Not necessarily plot, but…people complain that Das Boot was long and boring.
That’s kind of the point, folks.
And regarding Blair Witch, I could actually buy that they were lost for real, without the supernatural element. The supernatural stuff is fine, but aren’t New England woods supposed to be treacherous anyway? If Bill Bryson is to be believed, even people who know what they’re doing can get irretrievably lost.
Perhaps, but they’re not in New England; they’re 50 miles from Washington DC.
I decided to stop fooling around and dig up my DVD of ST:TWOK. It’s the 2002 “Director’s Edition”, but I don’t expect there will be any relevant variation from the theatrical release.
01:07:02 - Kirk, McCoy, Saavik, Terrel and Checkov are in the Regula One station’s transporter room. Kirk communicates with Spock, asks for a damage report, gets the “by the book” reply. Spock says “restoration [of main power] may be possible in two days”, which Kirk interprets as meaning two hours. Kirk and the others beam down to the center of the Regula asteroid. From here, the action is essentially continuous, right up to “KHAAANN!” at 01:13:40.
Then there’s a break in the action, and at 01:13:51, Saavik is on her communicator, trying to call the Enterprise. Characters that were previously standing are now sitting, and clearly some time has passed. McCoy says “He’s coming around” about Chekov. At 01:14:34, Kirk asks if there is anything to eat. Carol Marcus tells David Marcus to escort McCoy and Saavik to the Genesis Cave, which he does reluctantly. Carol and Kirk have a conversation, partly about David. The action is more-or-less continuous (with a brief cutaway scene of the Reliant getting its impulse power restored and gearing up to finish off Enterprise). Carol Marcus says at 01:18:49, regarding the Genesis Cave: “Can I cook, or can’t I?”
Then there is a break in the action, and Reliant approaches the Regula One station, expecting to find and destroy Enterprise. To their surprise, Enterprise is missing.
Another break, and at 01:19:14, the camera is back at the Genesis Cave. Conversation is continuous until 01:20:07, when Kirk flips out his communicator and says “Kirk to Spock. It’s two hours. Are you ready?”
So, I figure there are a little more than 12 minutes of film time representing two hours of actual time, and only a few places to fill in the gaps.
10 minutes between “Khaaan!” and the beginning of the scene where Kirk asks about food? Sure, why not?
30 minutes for Reliant to circle the asteroid, looking for Enteprise? Sure, why not?
An hour passes while Reliant hovers around the station, pondering it’s next move, while everyone hangs around in the Genesis Cave? Okay.
Well, that’s 12+10+30+60… and we’re still short by eight minutes.
And just for good measure, I’ll watch the “Khaaan!” scene again with Nicholas Meyer’s audio commentary and Michael Okuda’s text commentary. Meyer’s just talking about general movie-making stuff, screenplays and junk (and amusing, he speaks negatively of the whole “director’s cut” concept of restoring scenes that were initially cut for being unnecessary) and Okuda’s text is about the technical aspects of the special effects and whatnot. As the “Khaan!” yell approaches, Meyer is talking about Ricardo Montalban’s dramatically understated and menacing delivery, and is talking about Montalban’s stage career while Shatner yells, with no commentary on Shatner’s performance at all, let alone that he was playing Kirk as “faking”. Okuda gives no indication in that direction, either.
If you want to interpret it that way regardless, more power to you.
[looks at comment, looks at my own post analyzing the film]
Well, excuuuuuse me!
I figured as much.
I did find a searchable compilation (Amazon & Google are the best places to look) but it doesn’t include the final pages. Result for immortality is just the knight talking, but it’s not as clear - he’s talking more about the Grail itself and so it may be the author(s? - one version mentions his [wife]) was confused. I saw another version with that gave more hits on the word but no actual text; so possibly it was revised later.
Maiira writes:
> And regarding Blair Witch, I could actually buy that they were lost for real,
> without the supernatural element. The supernatural stuff is fine, but aren’t New
> England woods supposed to be treacherous anyway? If Bill Bryson is to be
> believed, even people who know what they’re doing can get irretrievably lost.
There are two problems with this. First, The Blair Witch Project takes place in Burkittsville, Maryland, nowhere near New England. Second, Bill Bryson never wrote about the New England woods, I believe. His book about his hiking experiences is about his walks in the Appalachians, nowhere near New England.
Under plot differences, I don’t see anything about true immortality being hinted at. I have to think this would be mentioned on the wiki article if it were in the book. Most of the other changes are a lot more minor than that.
Well, your belief is incorrect. He walks the Appalachian Trail, which ends / begins in Maine. I remember the sections of the book which were about New England were quite hair-raising. Having said that, it is irrelevant to the Blair Witch Project.
Earl Warren wasn’t a stripper!
Your interpretation fails utterly because it requires James Tiberius Kirk to just sit around and chill while he thinks the Enterprise is in danger.
That would not ever happen. It’s one of Kirk’s defining traits.
He was shrieking at Khan to get him to come down and face Kirk directly, rather than going after the Enterprise. Khan declined. Kirk – as astute observers realize – is not worried, because he knows from Spock that the Enterprise isn’t as helpless as she looks. And that there is a plan in place to get Kirk and the others back on board.
If that were not the case, and Kirk actually thought the Enterprise were as endangered as his shrieking indicated, he’d be moving Heaven and Earth to do something.
But he doesn’t. He has a chat. Goes sightseeing in the Genesis cave. Noshes on some fruit. And calls Spock right on schedule.
Well, you’re wrong, and any further commentary will be redundant re-iterations of “you’re wrong”.
More power to you, though.
You say that like the guy is a living person, as opposed to a TV/movie character written by multiple writers. 
Well, that settles it then.
You’re right, but that’s not a hidden or secret message. The end result shows clearly that Dorfman was right all along.
The only reason there’s ANY doubt about that in much of the audience’s minds is that the pilot is played by Jimmy Stewart, whom we’ve all come to see as the embodiment of American virtue.
That is, literally, Kirk’s defining character trait. Was that character recognizably James Kirk? Then he doesn’t sit around chit-chatting while his ship is in danger.
That has been a constant of his character no matter who was writing it. (except possibly in the slash fic.)
I think we all appreciate your conceding defeat here.
About the “KAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHNNNNNNNNNNN!!!” = frustration or not. How long after Kirk finds out that Kahn had his son killed does this scene come in?
Kirk’s son was killed in the next movie, by a Klingon.
Thanks
Male bovine manure. Sister scored fair and square. 
Wow, I always thought it was Kahn who killed his kid. In fairness, I saw the movie when I was in elementary school and haven’t seen it since.