Ever wonder, I mean really wonder, how the pyramids were created? Come on, there is a little Mulder in all of us, one that knows how incredibly difficult it would have been for ancient man to create such structures on his own. Stargate taps into that wonder. It is a little bit of science fiction that sets out to offer its own version of what might have happened thousands of years ago. It's not believable in the slightest, but hey, it's all in the spirit of sci-fi fun.

A military expedition travels through an intergalactic portal to discover a civilization that lies on the other side. Led by a retired colonel played with the requisite stone-faced menace by Kurt Russell, the team includes a young Egyptologist (James Spader) whose theories are laughed at by most others in his field. Once through to the other side, the team discovers a desert world of a Bedouin-like people enslaved by an alien that is seemingly the incarnation of the Egyptian god Ra (Jaye Davidson).

Before the chest-thumping patriotism of Independence Day or the Manhattan-leveling menace of Godzilla, producer Dean Devlin and writer-director Roland Emmerich enjoyed their first hit with Stargate, which is, in many ways, better than both of the films that followed. To say Emmerich's directorial aspirations have been influenced by Steven Spielberg and George Lucas is a bit of an understatement. But at least here he seems to be trying to do something unique, if only in terms of the mixing of styles and genres. The fact that a half-hour passes before the expedition even enters the Stargate is testament to Emmerich's deliberate pacing and narrative development. The director seems intent on advancing the story and its characters rather than rushing into previously established patterns of the genre.  
 
Given the film's apparent determination to avoid clichés in the opening ninety minutes, the final thirty-eight prove to a bit of a letdown. Emmerich falls back on proven standards to resolve the narrative conflicts. The final epic battle nearly proves to be the film's undoing as everything works out in ways that are quite predictable. But even in the midst of cliché-ridden images, the film manages to maintain the viewer's interest, due largely to some spectacular camera work, crosscutting, and Emmerich's sure-footed direction.

Russell is fine enough as the colonel distraught over the death of his son, but it's Spader who carries the bulk of the film. His nerdy scientist is, on the surface, a stereotypical egghead, but Spader manages to give his character a childlike innocence and a mature determination that helps him stand out against the backdrop of stock military types. Davidson's initial appearance is unintentionally funny because of his previous role as the cross-dressing hairdresser in Neil Jordan's The Crying Game, but the script develops his character in such a menacing way that his previous role is soon forgotten.

High-caliber cast aside, Stargate is one those movies that some love and others find cheesy. Though dismissed by many right before its initial release, it went on to do big business, helped Russell overcome a raft of stinkers, and even resulted in the first (and last) James Spader action figure. But Stargate is also the kind of intelligent science fiction film that rarely gets made today, one that relies on character and story more than pyrotechnics. It is not wholly original, but it’s still far less derivative of other works than usual for the producing duo.

The Video: How Does The Disc Look?

The film’s theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1 is presented in a high definition transfer that is reminiscent of Liongate’s Total Recall.  It’s far more detailed and revealing than any previous release of Stargate, but does not come up to the quality of the best high definition discs.  There is a rather odd brightening on the right edge of the image, a vertical stip I’d estimate it to be about 15 pixels wide.  The disc’s producers likely thought that it would be masked by typical overscan; my projector is set up for zero overscan.  The transfer print seems in rather good condition, lacking noticeable dirt and grime, but that isn’t necessarily true of the inserted sequences that extend the theatrical cut’s runtime by seven minutes or so.  Color rendition is excellent based on natural skin tones.  The black level is reasonably deep but not quite as deep as it should have been; there is no crush on either end of the video dynamic range.  The transfer’s small object detail is quite fine but not outstanding.  Regardless, the creases on Viveca Lindfors’ 74-year-old face are very well defined.  Since this was compressed in MPEG-2, I watched for the usual offenses; I didn’t spot any halos, macroblocking, or mosquito noise.  We’re left with a moderately film-like presentation that might have benefited from a more advanced CODEC or more disc space.

The Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?

The audio, on the other hand, is wonderful: enveloping and dynamic.  The DTS HD High Resolution track (not to be confused with DTS HD Master) and the Dolby Digital 5.1 EX mix are both excellent, with the DTS taking the lead with a subtle timbre advantage.  The surround effects are very aggressive, immersing us in the action, from discrete sounds and pans to the blowing of desert winds.  As you would expect, the surround channels decode perfectly into the center surround to provide a more solid surround experience.  Sound effects are dynamic and have great attack times.  Deep bass, extending well into the lowest octave, can only be reproduced with a fine subwoofer.  This may be David Arnold’s best orchestral score; it’s reproduced with great clarity and spaciousness.  Despite all the sonic fireworks, the sound effects and score never overwhelm the dialog.  Well done.

There are no alternate languages.  Optional subtitles are in English.

Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

Perhaps a victim of the limited space afforded by a single-layer Blu-ray Disc and the inefficient MPEG-2 video CODEC, all you’ll find is a screen-specific audio commentary by director Roland Emmerich and producer Dean Devlin. It is nice to hear these two discuss their first feature. They obviously share a long-lasting bond, having done a handful of pictures together. They are certainly enthusiastic here. There is no dead space and plenty of cool and interesting insights, from the music to the casting to the film's obvious influences.

The 128- minute film is organized into fourteen chapters.

Final Thoughts

I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for Stargate.  It is superior in every way to the television series it spun off.  I’m delighted to have the gauze of standard definition lifted from my eyes to finally enjoy the movie in its most film-like version I’ve seen in my home theater.

Here’s a note about the apparent duplicate Buy Guide.  Our I.T. people are hard at work on a large project and have not yet had the time to modify the underlying site database formatting code to accommodate the new 0-to- 10 rating scales.  So until they do, for HD on disc, I’ll insert this note and a Buy Guide at the end of the review text and leave the conventional 0-to-5 Buy Guide blank.