William Shatner is not a skilled movie director. That doesn't mean he doesn't know magic when he reads it in a script. This scene was a gift to Kelly. Not from Shatner, but from (in all likelihood) Harve Bennet. But at least Shatner had the smarts to shoot it honestly and let Kelly have his moment in the sun.
This is one of the saddest scenes ever in a movie. Star Trek V might be labeled the worst Star Trek movie, but this is a 5 star scene in what many rate a one or two star movie.
I'll admit after just finishing watching the first six Star Trek movies, V while I will agree is the weakest out of the movies it is not without it's moments. This scene especially.
some of the worst or most mediocre movies can also have some of the best scenes, they're not mutually exclusive. The camping scenes and this scene was very memorable from this film.
This can happen when an actor knocks a particularly emotional scene out of the park - it’s VERY draining, and they need to recuperate (though it can be cathartic too)
Today this scene keeps speaking to me. My wife who had Friedreich’s Ataxia since her teen years passed away last summer. FA has no known cure and no working treatments, and therapy did nothing for her in her last few years. She had a fall last year which caused kidney failure, and she went on a constant slide downhill causing much pain and mental illness. It was hard for us to make the decision to sign a DNR and watch her slowly fade away. Just this week the FDA approved the first treatment drug specifically for FA. If only it came a year earlier. McCoy’s self-doubt over his choice is something I will relate to the rest of my life.
One of the most emotional scenes on all the Star Trek movies, and the best acting performances by any actor, in any of the movies. Mr. Kelley nailed it. ALL the feels!
Ok, but when Sybok says “You’re a doctor”, I can’t help but think of Bones repeating “I’m a doctor, damnit” over and over again to his crew. Maybe he had to convince himself more than anyone else.
We've had two dogs in five years go down slow. As they waste, if you love them, you inevitably face the dilemma which is so brilliantly portrayed in this magical scene. In the case of the first, I let my wife decide. She waited far too long, and our beloved pet suffered. When he died, Franklyn Bean almost literally melted in her lap. I was in the hospital. She called me hysterical and there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it. It was horrible. I loved my dog. I love my wife. I understand fully why it was so difficult for her. We now have another beloved dog, also a pug, as was Franklyn Bean. We adopted Fuji from a puppy farm. They gave us exactly ten hours to drive across Texas to retrieve Fuji before they were going to put her down. Fuji has been with us for a decade. She is now slowly wasting in much the same way Frank did. My wife is struggling again. I showed her this scene and explained to her that because Fuji cannot ask us to release her, we have to decide on her behalf. Out of love. We are taking a week to shower her with adoration (and all the snacky treats she can handle), and then we are putting our little girl to sleep.
This hits home for me as I just lost my grandfather on my mom's side of the family to COVID and a returning form of liver cancer nearly a year ago. That was a difficult time, but I pray he's up in heaven no longer suffering.
My mom had anaplastic thyroid cancer The machines were keeping her alive.... But she was in so much pain I was begging to be taken off the machines. That wasn't the hard part..... It was advocating for her against my own family to let her go.
@@highlander723 I'm sorry for your loss, and that you were put in that position. Sadly my mom passed away, but not before telling me she didn't want to continue on life support. I'm grateful to have had that opportunity, and it took a huge burden off my shoulders. Unfortunately there are members of my family who are angry with me because they think I made the choice to stop treatment, and felt she should have continued regardless of what my mom wanted.
@@ctg6734 I had it out with my family shortly after she died... where were they when she was choking and needed to have her stoma cleaned. where were they when she had those moments of despair. where were they when she wondered where they were. It wasn't that I wanted her dead as my cousins told me..... It was that she trusted me to end it. She knew I wouldn't let her suffer.
@@ctg6734 People like us who have been in that situation carry a unique burden. But along with that burden comes a pride that we were the ones that they trusted to carry out their final wishes.
@@highlander723 It's the same for me. People who hadn't seen my mom for years were suddenly telling me what I should be doing regarding her care. All that mattered to me was that I do what my mom wanted, with no regard to others thought Any decisions had to be guided solely by her best interests, her desires and nothing else. Of course there are those who think I acted out of selfish motives for my own personal gain. This was so insulting and devastating to hear especially when dealing with the loss of my mom. It really turned into a shitstorm when I was trying to do everything with honorable intentions.
