@@paulanerruhrpott6188 I like them both, but generally agree. They're both fun popcorn sci-fi for me though, which is a type of movie I enjoy even if it's not generally winning many awards.
You should watch a movie Emmerich produced around the same time called The Thirteenth Floor. It's a weird sci fi simulation movie that feels like a golden age of hollywood era mystery noir romance. It got kinda forgotten because it released around the same time as The Matrix and a bunch of others. But it's based on a book from 1964. Involves "present day" and a simulation of 1930s los angeles. Really interesting movie. Some people shit on Craig Bierko's performance, but i think it perfectly fits the tone of the movie. Vincent DeNofrio is also in it playing multiple characters and is fantastic as always. And i think the cinematography is gorgeous throughout. Such an underrated movie.
Right after the technician announced the locking of the seven chevron, KA-WHOOSH! As the Stargate opened, it made what sounded to me like an unearthly roaring noise. Still gives me thrill-shivers to this day! 😲👍
If you think O'Neil's son shooting himself adds nothing to the story you're missing something. You're forgetting that the point of the mission was to find out what tech is there, if any, and destroy it - Whether they could get back or not. WITH NUKES! He was suicidal before the program going on a suicide mission. It is absolutely vital to the story.
Agreed. Also, O'Neill's backstory foreshadows how he becomes a mentor and "uncle" to Skaara. This benefits both characters. O'Neill begins to overcome his depression while Skaara grows into a mature leader.
Great movie overall. But two things stand out for me. First, the score! Absolutely incredible music and sound design! And secondly, Jay Davidson. Jay’s portrayal of Ra is completely unique and extremely memorable. Loved Stargate. One of the first movies I remember seeing in theatres.
It’s almost too bad Jaye was more into his music career. He only did Stargate because they actually agreed to the $1 million dollar fee he threw at them to try to make them go away. Unfortunately for him, they agreed to his salary requirement! He would have made some great films.
Literally my take, word for word. And while the soundtrack does get lots of praise everywhere, Jay's performance not as much. But he has left an imprint for how I see sci-fi gods: ruthless, vain, androginous, terrifying
The entire scene of Ra and his guards unmasking was so memorable and epic. In a way, Stargate continued the original Battlestar Galactica's concept of ancient Earth civilizations being rooted in alien cultures.
The score is timeless!!!! one of my favorites,I listen to it every now and the. I like the movie too, but man the show is just AWWWSOME!! Mainly season 3-8
Agreed, the tv series is so good but I actually think the Ben Browder seasons are really good. I think the series filale (Unending) is possibly the best of any sci-fi show I've ever seen, and I've seen them all.
The amazing thing about the whole SG movie and TV series is the continuity. Take a premise, build on it, discover a flaw, make the solution a part of the story, refer back to previous events, technology and the science and history (lore) being continually advanced and revised, without being "ret-conned". You know, like reality?!
They really show how much they who crew and cast really cared about the show. It's part of why it's still watchable in a way stuff like TNG & Voyager aren't. Add in Kurt Russel, and I'm camping out for tickets! He was one of my favourites at the time. And RDA in the series was a brilliant choice. I kinda wish he'd done the film, sometimes.
To be fair, they did plenty of retconning as well; but they did try to ground it somewhat. I have a wild hypothesis that Stargate is a fictionalized version of what might actually be happening in real life. Just imagine if someone leaked the “truth,” the government or other entities could point to the tv show as a way to provide plausible deniability. There’s even a play on that within the show where an alien guy whose memories have been erased creates a tv show in the Stargate universe called “Wormhole Extreme” based on the “reality” of the Stargate program. At one point Carter asks why the Air Force didn’t shut it down and the answer from Jackson is that the show provides plausible deniability. Could art be imitating life by having art imitate life? Talk about Meta! 😂 As absurd as it sounds, it makes sense in a perverse way and could explain a lot about what’s happening right now with the whole UFO/UAP thing.
My sister and I went opening night. It had been a rough week, and we just wanted "two hours off the tour" and a meal before going home and crashing. Sis thought it was good for what it was, but I fell in love with it. It's beautiful, but it has the intellectual appeal of language discovery, first contact with alien civilizations, and interesting characters.
What other sci-fi series might we get next after Stargate? The Expanse, For all Mankind, Foundation, The Orville are some of the ones I could think of.
Stargate as a film was definitely a film at the right place and time. In 1994, while I didn't see it then, it was one of those films that was in my mind, when it came out in a little format called DVD as one of the first titles made for it. I still have that copy in the collection, and it gets really weird to go back to a film that is on DVD, but works as a laserdisk.
