Stargate (1994)
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A military team and a linguist travel through an ancient portal to a desert planet where they encounter a powerful alien being.
The story
In 1994, an elderly woman invites a linguist to translate hieroglyphs at a classified U.S. Air Force facility in Colorado. The symbols describe a 'stargate'—an ancient ring-shaped device that creates a wormhole to another part of the universe. When the device is activated, it connects to a distant planet. A team consisting of a military officer and his squad, along with the linguist, travel through the portal. They emerge on an arid desert planet where they encounter a local tribe and must navigate the dangers of an alien presence while attempting to find a way back to Earth.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
After traveling through the Stargate to a desert planet, Dr. Daniel Jackson and Colonel Jack O'Neil's team encounter a tribe of humans who worship the alien Ra as a god. They learn that Ra is an alien who enslaved humans on Earth during the ancient Egyptian period and used the Stargate to transport them. During their investigation, the team discovers that Ra intends to use a nuclear bomb to destroy Earth. After a series of skirmishes and the death of several team members, the group faces Ra and his guards. A desperate struggle ensues, and the team manages to escape Ra's immediate grasp. In the final confrontation, O'Neil and Jackson manage to teleport the bomb onto Ra's ship, destroying it and the alien. While the military team returns to Earth, Jackson chooses to remain on the planet with the local tribe and his new companion, Sha'uri.
- First release year
- 1994
- Runtime (minutes)
- 121
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Roland Emmerich
- Writers
- Dean Devlin · writer; Roland Emmerich · writer
- Cast and characters
- Kurt Russell · Colonel Jonathan J. "Jack" O'Neil; James Spader · Dr. Daniel Jackson; Jaye Davidson · Ra; Viveca Lindfors · Dr. Catherine Langford; Alexis Cruz · Skaara; Mili Avital · Sha'uri
- Genres
- science fiction; action; adventure
- Themes
- extraterrestrial influence on human civilization; ancient history; exploration
- Tone and mood
- epic; adventurous
- Setting
- A military installation in Colorado and an arid desert planet (Abydos) during 1994 and 1928.
- Premise and plot tags
- time travel; space travel; ancient aliens
- Content notes
- graphic content
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews, with its atmosphere, story, characters, and graphic content both praised and criticized. It was a commercial success, grossing over $196 million against a $55 million budget.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 53% · scale: percentage · review count: 51; Metacritic · score: 42 · scale: 100 · review count: 17
- Production trivia
- The original Stargate was repainted from black to silver at the last moment.; The film's score was David Arnold's first work on an American feature film.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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