Oh, yeah! The poor maligned SG-U! Sadly, they really screwed over the fans with Atlantis and they were loath to be duped again with another SG show. (At least, that's what I heard, anyway.) I LOVED SG-U. I thought they did a really good job creating a 3rd iteration of the same idea and the show really just started to find its stride right when it was cancelled. I don't know what it was about that show but it really tugged the ol' heart strings. Especially with the last episode of the series. No better way to cancel a show than to have it end on a cliff hanger! :P Let's hear a shoutout from my fellow SG-U peeps! Woop! ;)
I never understood the mix reception towards the film. Its concept is far fetched, but so is most of sci-fi. The soundtrack is one of the best of the decade. The characters are rather cliche, but remain very well defined by the actors involved. I found it a great mixture of high concept sci-fi and high adventure elements. It still holds up incredible well today due to the reliance on amazing miniature designs for the fx work.
It's a brillainy film that started the franchise and brought us such amazing lore. The concept though isn't far fetched, using a worm hole to travel between worlds.
In fact ist is not that farfetched. When Roland Emmerich grew up and studiied in Germany the country expierenced a von Däniken rave. The man had been all the talk in books, newspaper articles and all the other forms of entertainment and this for years. The architecture of Egypt had been one of von Däniken´s major topics as beeing built by aliens with human help. On the film and media school in Munich Emmerich had put all those points together and created a film project out of it. Then he had moved to the USA being the only place for realising his goal ( Compare background books as Lucas, Christian and Kern, Claudia: STARGATE. Der offizielle Führer durch neue " alte " Welten. München, 1999 ) Check up von Däniken on Wikipedia. And no, Emmerich has nothing to do with Hubbard and Scientology. Even so Hubbard had used the von Däniken wave to surf on as well but independently. 6:39 That counts also for that law suit. 30:20 Basically, my own ideas are similar. But you have to put Emmerich in perspective to his time and national Zeitgeist. GOVERNMENT and MILITARY, especially in Germany in the Seventieth and Eighties had been seen as a fashistiod oppressive force - bullies as you have phrased it :). I think that lingered on in Emmerich. And your speculations to the chances the movie could have shown I think the series had done it very well in the end.
looking at those Rugs for Cloths , for me it looked too much unreal in a sci fi , even in Star Trek i never like when they do that , just doesnt combine well foe me , tribes and sci fi , just my 2 cent s
WarlordRising most Sci-fi doesn't make a big money grab in theatres unless they're made mostly dumb and action-packed. There may have been competition from other movies that summer[? I when he aid the movie was released that year]
The helmet effect was the first time I had seen it too and it was brilliant. They did it again in Lost in Space and they still do it now (Guardians of the Galaxy). It never gets old.
I know it's a huge show and I dont expect you to review it but Stargate SG-1 is totally worth the watch. It's a classic and one of my favorite TV shows of all time, I whole heartedly recommend it.
I have to agree. SG-1 and Atlantis are both very great investment of one's time when it comes to watching some TV. Drew, did you find any show that I could watch that is similar to SG-1 in quality?
If you are looking for something similar in feel I would recommend Farscape, it was a fantastic and under rated Scifi show that had great characters and a genuinely unique and interesting universe. Farscape also starred Claudia Black and Ben Browder who were both actors in SG-1. If you are wondering about good shows in general there are a ton: BattleStar Galactica, Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, Vikings, True Detective season 1, House of Cards, and Lost are all must watch for anyone who likes television. I am sure I left some out but those are the big ones that come to mind.
Drew Q)! Claudia Black was so funny in SG1, and so cool that she was a Ham Solo morally ambiguous type. And then to have Morana Baccharain from Firefly to come in? Awesome
Thanks Drew. Unfortunately most of those you have listed I have watched too. The ones I didn't I will check out. BSG was awesome in its own right. I hated however when SGU tried to blend the BSG kind of storytelling with the Stargate franchise. It hit the wrong kind of audience(Stargate SG-1's audience that is) with expectations it did not cater for and by the time BSG fans could have warned up for it it ended. Game of Thrones... naaah. It is not my thing. Even though may be well written it is filled with uninteresting random magic with 0 boundaries, lots of characters milled down before one could memorize their names and the main ones are just boring to me. I am bored shitless by fantasy because it ultimately never goes anywhere and even if it does it does not ultimately matter as there is very little that I could relate to. If it is the relationship drama then an average romcom delivers that with way more delight than this dark and raunchy brand. Farscape, Firefly, Breaking Bad were all very good and very relatable to me. Firefly was the reason I gave Castle a go even though I do not like the conveyor law-crime-police shows which are cheaply made with bad actors and uninteresting in general but Castle had loads of humor, very interesting characters and a tolerable amount of relationship drama spiced up with good mysterious screenplays, smart dialogs and pretty good actors. I guess I should check out Vikings and True Detective. In turn if you have not seen yet: Travelers. It is on Netflix is a pretty cool premise and very much like Stargate SG-1 as the producer happens to be the same and quality show with good execution. I can't wait for it to air for the 2nd season. Another interesting Netlix find for me was the 3%, which is very well written in my opinion and has that typical South-American crazy feeling to it.
9:46 James Spader at the time was basically live action Milo from Atlantis and I LOVE THAT Also, im so happy Kurt Russel joined the cast, he added a lot to this movie
It makes perfect sense that they send Kurt Russells' character on the mission. They needed someone who was willing to die on the other side of the gate when he set off the nuke, a suicidal expert soldier was ideal. The whole point of the first scenes of the film showing Kurt's backstory with his son exist for the specific purpose of explaining why his character is willing to go ahead with the genuine mission of blowing up the alien gate. Sometimes the problem with your retrospectives is that unlike the commentaries you don't have Duncan and Richard around to course-correct you when making minor errors like this. If this was a commentary, Richard would have laughed at you questioning the Kurt Russell character's sanity and jokingly explained that you'd missed the point.
The flaw in their plan was that O'Neill was going to blow the place up whether he needed to or not. Even before they encountered Ra or even the slave humans he was planning to send his men back and set off the bomb.
@@intandemdj That's what he said. But he told his men they were going back and demanded that Daniel align the gate even before they saw the alien ox much less the people. They got there and he was sending them back alone in an hour.
Your thoughts on Ra being an imposter are rectified in the series. The series retools a lot of the background of the Alien and it makes more sense. He is an imposter, but he's not the only one. The series honestly has a more well fleshed-out mythos, and it is absolutely worth watching.
We could say that Earth was the battlefield of many alien species in some kind of galactic cold war. Each race influencing humanity for its own gains, some trying to keep the balance while others wanting more. It has high moral concepts and is a great Sci Fi show.
I felt the criticism and calling him an imposter was a bit harsh there. (he may be one but that's not of relevance). The movie be very subtle about it, but you actually get clues that RA is actually not very powerful, navigating a fine line. He has his guards and a few gliders, apparently only 2. And he has already been overthrown by humans once and "lost" earth. He never came back to reconquer it.... because he lacked the power. Ra's power - and the movie transports that - is very much based on the show he puts on. that of an almighty god, which he isn't. He has some great gadgets at his disposal but these are only good as props for his show of force. And is why he tried to flee in the end. Humans - again - had called his bluff. He was up to dealing with the few people who came from earth but as the others united againt him he, once more, had to run. I very much liked that about the movies. it was all there, made sense, without being too obvious. To make clear, my interpretation hinges on the movie alone. I never saw any minute of the series that came after. But I really think the movies doesn't need a series to fix something about that part of the plot/lore/background. it is in fact intact and working by itself.
@@catriona_drummond The series wasn't made to fix the plot of the movie. It just does a good job continuing it considering how closed on itself the plot is made by minor details. More Ra's, more planets than the two, more generations of civilizations, etc. All naturally expected stuff. And as a bonus, it contradicts nothing of what you said above. PS. I saw the movie when it came out as an adult, liked it, then liked the series just as well. It's one of the most successful spin offs ever.
@@petros_adamopoulos I never could bring myself to watch the series. It's probably reallygood, but the movie doesn't need it and I have to admit I never got over Kurt Russell being replaced by Richard Dean Anderson. I know, I am small minded. But Kurt Russell
@@catriona_drummond The tv series starts off ok and develops nicely but by the 4th season has evolved into an absolute masterclass of writing and acting. The humour and chemistry between the cast is extraordinary, endearing and deep. Michael Shanks begins with a great James Spader impression and Richard Dean Anderson is brilliant as Jack O'Neill...with two LL's.
I think Stargate SG1 made great efforts to address the short comings of the film, but what makes it a real winner is the sense of humor it brings wholeheartedly to the fore. O'neils character changed from a lost soul to a hilarious leader, willing to mock and laugh in the face of the the alien enemy.
Titan A.E. (2000), Atlantis The Lost Empire (2001), and Treasure Planet (2002) are both best animated science fiction films that are hidden gems. I never watched Stargate (1994) before, but it looks really interesting and ambitious. The concept looks really good that has influenced other works such as The Maze Runner. For example: for an action-adventure journey in the another universe and in an labyrinth in a Science fiction setting. Maze Runner trilogy (2014-2018), Maze Runner, Scorch Trails, and Death Cure are also great science fiction films that can be looked at it. If anyone is interested into science fiction genre that features complex puzzles. I love this type of genre.
@Oliver Harper Great retrospective. Your complaint about Ra is addressed in the "SG-1" TV series. His backstory and motivations was definitely one thing they changed for the show to make more sense. I think the most "realistic" change that the show did was that the gate didn't go to another galaxy, but instead went to other destinations within the Milky Way. It was part of a network of gates. As the show progresses they start learning more and more about why the network exists, who built it, and how it was co-opted by Ra's race. You should definitely check out the show. It's great fun and had a good mix of adventure, humor and some very poignant dramatic moments. As the cast settled into their characters, they did an amazing job with the stories. The "Atlantis" spinoff was OK, and "SGU" was much better, but sadly got cancelled due to low viewership.
Stargate was one of the best films I ever had the pleasure of watching in the cinema. It is maybe the only film that wonderfully blends Ancient Egypt with science fiction. Just a great 90s movie!
I remember seeing a trailer for Stargate on a VHS rental back when it was released. I had never seen CGI before and Ra's headdress morphing into his head both blew my mind and terrified me. I couldn't comprehend what I was seeing. It was my first encounter with Computer Designed graphics of that level and it definitely left an impression. I was able to catch many of the tv episodes over the years, and when I was of age I found the original film. I loved it, and still do.
southlondon86 Nope, I was 8 and my parents closely guarded me from adult films. I only saw the trailer because it was before another film we rented and they had gone to the kitchen. I didn't see Jurassic park until late 1997, and Terminator had to wait until 2004.
@@Th3Pr0digalS0n Damn bro, sounds like your parents were a bit over protective. I watched Predator and Chucky and Hellraiser in my very early teens lol. With my dad. Maybe my parents should've been a little more protective.