I have an extensive DVD collection and still adding to it; because you never know when the Woke Brigade will try to have films you enjoy, 'altered' or removed from circulation.
This is the first film I remember seeing. I was nine years old, and on holiday in Greece. There was a night time open-air cinema and the film showing was Stargate. had a big bag of gummy sweets, a blanket to stay warm, and the film being projected onto the side of a big, white wall. Incredibly fond memories attached to this, and it's one of very few films that still evoke the same feelings I had when I was young. Thanks Rowan for shining a light on that feeling of wonder and adventure.
I can comfortably call Stargate my favourite Roland Emmerich film and one of my favourite films of all time. I still have a vague memory of seeing this film as a young kid when I was at my nan's for a weekend. I think about to that memory fondly. This is the kind of sci fi that I want to make where it infuses ancient cultures, mythology and history. Because of that, this is an inspiration for me. And that score by David Arnold. One of my absolute favourites. If I had a film that had that score with it, I'd be really happy and accomplished. Also, this film has some similarities to Atlantis: The Lost Empire, another one of my favourite films. At least, I see the similarities. And despite not having seen SG-1, I've watched Stargate: Atlantis and it's one of my favourite shows.
When I try to get friends into SG1 and Atlantis, the Stargate movie is a great way to get them into the franchise. It’s fun, it’s exciting, it introduces the world and characters just enough leaving people wanting more. Thanks Rowan for the retrospective!
The movie is good, the series is just better, especially atlantis late season 2 onward. Also tealc indeed adds a lot of gravitas to the cast. also i like rd and the new jackson more, but then series benefits.
@@marocat4749Michael Shanks does an incredible job of inhabiting Spader's performance as Jackson. He's recognisably the same guy (unlike O'Neil - with one L. There's another guy with two, he's no fun at all) but is able to evolve and deepen the character without losing his core identity as established in the film. Incredible job.
I can't wait for part 2 on SG1! I grew up watching it with my dad as it aired. It grew into a family event call "SiFi Friday", where we'd watch SG1, SGA, and Doctor Who.
I'm sure you'll get to this in later parts, but Stargate the movie, whilst heavy on character tropes and backstories that went nowhere, really used that as an effective springboard when the series got going. There's an amazing scene in the well liked "Window of Opportunity" (Stargate meets Groundhog Day) where O'Neill pleads with the antagonist who has lost his wife and claims O'Neill can't understand what that feels like. "I lost my son! I know!!" and it's really powerful, especially as it comes straight after Jack walks him through the repetition of loss and pain. It's also great because this is a capable soldier using diplomacy, negotiation and empathy, rather than violence. The whole story, in which O'Neill and Teal'c have to learn a new language, learn new concepts and keep calm, is a nice touch. It's similar with Jackson. Although you give him a bit more nuance, Jackson during the series really went on a significant character arc. Sure, he had the confidence of knowing his fringe science was correct, but he lost his wife and was constantly uppity and lacking in respect for the military structure and for the team. He eventually becomes something of a spiritualist, which I always found a nice counter to the scientist, and I personally liked his run ins with the Ori and Ancients. You can make similar about Carter and Teal'c in time. Both of them start somewhat 1 dimensional, but over time are given ways to expand and humanise them. I especially like "Death Knell" as an example, in which Carter is hunted by Anubis' supersoldier, a literally unkillable new technology in which she has to just survive. It would have been easy to make her a Mary-Sue or a damsel in distress, but it's well balanced. She's a resourceful soldier and a great scientist, but she's not superhuman and needs her team. Earlier episodes were admittedly somewhat hamfisted - "just because my genitals are on the inside doesn't make me any less capable" (funny as a meme, tacky on reflection) - but over time they got it right. Last year I re-watched all series of all Stargate's, and it still holds up pretty well. Sometimes the effects are a tad dated, and in the earlier seasons it could be a bit jarring when you know how people and storylines develop, but it really finds itself. You're not going to only have successes across 17 seasons and 3 distinct series, but a lot of it is still very enjoyable watching
I love Stargate. The theme is so instantly recognizable and always sends chills down my spine. Hearing it at the beginning of every SG-1 episode always perfectly set the stage for sci-fi action/fantasy. It perfectly captures a sense of wonder, excitement, and adventure with its sweeping strings and chorus. You'd be forgiven for thinking it's a John Williams or Alan Silvestri score. I remember it was used for years as trailer music for other films.
