11 things you (probably) never knew about the 1982 sci-fi classic Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

This Friday at 7pm, the current In The House season at the George Street Event Cinemas in Sydney will come to an end with a special screening of the 1982 Sci-Fi classic Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. In anticipation of the screening, we’re looking back at the film to bring you nine facts about the film that you may not have realised…

1. Kirk and Khan never meet face to face during the movie – but this wasn’t the original intention. It happened because Ricardo Montalban had to film his scenes separately from the main production due to a scheduling conflict.
2. Many of the actors playing Khan’s henchmen were Chippendale dancers at the time of filming.
3. This was the first Star Trek movie to feature the “red tunic” uniforms, used in every Original Series-based movie thereafter, and used on several occasions on Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987).
4. The battle of wits between Kirk and Khan in the Mutara Nebula sequence was inspired by the battle between destroyer captain Robert Mitchum and U-boat commander Curd Jürgens in The Enemy Below (1957), which was was also the inspiration for Star Trek: Balance of Terror (1966).
5. The “No Smoking Is Permitted On Bridge” sign from the first scene was removed in later bridge scenes when Gene Roddenberry complained that smoking would not exist in the future.
6. One of the Reliant’s crew, Commander Kyle, played by John Winston, was a recurring member of the Enterprise crew in the original Star Trek (1966) TV series.
7. The shot of the three Klingon ships in the Simulator room is from the opening sequence of Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979).
8. This is the only Star Trek original-series film in which a Federation starship fires phasers. In the other five, the Enterprise and other Federation ships exclusively use photon torpedoes.
9. The computer ship diagram when the shields are being raised are actually from the aborted 1978 Star Trek: Phase II TV show.
10. The scenic view of San Francisco through Kirk’s apartment window is a painting, originally created for The Towering Inferno (1974). In front of the backdrop were placed a couple of models of futuristic skyscrapers, with working lights and elevators.
11. Originally subtitled “The Undiscovered Country”, but that subtitle eventually went to Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991).

For tickets and more details, head to the event’s official website. Tickets are only $12 ($10 for Cine Buzz members). You can also try and win yourself a double pass to the screening HERE.

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