Stargate "Ultimate" Edition?

[LeChuck]

I finally decided to upgrade from the original Stargate release to the Ultimate edition. Well, it turns out it isn't so ultimate anymore. They neglect to tell you that it is no longer the two disc version, but a single disc edition with much less. The main aspect which intrigued me was having both the theatrical and director's cut in one set. This edition no longer has the theatrical but just the director's cut. Is it worth having both, or should I just get rid of the original?

[Dilmo]

That's strange. Mine has both cuts of the movie. I wonder why they changed it?

[Vigilante]

Originally Posted by LeChuck

I finally decided to upgrade from the original Stargate release to the Ultimate edition. Well, it turns out it isn't so ultimate anymore. They neglect to tell you that it is no longer the two disc version, but a single disc edition with much less.

Yes, that is correct. Although they still kept the same name "Ultimate Edition", some online retailers like DVDSoon list the number of discs as 1 instead of 2 - You might also notice that the 1-disc R1 version is much cheaper than before. You probably won't find the 2-disc R1 version anymore anywhere...
Well, the new (recently released) Australian edition is a 2-disc "Ultimate Edition". http://www.ezydvd.com.au/item.zml/228459
How does it compare? Maybe I should go out and buy it just to upgrade from my VHS version...

[Dilmo]

Here's a quote I came across:

I bought my original edition in February 2003 and got the one with the gold foil embossed slip case, 2 disks with both the extended version and the theatrical version of the movie. Since then, even though almost every e-tailer and retailer show that the Ultimate Edition with 2 disks and two versions of the movie, they do not actually have them to ship. I have ordered from several e-tailers and the keep cases show "Extended Cut" on the bottom of the front case label and not "Director's Cut," they do not have all of the featurettes any more or many of the other extras.

Glad I got mine in time. This really sucks.

[johna599a]

Additionally, the Ulitmate Edition "Director's Cut" has more featurettes like Making of and Is there a Stargate (one of these though is on the "Extended Edition").

If you look at FYE, Fry's B&M's they may have one mixed in with the others. That is how I found mine a few months ago. Barnes and Noble even had the right description on their website, where I ordered from - but the copy I received was NOT the Director's Cut - so I returned it.

Yes, it is still out there, I have seen them in the last month or 2, but I do not remember where. One here or there - you just have to look for it, in person, not over the Internet.

Good Luck!

[Bananaslug79]

There honestly isn't that much of a difference between the "Director's Cut" (wow, coming from Emmerich that's kind of a joke) and the theatrical cut. The beginning is really all that's changed; it gives you a flashback to the alien ship first landing on the desert planet (similar to later in the movie when we see the "boy without fear" approaching the ship; the beginning new scene basically takes place just before that middle part of the film). I also think there's a slightly longer cut of the archeology dig where the old lady as a girl sees something else that relates to later parts of the movie; I felt it actually changed a later introduction of a particular character that was better without it. But that's just me.

[C Roberts]

Originally Posted by bananaslug79

There honestly isn't that much of a difference between the "Director's Cut" (wow, coming from Emmerich that's kind of a joke) and the theatrical cut. The beginning is really all that's changed; it gives you a flashback to the alien ship first landing on the desert planet (similar to later in the movie when we see the "boy without fear" approaching the ship; the beginning new scene basically takes place just before that middle part of the film). I also think there's a slightly longer cut of the archeology dig where the old lady as a girl sees something else that relates to later parts of the movie; I felt it actually changed a later introduction of a particular character that was better without it. But that's just me.

The most important scene they added back in was the military viewing the fossilized guards that were found with the gate. It explains more why they gave O'Neill a backup plan (aka the bomb). It wasn't a "just in case" plan. It was a "we're pretty sure you'll need this" plan.