@@XaeeD lol I can agree, I watched Freddy and Jason before the age of 6. Horror movies were a family event as far back as I remember. I remember my family always asking me if I was gonna be ok if we watched a scary movie and I always said no. Lol I'm the youngest. Now I'm almost 40 and twisted from a lifetime of horror. I wouldn't change a thing. I've seen about everything but the only movie to give me nightmares was the first Candyman when I was 13! Go figure.
@@Th3Pr0digalS0n damn, that must've felt bad, missing out on all those classics when you could've seen them at that time, my dad showed them to me maybe too early, like when i was 3 i've already seen brain dead, it miniseries and The Fly, strangely it miniseries felt the scariest, and in elementary school saw most of the important B movies, and i feel sad being born too late missing out on the music and films of the previous century, you gotta be at least a bit frustrated
they threw o'neil back into service because they knew he wanted to die, he was a prime candidate to use the bomb on the other side without thoughts of self preservation since encountering hostility was likely.
Now I checked his movies and more or less I agree. But it doesn't make me to watch it again. I don't why but even if I like it always after watching it I became pissed off. Like after this retrospective.
I know right? Ever since hearing this, now when I see him in a bad or ridiculous movie I always think to myself “this is the same guy who thought he was too good for Stargate!?” 😆
When James Spader is narrating the Egyptian history to the other characters, suddenly an image of Ultron as an Egyptology professor just pops into my head!
I loved this movie as a kid and hearing that there was going to be a tv show was one of those "this is the best day of my life" moments. I strongly recommend it, but it's a show you have to watch in its entirety to get the most out of it. The development of the characters over time and the expanding world around them is where it shines. Growing up and seeing the Stargate universe evolve was such a privilege.
I love this movie. The score, art direction, set pieces, cinematography, FX, acting, everything about it feels epic and timeless. Even though its very 90s it also has a feeling of 50s too.
This was one of the first “grown up” movies I saw as a kid on late night cable around ‘95 with my Dad, so it really left an everlasting impression on me. One of those movies I can throw on and takes me right back to that time.
Great review of Stargate. Since you have not watched Stargate, let me rate it for you - Stargate SG1 - 10/10, Stargate Atlantis 9.5/10, Stargate Universe 6/10, the 2 x Stargate movies - Ark of Truth - 8.5/10 and Continuum 9/10. The TV Series overall is a 9/10 and the movie Stargate another 9/10. The aura of the Stargate is alluring and you really must watch the TV Series.
Your review / retrospectives are often better than the films themselves - not as a replacement, but as a second way to enjoy the same film, but better this (the second time) around. also your montage type editing makes all these films look EPIC! Well done!
Agree. I can relive the movie but also appreciate the effort that goes into each of them thanks to the research and effort put into these retrospectives. They also bring back nostalgia and some sadness for me that time goes by and often these films remind me of earlier times in my life and the fact that certain people are no longer around anymore.
Yeah but that's retconning it, at best. When this movie came out in 1994 no one had the ability to watch a 1997 television series to make more sense out of what they were seeing. You have to review art based upon what the world was at the time of its release.
I haven't seen many comments about how amazing and perfect was Jay Davidson's casting and portrayal as Ra! 🤯 Dude, gives one of the best villain performances of the nineties!
"Atlantis, or Martians perhaps!" I do believe the Atlanteans did indeed have an outpost on Mars! A round of applause everyone for this man's remarkable theory!
@@davidanderson_surrey_bc Ice cold, like Uranus. There sure is much more to Atlantis & Mars than the public is currently aware of. +250k years of modern humans and we are being told that we only started the whole civilization thing a couple of thousand years ago.... nope, i'm not drinking that kool-aid. Plenty of solid evidence of predeluvian civilzations (cyclopean / megalithic architecture that is similar all around the world) that got wiped out by the sun's & mother nature's temper tantrums.
It's also funny because some people have noticed that there are a LOT of similarities between this film (1994) and Disney's Atlantis (2001). Also, between Atlantis and an anime called Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water (1990, dubbed first in 1992-93), where, get this... Atlanteans are from another planet.
As a 15 year old in 94 and a BIG fan of sci-fi, it was so great to finally see a sci fi film at the cinema. I missed out on Star Wars etc on the big screen and grew up watching it on VHS, so Stargate was a big deal. It also started the revival of big sci-fi films in the 90´s. ID4 and The Fifth Element being the other two major films for me at that time. The arrival of the alien ship overhead in ID4 was my Star Destoyer moment. I am sure Lucas saw this film as it was around this time (and following Jurassic Park obvi) that he began work on the Special Editions and prequels. So I´ve always thought we have a lot to thank for this film and it will always have a special place in my heart! Never got into the tv-show tho... As usual, great work on the review !
Solid review! I too also felt that Stargate was a great concept, but just didn't follow through. I think this is why the series was so amazing ... it created a universe and a full backstory and really followed through. When I heard that Devlin and Co. distanced themselves from the series (even kind of put it down on the DVD commentary), I was shocked! I think it is only a matter of time before the whole thing is rebooted in some shape or form.
STARGATE was one of the best films I ever sat through in a cinema, the set design and the Egyptian theme felt new and interesting especially on this kind of budget. Kurt Russell and James Spader were excellent, I really liked the scary bad guys in the suits that retracted. But, what truly sells this film is David Arnold’s MAGNIFICENT score, it is absolutely stunning and one of the film scores I still regularly listen to. Great retrospective as always Ollie
This score always gets my blood pumping. I love the sweeping, David Lean-style epic scope of it. I enjoy this movie but it tends to lag in the middle. Funny how James Spader was embarrassed to be in a science fiction film and twenty years later he becomes a sinister sentient robot lol. Another great one, Oliver!
@Oliver Harper. First I would like to thank you for your videos, I do enjoy them greatly! 9:13 Regarding the choice to choose a suicidal Col. O'Neill for this mission; I think the main reason to choose him was because the mission had a high risk of being a suicidal one. To the people ordering this mission a little extra insurance is needed before green-lighting it. While there are probably many other men who could match O'Neill's combat abilities, having somebody who would stay with the bomb to ensure its detonation is another matter. For O'Neill this is the perfect way out of his situation, which is the helplessness of not preventing his son's death and not being able to commit suicide. On this mission he is looking for redemption by finding the impetus to finally die by the best way possible; preventing another 'disaster' from following through the gate. Two birds one stone, so to speak. For Command he is the perfect candidate that won't give in to the sense of self preservation, which is not to be underestimated. Of course, by the movies end, he is cured of his suicidal depression by preventing disaster from going through the gate and saving a fellow human civilization. I am not a military person, this is just my opinion. Note- I didn't have a chance to go through all the comments, so apologies if this has already been covered.
I hum the theme to this movie all the time and had no idea where it was from! As a kid I loved Ancient Egyptian culture and my parents rented this movie for me. I think I saw it all of one time but collected the whole toy line over the course of a year. I got the glider for my 8th birthday along with the native kid. I soon would see Star Wars for the first time and never had an interest in revisiting this movie or the toys again. That theme has stuck with me all this time though. Crazy! I ought to revisit this and give the TV series a shot.
One of my favorite movies, yes, why? I LOVE IT, as a child when watched it, it remained a part of my childhood, later on I went to study Archaeology and I am Archaeologist now lol
First saw this on laser disc when I was in middle school. I was blown away by the concept and execution, and to me it hasn't aged at all. There are so many bold creative choices to be had. Horus and Anubis' have the best costume designs. Ra's a cool villain. The music's so amazing, I always have it in some form of playlist ever since I saw the movie the first time. And lastly, the Stargate opening and crossing scene? Magic.
So here's the situation: I dislike Roland Emmerich and I dislike most of the post 1993 movies. But Stargate is one of my favorite movies, that's how cool this movie is so give it a chance.
@Keni J. Dildonik. It's a matter of taste. In 1996 I was pumped and I was waitin' as hell Independence Day then I saw it and I said "ok, nice ride, but I don't need to see it again", instead in 1994 with Stargate I was just charmed... now the idea is just abused... but then... oh boy... as far as I am concerned Kurt Russell, James Spader and Jaye Davidson were just great. So it's just who you are and what are you're lookin' for.
@Just Johnny. My answer for you needs time, if you want to read below, there are many reasons behind "post 1993". I hope to be clear and I hope to be not offensive, because I don't want to harm you. First of all. since 2001 I began to reflect on what I like and what I don't like about everythin' in this world, when all the pieces were together I discovered that I really loved the period between 1969 and 1980, that my favorite period was between 1981 and 1991 and that I just hated most of the stuff between 1992 and 2001. From 2001 to 2016 I discovered more and more confirmations, then in 2016 I created a radio program dedicated to the time period between 1969 and 2016, in every episode I discuss just one year, news, new stuff, cars, toys, animated tv series, tv series, movies and music, and I discovered that in 2001 I was damn right, I'm a misoneistic, I hate most of the things since the 1992, but I was wrong on one thing: movies, they stopped to be great from my point of view in 1994. How can I explain how should be a movie to be my favorite movie? 1. With a quote by Jimi Henson: "When I go see a film, when I leave the theater, I like a few things, I like to be happier than I was when I went in. I like a film to leave me with an 'up' feeling. And I like a picture to a have a sense of substance. I like it to be about life, about things that matter to me". 2. With a movie: "What A Wonderful Life". 3. With one word: "therapeutic". Just add some movie magic and here's my favorite movie. When I take a look at my favorite movies of every year, I always have a choice and I can pick every time more than 10 movies every year. For example as today 15 of my favorite movies are from 1989 and in 1993 I have 9 favorite movies. In 1994 there are only 6 movies and since that year is just a nose-divin' situation because I have no more choice. Yes, there are movies that I enjoyed at the movie theater but it was just a one way ride, they aren't my favorite movies. Nowday you can find every type of movies: disposable popcorn flicks full of CGI, dramatic, hopeless and sad stories, sappy chicks movies, gross parodies, dumb action movies without screenplay, over-blown and empty hollywood blockbuster and of course beautiful art movies, with a great director and stunning photography but without story and soul. But it's really hard to find a movie that I really like, there are no more therapeutic movies with a soul and a meaning like What A Wonderful Life or Back To The Future or Ferris Bueller Day Off or The Boy Who Could Fly. Everythin' is so cynic now, where's the movie magic? I can't accept a world without an hero. So that's the problem: since 1994 I have no more choice like I had in 1993 and before. The most modern favorite movie is from 2012 and it's the only one from that year, just one movie in the entire year... Of course I don't mean "ah my favorite movies are the best movies, they are art, all the other movies are just shit, because I don't like it". I'm sayin' "I don't have the choice anymore, I don't like the last 24 years of movies". That's why I keep asking "Whatever happened to fun?" I hope you'll understand and I want to thank you for the question and your time. Good journey.
