Stargate (Ultimate Edition)
by Roland Emmerich
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DVD details
Actor: Alexis Cruz, James Spader, Kurt Russell, Mili Avital, Viveca LindforsDirector: Roland Emmerich
Brand: LIONS GATE HOME ENT.
Writer: Roland Emmerich
Producer: Dean Devlin
Writer: Dean Devlin
Producer: Joel B. Michaels
Producer: Mario Kassar
Producer: Oliver Eberle
Producer: Peter Winther
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; Spanish (Subtitled)
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 121 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-02-17
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Lions Gate
DVD Reviews of Stargate (Ultimate Edition)
DVD Review: A Sci-fi Gem--even without the special features!
Summary: 5 Stars
Dr. Daniel Jackson (James Spader) is a kooky and oddball but incredibly brilliant Egyptologist whose theories about the pyramid of Giza has laughed him out of town as much as his own esoteric field of study. When a mysterious, older woman with ties to a top-secret project funded by US Government and run by the Air Force offers him a job, Dr. Jackson is about to get the second chance of a lifetime.
And thus begins the journey that could change everything. With the stalwart and coldly reserved Col. Jack O'Neil (Kurt Russell) as the leader, the team ventures through the Stargate, a transport gateway that spits the team from Earth to a planet in uncharted territory on the other side of the known galaxy. The world they are moored on is one not too dissimilar to the one on Earth, circa ancient times with a heavy influence of Egyptian culture and society, but with a slave population that serves and fears the God Ra. As O'Neil, Jackson and the rest of the team are welcomed by these desert slave peoples, and as they become enmeshed both psychologically and emotionally invested in the politics and dangers of this new world, these transplanted Earthlings realize that in order to get back home, they might just have to help these people overthrow a God! But Ra, an alien that takes on the form of a God in order to control the human population he has transplanted, both to mine the ore for his technology as well as a pool of hosts for the parasite that sustains him, targets the team when it becomes obvious to him that these far-flung visitors are the real threat to his own survival.
Russell, as an off-balanced former Colonial O'Neill who is haunted by the accidental death of his son and has accepted a job with no return ticket, by the end, O'Neill finally discovers that there is something to live for while Spader, the exact opposite, perfectly offset each other. Their character evolution throughout the movie is surprisingly well done and believable, especially what they learn about each other as much as the desert people and vice versa. The conception of this world, from its incorporation, re-imagining and careful attention to detail of Egyptian lore, to the costuming, secondary cast, sets and seamless special effects, makes Stargate an exceptional sci-fi gem. It sucks you in and doesn't let you go. Some have cited this film as chaotically senseless at the end (by people who just don't get it). Or campy and cheesy, but that's what's great--it doesn't take itself so seriously and gets weighed down in trying to be uber serious, which in turn, gives it a level of seriousness that's believable and rousing. You like these characters, their cause and the world that's been presented to you. The lightness, the wit and banter and sense of irony laced in parts was also well placed.
No other movie has spawned THREE TV series (SG-1, Atlantic, Universe--SyFy Channel), in which SG-1 brings back several characters from the film as well as bridging and continuing the themes extremely well throughout its long run. No other franchise, other than Star Trek, X-Files and Battlestar Galactica, compares. Stargate the movie, Stargate the franchise both came at a time when current sci-fi franchises were loosing steam and filled the much needed void of a true sci-fi show with great characters and plot while pushing the borders of imagination and creativity. This is a movie that started it all! This is a movie, and I'm talkin' about the original 1994 cut with no special anything which I would usually gripe about but can't here since the movie alone has always wowed me, is one that I've watched so often I've had to replace it; but you know, I never get tired of watching it or its other editions, and so glad it lives on--in all its forms!
DVD Review: Great movie, even better service
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a great movie, even if you just watch it to see James Spader in pre-Boston Legal days. The copy we received was defective and started skipping about halfway through the movie. I went on line, reported it as defective, and printed out the free return label. The replacement arrived the next day, before I had a chance to ship original. That's good service!