I love stargate so much. I watched it first while home sick from school and was blown away by it. I loved Indiana jones and star wars....and stargate kinda mashed the two together. Ill never forget that day.
Emmerich being white savior is what kills it. Take the same movie, have Fincher or whomever clean up the worst bits of the script, and it's a wonderful idea. As is I'm bored or stupefied by the characters and just waiting for the SFX.
I remember being underwhelmed by the movie in the cinema but have since developed a real soft-spot for Stargate. Like Independence Day it's all quite stupid but so unapologetic, that it wins you over in the end. I do think that Kurt's character benefitted from the gloomy backstory however, because for him the journey to Abydos was always a potential suicide mission.
I definitely consider Stargate to be Emmerich’s best film. While that’s a fairly low bar - I do think Stargate deserves to be counted among one of the best sci-fi movies of the 90’s.
My Egypt phase didnt start until my 40's about 15-20 years ago, when I discovered the wonderful lectures by Bob Brier. Haven't stopped since. I guess Dinosaurs and Spitfires consumed MY childhood.
I was in high school when it came out. It was my favorite movie of that year. I liked it so much, I wrote a very positive review of it for the school paper. One of my earliest pieces of published writing.
The thing that stands out to me more than anything is the music as mentioned in the video. It's SO well done and gives me goosebumps to this day. The fact continued to use it in the SG-1 continuation/whatever you want to call it says a ton. The movie is a fine sci-fi standalone movie, with some great ideas and again, it leads into the TV shows so I can't complain.
What the heck. I'm subscribed (correct bell and all), but RU-vid recommended it today instead of popping it into my notifications 3 days ago. Stupid algorithm....
The ancient gods being aliens is a fairly old trope now (dating back to the 60s based on writings from Carl Sagan, Erich von Däniken, etc). But I think it's Stargate that took that concept to its full potential in cinematic glory.
Hard disagree. O'Neil's backstory brings tension to the character and explains why he is ready to stay behind and blow up the stargate. Take this away and the character could become quite boring.
Great analysis! Spot on! Just like you I wished that the movie would continue just when it ends. I really enjoyed the atmosphere of this film, when you put it all together it's quite an enjoyable experience and a world I wished I could stay in for longer. That said this movie if done today would rely too much on CG special and would likely be a forced trilogy which would have really destroyed the wonder of thus world
I think the idea of having O’Neill’s loss is to give off borderline suicidal vibe is to illustrate a character who would gladly volunteer to carry out a suicidal mission. I believe the rationale was supposed to be we know this guy will sacrifice himself if need be i.e. stay behind and blow up the gate from the other side.
The sentimental part of me wishes this franchise would get rebooted with a new spin on it. The sensible part of me hopes they leave it alone because they'd probably just ruin it.
The Stargate franchise is now owned by the people who brought us "Rings of power" and the "wheel of time" debacle. I am curious to know how long it will take them to kill the franchise. Lets hope they do nothing with Stargate until the current crop of writers are long gone.
Part 2 shuld be good considering SG1 is considerd by many fans, as a masterclass in world building. With useing a large number of parallel on going storylines, a number of witch don't even get resolved in SG1. Some turn up in the two films and some in the folow on shows. I hope the show that is geting made for Amazon will be good. But as everyone reminds Carter "You never forget your 1st." then she nomaly says "You blow up a star one time and you never stop geting reminded of it." 🙂
You have a fleshed-out world built when a main character in one of your series can furrow their brow and ask with sincere puzzlement _"What's a Goa'uld?"_
And they never even had to do a musical episode. However, they ran several other fun or homage episodes, like the Groundhog's Day time loop and Wormhole Extreme, and the follow-up film-pitch idea episode ("200").
If thirty plus years ago is modern, how far do you have to go back to leave modern? Movies have only existed a bit over a hundred years, so going back 30 percent just for this movie, and still calling it modern, does create the suspicion that maybe the commenter is older than the movie and then some.
As a sci-fi fan from childhood, and seeing many versions of the same films in different ways, I find the theatrical cut to be a superior version of this story. In the theatrical version, the only “alien artifact” seen besides the Stargate is the necklace. This keeps the mystery of the story going for a lot longer. Seeing an alien in the beginning of the directors cut undermines the mystery as you are made aware of the external threat long before it arrives.
@Rowan J Coleman - You are wrong about O'Neil. It is not the loss of his son per se that is important, but his inability to overcome that loss that is crucial to the story. He being tired of life was chosen to the mission because of his readiness to sacrifice himself (and if necessary everyone in the mission) in case of any hint of a threat to earth.
