DVD Review HTF REVIEW: "Stargate" Ultimate Edition (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) (with screenshots) (1 Viewer)

[TonyD]

i just popped open my old version and a little pamphlet fell out saying you could buy one get one free.

all you had to do was send in the upc and the reciept and pick a movie from the enclosed list for free.

so i guess the people who did this won't be able to get the $5 rebate.

 

[Jonny P]

Watching this "Ultimate Edition" on my 27-inch Sharp TV, I found the transfer to be sooo much better than the previous two releases.

The little things make the difference. For example, in the scene where the military officers are driving up to Kurt Russell's house, take a look at the trees in the background on both versions, and you will see the difference.

I watched the disc with the theatrical version.

That said, this transfer, in comparison with newer films on DVD, is something of a mixed bad. Some of the darker scenes (especially "after the sandstorm" at the slave settlements) looked pretty grainy...others looked very nice. Obviously, there isn't much you can do about the grain when transferring from film.

There are some scenes that look completely stunning and new in this transfer.

Overall, I would say the transfer is pretty solid and far better than what we have seen in the past. Is it possible that Artisan could do another version and improve on things? Yes, I think it is possible.

I would have to say that I loved this movie in the theater. It came out and wasn't expected to be much of a hit at the box office. In fact, it was pushed out of theaters early because of all the big holiday releases (SG was released in October).

I thought the film came at a time when sci-fi films of this nature were pretty rare. I felt this film harkened back to Star Wars and Indiana Jones -- even if it was kind of a hokey mix of the two. I think the score by David Arnold is terrific.

I remember reading about a plan that Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich had to do a trilogy of "Stargate" movies. The article appeared in "Cinescape" magazine. The planned movies sounded much more epic and in-depth. It sounded like a trilogy that would rival Star Wars in scope.

Ultimately, the studio decided they could make more money with a TV series based on Stargate...so we as fans were left with MacGuyergate...

 

[Ron-P]

The dts track. Has anyone else listened to both? I find the dts to be tinny sounding and heavy in the front channel. The dd track seems much more solid and balanced.


Peace Out~

 

[Carlo_M]

Hey Jonny you gotta pay me a nickel in royalties for using MacGuyvergate! (post #16 although I've been calling it that since it hit TV :p) )

I think that people who owned the previous LD/DVD (I owned both DVDs) of Stargate rave about this transfer because it is miles ahead of all previous home video incarnations of the film. But yes it does have its problems. To me the contrast might be a tad too high, and there are definite blemishes on the film - not just nicks and specks but much bigger print damage that is noticeable.

So no, I don't think this is "reference quality" video, but in comparison to the previous transfers it's a huge improvement. Like getting a "B" on a test that you previously got "F"s on. Sure you'd like the "A" but damn at least you don't have to feel like a failure anymore!

 

[Jonny P]

Point taken Carlo...you're nickel is in the mail!

I know that the older versions looked like something out of an edge-enhanced, stair step nightmare, but I do feel that there is a "Extreme" edition of this title out there.

This is a movie that I absolutely loved. I have to wonder what sort of disc/transfer we would get if MGM had the video rights to this material.

I owned both the letterbox and pan-and-scan versions on VHS, and the two preceding DVD versions. This version is indeed the best that it has ever looked. I just wonder if all of the effort was put in that could have been put in. Some scenes look phenomenal. Others do not.

I am a perfectionist by nature, so I want brilliance. I apologize for being too nitpicky.

"Stargate" came out in the fall of 1994. I have seen better transfers of 1994 material. The question is how many incarnations will we have to go through on DVD before this release reaches its zenith.

 

[WilliamG]

Ron-P,

I have read about the dts/DD thing somewhere else also and am eagerly looking forward to watching the movie w/DD this afternoon ... yeah, I'm not at work today, 'cause we're socked in from a heavy overnight snow/ice here in Arkansas!

 

[Craig Morris]

I don't know... although I thought the sound was great (I watched the DTS director's cut) I thought the picture was one of the worst I've seen on my rig. Everything seemed washed out... there were blobs and glitches and dirt all over the print they used.

Basically I thought the picture quality sucked.

And, correct me if I'm wrong, did they add computer colour to the bad guys clothes? I have the LD Director's Cut and I don't remember cheesey purple and teal robes...

 

[Jeff Kleist]

I remember reading about a plan that Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich had to do a trilogy of "Stargate" movies. The article appeared in "Cinescape" magazine. The planned movies sounded much more epic and in-depth. It sounded like a trilogy that would rival Star Wars in scope.

I cite "Independence Day" "Godzilla" and "The Patriot"

Deviln and Emmerich should never be allowed to touch the franchise again, and MGM went with SG-1 simply because it's so well done, and has a direct current following

Stargate 2 and 3 would have been terrible under D&E's Wand of Shit

 

[WilliamG]

Ron-

Sorry it's taken a bit longer than I thought ... anyway, I had the chance to watch in DD, and in *my* opinion the dts track is more lively. I didn't detect any edgyness(is that a word? Is it even spelled right? ) at all.
Of course, YMMV.