Whatever Happened To Fun? I agree and I would like to add music to the mix so to speak. Music made post '94 has no appeal to me, with a handful of exceptions. Modern culture has had its peak, we're on a downhill slope to oblivion.
As far as I am concerned I call September 24, 1991 "the day the music died" and of course take it as an hyperbole. After 1991 I can find some great albums but they are just too few... in the '70s and '80s I can find more than 80 albums every year that I really like, now it's about 20 albums if I am lucky. I completely agree, modern western society had its peak and now is nose-diving.
You know, for someone who sees the film as thoroughly average, you did an incredible job of cutting snippets of it together at the start and end of this video that make it look like the absolute greatest thing ever. Damn... maybe it's time I go watch the movie again....
31:00 "There needed to be more interaction between Jackson and O'Neill, but sadly there isn't any chemistry." The tension between the open-minded scientist and the seemingly callous soldier represent two different ways or sides of mankind contacting the unknown. Both are needed, both have to work together to save mankind.Eventually extreme danger and pressure forge these almost-antagonists together and lets them think and act as one man, expressed in the quote "I've got an idea."
Yeah, I think any more dialogue between them would have seemed ham-fisted. There's not supposed to be chemistry between them. That's what happens when you throw people with opposing worldviews, life choices, and temperaments together -- they're gonna dislike each-other, maybe forever, but might eventually tolerate or even respect each-other. But having them become drinking buddies by the end of the movie is over-done and unrealistic in its frequency.
@@Ergenizevidently, he just didn't like acting. Only said he would do this film for a million dollars (thinking it would give him financial security for the rest of his life, or that they wouldn't accept).
I'm fairly certain the term Stargate and its use as a portal like machine was taken from the military scifi novel The Forever War, in which humans discover a machine like portal in space that they call a collapser Stargate. And surprise surprise they discover an alien race on the other side.
I was around 7 when I saw this movie. It got me fascinated with Egyptian mythology. Between Jurassic Park, Terminator 2, and Star Gate, my early childhood was without a doubt fucking awesome. First time I saw the alien helmets on SG1, which opened like trash can lids as opposed to the Transformer-esque animations in the movie, I was immensely let down.
Kurt Cobain's suicide - @9:11 - that's the first thought that entered my mind while in the theater upon seeing Kurt Russell - with long blonde hair - cradling a gun. Cobain died in 1994 while the movie was being filmed. I was in my 30's at the time, a fan of Nirvana, so I'd pick up that sort of thing. I wonder if Oliver ever considered mentioning the strong Kurt for Kurt similarity, or if he is even familiar with the Grunge singer-songwriter's appearance.
They filmed a lot of this in the mountains above my town. I remember going for walks up there as a kid (awesome trails for dog walking), and seeing this massive alien ship laying in the forest. There were a lot of people around, but I had no idea what I was seeing. I thought it was something real at the time. And then I watched the show later in life ;) I wish this show had a bigger budget, and was just a tad more serious. But it was still awesome nonetheless.
Thanks for your review, Oliver! Reminds me of how much I loved Stargate as a kid. Used to make up my own science-fiction storys with Egyptian themes. Since I loved both SciFi (Star Wars) and History (Indiana Jones) it was the ideal film for me. Really need to watch it again.
Seriously watch the show! The further you get into it, the more it's own it gets. It starts off being a cheesy follow up from the movie, but a couple seasons later it has almost become it's own thing. By the time you get to season 4, it's a completely new show.
I saw Stargate in theaters when I was 25 years old. I loved it then, and I love it now. I think it holds up quite well and, while maybe not as memorable as something like ID4, is easily Roland Emmerich ' s best film. I think he had a passion for the project for a number of years, which helped it to be more solid than all of the movies he made afterwards. Roland's films got bigger, but they also got lazier with scripts that felt like they were written in one weekend. Stargate, while perhaps unremarkable with its story, is still solid from start to finish. ID4 is quite good, but like many of Roland ' s movies, becomes a sloppy mess during the third act. I followed the making of this film back in the day via magazines and such. I remember the industry not having faith in the project and many predicting that it would be a huge epic flop. I am glad the movie succeeded, leaving egg on the critics faces. Dean and Roland always claim that this was supposed to be a trilogy, but I question why they sold the rights if that were the case. After the awfulness that was Independence Day: Resuregence, I would prefer that they leave Stargate alone. I am surprised that you didn't mention the problems with Jaye Davidson on the set. Apparently, he was a real heel to work with, a major diva. I recall reading that he stormed off the set in sheer frustration and anger, stark naked! Roland and Dean mentioned this in interviews, but are restricted from going more in depth regarding what took place in regards to Jaye. They say in the end, though, that they love Jaye in the role, and hell, I do to! I remember the toys. It was a really bad toy line. No wonder it flopped. Oddly enough, the line was on shelves way before the movie came out, nearly a year before. It was a very unattractive line that failed to capture the film's look and style, and with no movie in theaters to help it get attention, it collected dust on the shelves. Easily one of the worst movie related toy lines I have ever seen. I never watched the TV show. I understand that it has a huge fanbase, but 8 probably never will watch it as I don't have the desire to sit through so many seasons.
"Prevent the humans from becoming literate so they don't turn against him" extremely relevant throughout human history in general! Political distractions and propaganda of social media might be suspect today. Inevitably, humans are always capable.
I had seen Stargate in the cinema was i was a child and I got a huge poster to hang on my bedroom wall which hung there until it fell apart with age, and Stargate is still one of my all-time favourite movies.
I'm curious that nothing was mentioned about the "planar wave" explosion at the end. I believe this is the first time that SFX was used and has been popular since (Lucas even used it for the Special Edition of "Star Wars IV: A New Hope"...which made no sense there).
we really were spoiled for films in the 90s and the mid 90s... this film was a great addition to the movie theaters in 94... I saw it on the big screen and well worth the admission fee... cant believe its 30 years old now...
Oh most definitely. I would hate to be young right now. Hollywood has lost almost all creativity and its sad to see generations suffer and not even realize what they are missing.
This is the kind of reviewing I could stand to see more of: deeply critical, yet coming from a positive, even promotional point of view. I agree that as drama Stargate has turned out to be simply nice, but I think the open secret about it is that is more scientifically sturdy than most other SF backgrounds. Instant travel to worlds with similar gravity fields, atmospheres, and peoples are automatically built into the backstory, whereas other series still rely too much on wild coincidence, a kind of Edgar Rice Burroughs cosmology, a view of outer space as simply a handy sound stage, while Stargate seems to "cover" itself better. I am also grateful to the series for giving us Amanda Tapping. It might be interesting to compare it to Space: 1999, in particular the first season.
I think Stargate 1994 is one of my favorite movies, and was very entertaining, mesmerizing and very well done. Much more than an ordinary film. A Classic that I will see over again and never tire of watching.
I had only one thing against this movie as a child. There was no logic behind dialing mechanics. If you don't know last symbol you just need dial gate 39 times and check each of them. That bother me a lot.
How about that obvious plothole that the dialing computer screen has spaces for 7 symbols. How did they know that 7 was needed? How did they track something in a wormhole travelling in the observable universe? How did they get that location? Hell how did they know to keep a probe by? Why did they build a ramp that allows you to walk in there? And of course how the fuck did they dial the gate from the other side? These are typical Emmerich movie bad writing. There just isn't enough exposition, and story cohesion is shit. I guess if he removed the long and expensively made end battle, some of the footage with people walking in the desert maybe there would have been enough time to get those tricky tech parts decent. The series later addresses most of these plotholes in episodes where we learn how people experimented with the gate during the 2nd World War...etc.
Have to agree that is one of the things that always stuck out to me and something I think about every time I see the film. It's a simple rotary phone, just keep at it.
In the extended cut of the film there is a scene where they discuss doing exactly this (dialling each possibility of 7th symbol). Lt Ferretti (French Stewart) berates another guy for suggesting it, fearing that it could "tear open the fabric of space". They were dealing with something unknown and they were scared to fuck it up :)
Haha sounds like a plothole patch using duct tape kind of excuse. But some credit there could be attributed to the gate having enormous power requirements and violently shaking around the 6th symbol a legitimate assumption could possibly be that it could explode for all they knew. @Ptr Hrnk - no the DHD is something conceived by the series when they open the whole possibility of multiple worlds in the network. Since the stargate wasn't Emmerich's idea it is only fitting that the end would be sort of wrapped up in a shit fashion. Later on the series would run extra circles on patching these plotholes of the original movie. So they have these conversations, which were purposefully inserted to put your mind at ease about for example the whole expanding universe theory, which would explain why many random combinations would not work. Because the DHD would calibrate the gate and adjust its outdated coordinate system. Abydos is explained only to work because of the relative short distance between these 2 planets so the map is not off. Then there is that episode with Ernest who gets stuck on another planet because scientists managed to open the gate once... and when Ernest never returns they would rather forget it ever happened otherwise trial courtmarshall whatever. A bit of a plothole there though that they still leave incriminating video evidence of it lying around for Daniel Jackson to find. Also if they opened it and used it before they should not have been as clueless of what it is in the original movie. Which would make Daniel Jackson not the person to have solved that mystery. But just because having seen the event horizon I can accept the unlikely explanation that they did not realize it to be a portal of sorts.... etc. These issues of fixing the continuity problems with the movie come up here and there in the series but later on they do a brilliant job on maintaining continuity with everything they added to the story.
0:37 Kurt Russell was (given the genre) *great* in _Soldier_ where he barely speaks a word. Also Daniel Jackson stayed (besides for the opportunity to bone the native beauty) to learn more about the culture; I'm pretty sure that was made explicit.
This film/series was huge for modders. On the PC for originally operation flashpoint, then the Arma series there were working gate systems working, characters,ships,pyramids,rings, everything. Was amazing, The series was much better than the movie. Worth watching.
The show pretty much expanded on everything the film started. We learn about Ra's people and why they do what they do, we learn more about the stargates themselves, and Daniel and Jack have the best bromance ever. Their back and forths are some of the most entertaining parts of the series next to anything T'ealc does
Does it occur to anyone, that Ra spent literal thousands of years to travel from Ancient Egypt era Earth to the planet Abydos? In the movie, the planet was far far far away in another galaxy (unlike in the show, where they retconned it to being the closest habitable planet in the Milkyway) and his ship was of a much lighter build (also before the series lore establishing it had no hyperdrive apparently). That's why we see him coming out of the sarcophagus, when he arrives. Why would he need to use it other than as a stasis pod for a long travel? He was the last of his dying race, so there were no fights, or anything, so he didn't have to heal. The Ancient Egyptians revolted against him, burried the gate and so Ra had to travel that long distance by ship. Space travel takes time, while the gate transports people almost instantly. The humans took a shortcut. Poor Ra, for him the Ancient Egypt rebellion happened just yesterday (as time doesn't flow in stasis) and then he had to face another one. XD
Anyone else noticed how Disney's Atlantis is massively ripped off Stargate? I never hears of the Egyptscape thing before, but that would make Disney rip off a rip off? hahaha
@@therainenetwork3510 when my ex was showing me it as one of her fav movies, I enjoyed it but I was bothered with how it felt like a rip off so much. I showed her Stargate and she agreed it's basically the same movie, just in a different package lol and she kept preferring Atlantis cause that was her childhood movie and me Stargate cause it was mine. But in essence they were both just the same, only minor tweaks to rehash the same story, even smaller than with the meme about Avatar and Pocahontas lol
Sylkis89 There are a couple things that are too similar to miss. Both the main characters are basically the same, but I personally think Atlantis has the more interesting world visually. The villain was better in Stargate but his plan or goals weren’t ambitious enough for me. Also they travel billions of lightyears to go to an alien planet and it just looks like a desert on earth. Thats not that creative. I do think that Stargate has a much more interesting premise because with the Stargate you can go to infinite planets, but with Atlantis it is just one world but a very interesting one.
