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The Captains

  • 2011
  • Not Rated
  • 1h 37m
IMDb RATING
6.8/10
3.2K
YOUR RATING
The Captains (2011)
Trailer for The Captains
Play trailer3:08
1 Video
10 Photos
BiographyDocumentarySci-Fi

The Captains is a feature length documentary film written and directed by William Shatner. The film follows Shatner as he interviews the other actors who have portrayed Starship captains wit... Read allThe Captains is a feature length documentary film written and directed by William Shatner. The film follows Shatner as he interviews the other actors who have portrayed Starship captains within the illustrious science-fiction franchise.The Captains is a feature length documentary film written and directed by William Shatner. The film follows Shatner as he interviews the other actors who have portrayed Starship captains within the illustrious science-fiction franchise.

  • Director
    • William Shatner
  • Writer
    • William Shatner
  • Stars
    • William Shatner
    • Patrick Stewart
    • Avery Brooks
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.8/10
    3.2K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • William Shatner
    • Writer
      • William Shatner
    • Stars
      • William Shatner
      • Patrick Stewart
      • Avery Brooks
    • 34User reviews
    • 17Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 nomination total

    Videos1

    The Captains
    Trailer 3:08
    The Captains

    Photos9

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    Top cast23

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    William Shatner
    William Shatner
    • Self
    Patrick Stewart
    Patrick Stewart
    • Self
    • (as Sir Patrick Stewart)
    Avery Brooks
    Avery Brooks
    • Self
    Kate Mulgrew
    Kate Mulgrew
    • Self
    Scott Bakula
    Scott Bakula
    • Self
    Chris Pine
    Chris Pine
    • Self
    Christopher Plummer
    Christopher Plummer
    • Self
    Richard Arnold
    • Self - Fmr. Assistant to Gene Roddenberry
    Rene Auberjonois
    Rene Auberjonois
    • Self
    Ira Steven Behr
    Ira Steven Behr
    • Self
    John de Lancie
    John de Lancie
    • Self
    Paul Duraso
    • Arm Wrestling Referee
    Jonathan Frakes
    Jonathan Frakes
    • Self
    Sally Kellerman
    Sally Kellerman
    • Self
    Walter Koenig
    Walter Koenig
    • Self
    Chase Masterson
    Chase Masterson
    • Self - Convention Guest
    Robert Picardo
    Robert Picardo
    • Self
    Steve Ridolfi
    • Self - Senior Vice President of Bombardier
    • (as Steve Ridolfi)
    • Director
      • William Shatner
    • Writer
      • William Shatner
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews34

    6.83.1K
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    Featured reviews

    8mattkpsu-217-721133

    an entertaining documentary but Shatner's ego is on display

    Entertaining? Yes Informative? Yes. Self-serving to Shatner's ego? Definitely.

    If you can get past Shatner's huge ego, then this is an enjoyable documentary. Obviously it's a must-watch for any serious fan, but casual ones will find it interesting too. Also, Shatner's questions, while long winded and self-centered, did elicit some great dialog from the other captains. I especially enjoyed the emotional chat with Patrick Stewart. I was particularly surprised with the Christopher Plummer appearance. Then the tables turn and they ask the Shat questions. Sadly, you kinda get to understand why some of the other characters complained about him over the years.

    Also, it never really occurred to me the intense commitment and time it takes to be the captain, or the toll it took on their family lives. And, you might be concerned for Avery Brooks, although my Rutgers friends say that theater professors are often like that...
    9prberg2

    Great movie!

    What a great movie. Shatner does a great job of finding out who these actors are and what impact it had on their lives. He gets to the heart of what it means to be an actor and also what it means to be a part of Star Trek. I really enjoyed hearing from the Actors (Brooks, Mulgrew, Stewart, Bakula, Pine and Shatner) about their experience as actors and as Captains on Star Trek. We really see what love these actors had for the show and how it effected them.

    The movie was shot and edited wonderfully. Great production quality. I was really pleasantly surprised. I wish there were extended interviews on the DVD since I wanted to see even more. It was a really interesting and fun movie and I really enjoyed it!
    7Scrooge-3

    Candid Conversations Among the Star Trek Captains

    This documentary is a series of interviews, actually conversations, between iconic actor William Shatner and the other actors who have played Star Trek captains. Jetting around the country, Shatner talked with Patrick Stewart, Captain Picard from Star Trek: The Next Generation, Avery Brooks, Captain Sisco from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Kate Mulgrew, Captain Janeway from Star Trek: Voyager, Scott Bakula, Captain Archer from Enterprise, and Chris Pike, Captain Kirk from the 2009 Star Trek movie.