What’s interesting about what Sybok did to “release the pain” of those he interacted with, is that it is remarkably similar to an accepted psychiatric practice today called EMDR, which uses a machine to dig up the repressed causes of a patient’s PTSD or trauma and helps them to process it in a way that is not debilitating.
The Babylon 5 sequel Crusade episode "The Path Of Sorrows" has similar, with an alien who has people relive something horrible in their past that had been eating them alive, and then simply says "I forgive you" because they hadn't forgiven themselves yet.
I'd think Kirk's would be. He lost his brother and sister-in-law, two children,(when he lost his memory and married a native woman) and of course his adult son David, Spock, even though he got him back, his death and funeral destroyed him, the original Enterprise.
He probably had a ton of past trauma which was never covered in the series. We do know that he carried survivors guilt about the USS Farragut for years after it happened.
@@mikegallant811that or Spock's death even though he got him back, the destruction of the original Enterprise, the deaths of his older brother and sister-in-law, that native woman he married and had an unborn child with when he lost his memory. Take your pick.
This scene means a lot right now (december 2020). A cure (vaccine) is coming in the next months but the patient (the common people) can't handle the pain (lockdown) anymore.
What a moral check. That's a hard position, but it's a choice i could make. McCoy did the right thing. The machines kept his father alive, he clearly was in pain, he saved his father's dignity but also kept his Hippocratic oath of NOT causing pain.
I call bullshit! No offense or even serious judgement intended, but you sound like it's far too easy a position for you to stake out without direct knowledge of the reality. Here's the reality: We've had two dogs in five years go down slow. As they waste, if you love them, you inevitably face the dilemma which is so brilliantly portrayed in this magical scene. In the case of the first, I let my wife decide. She waited far too long, and our beloved pet suffered. When he died, Franklyn Bean almost literally melted in her lap. I was in the hospital. She called me hysterical and there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it. It was horrible. I loved my dog. I love my wife. I understand fully why it was so difficult for her. We now have another beloved dog, also a pug, as was Franklyn Bean. We adopted Fuji from a puppy farm. They gave us exactly ten hours to drive across Texas to retrieve Fuji before they were going to put her down. Fuji has been with us for a decade. She is now slowly wasting in much the same way Frank did. My wife is struggling again. I showed her this scene and explained to her that because Fuji cannot ask us to release her, we have to decide on her behalf. Out of love. We are taking a week to shower her with adoration (and all the snacky treats she can handle), and then we are putting our little girl to sleep. I wrote this in response to a post above yours. I thought it might be something that would be worth reading for you. Cheers, my friend.
@@SamlovesLulu I understand your position. I prefer Death with Dignity. If I'm wasting away from cancer that's inoperable and I have to go through chemo & tradition, like my father, I would rather go out on my own terms. Not that I'd go outside & jump in front of a bus or take get some Hemlock. I'd do the same thing to one of my own family as I would an animal. I don't want my loved ones in pain from the time they wake up to the time they sleep. Bones did the right thing by aiding his father's passing.
Proof of DeForest Kelly’s mastery of his craft.
William Shatner is not a skilled movie director. That doesn't mean he doesn't know magic when he reads it in a script. This scene was a gift to Kelly. Not from Shatner, but from (in all likelihood) Harve Bennet. But at least Shatner had the smarts to shoot it honestly and let Kelly have his moment in the sun.
@@SamlovesLulu This scene is always a saving grace for a most criticized Star Trek movie. Especially thanks to DeForest’s best acting as McCoy.
The "Oh my God don't do this to me" levels me
he delivers the line really well
I've said that myself
This is one of the saddest scenes ever in a movie. Star Trek V might be labeled the worst Star Trek movie, but this is a 5 star scene in what many rate a one or two star movie.
I'll admit after just finishing watching the first six Star Trek movies, V while I will agree is the weakest out of the movies it is not without it's moments. This scene especially.
Well said 👍
some of the worst or most mediocre movies can also have some of the best scenes, they're not mutually exclusive. The camping scenes and this scene was very memorable from this film.
Hear, hear!
Only dickheads label this movie as the worst
The best scene in the entire movie. Thanks!
I mean that’s a pretty low bar, but yeah this was a really good scene.
I read somewhere that DeForest Kelley playing this scene was reminded of the death of his own father and didn't want to talk to anybody afterwards
Heard the same thing in a documentary and tribute to Deforest Kelley. He went to his trailer and stayed there the rest of the day talking to no one.
