Stargate (1994)
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48% of critics liked it
(40 reviews) -
75% of users liked it
(171,050 ratings)
This lucrative, elephantine-budgeted sci-fi opus paved the way for director Roland Emmerich's mega-hit Independence Day (1996). The story commences in Giza, Egypt, circa 1928, where an archaeological expedition unearths an ancient ring with cryptic hieroglyphs. The film then moves to the present… More This lucrative, elephantine-budgeted sci-fi opus paved the way for director Roland Emmerich's mega-hit Independence Day (1996). The story commences in Giza, Egypt, circa 1928, where an archaeological expedition unearths an ancient ring with cryptic hieroglyphs. The film then moves to the present day, where Egyptologist Daniel Jackson (James Spader) is busily trying to convince a group of skeptics that the pyramids were not built by man, but by an extraterrestrial force. After the lecture, a military man approaches him and offers him a job translating the said ring; its inscriptions actually constitute a map to a massive stargate (or interstellar portal). The army sends over resident crackpot colonel Jack O'Neill (Kurt Russell) to travel through the stargate and see what's on the other side; Jackson accompanies him, and the two men turn up in a desert planet on the other side of the universe, with three moons in its sky. The world in question is ruled by Ra (Jaye Davidson), a hermaphroditic Egyptian sun god, who oppresses hordes of slave workers. Jackson and O'Neill then join forces to help the said workers revolt against their oppressor. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Directed By
- Roland Emmerich
- Written By
- Dean Devlin, Roland Emmerich
- Genres
- Action & Adventure, Science Fiction & Fantasy
- In Theaters
- Oct 28, 1994 Wide
- Studio
- Artisan Home Entertainment
Critic Reviews
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Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
The movie Ed Wood, about the worst director of all time, was made to prepare us for Stargate.
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Hal Hinson, Washington Post
[A] loopy, mostly entertaining sci-fi adventure.
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James Berardinelli, ReelViews
A cinematic fireworks show without the grand finale.
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Kevin Carr, 7M Pictures
What Emmerich achieves is a sense of grand scale that makes the film fun to watch as a space adventure.
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Scott G. Mignola, Common Sense Media
Promising setup killed by action-film cliches.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
Currently unavailable on Flixster
Cast
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Kurt Russell
as Colonel Jonathan "Jack" O'Neil
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James Spader
as Dr. Daniel Jackson
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Jaye Davidson
as Ra
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Viveca Lindfors
as Catherine
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Alexis Cruz
as Skaara
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Mili Avital
as Sha'uri
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Leon Rippy
as General West
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John Diehl
as Lieutenant Kawalsky
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Erick Avari
as Kasuf
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Robert Allan Ackerman
as Companion
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Rae Allen
as Barbara Shore
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Kenneth Danziger
as Professor
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Christopher John Fields
as Lieutenant Freeman
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Erik Holland
as Prof.Langford
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Gladys Holland
as Professor
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Djimon Hounsou
as Horus
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Richard Kind
as Gary Meyers
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Gianin Loffler
as Nabeh
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Jack Moore
as Lieutenant Reilly
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David Pressman
as Assistant Lieutenant
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John Storey
as Mitch
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Christopher West
as Professor
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Scott Smith
as Officer
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Frank Welker
as Mastadge
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Roger Til
as Professor
- April Webster
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French Stewart
as Lieutenant Feretti
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Cecil Hoffmann
as Sarah O'Neil
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George Gray
as Technician