I enjoy this film in spite of its flaws. But the single most unbelievable thing in the whole movie...more so than any of the technology, aliens, intergalactic travel...is the casting of French Stewart as a rough-and-tough soldier. I'd cast John Goodman as Little Orphan Annie before I'd ever put French Stewart in a military uniform.
I think my main issue with the film, and it may be because of the budget, is that it implies such massive scale of events and yet the entire film is weirdly small scale. Ra's ship feels very empty, with only a handful of guards and servants. He seems to only have a pair of Gliders at any one time. As a god emperor of an empire spanning galaxies, shouldn't this guy have thousands upon thousands of soldiers, servants, and ships at his command? The victims of Ra in the film also amount to little more than a small village in a desert. I don't know, I personally just felt that this movie should have had a much more massive scope of a crazed Egyptian god emperor with massive armies conquering entire worlds and it basically amounts to some small time warlord and his little band of goons harassing a low tech village in the middle of nowhere. Independence Day afterwards went on to show this director was very capable of portraying a massive world invasion from aliens pretty well, so it just makes Stargate feel like a missed opportunity.
Saw this film when it debutted at the cinema and LOVED it !!!! GREAT movie,loved the Egyptian lore ( I was very interested in Egyptian history and other ancient societies,etc,etc,.. ) liked the military involvement also ( i served 7 yrs in the navy and 7 yrs in the army ) lots of extras quit the film,because of the heat of the desert ( over 100 degrees or more ) I did 4 deployments to Iraq,on my first tour to Camp TQ,the temp was: 140 degrees.There were other places in Iraq hotter than at TQ. The final battle in the desert was-GRAND-and-EPIC. This is a-GREAT-retrospective video-WELL-DONE.
5:54 Ooooh, I see now where the weird bulky design for the Goa'uld Troop transport from the SG1 series came from. In "Full Circle" there is a similar one landing in the desert, didn't even know that was an intentional homage for the original design of the Death Gliders, interesting.
I remember driving by the dunes when they were filming it and thinking what the heck is that when seeing the army and pyramid. Obviously it was a movie but we couldn't know which one for a while. I had the same problem when they changed the entire entrance to the library at my school one weekend and later found out it was the Star Trek the JJ Abrams film. The thing is all the materials say the dunes are in Yuma, AZ, but they are not. They are about 10 miles west of Yuma on the CA border side. It's a state park where the dunes are, a CA state park, not AZ. They said the same thing about Return of h Jedi being filmed in Yuma too. Nope, same park. When driving Interstate 8 just west of the Colorado River, (the divider between CA/AZ) the dunes are on the south side near the rest area.
I saw this in cinemas and as a 13yr old i loved it. Then when SG-1 started, the world building and characters really grew. Atlantis followed and eventually Universe. I wish we could get some more.
If you want more SG-1 and SGA I highly suggest the novels by Fandamonium. While not tv show cannon they were MGM approved. For a possible way things could have continued at the end of Atlantis TV-Show check out the Legacy books. Writing is great and really captures all the characters we love, action, lore, and humor.
Saw in theaters, bought the movie trading cards, completed the puzzle and sent off for the prize, more fancy cards!😹 Bought VHS, DVD, Blu-Ray, Extended / Director's Cut Watched every time I came across it back when I still was flipping channels, no matter how far along it was. Bought and read the paperback novelization tie-in. And then... Ten years SG-1, five years SGA, two years SGU, and assorted movies and web series, etc. Yeah, you could say I'm invested. And my 1 and 2 fight is ST & SW, but my 3 and 4 are SG & BG! 50 years of popular science fiction and fantasy devotion reduced to two letter shorthand. Very efficient. 😸
This film is a guilty pleasure of mine. Whenever i see it, i typically end up watching it. Kurt Russell was such a hardass and a perfect compliment to james spader's character.
REs best movie by a mile! Also, the production design of the masks are f*cking GORGEOUS. honestly ….theres something about the Egyptian helmet designs that are just beautiful. I love them so much! Unfortunately they won’t used for SG-1…..the snake ones in the pilot are hilarious….theyre so bulky and cheap. The absolute antithesis of the film
How timely. I just rewatched ‘Stargate’ a few nights ago. It’s the only movie in which I find James Spader palatable. Yes, ‘Stargate’ has held up all these years as solid entertainment. To this day, the scene where the comically clumsy Spader explains the meaning of the chevrons and the necessity for (at least) seven to dial a point in 3-dimensional space gives me chills. Even though I just read Kurt Russell is a Republican, his badass crew cut and blue eyes easily rivals ‘Snake Plissken’ in ‘Escape from New York.’ My first glimpse of French Stewart, a superb actor. Lastly, give it up for the flawless Viveca Lindfors. 👍
Poor Richard Kind...... Jackson, talking about an author who translated heiroglyphs, '..... I don't know why they keep reprinting his books. Who translated this?' 'I..... I did.....'