 

[TonyD]

I cite "Independence Day" "Godzilla" and "The Patriot"

what's so bad about independence day?

what knid of film should it be.

i kno0w about all the plot wholes but so what. it was just supposed to be fun and it was for me.

i agree about godzilla what a waste.
never saw patriot. i have it, just havent gotten around to it.

 

[Maggi Magg]

Hi all there
This is my first post here so it´s hard to have it a negative one, but i have to.
I´ve used Ronald´s reviews as a reference to decide if i should buy dvd´s for quiet some time now (speaking of technical terms here of course) , so it came as a surprise when i watched Stargate UE the other night.

Here is a quote from his review:

"Let me get this out of the way right now....only
35 days into a new year and I am here to proclaim
that this Ultimate Edition of Stargate
is the reference disc of the year!"

Reference disc of the year?????


The sound is reference but the picture is NOT.
all kinds of trouble is on the screen ,contrast difference in out and indoor scenes,scene 12 - 41:34, the big blob / blemish over Spader's face. (Disc 1 - Director's Cut)
,excessive EE, terrible compression problems, and very grainy.

I hate to say it but Ron did you watch the whole movie???

Best regards
MM

 

[Jason_B_H]

I remember reading about a plan that Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich had to do a trilogy of "Stargate" movies. The article appeared in "Cinescape" magazine. The planned movies sounded much more epic and in-depth. It sounded like a trilogy that would rival Star Wars in scope.

I don't think that is going to happen anymore. The way the film was originally filmed it was set up for sequels. I actually worked on this film so I can tell you some changes were made in the editing process. In the original script, Ra was not an alien who had taken the villagers body. Ra was simply a human who had been taken by aliens and put in charge of the slaves. In the original filming, Ra is still killed by the nuclear bomb, but there is mention that the aliens would surely come to investigate what happened to him, leaving the film open to sequels. We filmed according to the script, but somewhere in the editing the movie was changed quite a bit. I don't know who made the decision to make the changes. Roland or the studio. I was not that high up on the food chain to know who made the changes. There were actually a few other big changes that disappointed me greatly. One being the flashback scene when Sari and Daniel are in the cave reading the writing on the wall. In the final version of the film, they said that the people on earth revolted and overthrew the slave masters then buried the gate. In the original version, there was never a revolt. They simply buried the gate while the slavemasters weren't there. Hence, the squished anubis and horace that are dug up in the gate on egypt. They were squished when they tried to come back through the gate because they didn't know it was buried. This change wouldn't be so bad, but one thing severly bugged me about it. The footage they put in of the revolt was actually just footage that was filmed for the revolt at the end of the movie. That killed me so bad when I saw that. They actually used the same footage twice for 2 different revolts. They did this because they didn't change this until after we filmed so they didn't have any footage shot for a revolt on earth. The movie you guys have seen is quite a bit different than the movie we filmed. I personally think the way we originally filmed it would have been much better. But hey, what do I know? I was just a lowly production assistant.

 

[Jeff Kleist]

Sounds like it would have been neater that way, ah well

Frankly, I've very much enjoyed how SG-1 has turned out

 

[JustinCleveland]

The Theatrical cut, a MUCH finer version of the film anyway, is reference quality.

 

[Lyle_JP]

Agreed Justin, the Theatrical Cut disc in the set exhibits none of the picture problems the Director's Cut suffers from, and it's a better cut (IMO) to boot.

-Lyle J.P.

 

[DeborahDA]

Please let me know if I do anything wrong as this is my first time posting anything to your wonderful site. I just wanted to thank Ron for the wonderful review. I realize I am a little late with this but I just discovered and signed up with HTF a few days ago.

I bought this DVD a few weeks ago and wholeheartedly agree that it looks great - so much better than the last version. Stargate was a favorite sci-fi movie of mine, so it is great to have this *Ultimate Edition.*

Thanks again. I hope I did okay. I look forward to spending lots of time at HTF. I am a huge movie fan and am anxious to increase my home DVD library.

Take care.

 

[JustinCleveland]

http://www.dvdshrine.com/reviews/show.shtml?id=1433

My review, posted about a week ago, summarizes my thoughts.

 

[Damin J Toell]

Please let me know if I do anything wrong as this is my first time posting anything to your wonderful site.

You did everything perfectly. Welcome to the forum!

DJ

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Welcome, Deborah, and thanks!

 

[EdHoch]

Buyer Beware! (Ok, perhaps it's just me...) Found this "Ultimate Edition" at a great price recently...not realizing that it was a "Single-Disc" version of this Ultimate Edition release.

My fault I guess for not realizing that there were single disc and double disc versions of this "Ultimate Edition" floating around. Saw the "Ultimate Edition" and thought "Cool"

Basically, this is just disc one of the two disc set. The film with commentary, and the kinda hokey "Is there a Stargate" featurette, and that's it...