Universal Pictures Home Entertainment released The Prince of Egypt (1998) on 4K Blu-ray. An early entry from DreamWorks Animation, 1998’s The Prince Of Egypt goes back to Biblical sources.
The result, a DreamWorks Animation musical adaptation of the Book of Exodus, is a beautiful and audacious epic condensed into a lightning-fast 99 minutes.
The movie portrays the events vividly and with strength, despite the fact it still seems a little odd to see a cartoon representation of the tale of Moses.
Let's delve into a detailed review of the 4K Blu-ray release of this animated classic.
Visual Quality
Universal's new 2160p/HDR UHD release of The Prince of Egypt looks quite good. Improvements to source fidelity and natural refinement are in plain evidence here.
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The 4K looks and sounds great! It's definitely an upgrade over the Blu-ray that was released a few years ago.
Compared to Universal's 1080p issue from several years ago, the image looks full and satisfying, and the Blu-ray comparatively washed out and flat.
The HDR color grading also offers a stout upgrade compared to the Blu-ray. The image benefits from an example of both earthy beiges and brighter reds and purples offering substantial gains to overall depth but also vividness and accuracy.
The HDR grading does reduce brightness, but it does so with an eye towards tonal accuracy and refinement to begin with.
The movies maintain a modest, but sometimes clumpy, grain structure. Animated content are improved here, with the points of brighter and more vivid colors offering more stable accuracy and improved clarity.
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The Blu-ray boasted very good audio and some useful supplements but picture quality seemed dated and flawed.
The 4k is a huge improvement over the blu ray from a few years back, it looks a whole lot more refined and clean with colors that dont look dim or dark anymore.
Previously, I thought Egypt delivered a noble and well-meaning film, but not one that conveyed its subject especially well.
For the most part, the artwork in the film seems quite strong, as characters move fluidly and believably, and much of the art looks simply gorgeous.
It is beautifully animated and well told. Here, we get the 4K presentation with HDR. The HDR does enhance the film to make it more dynamic and it really gives the animation life without going overboard.
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Standouts on this version were the magician showdown and red sea scenes. Both looked incredible.
Table: Visual Comparison
| Feature | Blu-ray | 4K Blu-ray |
|---|---|---|
| Resolution | 1080p | 2160p |
| Color Grading | Standard | HDR |
| Image Quality | Washed out, flat | Full, satisfying |
| Fidelity | Limited | Improved |
Audio Quality
The Prince of Egypt's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack is largely well rounded and engaging. This track is nearly reason enough to upgrade from the Blu-ray.
It represents a fine example of size, balance, and finesse alike for both music and sound effects, be either of them subtle and gentle or aggressive and large.
The advantage of the Blu-ray's resolution, the track lacks precision finesse but nevertheless finds a healthy allotment of surround integration and stage width for the duration.
The surrounds integrate fluently and fully rather than discretely, if only more in a support role rather than with discrete output, which is how they should be used in this context. Still, the sense of new immersion and involvement within the listening area comes very welcome.
Dialogue is clear and center focused for the duration, and of course it is also well prioritized.
The parting of the Red Sea provided audio of genuine power and depth, and that moment stood as the most stunning of the film.
The new audio track is a sturdy upgrade and improvement over the previous Blu-ray's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 presentation.
Additional Thoughts
The Price of Egypt is a much better telling of the story than The Ten Commandments.
The Prince Of Egypt has great picture and sound quality and is a fun movie to watch with the whole family.
This film comes from the scripture and is a very good example for anyone who seeks hope and faith.
Forgot how great this movie is! Bought this movie for my son and the animation is still some of the best! Amazing songs and a powerful story of faith! Glad I got to revisit this film with my son.
One of the most beautiful American animated films of all time. timeless. regardless of your religious views, an incredible story of the perseverance of the human spirit against all odds. great reference quality disc, as well.
Prince of Egypt is by far one of my family's favorite movies. The story is amazing, animation is breathtaking, and the music is fantastic. Dreamworks truly made art with this film and the digital remastering of it only made it better.
The Prince Of Egypt is arguably one of the best animated films of the last 30 years. The new 4K restoration highlights the artistry, depth of color and richness of the film. The soundtrack is powerful and rich with nuance.
When I initially reviewed The Prince of Egypt, I gave it a lukewarm endorsement. However, I changed my view and think the movie tells a classic tale in an evocative and moving manner.
This becomes a fun way to hear the song. With The Basics of Animation, we get a nine-minute, 32-second featurette with Hickner and Wells. This turns into an effective view of the different stages. Finally, Focus on Technical Aspects lasts five minutes, 58 seconds and concentrates on different aspects of animation techniques.
As Moses's siblings, both Sandra Bullock and Jeff Goldblum provide decent performances, but there's something about them that just seems vaguely wrong in the parts.
Kilmer works well, as he effectively conveys the character's wide range of emotions and makes Moses a believable part. Fiennes also provides a strong effort as brother Rameses, the eventual villain of the piece.
Moses learns that his parents adopted him when he floated their way as an infant. Called by God to lead the Jews out of bondage, Moses tries to negotiate with Rameses now pharoah - but he wont listen to his pleas.
An Egyptian prince learns of his identity as a Hebrew and his destiny to become the chosen deliverer of his people.
The Making of The Prince Of Egypt
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