@@therainenetwork3510 the villain just wanted the troublesome ones to fuck off lol he probably left the Stargate existing thinking one day he'll come back but when he realised it'd be more trouble than it's worth he was just fuck it, gonna get rid of the trouble lol to him earthlings were just a novelty pest at that point. I barely remember the Atlantis equivalent at this point tbh. And the visuals, I totally get what you mean but well the Atlantis was an animation, so the imagination was their limits. And Stargate was an early 90s movie, and also was supposed to be a 1st part to a trilogy, with each installment tackling another ancient civilisation from a different part of the planet. And then possibly further movies if the original 3 do well, there's plenty of ancient civilisations that people make connections to Aliens. Egyptians, Sumerians, Ancient India, Incas... And I bet other ones like China or Celtic, Viking, Slavic, Greko-Roman, Aztec, Persian and so on could be used as well, including ones that now I wouldn't think of mentioning, but they're at least as legit candidates. And they could actually even do Atlantis in one of the parts as well (they kinda did with the tv series but that doesn't count lol). The Egyptian mood and visuals were just the introduction to the premise, was something familiar enough not to throw people off but also still a new thing to get people excited about. But then Americans bought out the rights from the French and decided to give up on the original plans completely and scrap the big ambitions and just turn it onto a generic sci-fi adventure series. In the first couple of episodes they ruined everything great about the movie: sci-fi that looks like fantasy (magic and all, but explained with technology) - gone, the aspect of linguistics and culture - gone, actually believable/sensible for as much as it is possible when you condense a moths worth of plot into a few days in a single movie (Shakespeare style) - gone, and so on... And they made it into just space ship battles with the entire universe speaking English and killer robots and stuff -,- but oh well I'm getting off topic now lol The point is that Stargate never got to become what it was meant to become. It was just a beginning and an introduction of new exciting ideas and a world of possibilities to the public. Whereas Atlantis was meant just a complete thing (from before Disney got stupid about forced sequels and stuff) lol do they had a different goal to achieve with their animation, hence the strong points to Atlantis that you mentioned. But I won't argue they're not there lol just considering the causes and whichever one you enjoy more - all the power to you! I just still feel fascinated and excited about the possibilities the movie sets, if you ignore the series lol But essentially both movies are the same plot, just decorated with a different setting lol
This is a great video and I enjoyed your review, but I think you got a couple things wrong, specifically about Kurt Russell's character Col. Jack O'Neill. At 9:25, you mention how dumb it is that the "Army" (even though you, yourself, had already stated he's in the Air Force, lol) pulled him back onto duty despite the fact that he's mentally unstable. However, given his true mission objective, he was really the ideal candidate anyway. O'Neill is clearly suicidal at the start of the film, hence they sent him (albeit, unbeknownst to his teammates) on what was essentially a suicide mission! (More on that later.) Likewise, at 29:10 you point out how stupid it is that the team simply arrives and starts blowing stuff up instead of studying the area and learning the culture. First off, they only started shooting because they'd been attacked, otherwise there'd have been no reason to do so. Second, (which leads me back to my first point) O'Neill's main prerogative was never to "learn" anything, as he explains himself: "My orders were simple...." (See 2:35) If his true mission were successful, he would destroy the Stargate from the other side and therefore be unable to return to Earth, thereby essentially "ending" his life, which he had intentions of doing anyway.
Also, James Spader's character didn't simply "decide" to stay after only a few days (31:20). It's established early on in the movie that Jackson has very few possessions to his name, is not respected by his peers, has no home to go to, and therefore has nothing on Earth to live for; hence, he has no reason to stay on/return to our world. Jackson and O'Neill I think serve as "foil" characters for each other in that they both are confronting the same problem (hopelessness and detachment) and yet they deal with it in a different way (e.g. one talks too much, the other hardly at all). And because of their different approaches, they of course go through different arcs which leads one to return to his life on Earth and the other to stay on the new planet, because really he had no life to return to. So instead he's starting a new one. Ultimately, I believe the writing isn't as sloppy as it seemed to you to be (wow, although this sentence really IS sloppy! LOL). Can you tell I'm a fan of this movie? Haha. Anyway, like I said, this was a great review, I just thought you might appreciate the writing in it better if put into perspective. Or not. I mean, to each his own. ;) I'll definitely check out some more of your videos and you may end up with a new subscriber! :) Peace!
Most of your criticisms were obviously noticed back in the day, because they form a major part of the SG1 series - the character of O'Neil, his interaction with Daniel, the mythological and historical back-story and so on. It's an excellent show, as is Stargate Atlantis. I get that you wouldn't want to review it (!) but it's definitely worth watching. I gave up on SG1 at about Season 8, but prior to that I loved it. In fact I've just decided to rewatch the movie and the show!
Oliver, your complaint about the filmmakers not giving us enough about the universe they're in is completely taken care of in the TV series. SG-1 is definitely worth the watch. All of the episodes are above average, and I found that it's just a lot of fun to watch. Give it a whirl! You might like it!
I myself agree that the film is better than Oliver gives it credit for. But the series wasn't planned during production of the movie. So I still see his point. The movie shouldn't depend on an unplanned series to be more complete...
Hmm i heavily disagree with many of your negative arguments of this film, but different opinions are of course fine. The video game seems to be a clone of the Super Star Wars games! Stargate SG-1 did have TWO spin-off shows: the mentioned SG Atlantis and the unmentioned SG Universe (technically there is also "Origins"...if you want to count that, i don't). If you like Star Trek TNG in a contemporary setting, you'll most likely enjoy Stargate SG1. Great show!!!
It’s amazing that nobody wanted to be in this awesome movie. How did it turn out so good? I still prefer the look of miniatures and minimal CGI. And one of the best features is the epic score.
You can get Stargate on Blu-ray here goo.gl/A7LqmD
You can get the soundtrack to Stargate here goo.gl/ZcIymM
I'm using that "America...FUCK YEAH!" still as a meme. Thanks!
Forgot Stargate Universe.
14:00 Ra is Snoke confirmed!!!!
You forgot to mention that it rips off Pyramids of Mars, the Doctor Who adventure from the 70s.
Oh, yeah! The poor maligned SG-U! Sadly, they really screwed over the fans with Atlantis and they were loath to be duped again with another SG show. (At least, that's what I heard, anyway.) I LOVED SG-U. I thought they did a really good job creating a 3rd iteration of the same idea and the show really just started to find its stride right when it was cancelled. I don't know what it was about that show but it really tugged the ol' heart strings. Especially with the last episode of the series. No better way to cancel a show than to have it end on a cliff hanger! :P Let's hear a shoutout from my fellow SG-U peeps! Woop! ;)
Movies like this gave me a happy childhood.
Simple gste
@@paulsypersma7165 and this fim went ont to become one othe most scussfule scfi TV franchise outside of the star trek shows
Yeah, this movie is a bit underrated, including by this channel. I found it a lot better than the TV series and also prefer it to Independence Day.
Me 2
I love ❤️ this movie 🍿 one of my very best favourites..
I think it’s unfortunate you skipped over the costume design, one of the strongest aspects of the film.
@Apathetic Noncombatant Thanks! I stand corrected.
I never understood the mix reception towards the film. Its concept is far fetched, but so is most of sci-fi. The soundtrack is one of the best of the decade. The characters are rather cliche, but remain very well defined by the actors involved. I found it a great mixture of high concept sci-fi and high adventure elements. It still holds up incredible well today due to the reliance on amazing miniature designs for the fx work.
WarlordRising Exactly. Not many films blend ancient Egypt with sci-fi.
It's a brillainy film that started the franchise and brought us such amazing lore. The concept though isn't far fetched, using a worm hole to travel between worlds.
In fact ist is not that farfetched. When Roland Emmerich grew up and studiied in Germany the country expierenced a von Däniken rave. The man had been all the talk in books, newspaper articles and all the other forms of entertainment and this for years. The architecture of Egypt had been one of von Däniken´s major topics as beeing built by aliens with human help. On the film and media school in Munich Emmerich had put all those points together and created a film project out of it. Then he had moved to the USA being the only place for realising his goal ( Compare background books as Lucas, Christian and Kern, Claudia: STARGATE. Der offizielle Führer durch neue " alte " Welten. München, 1999 ) Check up von Däniken on Wikipedia. And no, Emmerich has nothing to do with Hubbard and Scientology. Even so Hubbard had used the von Däniken wave to surf on as well but independently. 6:39 That counts also for that law suit. 30:20 Basically, my own ideas are similar. But you have to put Emmerich in perspective to his time and national Zeitgeist. GOVERNMENT and MILITARY, especially in Germany in the Seventieth and Eighties had been seen as a fashistiod oppressive force - bullies as you have phrased it :). I think that lingered on in Emmerich. And your speculations to the chances the movie could have shown I think the series had done it very well in the end.
looking at those Rugs for Cloths , for me it looked too much unreal in a sci fi , even in Star Trek i never like when they do that , just doesnt combine well foe me , tribes and sci fi , just my 2 cent s
WarlordRising most Sci-fi doesn't make a big money grab in theatres unless they're made mostly dumb and action-packed. There may have been competition from other movies that summer[? I when he aid the movie was released that year]
The movie that has the most epic Kurt Russell line of dialog in any movie: "Say hi to King Tut, a$$hole."
bkatbamna
Kurt Russell is a freaking legend!
"Give my regards to King Tut, Asshole!"
Hahahahaha yesssss.
One of the best action movie one liners of all time!
SG-1 where every alien planet looks exactly like Vancouver BC
nothing wrong with that.
mountains: ✔
beautiful forests: ✔
decent weather: ✔
rain: ✔
@@pringles_mcgee better than every planet looking like a british gravel pit...
Well, it all could look like the same goddamn rock in California.
Canadians are the most advanced species on the planet
Lol, yes, it was the same forest again and again. Even as a kid I laughed about it :D
The helmet effect was the first time I had seen it too and it was brilliant. They did it again in Lost in Space and they still do it now (Guardians of the Galaxy). It never gets old.