    Interspersed with the interviews were clips from a Star Trek convention Shatner appeared at in Las Vegas, where he met other Star Trek actors, including Rene Auberjonois, Jonathan Frakes, Robert Picardo, Connor Trinneer, and Nana Visitor, among others. Shatner also had a short interview with his old friend Christopher Plummer for whom he understudied at the Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Ontario early in his career and who played the villainous Chang in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991). The only really obvious omission was Leonard Nimoy.

    This documentary was fascinating in how it revealed as much about Shatner as his subjects. Topics ranged from how they got started acting, to how each actor got their Star Trek role, to how the Star Trek experience changed their lives and affected their families, to philosophical musings on death, and many things in between. Most of the captains are classically trained stage actors who weren't necessarily immediately onboard with playing a science fiction character for TV. Bakula and Brooks both have extensive musical backgrounds, Bakula as a singer and Brooks as a jazz pianist. In fact, Brooks provided the documentary with a pleasing smooth jazz score.

    All of the captains came off as intelligent, hard working, and frank. It was nice to see that they all still took their roles seriously and were truly humbled by the fan reactions to their work. Shatner, especially, seemed genuinely moved when he found out that the Canadian head of Bombardier Aerospace was inspired to take up aerospace engineering from watching Shatner on Star Trek. There was also a poignant scene at the convention where Shatner greeted a young wheelchair-bound man whose devotion to Star Trek seemed to be about the only thing that kept him going.

    The interview with Stewart seemed to have the most resonance. It was obvious that there was genuine rapport between him and Shatner. When they talked about how the long hours playing their roles negatively impacted their marriages, it was heartbreaking. Mulgrew's take on being a single mother during her tenure as captain was also touching.

    Shatner turned out to be an excellent interviewer. He kept things light and often humorous, such as when he conducted Pine's interview at a card table on a busy intersection or when he met Mulgrew sitting in a cardboard box. This allowed him to get his subjects relaxed and able to open up about some of the deeper questions. Shatner used his personal experiences to draw out measured responses from the other captains. Shatner has a reputation for being egotistical and antagonistic, but none of that was evident here. Maybe time has mellowed him out.

    The Captains is a journey of discovery for Shatner that is an enjoyable look at the world of acting in general and the Star Trek universe in particular. It is a sincere glimpse into the heart and soul of Star Trek.
    Erikwk04

    Jump aboard as Shatner takes his fans on another Trek...

    Being born in '88, the original Star Trek series starring William Shatner had long stopped running and the new series Next Generation starring Sir Patrick Stewart was in full swing. It wasn't until TNG hit the daily reruns on the BBC that I got my first taste of Star Trek, mind you I could not have been more than 8 years old at the time.

    As a young adult now I look back at the shows with a great sense of nostalgia and joy and have come to admire the original two Captains of the Enterprise for their influence on previous and current generations. I'm not a trekkie, as I have never been to a convention or felt the need to sport Spock ears, but I am for sure a fan.

    So let's be honest about this, would I have watched Shatner's The Captains if it weren't for so many fond childhood memories? No. Would I have enjoyed it if it weren't for said memories? No. Is it a quality documentary by its own right? No. Is William Shatner a talented or even competent interviewer? No, although the other reviewers would disagree with me on that one. From my point of view Shatner makes some basic and rookie mistakes in his technique as an interviewer, best shown during his interview with Avery. So is it all just a wash and 90 mins of my life wasted on a pursuit of childhood nostalgia? No, and here's why.

    What Shatner does in The Captains, is to give us a look into his own Star Trek experience. What it was like as the first captain, what it did to him at the time and in the years after. How it affected his personal life (failed marriage with three kids) and how he has struggled to give Kirk a place in his life. Shatner's journey of discovery is deeply personal as he, with the help of his fellow captains and Stewart in particular, comes to terms with the legacy he will eventually leave behind when Scotty beams him up one final time. This theme of mortality works brilliantly as a stark contrast to the immortality of the Star Trek franchise as it lives on to this day still.

