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Specifications: - Region 1 - Run time: approx. 99 min. - Subtitles: English - Scene selection: full motion - Package: Keep case
Video Features:
Audio Features: - English: DTS 5.1 - English: Dolby Surround
Bonus Materials: - Directors' audio commentary -
"The Making of The Prince of Egypt" -
"When You Believe" multi-language - Basics of animation "Chariot Race" - Focus on technical effects - Prince of Egypt art gallery - Theatrical trailers (2) - Cast and filmmakers' bios - Production notes (2-page spread) - Special sneak preview Theatrical Release: 1998 DVD Release: 11/07/00 Review Date: 12/10/00
List price: $ 26.99 On-line price: $ 18.89 Pre-order price was: $ 18.89
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Prince Of Egypt Signature Selection - DTS Digital Surround |
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Starring
the voice talents of: Val Kilmer, Ralph Fiennes,
Directors: Brenda Chapman, Steve Hickner, Simon Wells
MPAA Rating: PG Genre: Animation - Family Studio: DreamWorks Pictures |
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Movie: A+ Video: A+ Audio: A+ Extras: A-
Summary:
"The Prince of
Egypt" is a spectacular epic animation that is loosely
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The Story
"The Prince of Egypt" is loosely based on the biblical story of Moses from the book of Exodus. DreamWorks claims that while "artistic and historical license has been taken", they believe that "the film is true to the essence, values, and integrity of a story that is cherished by millions of people worldwide". You can read the New International Version (NIV) of the biblical story here.
The movie begins with Moses (starring the voice talent of Val Kilmer) as a baby when the Pharaoh (starring the voice talent of Patrick Stewart) issues an order that all baby boys of the Hebrew people are to be sacrificed. Out of love for her son, Yocheved (starring the voice talent of Ofra Haza) puts Moses in a basket and sets it down the Nile river in the hopes that an Egyptian family would adopt him. By the power of God, the basket safely arrives at the Pharaoh's home. The Queen (starring the voice talent of Helen Mirren) finds the basket with baby Moses inside, and adopts him as one of the Pharaoh's own son. Moses grows up happily with his older brother, the Pharaoh's real blood-related son, Rameses (starring the voice talent of Ralph Fiennes).
One day, Moses stumbles on Miriam (starring the voice talent of Sandra Bullock) and Aaron (starring the voice talent of Jeff Goldblum), who are his Hebrew sister and brother. When told by Miriam of his true origin, Moses refuses to believe her but is nevertheless haunted by the possibility of its truth. When the Pharaoh and the Queen disclose his past, Moses is stunned and runs away to the land of the Medianites. There, he finds inner peace and a new life as a shepherd. He eventually marries Tzipporah (starring the voice talent of Michelle Pfeiffer), the daughter of Jethro (starring the voice talent of Danny Glover). One day God summons Moses through a magical burning bush to go free his Hebrews people.
Obeying the Lord, Moses returns to the land of Egypt and speaks to his brother Rameses, now Pharaoh of Egypt. After much difficulty in convincing the Pharaoh and many acts of God against the Egyptian people, Moses leads the Hebrew people to freedom. This journey includes God parting the Red Sea so that the Hebrew people can cross safely to freedom. What a magnificent story.
"The Prince of Egypt" animators combined a wonderful mixture of hand-drawn and computer generated images. The results are simply stunning. The new "stenciling" animation technique as exhibited in chapter nine is refreshing. The same can be said for the great songs in this movie. I love many of the songs, including "Deliver Us", "All I Ever Wanted", and "Through Heaven's Eyes". Of course, there's the Academy Award™ winning version of "When You Believe" as performed by Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey during the closing credits.
The making-of featurette takes you behind the scenes of how "The Prince of Egypt" was conceived and how it came to be. The "When You Believe" multi-language presentation explains the world-wide appeal of this story, particularly as it explores the many foreign language lyrics that were composed to share this biblical story that has international appeal. At the end, the animated sequence "When You Believe" is shown with the numerous foreign lyrics alternately cut-in to show how each language briefly sounds. It's quite uplifting. The "Basics of animation Chariot Race" and "Focus on Technical Effects" featurettes are quite interesting as they go into the details of how the film was brought to life through various animation and computer graphics imaging (CGI) techniques. Every animation fan (like myself) will love these featurettes.
While "The Prince of Egypt" is available in either the Dolby Digital or DTS soundtrack versions, the bonus material in either versions are identical. And there's enough high-quality bonus material here to appease most collectors.
Video & Audio
The image quality of this anamorphic widescreen DVD is excellent. The colors are accurate and saturated, while shadow detail is very good. All of which pays tribute to the breathtaking animation.
The DTS 5.1-channel surround sound is sensational. It is well balanced and effective. The dialogue is clear and the beautiful musical score greatly enhances the mood of the movie. "Prince of Egypt" was originally released with a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack back on September 14, 1999, which already sounds great and is one of the best Dolby Digital soundtracks I've heard. The DTS digital surround version, which we specifically review here, is even better. It does full justice to the wonderful musical score and beautiful songs. "The Prince of Egypt" in DTS is simply exceptional and I recommend this version if you have the proper equipment.
Recommendation
The "Prince Of Egypt" is an epic of an animated feature that is based on the inspirational biblical story of Moses. The animation is stunningly beautiful, the performances are top notch, and the music is unequalled. This DVD, in either the Dolby Digital or DTS versions, is a "must-have" for every family. I highly recommend this title. And if you like this title, check out DreamWork's "Joseph: King Of Dreams" DVD, a direct to video/DVD release that is produced by the same team.
Buy "The Prince Of Egypt" (DTS) DVD at: Support this site: buy through our links.
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Rent
it at NetFlix.com
(Sign up for
NetFlix.com "Unlimited" DVD Rental Service The
Dolby Digital 5.1 version of "The Prince of Egypt" is also
available at Amazon.com and
Buy.com.
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