I know it's a huge show and I dont expect you to review it but Stargate SG-1 is totally worth the watch. It's a classic and one of my favorite TV shows of all time, I whole heartedly recommend it.
I have to agree. SG-1 and Atlantis are both very great investment of one's time when it comes to watching some TV.
Drew, did you find any show that I could watch that is similar to SG-1 in quality?
If you are looking for something similar in feel I would recommend Farscape, it was a fantastic and under rated Scifi show that had great characters and a genuinely unique and interesting universe. Farscape also starred Claudia Black and Ben Browder who were both actors in SG-1. If you are wondering about good shows in general there are a ton: BattleStar Galactica, Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, Vikings, True Detective season 1, House of Cards, and Lost are all must watch for anyone who likes television. I am sure I left some out but those are the big ones that come to mind.
The first season suffers a little with ST:TOS kind of writing, but it gets better.
Drew Q)! Claudia Black was so funny in SG1, and so cool that she was a Ham Solo morally ambiguous type. And then to have Morana Baccharain from Firefly to come in? Awesome
Thanks Drew. Unfortunately most of those you have listed I have watched too. The ones I didn't I will check out. BSG was awesome in its own right. I hated however when SGU tried to blend the BSG kind of storytelling with the Stargate franchise. It hit the wrong kind of audience(Stargate SG-1's audience that is) with expectations it did not cater for and by the time BSG fans could have warned up for it it ended.
Game of Thrones... naaah. It is not my thing. Even though may be well written it is filled with uninteresting random magic with 0 boundaries, lots of characters milled down before one could memorize their names and the main ones are just boring to me. I am bored shitless by fantasy because it ultimately never goes anywhere and even if it does it does not ultimately matter as there is very little that I could relate to. If it is the relationship drama then an average romcom delivers that with way more delight than this dark and raunchy brand.
Farscape, Firefly, Breaking Bad were all very good and very relatable to me. Firefly was the reason I gave Castle a go even though I do not like the conveyor law-crime-police shows which are cheaply made with bad actors and uninteresting in general but Castle had loads of humor, very interesting characters and a tolerable amount of relationship drama spiced up with good mysterious screenplays, smart dialogs and pretty good actors.
I guess I should check out Vikings and True Detective.
In turn if you have not seen yet: Travelers. It is on Netflix is a pretty cool premise and very much like Stargate SG-1 as the producer happens to be the same and quality show with good execution. I can't wait for it to air for the 2nd season. Another interesting Netlix find for me was the 3%, which is very well written in my opinion and has that typical South-American crazy feeling to it.
9:46 James Spader at the time was basically live action Milo from Atlantis and I LOVE THAT
Also, im so happy Kurt Russel joined the cast, he added a lot to this movie
It makes perfect sense that they send Kurt Russells' character on the mission. They needed someone who was willing to die on the other side of the gate when he set off the nuke, a suicidal expert soldier was ideal. The whole point of the first scenes of the film showing Kurt's backstory with his son exist for the specific purpose of explaining why his character is willing to go ahead with the genuine mission of blowing up the alien gate.
Sometimes the problem with your retrospectives is that unlike the commentaries you don't have Duncan and Richard around to course-correct you when making minor errors like this. If this was a commentary, Richard would have laughed at you questioning the Kurt Russell character's sanity and jokingly explained that you'd missed the point.
The flaw in their plan was that O'Neill was going to blow the place up whether he needed to or not. Even before they encountered Ra or even the slave humans he was planning to send his men back and set off the bomb.
Actually no, O'Neill stated that he was only supposed to blow the gate up if he detected a threat on the other side, which he did.@@marccolten9801
@@intandemdj That's what he said. But he told his men they were going back and demanded that Daniel align the gate even before they saw the alien ox much less the people. They got there and he was sending them back alone in an hour.
C'mon its just a screenplay ,like every other with flaws
@@villcrs4110 that wasn't one of them though
Your thoughts on Ra being an imposter are rectified in the series. The series retools a lot of the background of the Alien and it makes more sense. He is an imposter, but he's not the only one. The series honestly has a more well fleshed-out mythos, and it is absolutely worth watching.
We could say that Earth was the battlefield of many alien species in some kind of galactic cold war. Each race influencing humanity for its own gains, some trying to keep the balance while others wanting more. It has high moral concepts and is a great Sci Fi show.
I felt the criticism and calling him an imposter was a bit harsh there. (he may be one but that's not of relevance).
The movie be very subtle about it, but you actually get clues that RA is actually not very powerful, navigating a fine line. He has his guards and a few gliders, apparently only 2. And he has already been overthrown by humans once and "lost" earth. He never came back to reconquer it.... because he lacked the power.
Ra's power - and the movie transports that - is very much based on the show he puts on. that of an almighty god, which he isn't. He has some great gadgets at his disposal but these are only good as props for his show of force.
And is why he tried to flee in the end. Humans - again - had called his bluff. He was up to dealing with the few people who came from earth but as the others united againt him he, once more, had to run.
I very much liked that about the movies. it was all there, made sense, without being too obvious.
To make clear, my interpretation hinges on the movie alone. I never saw any minute of the series that came after. But I really think the movies doesn't need a series to fix something about that part of the plot/lore/background. it is in fact intact and working by itself.
@@catriona_drummond The series wasn't made to fix the plot of the movie. It just does a good job continuing it considering how closed on itself the plot is made by minor details. More Ra's, more planets than the two, more generations of civilizations, etc. All naturally expected stuff. And as a bonus, it contradicts nothing of what you said above.
PS. I saw the movie when it came out as an adult, liked it, then liked the series just as well. It's one of the most successful spin offs ever.
@@petros_adamopoulos I never could bring myself to watch the series. It's probably reallygood, but the movie doesn't need it and I have to admit I never got over Kurt Russell being replaced by Richard Dean Anderson. I know, I am small minded. But Kurt Russell
@@catriona_drummond The tv series starts off ok and develops nicely but by the 4th season has evolved into an absolute masterclass of writing and acting. The humour and chemistry between the cast is extraordinary, endearing and deep. Michael Shanks begins with a great James Spader impression and Richard Dean Anderson is brilliant as Jack O'Neill...with two LL's.
No matter how cheesy this is, I used to watch it over and over on VHS and it was a blast.
Its one of the first DVDs i bought for my parents, after seeing it in a Pittsburgh theater.
Word!
I love this film.
Its nit cheesy at all just too deep for many
I think Stargate SG1 made great efforts to address the short comings of the film, but what makes it a real winner is the sense of humor it brings wholeheartedly to the fore. O'neils character changed from a lost soul to a hilarious leader, willing to mock and laugh in the face of the the alien enemy.
Titan A.E. (2000), Atlantis The Lost Empire (2001), and Treasure Planet (2002) are both best animated science fiction films that are hidden gems.
I never watched Stargate (1994) before, but it looks really interesting and ambitious. The concept looks really good that has influenced other works such as The Maze Runner. For example: for an action-adventure journey in the another universe and in an labyrinth in a Science fiction setting. Maze Runner trilogy (2014-2018), Maze Runner, Scorch Trails, and Death Cure are also great science fiction films that can be looked at it.
If anyone is interested into science fiction genre that features complex puzzles.
I love this type of genre.
@Oliver Harper Great retrospective. Your complaint about Ra is addressed in the "SG-1" TV series. His backstory and motivations was definitely one thing they changed for the show to make more sense.
I think the most "realistic" change that the show did was that the gate didn't go to another galaxy, but instead went to other destinations within the Milky Way. It was part of a network of gates. As the show progresses they start learning more and more about why the network exists, who built it, and how it was co-opted by Ra's race.
You should definitely check out the show. It's great fun and had a good mix of adventure, humor and some very poignant dramatic moments. As the cast settled into their characters, they did an amazing job with the stories. The "Atlantis" spinoff was OK, and "SGU" was much better, but sadly got cancelled due to low viewership.
Stargate was one of the best films I ever had the pleasure of watching in the cinema. It is maybe the only film that wonderfully blends Ancient Egypt with science fiction. Just a great 90s movie!
I love it also ,I do believe that the pyramids are much older than we are told.
@@markdemell3717 How much older do you estimate?
@@southlondon86 Who knows ,geez .It would be a wild guess.
@@markdemell3717 in the movie they said 10 thousand but in real life the oldest ive heard is around 13.5 thousand years
"Men from Atlantis?" In a funny round about way...they where right despite mocking.
I remember seeing a trailer for Stargate on a VHS rental back when it was released. I had never seen CGI before and Ra's headdress morphing into his head both blew my mind and terrified me. I couldn't comprehend what I was seeing. It was my first encounter with Computer Designed graphics of that level and it definitely left an impression. I was able to catch many of the tv episodes over the years, and when I was of age I found the original film. I loved it, and still do.
bluemonkey223 Did you not see Terminator 2 or Jurassic Park before that?
southlondon86 Nope, I was 8 and my parents closely guarded me from adult films. I only saw the trailer because it was before another film we rented and they had gone to the kitchen. I didn't see Jurassic park until late 1997, and Terminator had to wait until 2004.
@@Th3Pr0digalS0n Damn bro, sounds like your parents were a bit over protective. I watched Predator and Chucky and Hellraiser in my very early teens lol. With my dad. Maybe my parents should've been a little more protective.
@@XaeeD lol I can agree, I watched Freddy and Jason before the age of 6. Horror movies were a family event as far back as I remember. I remember my family always asking me if I was gonna be ok if we watched a scary movie and I always said no. Lol I'm the youngest. Now I'm almost 40 and twisted from a lifetime of horror. I wouldn't change a thing. I've seen about everything but the only movie to give me nightmares was the first Candyman when I was 13! Go figure.
@@Th3Pr0digalS0n damn, that must've felt bad, missing out on all those classics when you could've seen them at that time, my dad showed them to me maybe too early, like when i was 3 i've already seen brain dead, it miniseries and The Fly, strangely it miniseries felt the scariest, and in elementary school saw most of the important B movies, and i feel sad being born too late missing out on the music and films of the previous century, you gotta be at least a bit frustrated
this is one of my favorite movies, its stuck with me for years.
they threw o'neil back into service because they knew he wanted to die, he was a prime candidate to use the bomb on the other side without thoughts of self preservation since encountering hostility was likely.
I agree
I actually like this movie a lot. It's the only Roland Emmerich movie I can rewatch and enjoy.
Now I checked his movies and more or less I agree. But it doesn't make me to watch it again. I don't why but even if I like it always after watching it I became pissed off. Like after this retrospective.
I like this one and "Moon 44". The rest is, indeed, pretty unbearable.
You don't like to rewatch Universal Soldier and see Van Damme's butt? Ha!
@@catriona_drummond I enjoy Moon 44 and Independence Day. Mostly due to seeing it with my parents.