I would have given this movie 5 stars except is seems to be incompatible with today's 6:9 wide screen TVs. No matter what display setting we chose, the image was compressed slightly from top to bottom, making people look short, and round things, like the Stargate, oval.
DVD Review: Good film, but - I got a defective CD - Artisan Ultimate Edition
Summary: 4 Stars
The original Stargate. Superb work by an early James Spader (the independent thinking attorney in Boston Legal). Unfortunately, the second layer of my Artisan Ultimate Edition DVD is defective - all audio/video is erratic and pixelated after the layer switch at 1:22:18, all the way to the end. Please note that Amazon has compensated me for this defective DVD. I would recommend to any si-fi enthusiast. Good acting, direction and cinematography, excellent big production quality (the special effects still hold up well), and the story line is entertaining.DVD Review: 3 1/2 stars-An underrated movie that spawned many imitators.
Summary: 3 Stars
Stargate released in 1994,was a film that was underappreciated by most critics at the time garnering mixed to poor reviews.But the general public liked what they saw and gave out,much to the delight of its' producers,at the box office.The movie went on to influence other subsequent films(such as the opening of the Fifth Element) and spawned video games(direct and indirecty),along with the ever popular TV series franchise.
The film opens with the discovery of a circular device and the fossilized skeleton of a being of some sort,buried in the Egyptian desert in 1928.Fast forward to modern day and a Dr.Jackson(James Spader) who is giving an ill-received lecture on who exactly built the great pyramid in Egypt.Afterwards an elderly woman arrives and invites him to join her at a research facility run by the military in Colorado.
There they have in their hands the device found in the sand and want Jackson to decipher the writing.He does and inadvertantly gives the military brass the code to start up a working replica of the device.The project is headed by Col.O'Neil(Kurt Russell) and he leads a military team along with Dr Jackson through,what is now referred to as,the Stargate.The "other side" is light years from earth and is a planet much like the Egyptian desert,complete with their emergence point in a similarly structered building,dwarfed from behind by a huge pyramid.
In due time they find a colony of human slaves who are mining the material that composes the Stargate.Dr Jackson slowly but surely learns the language and eventually finds the key that will enable the team to return to Earth.But in the meantime the beings who oversee all this,return and wreak havoc with Col.O'Neil and company.It is learned that the aliens have taken humans as hosts and actually are the ones responsible for creating civilization on Earth thousands of years before.But the alien leader informs them they should never have opened the Stargate and plans to send back a bomb to destroy the Earth.In a race against time,an uprising by the slaves and a ticking bomb that can't be turned off,O'Neil and Jackson narrowly manage to turn the tables on the aliens as they try to escape and thus destroy them.Dr Jackson stays behind while the remaining team members return to earth.The movie ends as O'Neil says to Jackson that he will "see him around".
This left the movie up for an obvious sequel but,much to my disappointment,none has ever been forthcoming despite numerous rumours to the contrary.The latest rumour is that once the TV series has finally finished then we will see a sequel;but that remains to be seen.
Russells' career at the time had been a mixed one up Stargate having had more hits in the 80s(The Thing,Escape from New York,Used Cars,Big Trouble in Little China)with little of substance/success after,other than a notable supporting role in the hit Backdraft in/91.Spader on the other hand had been a pretty hot property at this time(his most popular time in fact) having had a more consistent string of recent successes(Mannequin,Pretty in Pink,Wall Street,Sex,Lies and Videotapes)than the more established Russell.That is why both share top lead.However while Spader had the lions share of screen time,Russell manages to dominate every scene he is in which says much about his acting chops.
The story generally flows well but the action gets bogged down on sideplots concerning the slaves working for the aliens.All concerned do a wonderful job but it is the (then)unique concept and angle this film gives us that really manages to fascinate and ultimately sell it.It must have made an impression,for while we have yet to see any sequels at the theatres,there has been a wildly successful little screen franchise going on for years.
This so called "Directors Cut" is clocked in,on the sleeve at least,as 119 minutes.Well the ACTUAL screen time is just over 123 minutes,with the credits extending it to around 130 minutes!Underselling their product.
