Stargate

“A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away….” was a tagline that brought the conception of SciFi into the mainstream and opened up our world and our imaginations. In the three decades following the launch of the Star Wars franchise, we have seen numerous incarnations of Science Fiction series come and some more go. Series like Star Trek, Babylon 5, FireFly, Battlestar Galactica, Andromeda, Earth: Final Conflict and a slew of others. However, there exists one distinguishable franchise which has remained a prevalent player in the SciFi space in spite of the demise of much of their competition.

The Stargate Universe as an entity has existed since 1994 and has since grown into a international dynasty encompassing a Movie, 2 television series, comics, books, audio books, games, toys and an assortment of FanFiction.

The Stargate Universe all begun with the original film, written by Dean Devlin and directed by Roland Emmerich. The film turned out to be a mega hit with global sales of $196,600,000 and a $55,000,000 cost of production. The film was initially intended to be share of a multi-film franchise however, due to scheduling issues and deviations in originative visions among Devlin/Emmerich and MGM, the primary resourcefulness was never carried out. It was in fact this disagreement that led to the studio execs assessing other ways to capitalize on the success of the film.

The executives decisive a television series would concede for long-lasting probabilities and with that Stargate SG-1 debuted on July 27, 1997 on the Showtime premium cable network. After seeing impressive ratings on Showtime, the studio wanted wider distribution and moved the series to the SciFi network where it without delay became a cult classic. The series led by Richard Dean Anderson of MacGyver fame lasted for a total of ten seasons and on intermediate cost MGM $1,400,000 to shoot. By it is final season, the show surpassed the ratings of huge hits like X-Files and attaining the title of the longest running successive sci-fi series on television. After an unbelievable ten year run, Stargate SG-1 was discontinued in August of 200, but the franchise lived on as Stargate Atlantis.

Stargate Atlantis was formulated in 2004 as a two percentage season finale for season 8 entitled “Lost City”. The plot involves a group of military forces and civilian scientists that travel to the Pegasus galaxy in search of the Lost City of Atlantis. In it is current incarnation, the series has seen outstanding success and has proven over the years to draw the same level of followers as SG-1.

The future of the Stargate Universe is scheduled to include two direct-to-DVD films being freed later this year entitled “Stargate: The Ark of Truth” and “Stargate: Continuum”. In addition, there was a 2006 Comic-con formal publi statement by Stargate creator Dean Devlin that he is presently in talks with MGM to invent the final two films in the trilogy and leverage the natural abilities and qualities of James Spader and Kurt Russel.

The series today stands out as a remarkable example of ability to create and imagination of a better future. The series is one that will live on in multiple incarnations moving forward as ling as it retains the magnificent writing staff and an uncanny capacity to explore current social and political issues in a distinctive way.

Stargate

STARGATE ULTIMATE EDITION – DVD Movie

Before they unleashed the idiotic mayhem of Independence Day and Godzilla, the idea-stealing team of conductor Roland Emmerich and producer-screenwriter Dean Devlin concocted this hokey hit regarding the invention of an ancient portal competent of zipping travelers to “the other side of the known universe.” James Spader plays the Egyptologist who with great success 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 innovative technology. After being warmly welcomed into the slave camp, the earthlings give hope or courage to and support a rebellion, and while Russell threatens to blow up the Stargate to prevent it is 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 huge and appreciative audience, spawned a cable-TV series, and proceeds to attract science fiction fans who are more than more than willing to pardon it is significant faults. –Jeff Shannon

DVD featuresNothing beats a sci-fi movie with wall-shaking sound, and the Stargate Ultimate Edition delivers the goods with 6.1 DTS ES and 5.1 Dolby Digital EX. Yes, Stargate has been freed on DVD a heap of times, but this 2003 version is the best yet, with bettered sound and a in general clean picture that’s now anamorphically heightened for widescreen televisions. Note: The current Stargate Ultimate Edition is a stripped-down version with only a featurette and commentary track. The Ultimate Edition in the first place freed in 2003 included the combining of the theatrical cut and director’s cut (nine minutes longer), and a 23-minute making-of feature that concentrated on the film’s design and production. –David Horiuchi

Stargate Picture

Stargate Photo

Stargate Picture

Stargate Picture

Most helpful client reviews

123 of 136 humans found the following review helpful.
Director’s Cut Is Excellent!
By chemikalguy
I’m not sure what makes the uttermost edition much dissimilar from the particular edition, as both include the director’s cut and theatrical version. The extreme edition does include a ‘making of’ featurette, as well as a ‘Is there a stargate’ featurette that isn’t included on the special edition. These are both interesting, but not one thing to write home about. One huge divergence is the audio. The ult. ed. includes DTS 6.1 audio, as well as dolby digital 5.1.