This can happen when an actor knocks a particularly emotional scene out of the park - it’s VERY draining, and they need to recuperate (though it can be cathartic too)
"All my knowledge and I can't save him."
Powerful. It hurts.
Just as in the original Superman. “All these powers, and I couldn’t even save him.”
Today this scene keeps speaking to me. My wife who had Friedreich’s Ataxia since her teen years passed away last summer. FA has no known cure and no working treatments, and therapy did nothing for her in her last few years. She had a fall last year which caused kidney failure, and she went on a constant slide downhill causing much pain and mental illness. It was hard for us to make the decision to sign a DNR and watch her slowly fade away.
Just this week the FDA approved the first treatment drug specifically for FA. If only it came a year earlier.
McCoy’s self-doubt over his choice is something I will relate to the rest of my life.
I'm very sorry for your loss, thank you for sharing your pain.
That is so f'ing sad. Arrith's song from Final Fantasy VII is starting to play in my mind's jukebox of saddest songs ever.
One of the most emotional scenes on all the Star Trek movies, and the best acting performances by any actor, in any of the movies. Mr. Kelley nailed it. ALL the feels!
Ok, but when Sybok says “You’re a doctor”, I can’t help but think of Bones repeating “I’m a doctor, damnit” over and over again to his crew. Maybe he had to convince himself more than anyone else.
Good insight into that aspect of McCoy’s character. ❤
If you've ever had to do this with a loved one. It really hurts
Truly yes, one of the most real scenes in Star Trek
When you've lost your dad, scenes like this burn.
Very sad but very true
We've had two dogs in five years go down slow. As they waste, if you love them, you inevitably face the dilemma which is so brilliantly portrayed in this magical scene.
In the case of the first, I let my wife decide. She waited far too long, and our beloved pet suffered. When he died, Franklyn Bean almost literally melted in her lap. I was in the hospital. She called me hysterical and there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it. It was horrible. I loved my dog. I love my wife. I understand fully why it was so difficult for her.
We now have another beloved dog, also a pug, as was Franklyn Bean. We adopted Fuji from a puppy farm. They gave us exactly ten hours to drive across Texas to retrieve Fuji before they were going to put her down. Fuji has been with us for a decade. She is now slowly wasting in much the same way Frank did.
My wife is struggling again.
I showed her this scene and explained to her that because Fuji cannot ask us to release her, we have to decide on her behalf. Out of love.
We are taking a week to shower her with adoration (and all the snacky treats she can handle), and then we are putting our little girl to sleep.
This hits home for me as I just lost my grandfather on my mom's side of the family to COVID and a returning form of liver cancer nearly a year ago. That was a difficult time, but I pray he's up in heaven no longer suffering.
Yes, it does... especially when he went under similar circumstances.
@@sguinn91 Sorry for your loss. My mother passed away right before me so this scene hits really hard.
This pain has poisoned your soul. Nothing could be more true.
Sybok is right. We all hide a secret pain we don't want anyone to know about.
Mastery of character by Kelley . . . but also by Shatner. Watch the anguish on Kirk's face.
Shatner gets a lot of flack (sometimes rightfully), but when he was good, he was really good
@@Smeginator As I recall, both Shatner and Nimoy said that that scene was a lot for all of them.
I'm here watching this scene because I'm facing the same situation with my mom. This is a terrible decision to make, and I wish it upon no one.
My mom had anaplastic thyroid cancer The machines were keeping her alive.... But she was in so much pain I was begging to be taken off the machines. That wasn't the hard part..... It was advocating for her against my own family to let her go.
@@highlander723 I'm sorry for your loss, and that you were put in that position. Sadly my mom passed away, but not before telling me she didn't want to continue on life support. I'm grateful to have had that opportunity, and it took a huge burden off my shoulders. Unfortunately there are members of my family who are angry with me because they think I made the choice to stop treatment, and felt she should have continued regardless of what my mom wanted.
@@ctg6734 I had it out with my family shortly after she died... where were they when she was choking and needed to have her stoma cleaned. where were they when she had those moments of despair. where were they when she wondered where they were.
It wasn't that I wanted her dead as my cousins told me..... It was that she trusted me to end it. She knew I wouldn't let her suffer.
@@ctg6734 People like us who have been in that situation carry a unique burden. But along with that burden comes a pride that we were the ones that they trusted to carry out their final wishes.