The sleeve also tells us that this film has been remastered.Well I think someone needs to do some more work on this.The picture can get slightly washed out and grainy at times;not what a "remastered" print should look like.The sound however is very good,available in Dolby 2,5.1 and 6.1 DTS.The "ultimate" features are just an audio commentary by the director and producer and a small 10 minute film on the concept of alien vistors in ancient times and its'conceptual "father" Erich Von Daniken.Not much for an"ultimate edition",so it loses marks there also.The film is in its' original widescreen format.The copy I received of this film is a bit different than the one shown here for sale.The DVD I got is in a case with the same artwork as depicted(brown colour with the ring over the pyramid).However THAT case,in turn,has a nice looking sleeve over IT;a colourful holographic version of the case cover.I hope yours comes this way also.
In the end this film still holds up quite nicely after 15 years,both in the acting and concept departments.And while the film does needs a proper tweaking on the remastering,overall I think you will still enjoy what you see.
DVD Review: STARGATE, where sci-fi and mythology collide!
Summary: 5 Stars
I have always been a big fan of the film. They also did a lot of good things with the TV series as well, but they still couldn't measure up to the film. One of the reasons why the film is better than SG-1 is the actors. Kurt Russell and James Spader were always one of my favorite actors out there. Richard Dean Anderson and Michal Shanks are good too, but they couldn't measure up to Russell and Spader. Also there are a lot of continuity errors in SG-1 and Atlantis considering they were supposed to be continuations of the film.
The Plot:
A dig at Giza uncovers a large metallic thousand-year-old ring... the Stargate! Professor Danial Jackson (James Spader) is called into to decode the symbols on it. He does so, and opens a doorway to a lost planet on the other side of the universe. Colonel Jack O'Niel (Kurt Russell) leads a team through the Stargate to the distant planet where they encounter a replica of the Great Pyramid, an enslaved humanoid race, and a powerful evil alien posing as the Egyptian Sun God, Ra. Now its a race against time not only to save the human civilization on the planet, but to save Earth as well!
An epic action-packed film with a great story, great special effects, and great acting and directing. This is a great buy. And if you've only seen the TV series, then see where the story began with this film. Highly recommended!
P.S.
Buy the Special Edition which includes both the original theatrical version as well as the extended cut.
Description of Stargate (Ultimate Edition)
When Professor Daniel Jackson (James Spader) innocently accepts the offer of a mysterious woman to decode an ancient Egyptian artifact known only as "Stargate," he unwittingly takes the first step on an epic adventure that will span galaxies and decide the fate of an entire planet. Colonel Jack O'Neil (Kurt Russell), a true soldier with nerves of steel and a tragic past, is brought back to active duty to commandeer the first trip through the "Stargate." On a desert planet on the far side of the universe, Jackson and O'Neil must battle the powerful alien Sun God, Ra (Jaye Davidson). At stake: the freeing of an ancient civilization from slavery and any chance of ever getting home!Before they unleashed the idiotic mayhem of Independence Day and Godzilla, the idea-stealing team of director Roland Emmerich and producer-screenwriter Dean Devlin concocted this hokey hit about the discovery of an ancient portal capable of zipping travelers to "the other side of the known universe." James Spader plays the Egyptologist who successfully translates the Stargate's hieroglyphic code, and then joins a hawkish military unit (led by Kurt Russell) on a reconnaissance mission to see what's on the other side. They arrive on a desert world with cultural (and apparently supernatural) ties to Earth's ancient Egypt, where the sun god Ra (played by Jaye Davidson from The Crying Game) rules a population of slaves with armored minions and startlingly advanced technology. After being warmly welcomed into the slave camp, the earthlings encourage and support a rebellion, and while Russell threatens to blow up the Stargate to prevent its use by enemy forces, the movie collapses into a senseless series of action scenes and grandiose explosions. It's all pretty ridiculous, but Stargate found a large and appreciative audience, spawned a cable-TV series, and continues to attract science fiction fans who are more than willing to forgive its considerable faults. --Jeff Shannon
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