titan’s previous book on the art and visual effects of The Motion Picture, it was still a satisfying dive into the creation of one of the most beloved films of the franchise.

We move through script development and how Khan was chosen, Nicholas Meyer coming aboard the film, the controversial decision of Spock death, and the new look of the uniforms and structure of the narrative, including the addition of ‘remember.’

The film is broken down into sections, from the introduction of television producer Harve Bennett to the film world, the scripts, the cast, the art department, costume design, the camera, and makeup. Each chapter dives into the people involved in each aspect of the film, giving us an overview of the department and their contributions to the film.

Filled with production photos, some never seen before, the book is lush, beautiful, and completely engaging. The behind-the-scenes stories are, to coin a phrase, fascinating, and the pictures and text combine wonderfully to evoke the memories of the time and the efforts of those involved in creating what became one of the biggest films of 1982 – a banner year for science fiction.

It’s a wonderful read, and poring over the pictures not only reminds me of my love of this film, but also what it was like at the time, experiencing it all for the first time.