    The Captains gives us fans a never before seen glimpse into Shatner's mind and heart. It is dirty and messy at times, but always honest and genuine.

    Watch this if you are a fan and interested in the man that made the captain that inspired millions to boldly go where no one has gone before…

    P.S. To Shatner and all the captains, much love and appreciation for your work.
    6MashedA

    Oddly engaging, ultimately unfulfilling

    If you love Star Trek you will forgive the meandering route this documentary takes, if you are not a fan you will see this as an overindulgent preoccupation of Mr. Shatners one true love... Himself and his impending mortality!

    There are truly some heart felt conversations with Patrick Stewart and Scott Bakula regarding the long hours put in and the disintegration of their respective marriages. Scott Bakula seems like a really nice guy who is grounded, he understands the life he has chosen and is grateful for the opportunities given to him, although if I'm honest Enterprise comes second to his success in Quantum Leap.

    There is straight talking from Kate Mulgrew whom sees the world from a female perspective in a male dominated industry. I'm not sure Bill got the best out of Kate Mulgrew as I have seen her in other interviews and she was more upbeat and less preoccupied with gender related commentary! I suppose that could be down to the editing, context and questions posed by Mr. Shatner...

    The Chris Pine segments are purely incidental, you can't help feeling that William Shatner feels a little embittered at the fact he is in his twilight years and would gladly exchange his position with Pine for another throw of the dice.

    Poor old Avery Brooks, this poor chap seems to have lost his marbles! Either his interviews were edited to make him look completely unbalanced or this guy really has taken leave of his senses. Some parts of the interviews with Avery were a little uncomfortable as he just grins like a lunatic and plays the piano rather than respond to simple questions.

    Patrick Stewart always comes across in a quiet and considered manner. There were times you could clearly see he was emotional, however he never comes across as bitter or anything other than a dignified true professional.

    I have mixed emotions when It comes to William Shatner in this documentary, in parts he reveals emotional content about himself & you feel empathy, for instance the part where he says he fears death! In other parts you feel there is narcissistic tendencies which smother the other interviewee's

    What you can take away from this is that all the Captains worked extremely hard in their respective roles and there was a toll paid by each of them. William Shatner seems quite reflective in places and yet self focused in others (not completely unexpected).

    Of the five Captains interviewed you wouldn't hesitate to ask Patrick Stewart & Scott Bakula out to lunch, because from this disjointed venture you get the feeling they were the most articulate individuals who have the ability to talk about themselves and you would still like to listen.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      In his 2022 book "Boldly Go", William Shatner recounts that he wanted to interview Leonard Nimoy for this documentary, since the character of Spock was also a captain in the films, but Nimoy declined. At one point Shatner was being filmed for this documentary at a convention appearance he shared with Nimoy, who left the stage as Shatner entered. Feeling he was being filmed against his wishes, Leonard Nimoy became angry and the two men left the convention without speaking again. After this, Nimoy would not return Shatner's calls, which is something Shatner still regrets.
    • Goofs
      The goof about him saying he was 5 or 6 when in a play about the Holocaust is probably wrong (but to by much), he was probably 7 or 8 and it could have been about Kristallnacht, also referred to as the Night of Broken Glass. A major Antisemitic event in 1938 Germany. Shatner was 7 when that took place. Also, there was numerous Antisemitic violence before that time in Germany.
    • Quotes

      Chris Pine: I don't have any kind of death wish but I definitely do get competitive.

    • Crazy credits
      Head Sci/Fantasy Con Promoter Debbie Hess
    • Connections
      Features Star Trek (1966)

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    FAQ15

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • July 22, 2011 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • Canada
      • United States
    • Official site
      • Official site
    • Languages
      • English
      • French
    • Also known as
      • Капитаны
    • Filming locations
      • Toronto Pearson International Airport - 6301 Silver Dart Drive, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada(Private jet taxiing with voiceover from Shatner describing flying to Toronto to pick up the film crew, and meeting the President [actually the Senior Vice President] of Bombardier Aircraft on the tarmac.)
    • Production companies
      • Le Big Boss Productions
      • Ballinran Entertainment
      • Movie Central
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 37 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby SR

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