Stargate Movies

STARGATE

motion picture by Roland Emmerich
(USA / 1994)

My personal rating for this movie:

Content:

A group of military personnel led by Col. Jack O'Neil and archaeologist Dr. Daniel Jackson travel through a wormhole to the distant planet Abydos with the help of an ancient ring - the Stargate - found in Egypt. There they help to free the enslaved Abydonians from the false god "Ra".

Awards:

→ 1994 Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film
→ 1995 BMI Film Music Award
→ 1995 Goldenen Leinwand
→ 1995 Universe Reader’s Choice Award Best Science Fiction Film
→ 1995 Universe Reader’s Choice Award Best Special Effects in a Genre Motion Picture
→ 1995 Universe Reader’s Choice Award Best Supporting Actress in a Genre Motion Picture.

STARGATE - ARK OF TRUTH

motion picture by Brad Wright / Robert Cooper
(Canada / 2008)

My personal rating for this movie:

Content:

The Ori strike forces are planning the final attack on Earth. The last hope of defeating the enemy lies in the 'Ark of Truth', a powerful artefact from ancient times. Dr. Daniel Jackson is convinced that the treasure is in the home galaxy of the Ori. Together with Lt.Col. Cameron Mitchell, Col. Samantha Carter, Teal'c and Vala Mal Doran he boards the USS Odyssey and sets off for the distant galaxy.

Interesting facts about the movie:
This film is the direct continuation of the Stargate SG-1 series, taking place directly after the last episode of the series and concluding its story arc, the battle against the Ori. The film was released in Germany on May 2, 2008.

"The Ark of Truth" is the first of three planned feature film spin-offs of the Stargate universe. The film's budget was $7 million.

STARGATE - CONTINUUM

motion picture by Martin Wood / Brad Wright / Robert Cooper
(Canada / 2008)

My personal rating for this movie:

The film is dedicated to the memory of Paul McCann and Anthony Huntrod, who lost their lives during an accident under the ice cap on the submarine HMS Tireless (S88) at the time of filming.

The film took 19 days to shoot, plus five days of shooting in the Arctic (they were there for seven days). Continuum was placed in the Guinness World Records in the category for farthest north film shoot.

Content:

SG-1 is said to be present at the execution of Ba'al, the last System Lord. While the team is waiting for the execution, Teal'c and Vala Mal Doran suddenly disappear into nowhere. When Lt.Col. Cam Mitchell, Col. Sam Carter and Dr. Daniel Jackson return to Earth, a nasty surprise awaits them: Something inexplicable has changed the course of time and thus also the present - the Stargate program never existed!

Interesting facts about the movie:
Stargate: Continuum was written by Brad Wright and directed by Martin Wood. Some scenes for this film were already shot at the end of March 2007, but the original start date was set for May 22, 2007 at Vancouver's Bridge Studios. The production budget was US$7 million (equivalent to about $9M in 2020). Due to the postponement of this film until the 5th season of Stargate Atlantis was airing, there is a continuity error with Carter and Mitchell's rank. In the ending credits they are listed as lieutenant colonels. However, when they fly the F-15s they are each wearing the rank of colonel. This is due to the fact that during filming producers realized that the film would probably be released after Carter had been promoted on Atlantis. In the season 5 premiere of that show, Sam, already a colonel, leaves Atlantis to attend the extraction, thus setting this film about a year after Stargate: The Ark of Truth.

The original draft for the film started with a view of the Tok'ra city, but Brad Wright eventually decided that the film should start in Stargate Command (SGC) to show what SG-1 represented. When writing lines for the character Jack O'Neill, Wright tried to write lines that felt "natural" and not "forced," saying it was of major importance. The inclusion of many recurring characters from the series Stargate SG-1 was decided on to make old fans feel more "welcome" to the new film. The unnamed Captain of the Achilles' dead body was originally supposed to be revealed when SG-1 travelled back to Earth; Wright commented on the case, calling it "gross". Richard Dean Anderson was not supposed to appear at the start of the film, where he was killed. According to Wright, he was only set to appear in the alternate timeline in Antarctica because that's what Wright "asked him to do."

Due to a scheduling conflict, actor Michael Shanks was unavailable to shoot the scenes in the Arctic. However, Jackson was on the boat with Cameron Mitchell and Samantha Carter in the preceding scenes. In order to make his disappearance plausible, Wright decided that Jackson would develop frostbite after stepping in water and be unable to continue with the others. When commenting on the dialogue scenes, Wright commented that scenes like that would be "cut off" because of the time constraints in the Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis episodes, and further commented that they could keep these scenes since the film is "longer" than the episodes.

The film includes scenes filmed at the U.S. Navy's Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station in the Arctic, 200 nautical miles (370 km; 230 mi) north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. These scenes feature Richard Dean Anderson, Amanda Tapping and Ben Browder. They were filmed from March 23 to 29, 2007. The film also features USS Alexandria (SSN-757).The Arctic filming included scenes shot on the ice, scenes shot with the Alexandria as a backdrop, scenes shot on board the Alexandria, and shots of the Alexandria surfacing and submerging. Because of the minimal facilities, the Arctic scenes were filmed with only the three actors and a four-man crew. Director Martin Wood worked as an extra in one scene (as "Major Wood"), as did another member of the film crew. The captain of the Alexandria, Cmdr. Mike Bernacchi, and members of her crew played themselves. Barry L. Campbell, head of operations at the San Diego-based U.S. Navy Arctic Submarine Laboratory, who had arranged the opportunity to film in Arctic, also appeared as a seaman. Writer Brad Wright also had a cameo appearance, as an F-15 pilot.

STARGATE - REVOLUTION

motion picture by Brad Wright / Robert Cooper
(Canada / ----)

My personal rating for this movie: -----

Content:

The film was supposed to be about Jack O'Neill. Joe Mallozzi announced that this film was intended to be the final release of the Stargate program. The following scene would have been particularly interesting for the "Shipper": a scene with Jack and Sam having a meal together. The conversation between the two in the scene should make it very clear to the viewer that the two are actually dating now. Vala should be on another planet to solve family problems. Only after the events of the film would she return to SG-1.

Interesting facts about the film:
Most of the film was supposed to be shot outside of the sets, which means the film could have been shot without the set, that was already being dismantled. According to Joseph Mallozzi, most of the action would have taken place off Earth and on spaceships.
Filming was originally supposed to start in autumn 2009. However, this date was delayed due to MGM's financial problems. Initially, they wanted to wait until the end of production of the first season of Stargate Universe, but already planned to employ Martin Wood again as director. After the bankruptcy of the MGM company, which also owned the Stargate studio, there was no money available for further projects. At the time, Joseph Mallozzi said very optimistically that the question was when and not if the film would be shot. However, Brad Wright later announced in an interview that the film was finally put on hold.

Well, maybe someday this movie will become reality... probably not with Rick Anderson anymore, but maybe the other SG-1 members will play along... Hope dies last...