The Stargate series is an AMAZING example of a problematic fave. I LOVE the series but they really are just US military propaganda (which the USAF itself recognized)
Alexis Cruz (Skaara) who used to play Live Action Vampire Role Playing games in NYC just before he got his break in Hollywood. Ask him about his 'Puissance Bat'.. he has stories to tell.
LOL on the tidbit about using a dressed dog pulling an "action figure" for that scene. Probably the ONLY time in James Spader's career this shall call him an action figure. :)
"A Serpent guard, a Horus guard and a Setesh guard meet on a neutral planet. It is a tense moment. The Serpent guard's eyes glow. The Horus guard's beak glistens. The Setesh guard's nose...drips."
Awesome! I actually watched this movie on NYE, and I've gone back and started rewatching this series! Would you be interested in doing a retrospective for the SG-1 series as well, and possibly the others? Thanks.
While I'm here for the show, I can't ignore what the movie brought with it's pure scale and presentation. There would be no SG-1 without Stargate 1994.
I only watched SG for the first time recently and didn't grow up watching the shows. I did however drop into Stargate: Universe when it premiered. I thought it was kinda cool that the multiple series had been going for so long that it's set in its own Alternate Present Day, with the original movie as the diverging point.
Stargate(1994), and the Stargate SG-1 Series are amongst my favorite science-fiction, ever. Surpassing that of Star Wars and Star Trek. I can't put into words why I like it more than the more famous ones though.
Really looking forward to seeing the future parts - as I sincerely hope you cover the fantastic SG-1, the incredible Atlantis and the not-so-great Universe.
I was 20 when Stargate came out. I hadn't heard of the film, but my wife had seen it, and she drug me to the theater to watch it. Not knowing anything about it really upped the sense of mystery, and I actually think the theatrical cut is superior to the directors cut because of this. Not having any idea what was coming really blew my mind at the time. The second act does drag a little, but Stargate really is an excellent film. It gave us something we hadn't seen before.
I think we should recognise the great work Patrick Tatopolous did on this film, especially since (considering the slicked back hair, soul patch and large gold earring) he was DEFINITELY moonlighting in adult films as a sexy TV repair man.
Great review of one of my favorit movies. However I don't agree the dead son and Jack O'Neil's depression was unimportant. On the contrary. It showed he was suicidal and therefor WOULD follow order and blow the gate killing himself in the proces if necessary. It also allowed the father son relationship between him and Skaara to evolve realistically. A great shame Jaye Davidson hated the fame acting brought. He was a great actor and i would have loved to see him in many more movies and TV series. I hope he got the life he wanted by leaving.
None of this film makes any sense, and somehow it's amazing. Character-based, great performances, huge visuals, lore-building that hits at a greater universe, and above all a great score. It all comes together.
Hey, what a neat concept. Someone ought to make an episodic TV series about this with episodes running around 45 mins each. Anyone know if Mcguyver is doing anything?
It’s amazing how many great movies were released in 1994. Forrest Gump. Shawshank, Pulp Fiction, Clerks, Ace Ventura, Speed. Now everyone is trans, and every movie sucks.
I would only argue that the plot point of Jack O'Neal's son isn't really well executed, but it's an almost integral part of O'Neal's character. It's in no way "perfect," but I find myself thinking the biggest foil to O'Neal's huge military personality is the fact that he has to grapple with the knowledge that this personality killed his son. They just didn't develop it a bunch in THIS movie
Loved this retrospective! I'm exactly the same way about this movie----very nostalgic for it, very forgiving of its flaws in favor of what is gorgeous and perfect about it. It's also one of my favorite Kurt Russel performances. Maybe his darkest character, yeah? Very somber. And I love the score. They don't make them like that anymore. But one thing I felt differently about than Rowan was the miniatures; I always think their presentation looks like shit and gives away their scale immediately. The designs are amazing though, and I am big fan of Emerick's eye for the overall look of an action movie. It's also worth mentioning, though, that if you are an Emerick fan, too, then you already know that, compared to 10,000 B.C., this movie is a fricken masterpiece.