Good: Being a fan of Stargate SG-1, I wanted to own the initial movie as well, and when the ult. ed. was released, knew it was time to buy. I watched the director’s cut, and was amazed. There were added scenes, as well as extended existent scenes. These changes actually gave me a better understanding of how things in the tv show came to be the way they are, such as the kinship amidst Jack O’Neill and Daniel Jackson. In the director’s cut, we see more fundamental interaction amid them. We also get more into the head of Jack, and better understand just how messed up he in truth is after the loss of his son.

Bad: The only disappointment I have with the ult. ed. is that there were no ‘gag reels’ or bloopers, or other deleted scenes included. I take pleasure in looking at these on other DVDs I have, and would have loved to have seen them for Stargate.

Overall, I’m glad I added this DVD to my collection. My only wish is that the Stargate SG-1 DVDs included behind the scenes or blooper reels as well.

64 of 69 humans found the following review helpful.
Stargate on Blu-Ray-The Best Version Available! But…
By Bill E.
First, let me get started by saying that I love this movie. Perhaps because I traveled to Egypt when I was 16 and I saw the glory of the giant pyramids in person (just don’t tell an Egyptian that it was the aliens who built their pyramids and not their ancestors, he or she will be crazy at you forever!).
I likewise love Sci-Fi flicks, and this movie has a great story. if you haven’t seen it and you like Sci-Fi movies, even adventure movies with Kurt Russell, you’ll love this one.

Now in regards to the Blu-ray DVD:

Let me say that I have been a happy HD DVD owner for closely a year now, but seeing a great deal of the movies that I love in Blu-ray only, made me determine to get a Blu-ray player.

Video: The picture quality of this Blu-ray disc shows magnificent CLARITY and BRIGHTNESS and BETTER COLORS that were not on the standard DVD. It seems that the luminance level was boosted, but likewise at the cost of some graininess and video noise.

The Picture looks almost perfective in the bright sunny desert scenes, but with very visible grains indoors.
Overall, comparing this version to the dark (less grainy SD DVD) is like the divergence amid Day and Night!
Also, This BD has a cool disc menu with ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic that turn into English letter.

There was a problem with the subtitled translation of the Alien language or ancient Egyptian (I’m not sure if this language was in truth made up in Hollywood like the “KLINGON” language in the Star Trek Movies). The problem is, the translation must show up in English whenever that language is spoken, but it doesn’t!!!!!! One helpful reviewer on this page suggested going to the main menu and selecting English subs, and it works!, but you end up with subtitles all around the whole movie. This release might have been rushed to the market (like some Blu-ray releases of 2006 in order to compete with the other HD format). How long do we “Stargate” fan have to wait again before we get a release with a good picture quality (hopefully grain free and no subtitle problem)????

Audio: very good

Conclusion: I may say that this is the best version of this movie available to date! but it has it is problems. If you can’t wait and you don’t mind turning on the subtitles for the duration of the whole movie, it’s a outstanding release beneath $20.

140 of 161 persons found the following review helpful.
In a way, a very realistic movie…
By Michael Valdivielso
First off, once you get past the idea of a Stargate the rest kind of falls into place. The government, with the aid of Professor Daniel Jackson (James Spader), figures out how to work it. Pro. Jackson, with an escort of soliders led by Colonel Jack O’Neil (Kurt Russell) step through it to the other side.
They find a desert planet where humans are being made to mine for the same material that the gate was made from.
The humans are Egyptians who were got rid of from Earth over 10,000 years ago, by an alien, and even Daniel Jackson can’t comprehend their language because living languages CHANGE.
The movie is careful to stay away from a great deal of of the cliches of most sci-fi movies but likewise stays away from having characters which are TOO simple. Both Daniel and Jack (played by James and Kurt) are real people, not cardboard cut-outs, with all the flaws and merits of our own reality. The natives are catch amid attempting to be friendly towards strangers AND not pissing off their Gods.
The science and engineering employed by Ra and his men look very sleek and very real. From the spaceship to the gliders, everything has a touch of old Egyptian myth mixed with modern alien know-how.
The DVD comes with two versions of the movie, Director’s Cut and the theatrical cut, in which the former has audio commentary. The DVDs likewise have a outstanding ‘Making of Stargate’ featurette, a ‘Is There a Stargate?’ short starring Erich von Daniken himself, trailers, scane access, crew and cast data and production notes.
Everything you could want in a DVD set, a mixture of sound science fiction, a touch of great effects and the pinch of old fashion adventure. This is a great pop corn flick. Enjoy!

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