I love this movie .
This was really well researched and an interesting look into how the film got made! The stuff about James Spader is hilarious
Full fat videos yeh james does hsve quite the theteste firbhisc money dont yo think
I know right? Ever since hearing this, now when I see him in a bad or ridiculous movie I always think to myself “this is the same guy who thought he was too good for Stargate!?” 😆
When James Spader is narrating the Egyptian history to the other characters, suddenly an image of Ultron as an Egyptology professor just pops into my head!
I do believe that the pyramids were there long before we are told.
James Spader can act, but he acts best, playing James Spader.
Loved this classic film at the time, probably because I love Archeology and sci/fi. Such a cool movie, and it still is. 👍
I loved this movie as a kid and hearing that there was going to be a tv show was one of those "this is the best day of my life" moments. I strongly recommend it, but it's a show you have to watch in its entirety to get the most out of it. The development of the characters over time and the expanding world around them is where it shines. Growing up and seeing the Stargate universe evolve was such a privilege.
I love this movie. The score, art direction, set pieces, cinematography, FX, acting, everything about it feels epic and timeless. Even though its very 90s it also has a feeling of 50s too.
I still remember the "amazement" I felt watching this movie in cinema. One of my favorite "adventure movies"...
This was one of the first “grown up” movies I saw as a kid on late night cable around ‘95 with my Dad, so it really left an everlasting impression on me. One of those movies I can throw on and takes me right back to that time.
Great review of Stargate. Since you have not watched Stargate, let me rate it for you - Stargate SG1 - 10/10, Stargate Atlantis 9.5/10, Stargate Universe 6/10, the 2 x Stargate movies - Ark of Truth - 8.5/10 and Continuum 9/10. The TV Series overall is a 9/10 and the movie Stargate another 9/10. The aura of the Stargate is alluring and you really must watch the TV Series.
lol really, u gave Atlantis a score of 9.5/10??
@@SA80TAGE He was drunk at the time, forgive him.
I agree with the SG Atlantis rating. Great romp.
Your review / retrospectives are often better than the films themselves - not as a replacement, but as a second way to enjoy the same film, but better this (the second time) around. also your montage type editing makes all these films look EPIC!
Well done!
Agree. I can relive the movie but also appreciate the effort that goes into each of them thanks to the research and effort put into these retrospectives. They also bring back nostalgia and some sadness for me that time goes by and often these films remind me of earlier times in my life and the fact that certain people are no longer around anymore.
The whole reason of SG-1 was to explain the lore of the Goa'uld..[Ra]..Its all expanded on. So, you should watch it, then do this video again..
Yeah but that's retconning it, at best. When this movie came out in 1994 no one had the ability to watch a 1997 television series to make more sense out of what they were seeing. You have to review art based upon what the world was at the time of its release.
I haven't seen many comments about how amazing and perfect was Jay Davidson's casting and portrayal as Ra! 🤯 Dude, gives one of the best villain performances of the nineties!
"Atlantis, or Martians perhaps!"
I do believe the Atlanteans did indeed have an outpost on Mars! A round of applause everyone for this man's remarkable theory!
I think that theory may in fact come from Uranus.
@@davidanderson_surrey_bc Ice cold, like Uranus.
There sure is much more to Atlantis & Mars than the public is currently aware of. +250k years of modern humans and we are being told that we only started the whole civilization thing a couple of thousand years ago.... nope, i'm not drinking that kool-aid.
Plenty of solid evidence of predeluvian civilzations (cyclopean / megalithic architecture that is similar all around the world) that got wiped out by the sun's & mother nature's temper tantrums.
It's also funny because some people have noticed that there are a LOT of similarities between this film (1994) and Disney's Atlantis (2001).
Also, between Atlantis and an anime called Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water (1990, dubbed first in 1992-93), where, get this... Atlanteans are from another planet.
As much as I fuckin' love this movie, I still prefer the Stargate SG-1 TV series. It's easily my favorite Scifi show of all time!
Love SG 1 but my favorite is Babylon 5.
As a 15 year old in 94 and a BIG fan of sci-fi, it was so great to finally see a sci fi film at the cinema. I missed out on Star Wars etc on the big screen and grew up watching it on VHS, so Stargate was a big deal. It also started the revival of big sci-fi films in the 90´s. ID4 and The Fifth Element being the other two major films for me at that time. The arrival of the alien ship overhead in ID4 was my Star Destoyer moment. I am sure Lucas saw this film as it was around this time (and following Jurassic Park obvi) that he began work on the Special Editions and prequels. So I´ve always thought we have a lot to thank for this film and it will always have a special place in my heart! Never got into the tv-show tho... As usual, great work on the review !
Solid review! I too also felt that Stargate was a great concept, but just didn't follow through. I think this is why the series was so amazing ... it created a universe and a full backstory and really followed through. When I heard that Devlin and Co. distanced themselves from the series (even kind of put it down on the DVD commentary), I was shocked! I think it is only a matter of time before the whole thing is rebooted in some shape or form.
STARGATE was one of the best films I ever sat through in a cinema, the set design and the Egyptian theme felt new and interesting especially on this kind of budget. Kurt Russell and James Spader were excellent, I really liked the scary bad guys in the suits that retracted. But, what truly sells this film is David Arnold’s MAGNIFICENT score, it is absolutely stunning and one of the film scores I still regularly listen to. Great retrospective as always Ollie
This score always gets my blood pumping. I love the sweeping, David Lean-style epic scope of it. I enjoy this movie but it tends to lag in the middle. Funny how James Spader was embarrassed to be in a science fiction film and twenty years later he becomes a sinister sentient robot lol. Another great one, Oliver!
@Oliver Harper. First I would like to thank you for your videos, I do enjoy them greatly!
9:13 Regarding the choice to choose a suicidal Col. O'Neill for this mission; I think the main reason to choose him was because the mission had a high risk of being a suicidal one. To the people ordering this mission a little extra insurance is needed before green-lighting it. While there are probably many other men who could match O'Neill's combat abilities, having somebody who would stay with the bomb to ensure its detonation is another matter.
For O'Neill this is the perfect way out of his situation, which is the helplessness of not preventing his son's death and not being able to commit suicide. On this mission he is looking for redemption by finding the impetus to finally die by the best way possible; preventing another 'disaster' from following through the gate. Two birds one stone, so to speak. For Command he is the perfect candidate that won't give in to the sense of self preservation, which is not to be underestimated.
Of course, by the movies end, he is cured of his suicidal depression by preventing disaster from going through the gate and saving a fellow human civilization.
I am not a military person, this is just my opinion.
Note- I didn't have a chance to go through all the comments, so apologies if this has already been covered.
I hum the theme to this movie all the time and had no idea where it was from! As a kid I loved Ancient Egyptian culture and my parents rented this movie for me. I think I saw it all of one time but collected the whole toy line over the course of a year. I got the glider for my 8th birthday along with the native kid. I soon would see Star Wars for the first time and never had an interest in revisiting this movie or the toys again.
That theme has stuck with me all this time though. Crazy! I ought to revisit this and give the TV series a shot.
This movie, which I really liked, inspried one of most favorite TV series, so there's a special place in my heart for it.
I loved SG-1 when i was a kid, it used to be on Sky1 on tuesday's when i got home from school.
Incredible job as always Ollie. I hope you never quit making these retrospectives. What a library you have built up over the years.
Thank you very much!
One of my favorite movies, yes, why? I LOVE IT, as a child when watched it, it remained a part of my childhood, later on I went to study Archaeology and I am Archaeologist now lol
No matter what ... Stargate movie will forever be, the best message that inspires us to keep looking at the stars and work on Reaching them .
This aged like fine wine
Spader: "what is my motivation in this scene?"
Americh: "To be less of an asshole and more of an archeologist!"
First saw this on laser disc when I was in middle school. I was blown away by the concept and execution, and to me it hasn't aged at all. There are so many bold creative choices to be had. Horus and Anubis' have the best costume designs. Ra's a cool villain. The music's so amazing, I always have it in some form of playlist ever since I saw the movie the first time. And lastly, the Stargate opening and crossing scene? Magic.
So here's the situation: I dislike Roland Emmerich and I dislike most of the post 1993 movies.
But Stargate is one of my favorite movies, that's how cool this movie is so give it a chance.
Wait, you have a blanket dislike of films made after 1993? Did something happen to you that year?
@Keni J. Dildonik.
It's a matter of taste. In 1996 I was pumped and I was waitin' as hell Independence Day then I saw it and I said "ok, nice ride, but I don't need to see it again", instead in 1994 with Stargate I was just charmed... now the idea is just abused... but then... oh boy... as far as I am concerned Kurt Russell, James Spader and Jaye Davidson were just great.
So it's just who you are and what are you're lookin' for.
@Just Johnny.
My answer for you needs time, if you want to read below, there are many reasons behind "post 1993".
I hope to be clear and I hope to be not offensive, because I don't want to harm you.
First of all. since 2001 I began to reflect on what I like and what I don't like about everythin' in this world, when all the pieces were together I discovered that I really loved the period between 1969 and 1980, that my favorite period was between 1981 and 1991 and that I just hated most of the stuff between 1992 and 2001.
From 2001 to 2016 I discovered more and more confirmations, then in 2016 I created a radio program dedicated to the time period between 1969 and 2016, in every episode I discuss just one year, news, new stuff, cars, toys, animated tv series, tv series, movies and music, and I discovered that in 2001 I was damn right, I'm a misoneistic, I hate most of the things since the 1992, but I was wrong on one thing: movies, they stopped to be great from my point of view in 1994.
How can I explain how should be a movie to be my favorite movie?
1. With a quote by Jimi Henson: "When I go see a film, when I leave the theater, I like a few things, I like to be happier than I was when I went in. I like a film to leave me with an 'up' feeling. And I like a picture to a have a sense of substance. I like it to be about life, about things that matter to me".
2. With a movie: "What A Wonderful Life".
3. With one word: "therapeutic".
Just add some movie magic and here's my favorite movie.
When I take a look at my favorite movies of every year, I always have a choice and I can pick every time more than 10 movies every year.
For example as today 15 of my favorite movies are from 1989 and in 1993 I have 9 favorite movies.
In 1994 there are only 6 movies and since that year is just a nose-divin' situation because I have no more choice.
Yes, there are movies that I enjoyed at the movie theater but it was just a one way ride, they aren't my favorite movies.
Nowday you can find every type of movies: disposable popcorn flicks full of CGI, dramatic, hopeless and sad stories, sappy chicks movies, gross parodies, dumb action movies without screenplay, over-blown and empty hollywood blockbuster and of course beautiful art movies, with a great director and stunning photography but without story and soul.
But it's really hard to find a movie that I really like, there are no more therapeutic movies with a soul and a meaning like What A Wonderful Life or Back To The Future or Ferris Bueller Day Off or The Boy Who Could Fly.
