From Director Roland Emmerich (The Day After Tomorrow, The Patriot, and Godzilla) comes the cult classic Stargate in High Definition 1080p picture. Haled as ‘a must-see sci-fi classic’, Stargate grew into something bigger with the expansion of the franchise to the world of television and direct-to-DVD movies.
Fans will want to revisit the film that started the Stargate franchise. The picture holds up well, and the special features make it worth the money. This anniversary edition has over four hours of extras.
For the purists out there, you can view the movie in its original 1994 theatrical version, but if you like a little something extra to go with the popcorn and a relaxing Friday night, you can view the unrated extended version.
In addition to the two film versions, other special features include several featurettes that will make any fan happy: Deciphering the Gate, Opening the Gate, and Passing Through the Gate. There is also a never before seen gag reel, a feature entitled ‘Is There a Stargate?’, and a documentary of the making of the film.
There is also the option of audio commentary with writer/director Emmerich and writer/producer Dean Davlin.
The two biggest stars are Kurt Russell (Grindhouse, Poseidon) and James Spader (Boston Legal and The Practice). Russell plays Colonel Jack O’Neil who leads his team through the Stargate, a “door” that is opened between our world and an alien world. He is a straightforward soldier who follows orders without question. He is also a damaged character following the accidental death of his son – something that would continue to haunt him on another world.
Spader plays Dr. Daniel Jackson, the archaeologist and linguist, or appropriately named ‘Egyptologist’, who translates the hieroglyphics needed to complete his assignment. He is brought to an underground government base to decode stones, which ultimately lead to the discovery of another planet and the Stargate that gets them there. He is also as far from Russell’s character as you could possibly get.
The Stargate is basically a teleportation device that allows the team to walk from our world into another. No spaceships needed, the transformation from our world to theirs is indeed speedy. Sci-fi geeks rejoice! This neat little trick is called a quantum leap. The idea is to bend time and/ or space or both to make traveling very fast, like walking through a door into the next room, except the room just happens to be across the universe (and no, that’s is not a Beatle’s song I am referring to).
Once through the Stargate and on the alien planet, the team discovers another culture that is ruled by a being that calls himself Ra. Whether or not he is the Egyptian sun god is debatable, but the blending of Egyptian cultures and alien is pure genius.
From that point, the team, led by Col. O’Neil, must find a way to get back to our world, as the Stargate seems to work only one way without the proper equipment. There is also the problem of the nuclear device that Jack and team brought along with them - very foresighted indeed, as the idea was to blow the place to kingdom come if they met any hostile aliens.
Ra, played by Jaye Davidson (The Crying Game), takes the team captive, and he is a piece of work. He has been using the bodies of human slaves to give himself immortality and just possibly to make himself pretty. Maybe a little of both. In any case, he is a very unique cinematic villain.
Boxed in a nice case with a light-catching, eye-catching slip cover, fans will want this. The special features, plus two versions of the film, make it well worth the money. If you haven’t had the chance to become a fan, this would be a great edition to make your debut.
Stargate: 15th Anniversary Edition [Blu-ray] is now available at Amazon . Visit the DVD database for more information.
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