@@highlander723 It's the same for me. People who hadn't seen my mom for years were suddenly telling me what I should be doing regarding her care. All that mattered to me was that I do what my mom wanted, with no regard to others thought Any decisions had to be guided solely by her best interests, her desires and nothing else.
Of course there are those who think I acted out of selfish motives for my own personal gain. This was so insulting and devastating to hear especially when dealing with the loss of my mom. It really turned into a shitstorm when I was trying to do everything with honorable intentions.
What’s interesting about what Sybok did to “release the pain” of those he interacted with, is that it is remarkably similar to an accepted psychiatric practice today called EMDR, which uses a machine to dig up the repressed causes of a patient’s PTSD or trauma and helps them to process it in a way that is not debilitating.
De Kelley had a great moment right here with his acting.
This scene makes me understand why bones was always a bit of a grump. This would definitely change a person.
Despite Star Trek V being seen as the worst of the franchise, this is the saddest scene in Star Trek if not of all time.
Why did you do it?
To preserve his dignity.
The Babylon 5 sequel Crusade episode "The Path Of Sorrows" has similar, with an alien who has people relive something horrible in their past that had been eating them alive, and then simply says "I forgive you" because they hadn't forgiven themselves yet.
Great storytelling, and beautiful insight into the life of a beloved character.
Your pain is the deepest of all.
I'd think Kirk's would be. He lost his brother and sister-in-law, two children,(when he lost his memory and married a native woman) and of course his adult son David, Spock, even though he got him back, his death and funeral destroyed him, the original Enterprise.
Poor man he died just to reincarnate as a blind man named Mr. Van Ranseleer and hung out at Archie Bunkers Place all the time
Amazing scene.
When I was a kid, I think I was 8 at the time, I didn' tknow what they meant by "their pain." I thought they were like physically hurting LOL
Pain can take all sorts of forms. Physically mentally emotionally.
A god damn cure!
Fantastic scene. But I always wondered, what would have been Kirk’s ‘Pain’? and what would he see?
Probably the murder of his son David at the hands of the Klingons.
Probably the death of his son.
David's death.
He probably had a ton of past trauma which was never covered in the series. We do know that he carried survivors guilt about the USS Farragut for years after it happened.
@@mikegallant811that or Spock's death even though he got him back, the destruction of the original Enterprise, the deaths of his older brother and sister-in-law, that native woman he married and had an unborn child with when he lost his memory. Take your pick.
This scene means a lot right now (december 2020). A cure (vaccine) is coming in the next months but the patient (the common people) can't handle the pain (lockdown) anymore.
That would have been poignant....if the Covid pandemic were real.
Um...no.
Idiot much?
What a moral check. That's a hard position, but it's a choice i could make. McCoy did the right thing. The machines kept his father alive, he clearly was in pain, he saved his father's dignity but also kept his Hippocratic oath of NOT causing pain.
I call bullshit! No offense or even serious judgement intended, but you sound like it's far too easy a position for you to stake out without direct knowledge of the reality. Here's the reality:
We've had two dogs in five years go down slow. As they waste, if you love them, you inevitably face the dilemma which is so brilliantly portrayed in this magical scene.
In the case of the first, I let my wife decide. She waited far too long, and our beloved pet suffered. When he died, Franklyn Bean almost literally melted in her lap. I was in the hospital. She called me hysterical and there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it. It was horrible. I loved my dog. I love my wife. I understand fully why it was so difficult for her.
We now have another beloved dog, also a pug, as was Franklyn Bean. We adopted Fuji from a puppy farm. They gave us exactly ten hours to drive across Texas to retrieve Fuji before they were going to put her down. Fuji has been with us for a decade. She is now slowly wasting in much the same way Frank did.
My wife is struggling again.
I showed her this scene and explained to her that because Fuji cannot ask us to release her, we have to decide on her behalf. Out of love.
We are taking a week to shower her with adoration (and all the snacky treats she can handle), and then we are putting our little girl to sleep.
I wrote this in response to a post above yours. I thought it might be something that would be worth reading for you.
Cheers, my friend.
@@SamlovesLulu I understand your position. I prefer Death with Dignity. If I'm wasting away from cancer that's inoperable and I have to go through chemo & tradition, like my father, I would rather go out on my own terms. Not that I'd go outside & jump in front of a bus or take get some Hemlock.
I'd do the same thing to one of my own family as I would an animal. I don't want my loved ones in pain from the time they wake up to the time they sleep. Bones did the right thing by aiding his father's passing.