Everythin' is so cynic now, where's the movie magic? I can't accept a world without an hero.
So that's the problem: since 1994 I have no more choice like I had in 1993 and before. The most modern favorite movie is from 2012 and it's the only one from that year, just one movie in the entire year...
Of course I don't mean "ah my favorite movies are the best movies, they are art, all the other movies are just shit, because I don't like it".
I'm sayin' "I don't have the choice anymore, I don't like the last 24 years of movies". That's why I keep asking "Whatever happened to fun?"
I hope you'll understand and I want to thank you for the question and your time. Good journey.
Whatever Happened To Fun? I agree and I would like to add music to the mix so to speak. Music made post '94 has no appeal to me, with a handful of exceptions. Modern culture has had its peak, we're on a downhill slope to oblivion.
As far as I am concerned I call September 24, 1991 "the day the music died" and of course take it as an hyperbole. After 1991 I can find some great albums but they are just too few... in the '70s and '80s I can find more than 80 albums every year that I really like, now it's about 20 albums if I am lucky.
I completely agree, modern western society had its peak and now is nose-diving.
Those slave kids Ra had on his ship, rip to them dying from the nuke. xD
Actually in the novel, they were at the rings when Daniel and O'Neil sent the nuke up.
29:35 The "spit out my drink" moment. Thanks, Oliver!
Mind kidzag dud you evefcseevthe movie as kid
This is one of the best reviews of a movie I have seen. Good job.
8:20 So they were literally combing the desert??
YUP.
"Man we ain't found shit!"
You know, for someone who sees the film as thoroughly average, you did an incredible job of cutting snippets of it together at the start and end of this video that make it look like the absolute greatest thing ever. Damn... maybe it's time I go watch the movie again....
31:00 "There needed to be more interaction between Jackson and O'Neill, but sadly there isn't any chemistry." The tension between the open-minded scientist and the seemingly callous soldier represent two different ways or sides of mankind contacting the unknown. Both are needed, both have to work together to save mankind.Eventually extreme danger and pressure forge these almost-antagonists together and lets them think and act as one man, expressed in the quote "I've got an idea."
Yeah, I think any more dialogue between them would have seemed ham-fisted. There's not supposed to be chemistry between them. That's what happens when you throw people with opposing worldviews, life choices, and temperaments together -- they're gonna dislike each-other, maybe forever, but might eventually tolerate or even respect each-other. But having them become drinking buddies by the end of the movie is over-done and unrealistic in its frequency.
Jaye Davidson was great as Ra, such a loss he left the industry after this role.
I agree!
He looks a lot different today!
Why did he leave? Also, he has such a feminine appearance - I honestly mistook him for a woman at first.
@@Ergeniz La moglie del soldato - film imperdibile...
@@Ergenizevidently, he just didn't like acting. Only said he would do this film for a million dollars (thinking it would give him financial security for the rest of his life, or that they wouldn't accept).
I'm fairly certain the term Stargate and its use as a portal like machine was taken from the military scifi novel The Forever War, in which humans discover a machine like portal in space that they call a collapser Stargate. And surprise surprise they discover an alien race on the other side.
I was around 7 when I saw this movie. It got me fascinated with Egyptian mythology. Between Jurassic Park, Terminator 2, and Star Gate, my early childhood was without a doubt fucking awesome. First time I saw the alien helmets on SG1, which opened like trash can lids as opposed to the Transformer-esque animations in the movie, I was immensely let down.
What the hell happened to movies. This wouldn’t even make the top 50 of the decade, and it’s better than almost anything that comes out today
This was one of the movies that HBO would always show in their “free preview weekends.”
Kurt Cobain's suicide - @9:11 - that's the first thought that entered my mind while in the theater upon seeing Kurt Russell - with long blonde hair - cradling a gun. Cobain died in 1994 while the movie was being filmed. I was in my 30's at the time, a fan of Nirvana, so I'd pick up that sort of thing. I wonder if Oliver ever considered mentioning the strong Kurt for Kurt similarity, or if he is even familiar with the Grunge singer-songwriter's appearance.
Oliver's videos are what I would much rather see on the home page of TH-cam. Deserves way more subscribers.
You forgot that it had one of the best pinball machines ever.
Brilliant video. Tons of nostalgia for this film as it was one of the movies I saw as a kid that got me into Sci-Fi.
They filmed a lot of this in the mountains above my town. I remember going for walks up there as a kid (awesome trails for dog walking), and seeing this massive alien ship laying in the forest. There were a lot of people around, but I had no idea what I was seeing. I thought it was something real at the time. And then I watched the show later in life ;)
I wish this show had a bigger budget, and was just a tad more serious. But it was still awesome nonetheless.
Thanks for your review, Oliver! Reminds me of how much I loved Stargate as a kid. Used to make up my own science-fiction storys with Egyptian themes. Since I loved both SciFi (Star Wars) and History (Indiana Jones) it was the ideal film for me. Really need to watch it again.
Seriously watch the show! The further you get into it, the more it's own it gets.
It starts off being a cheesy follow up from the movie, but a couple seasons later it has almost become it's own thing. By the time you get to season 4, it's a completely new show.
@3:45 😂😂😂 glad our boy Terry Bogard getting some love from Oliver, and apparently Hasbro. Great retrospective!❤
I saw Stargate in theaters when I was 25 years old. I loved it then, and I love it now. I think it holds up quite well and, while maybe not as memorable as something like ID4, is easily Roland Emmerich ' s best film. I think he had a passion for the project for a number of years, which helped it to be more solid than all of the movies he made afterwards. Roland's films got bigger, but they also got lazier with scripts that felt like they were written in one weekend. Stargate, while perhaps unremarkable with its story, is still solid from start to finish. ID4 is quite good, but like many of Roland ' s movies, becomes a sloppy mess during the third act.
I followed the making of this film back in the day via magazines and such. I remember the industry not having faith in the project and many predicting that it would be a huge epic flop. I am glad the movie succeeded, leaving egg on the critics faces. Dean and Roland always claim that this was supposed to be a trilogy, but I question why they sold the rights if that were the case. After the awfulness that was Independence Day: Resuregence, I would prefer that they leave Stargate alone.
I am surprised that you didn't mention the problems with Jaye Davidson on the set. Apparently, he was a real heel to work with, a major diva. I recall reading that he stormed off the set in sheer frustration and anger, stark naked! Roland and Dean mentioned this in interviews, but are restricted from going more in depth regarding what took place in regards to Jaye. They say in the end, though, that they love Jaye in the role, and hell, I do to!
I remember the toys. It was a really bad toy line. No wonder it flopped. Oddly enough, the line was on shelves way before the movie came out, nearly a year before. It was a very unattractive line that failed to capture the film's look and style, and with no movie in theaters to help it get attention, it collected dust on the shelves. Easily one of the worst movie related toy lines I have ever seen.
I never watched the TV show. I understand that it has a huge fanbase, but 8 probably never will watch it as I don't have the desire to sit through so many seasons.
Great. I like Your retrospectives a lot, sometimes I watch them from time to time, they have great information and sometimes are quite entertaining.
One of my all time favorite sci-fi films.👍
"Prevent the humans from becoming literate so they don't turn against him" extremely relevant throughout human history in general!
Political distractions and propaganda of social media might be suspect today.
Inevitably, humans are always capable.
There was another Stargate spinoff series called Stargate Universe which lasted 2 seasons and starred Robert Carlyle.
We don't talk about that one.
I liked that one. I wanted more
I had seen Stargate in the cinema was i was a child and I got a huge poster to hang on my bedroom wall which hung there until it fell apart with age, and Stargate is still one of my all-time favourite movies.
I'm curious that nothing was mentioned about the "planar wave" explosion at the end. I believe this is the first time that SFX was used and has been popular since (Lucas even used it for the Special Edition of "Star Wars IV: A New Hope"...which made no sense there).
we really were spoiled for films in the 90s and the mid 90s...
this film was a great addition to the movie theaters in 94...
I saw it on the big screen and well worth the admission fee...
cant believe its 30 years old now...
Oh most definitely. I would hate to be young right now. Hollywood has lost almost all creativity and its sad to see generations suffer and not even realize what they are missing.
FACTS
I like this movie a lot, but mostly because of everything that came after it.
I love it ,it's in my top 5.
I love this movie. Had it on VHS and now have it on DVD. One of the best movies ever filmed!
This movie is literally Xmen: Apocalypse Origins of En Sabah Nur lol
Nick Mattio exactly lol
Nick Mattio Is that some shitty comic book movie that's recently come out?
Nick Mattio yeah man its some shitty x men sequel
Mr ADDow95 X men is cgi filled shit. True story.
southlondon86 only the last x men , the first wolverine and x men 3 were total shit lol
The first act of this film, is one of the strongest in Sci-Fi history
This is the kind of reviewing I could stand to see more of: deeply critical, yet coming from a positive, even promotional point of view. I agree that as drama Stargate has turned out to be simply nice, but I think the open secret about it is that is more scientifically sturdy than most other SF backgrounds. Instant travel to worlds with similar gravity fields, atmospheres, and peoples are automatically built into the backstory, whereas other series still rely too much on wild coincidence, a kind of Edgar Rice Burroughs cosmology, a view of outer space as simply a handy sound stage, while Stargate seems to "cover" itself better. I am also grateful to the series for giving us Amanda Tapping. It might be interesting to compare it to Space: 1999, in particular the first season.
Your Retrospectives are AMAZING! I think I've watched them all! Keep them coming!
I can easily see that Atlantis:The Lost Empire took some elements from this movie.
IKR The doctor is literally the same character as the main atlantis hero
I loved the whole concept of using the Egyptian history. The tv show was great
Just discovered your retrospectives. Absolutely amazing and I must have watched dozens all day this weekend. Subscribed and keep up the good work.
Thats great to hear!
I think Stargate 1994 is one of my favorite movies, and was very entertaining, mesmerizing and very well done. Much more than an ordinary film. A Classic that I will see over again and never tire of watching.
I had only one thing against this movie as a child. There was no logic behind dialing mechanics. If you don't know last symbol you just need dial gate 39 times and check each of them. That bother me a lot.
How about that obvious plothole that the dialing computer screen has spaces for 7 symbols. How did they know that 7 was needed? How did they track something in a wormhole travelling in the observable universe? How did they get that location? Hell how did they know to keep a probe by? Why did they build a ramp that allows you to walk in there? And of course how the fuck did they dial the gate from the other side?
These are typical Emmerich movie bad writing. There just isn't enough exposition, and story cohesion is shit. I guess if he removed the long and expensively made end battle, some of the footage with people walking in the desert maybe there would have been enough time to get those tricky tech parts decent. The series later addresses most of these plotholes in episodes where we learn how people experimented with the gate during the 2nd World War...etc.
Have to agree that is one of the things that always stuck out to me and something I think about every time I see the film. It's a simple rotary phone, just keep at it.
