Stargate Director's Cut

 DVD, Stargate Director's Cut (1994/2001) film

I hadn't seen the original version of this film so I don't know how different the Director's Cut is, whether there's much new material or what was changed, but it's a fair old length for what is a relatively slight story: they summon Dr. Daniel Jackson and Colonel Jack 'O'Neil' (one 'L'), go to the planet (which I don't even recall them calling Abydos!), Ra turns up, hangs around for a bit, then there's a modest fight against a couple of Death Gliders, and it's home for tea and crumpets. Except for Daniel who stays behind married to Sha'uri. I had the feeling several of the characters crossed over to the series, 'Stargate SG-1,' and were played by the same people, but I think in the end it was only Erick Avari as Kasuf, the almost Moses-like (holding up his staff!), leader of this tribe, and Skaara, the teen lad who O'Neil takes a liking to (and introduces to smoking!), bringing out the Father in him who's been damaged. You have Kawalsky and Sha'uri (both different spellings in the series), and Catherine Langford, who all crop up by different actors. But it didn't matter, you find yourself drawn into the spectacle which has a beating heart at its centre with the two main characters both on a crossroads in life. It's more obvious with O'Neil, unable to move on from the accidental death of his son, which is why he goes on a suicide mission, but Daniel, too, has reached a difficult point in his life where he's laughed out of lectures for his bizarre theories and can't even afford his rent any more, and the important part of the story is that both he and Jack find a new source of drive and direction, and that's what keeps this working despite the special effects of its time or small scope.

It's hard to believe this is over thirty years old now - I never saw it at the cinema, although a family member did, and it was never really on my radar. Considering its age the effects actually do look pretty good and it's told on a cinematic scale that lends the smallness of that story a much broader impression. That's without even investigating the potential of the Stargate itself - they only use it once (twice if you count the team returning to Earth at the very end), so it's really just a mechanism for getting them to the adventure, though you can see why the TV series and its spinoffs had so much to play with: while so much of the classic iconography and lore of the franchise is clearly visible (pyramid starships; sarcophagus to restore life; staff weapons; hand device for discombobulating a victim's brain; the opening crawl across Ra's face mask that the series would use as its opening titles for a while; the base under the mountain with its concrete and circular corridors; the 'gate room with overlooking windows...), there was also so much left unsaid, unexplained or unexplored. And I really like how they leave it. It's not exactly a clear setup for a sequel, it's just a high to go out on (even though in reality it's just a swarm of allies taking down two enemy soldiers!), and leaves it so they could have done anything next: maybe O'Neil didn't get home after all but was diverted away to some other planet, or perhaps Daniel had an adventure on Abydos or desperately had to return to Earth to convey new information about a threat. The options were open and the series ran with them.

I'd never thought about it before, but Jackson and 'Jack's son' was a link between the characters: maybe even Daniel's surname was a harsh reminder of what O'Neil had lost? Right from the start you have that scientists versus military tension that served the series so long and so well, and James Spader's performance especially is so strong, and actually only makes you appreciate Michael Shanks' taking on the character for 'SG-1' even more, since he got the mannerisms, speech patterns and general affable curiosity of the guy down so well. O'Neil and O'Neill are another matter. It's not that I dislike Kurt Russell's performance here, but he's so very different to Richard Dean Anderson, by design as the latter wanted his own take. I think there's even a joke somewhere in the TV series about another O'Neill with one 'L' in his name, so it's a little hazy whether this is supposed to be the same man who'd go on to be in the series. Not that it matters a great deal (or, for that matter that 'Anubis' is apparently one of the goons working for Ra since we know how dangerous the villain of the same name was in 'SG-1'!), but they don't exist in the same postcode when it comes to military characters, even though they have the same name and backstory. More distracting is actually the little plot holes that seem obvious now after the series explored every aspect of the 'gate. The biggest one is why didn't Earth keep dialling this alien planet every hour or so, that way they wouldn't have to worry whether Daniel could get them back or not? In the film you wouldn't think of it, you just assume there's a reason, but it stuck out to me.

Ra's entourage of half-naked children was a little worrying, but then this being a 'PG' it was at least explained in an innocent way that they're there to provide him with protection - presumably these are all children from the planet so the slaves would never harm their own children if they ever did get their hands on a weapon. Ra was a bit creepy, androgynous and youthful despite being thousands of years old, though I did find it interesting we learn he's actually an alien being that took over the human body. No mention of symbionts, but you see an alien face so we can take it that the original host body was also alien which I hadn't really thought of before. The other big nitpick I have is to wonder why Ra hung around for so long before attempting to send the bomb back down the Stargate to Earth - or were they just guessing that's what he was planning? He puts it by the 'gate, but then seems more interested in lounging around his palace or playing boardgames with the littl'uns rather than getting on with the annihilation, so I didn't understand his reticence there. One thing I liked was how we see O'Neil isn't there because he has a death wish. Yes, he's happy to die, but he's only going to do it as fulfilment of his mission - for example, when he tells Daniel to stand down as he can see they're outgunned and still has his orders, whereas a man who simply wanted to embrace death would have taken any opportunity to put himself in harm's way. It shows he's a principled man and a good soldier that his personal anguish isn't what truly motivates him.

The sets were good, the desert scenes suitably epic. I think I'd have liked a little more back on Earth, things whizz through that end of the story, while it isn't quite as strong in the later stages until you get to the upbeat finale. Catherine and the other experts would have been interesting characters to explore a bit more, but I can see if they did go along on the mission that would give Daniel more support and we wouldn't see him made a fool of because others would be there to bolster his side (I noted he somehow found his glasses as you see he's lost them in the scene where the beast of burden takes him on an unscheduled ride!). The theme wasn't quite as definitive, too, although I do love David Arnold's work, I just think they created a more memorable version as the series' main theme. I found the film surprisingly emotional, especially in the beginning as you're seeing these character meet for the first time, knowing how many adventures they'll go on in the future and it doesn't matter how many times you've seen the Stargate before, seeing what were state of the art effects at the time (I still remember the trailer on TV), and through the eyes of a first time viewer, is still somehow special. And after witnessing the franchise's lowest point not so long ago ('Stargate Origins: Catherine'), it was a relief to get back to something that had the strength of what made it work so well in the first place! There's been talk of a remake, but it would be a shame to undermine so many years of collected history across this film, the TV series' and subsequent films, but at the same time it did work having the same characters yet different to the ones I now know so well from 'SG-1,' so maybe it could work?

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