Stargate (1994)

An interstellar teleportation device, found in Egypt, leads to a planet with humans resembling ancient Egyptians who worship the god Ra.

Director:

Roland Emmerich

Writers:

Dean Devlin, Roland Emmerich

Stars:

Kurt Russell, James Spader, Jaye Davidson

6 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kurt Russell	...	Colonel Jonathan 'Jack' O'Neil
James Spader	...	Dr. Daniel Jackson
Jaye Davidson	...	Ra
Viveca Lindfors	...	Catherine Langford
Alexis Cruz	...	Skaara
Mili Avital	...	Sha'uri
Leon Rippy	...	General W.O. West
John Diehl	...	Lieutenant Kawalsky
Carlos Lauchu	...	Anubis
Djimon Hounsou	...	Horus (as Djimon)
Erick Avari	...	Kasuf
French Stewart	...	Lieutenant Ferretti
Gianin Loffler	...	Nabeh
Christopher John Fields	...	Freeman
Derek Webster	...	Brown

Storyline

In 1928, in Egypt, a strange device is found by an expedition. In the present days, the outcast linguist Dr. Daniel Jackson is invited by a mysterious woman to decipher an ancient hieroglyph in a military facility. Soon he finds that the device was developed by an advanced civilization and opens a portal to teletransport to another planet. Dr. Jackson is invited to join a military team under the command of Colonel Jonathan 'Jack' O'Neil that will explore the new world. They find a land that recalls Egypt and humans in a primitive culture that worship and are slaves to Ra, the God of the Sun. But soon they discover the secret of the mysterious "stargate".

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Plot Keywords:

portal | hieroglyph | archeology | stargate | military | 

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Taglines:

It Will Take You A Million Light Years From Home

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sci-fi action violence

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

France USA

Language:

English Norwegian Swedish Egyptian (Ancient) Arabic

Release Date:

28 October 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

Stargate: La puerta del tiempo

Filming Locations:

Ballroom, Park Plaza Hotel - 607 S. Park View Street, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$55,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$71,565,669

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$196,600,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Canal+,Centropolis Film Productions,Carolco Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min 128 min (special edition) 130 min (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby SR SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Dr. Jackson (James Spader) says disdainfully that the translators have obviously been using Budge, and wonders why "they keep reprinting him". He is referring to noted Egyptologist Sir E.A. Wallis Budge (1857-1934).

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Goofs

The premise is that the glyphs represent star constellations which are used as a kind of coordinate system. However, many 'star' constellations as viewed from Earth do not only contain stars, let alone stars that actually are 'close' to one another in space. They only appear that way. Many supposed 'stars' in constellations first identified via naked-eye astronomy have long since been identified to actually be galaxies or nebulae which are in fact a lot further away than the actual stars of the constellation. This feature alone means constellations are at best a very poor basis for a coordinate system.

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Quotes

Arabic Interpreter: [first lines]
Arabic Interpreter: [at the dig site in Giza, 1928] Professor!
[chatters in Arabic]
Arabic Interpreter: Professor! We found something beautiful!
Prof. Langford: Ja?
Arabic Interpreter: Oh, yes! Big, big, big surprise!

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Connections

Referenced in Supergirl: Supergirl Lives (2017)

User Reviews

Epic science fiction with its heart in the right place

"Stargate"'s an exciting, high concept science fiction film from Roland ("Independence Day") Emmerich. With a capable cast, solid script and excellent set design, this is a big-budget adventure for viewers looking for pure escapist fun.

The ever reliable Kurt Russell plays the square-jawed, world weary Jack O'Neil, who is responsible for leading the military mission to another world. James Spader plays the brilliant archaeologist, Dr. Daniel Jackson. At the time, this was a different type of role for Spader and he handles the humorous content of his scenes with great success.

There's also an appearance by "The Crying Game"'s Jaye Davidson as the evil baddie, Ra. Although Davidson's role is quite small, he brings an other-worldly presence to his part.

The score by David Arnold is excellent.

A great idea for a movie, I can't help but think the concept would have made a successful television series...