+Zoltán Kozma Wait, there wasn't DHD on the other side?
In the extended cut of the film there is a scene where they discuss doing exactly this (dialling each possibility of 7th symbol). Lt Ferretti (French Stewart) berates another guy for suggesting it, fearing that it could "tear open the fabric of space". They were dealing with something unknown and they were scared to fuck it up :)
Haha sounds like a plothole patch using duct tape kind of excuse. But some credit there could be attributed to the gate having enormous power requirements and violently shaking around the 6th symbol a legitimate assumption could possibly be that it could explode for all they knew.
@Ptr Hrnk - no the DHD is something conceived by the series when they open the whole possibility of multiple worlds in the network. Since the stargate wasn't Emmerich's idea it is only fitting that the end would be sort of wrapped up in a shit fashion. Later on the series would run extra circles on patching these plotholes of the original movie. So they have these conversations, which were purposefully inserted to put your mind at ease about for example the whole expanding universe theory, which would explain why many random combinations would not work. Because the DHD would calibrate the gate and adjust its outdated coordinate system. Abydos is explained only to work because of the relative short distance between these 2 planets so the map is not off. Then there is that episode with Ernest who gets stuck on another planet because scientists managed to open the gate once... and when Ernest never returns they would rather forget it ever happened otherwise trial courtmarshall whatever. A bit of a plothole there though that they still leave incriminating video evidence of it lying around for Daniel Jackson to find. Also if they opened it and used it before they should not have been as clueless of what it is in the original movie. Which would make Daniel Jackson not the person to have solved that mystery. But just because having seen the event horizon I can accept the unlikely explanation that they did not realize it to be a portal of sorts.... etc. These issues of fixing the continuity problems with the movie come up here and there in the series but later on they do a brilliant job on maintaining continuity with everything they added to the story.
The sounds the Jaffa made in this movie always scared the crap out of me when I was a kid. They sounded so alien and threatening.
0:37 Kurt Russell was (given the genre) *great* in _Soldier_ where he barely speaks a word. Also Daniel Jackson stayed (besides for the opportunity to bone the native beauty) to learn more about the culture; I'm pretty sure that was made explicit.
Peter sellers .
This film/series was huge for modders. On the PC for originally operation flashpoint, then the Arma series there were working gate systems working, characters,ships,pyramids,rings, everything. Was amazing, The series was much better than the movie. Worth watching.
So will you review King Kong 1976 in July? Because that's when Kong: Skull Island is being released to Blu Ray and DVD.
I like this film. It goes along with Clash of the Titans, Indian Jones, The Mummy/The Mummy Returns. I love action sci-fi adventure films.
The show pretty much expanded on everything the film started. We learn about Ra's people and why they do what they do, we learn more about the stargates themselves, and Daniel and Jack have the best bromance ever. Their back and forths are some of the most entertaining parts of the series next to anything T'ealc does
Does it occur to anyone, that Ra spent literal thousands of years to travel from Ancient Egypt era Earth to the planet Abydos? In the movie, the planet was far far far away in another galaxy (unlike in the show, where they retconned it to being the closest habitable planet in the Milkyway) and his ship was of a much lighter build (also before the series lore establishing it had no hyperdrive apparently). That's why we see him coming out of the sarcophagus, when he arrives. Why would he need to use it other than as a stasis pod for a long travel? He was the last of his dying race, so there were no fights, or anything, so he didn't have to heal. The Ancient Egyptians revolted against him, burried the gate and so Ra had to travel that long distance by ship. Space travel takes time, while the gate transports people almost instantly. The humans took a shortcut. Poor Ra, for him the Ancient Egypt rebellion happened just yesterday (as time doesn't flow in stasis) and then he had to face another one. XD
Sorry but that's all wrong. Read the movie novelization and you'll know what I mean
Anyone else noticed how Disney's Atlantis is massively ripped off Stargate?
I never hears of the Egyptscape thing before, but that would make Disney rip off a rip off? hahaha
actually it would seem they stole from the same script.
Atlantis is one of my favorite movies but you got some similarities. Milo and Anderson are pretty similar.
@@therainenetwork3510 when my ex was showing me it as one of her fav movies, I enjoyed it but I was bothered with how it felt like a rip off so much. I showed her Stargate and she agreed it's basically the same movie, just in a different package lol and she kept preferring Atlantis cause that was her childhood movie and me Stargate cause it was mine. But in essence they were both just the same, only minor tweaks to rehash the same story, even smaller than with the meme about Avatar and Pocahontas lol
Sylkis89 There are a couple things that are too similar to miss. Both the main characters are basically the same, but I personally think Atlantis has the more interesting world visually. The villain was better in Stargate but his plan or goals weren’t ambitious enough for me. Also they travel billions of lightyears to go to an alien planet and it just looks like a desert on earth. Thats not that creative. I do think that Stargate has a much more interesting premise because with the Stargate you can go to infinite planets, but with Atlantis it is just one world but a very interesting one.
@@therainenetwork3510 the villain just wanted the troublesome ones to fuck off lol he probably left the Stargate existing thinking one day he'll come back but when he realised it'd be more trouble than it's worth he was just fuck it, gonna get rid of the trouble lol to him earthlings were just a novelty pest at that point.
I barely remember the Atlantis equivalent at this point tbh.
And the visuals, I totally get what you mean but well the Atlantis was an animation, so the imagination was their limits. And Stargate was an early 90s movie, and also was supposed to be a 1st part to a trilogy, with each installment tackling another ancient civilisation from a different part of the planet. And then possibly further movies if the original 3 do well, there's plenty of ancient civilisations that people make connections to Aliens. Egyptians, Sumerians, Ancient India, Incas... And I bet other ones like China or Celtic, Viking, Slavic, Greko-Roman, Aztec, Persian and so on could be used as well, including ones that now I wouldn't think of mentioning, but they're at least as legit candidates. And they could actually even do Atlantis in one of the parts as well (they kinda did with the tv series but that doesn't count lol). The Egyptian mood and visuals were just the introduction to the premise, was something familiar enough not to throw people off but also still a new thing to get people excited about.
But then Americans bought out the rights from the French and decided to give up on the original plans completely and scrap the big ambitions and just turn it onto a generic sci-fi adventure series. In the first couple of episodes they ruined everything great about the movie: sci-fi that looks like fantasy (magic and all, but explained with technology) - gone, the aspect of linguistics and culture - gone, actually believable/sensible for as much as it is possible when you condense a moths worth of plot into a few days in a single movie (Shakespeare style) - gone, and so on... And they made it into just space ship battles with the entire universe speaking English and killer robots and stuff -,- but oh well I'm getting off topic now lol
The point is that Stargate never got to become what it was meant to become. It was just a beginning and an introduction of new exciting ideas and a world of possibilities to the public. Whereas Atlantis was meant just a complete thing (from before Disney got stupid about forced sequels and stuff) lol do they had a different goal to achieve with their animation, hence the strong points to Atlantis that you mentioned. But I won't argue they're not there lol just considering the causes and whichever one you enjoy more - all the power to you! I just still feel fascinated and excited about the possibilities the movie sets, if you ignore the series lol
But essentially both movies are the same plot, just decorated with a different setting lol
I was 4 when I saw it in theaters. One of the best memories of my childhood.
This is a great video and I enjoyed your review, but I think you got a couple things wrong, specifically about Kurt Russell's character Col. Jack O'Neill. At 9:25, you mention how dumb it is that the "Army" (even though you, yourself, had already stated he's in the Air Force, lol) pulled him back onto duty despite the fact that he's mentally unstable. However, given his true mission objective, he was really the ideal candidate anyway. O'Neill is clearly suicidal at the start of the film, hence they sent him (albeit, unbeknownst to his teammates) on what was essentially a suicide mission! (More on that later.) Likewise, at 29:10 you point out how stupid it is that the team simply arrives and starts blowing stuff up instead of studying the area and learning the culture. First off, they only started shooting because they'd been attacked, otherwise there'd have been no reason to do so. Second, (which leads me back to my first point) O'Neill's main prerogative was never to "learn" anything, as he explains himself: "My orders were simple...." (See 2:35) If his true mission were successful, he would destroy the Stargate from the other side and therefore be unable to return to Earth, thereby essentially "ending" his life, which he had intentions of doing anyway.
Also, James Spader's character didn't simply "decide" to stay after only a few days (31:20). It's established early on in the movie that Jackson has very few possessions to his name, is not respected by his peers, has no home to go to, and therefore has nothing on Earth to live for; hence, he has no reason to stay on/return to our world.
Jackson and O'Neill I think serve as "foil" characters for each other in that they both are confronting the same problem (hopelessness and detachment) and yet they deal with it in a different way (e.g. one talks too much, the other hardly at all). And because of their different approaches, they of course go through different arcs which leads one to return to his life on Earth and the other to stay on the new planet, because really he had no life to return to. So instead he's starting a new one.
Ultimately, I believe the writing isn't as sloppy as it seemed to you to be (wow, although this sentence really IS sloppy! LOL).
Can you tell I'm a fan of this movie? Haha. Anyway, like I said, this was a great review, I just thought you might appreciate the writing in it better if put into perspective. Or not. I mean, to each his own. ;) I'll definitely check out some more of your videos and you may end up with a new subscriber! :) Peace!
4:40 I call bullshit. He got the idea from Erich von Däniken's "Chariots of the Gods".
Most of your criticisms were obviously noticed back in the day, because they form a major part of the SG1 series - the character of O'Neil, his interaction with Daniel, the mythological and historical back-story and so on. It's an excellent show, as is Stargate Atlantis. I get that you wouldn't want to review it (!) but it's definitely worth watching. I gave up on SG1 at about Season 8, but prior to that I loved it. In fact I've just decided to rewatch the movie and the show!
Oliver, your complaint about the filmmakers not giving us enough about the universe they're in is completely taken care of in the TV series. SG-1 is definitely worth the watch. All of the episodes are above average, and I found that it's just a lot of fun to watch. Give it a whirl! You might like it!
I myself agree that the film is better than Oliver gives it credit for. But the series wasn't planned during production of the movie. So I still see his point. The movie shouldn't depend on an unplanned series to be more complete...
One of my favorites as a kid, rented the vhs from the grocery store multiple times lol
You're probably in your late 30s like me. I used to rent movies from Safeway when was a kid also
Hmm i heavily disagree with many of your negative arguments of this film, but different opinions are of course fine.
The video game seems to be a clone of the Super Star Wars games!
Stargate SG-1 did have TWO spin-off shows: the mentioned SG Atlantis and the unmentioned SG Universe (technically there is also "Origins"...if you want to count that, i don't). If you like Star Trek TNG in a contemporary setting, you'll most likely enjoy Stargate SG1. Great show!!!
It’s amazing that nobody wanted to be in this awesome movie. How did it turn out so good? I still prefer the look of miniatures and minimal CGI. And one of the best features is the epic score.