Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!: The Prince of Egypt (1998) - DreamWorks' fantastic, soaring Biblical animation

8/24/2021

The Prince of Egypt (1998) - DreamWorks' fantastic, soaring Biblical animation

♥♥♥♥♥

+ Best Family Movie of the Year + Best Religious Drama of the Year

Dark and golden sand-colored poster with great depth and detail for Brenda Chapman, Steve Hickner and Simon Wells' The Prince of Egypt

Moses' upbringing as the 'false' prince of the slave kingdom of Egypt, his discovery of his actual Hebrew roots, and God's call to emancipation and exodus.

The Prince of Egypt is written by Philip LaZebnik (Asterix and the Vikings (2006, dialog)) and Nicholas Meyer (Time after Time (1979)) and directed by debuting Brenda Chapman (Come Away (2020)), debuting Steve Hickner (Kung Fu Panda: Unstoppable Awesomeness (2016, short)) and Simon Wells (An American Tail: Fievel Goes West (1991)).

DreamWorks bet big on this their only 2nd feature animation with the unusual, ambitious and risky choice of a religious drama. It is a complex story told in ravaging images, with great songs and seriousness often missing from major American animations. The mix of traditional drawn and colorized animation with CGI is at its early phase here, but The Prince of Egypt is still compelling storytelling and very handsome.

Brenda Chapman: Top 10: Best Disney movies reviewed by Film Excess to date

2012 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED V]
2012 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED IV]
2012 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2012 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]

Brave (2012) - Stunningly animated, vivid Scottish family fairytale

1998 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 70 mil. $

Box office: 218.6 mil. $

= Box office success (returned 3.12 times its cost)

[The Prince of Egypt premiered 16 December (USA, France, Belgium, Switzerland) and runs 99 minutes. Former Disney chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg had dreamt of an animated version of The Ten Commandments (1956) and was encouraged by Steven Spielberg to pursue it. Katzenberg brought in Biblical scholars, Christian, Jewish and Muslim theologians and Arab American leaders to help the film in its accuracy as well as sending a production team to Egypt for research. Production took place in California. The film opened #2, behind fellow new release You've Got Mail, to a 14.5 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another 4 weeks in the top 5 (#4-#4-#5-#5) and a #3 week again much later during Easter and grossed 101.4 mil. $ (46.4 % of the total gross). The film was banned in Islamic fundamentalist countries the Maldives, Malaysia, Egypt and Indonesia for depicting an Islamic prophet (Moses). It was nominated for 2 Oscars, winning for Best Song (When You Believe by Stephen Schwartz) and losing Best Score, Musical or Comedy (Stephen Schwartz) to Stephen Warbeck for Shakespeare in Love. It was also nominated for 2 Golden Globes, among other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 3.5/4 star review, equal in rating to this one. Joseph: King of Dreams (2000, video) was a DreamWorks prequel without the original directors or cast. Chapman returned with Brave (2012); Hickner with Father of the Pride (2004, TV-series) and theatrically with Bee Movie (2007) and Wells with The Time Machine (2002). Val Kilmer (Thunderheart (1992)), who voices Moses and God, returned in At First Sight (1998). The Prince of Egypt is certified fresh at 80 % with a 7.10/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

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William Friedkin has died

Born in Chicago, Friedkin accrued TV credits prior to his advance to the big screen as the director of Good TImes (1967), The Birthday Party (1968), The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968) and The Boys in the Band (1970) before his major breakthrough, The French Connection (1971), for which he won his only Oscar. He followed it up with the even bigger smash, The Exorcist (1973), arguably the best horror film of all time, for which he was Oscar-nominated. Later credits include Sorcerer (1977), Cruising (1980), To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), Rampage (1987), Rules of Engagement (2000), Killer Joe (2011) and The Devil and Father Amorth (2017, documentary). Friedkin passed away at age 87. R.I.P.

Louise Fletcher has passed away

Born in Alabama to deaf parents, Fletcher got her first credits in late-1950s TV-series.She took a 10 year-long sabbatical to devote her time to motherhood after the release of A Gathering of Eagles, but then came back and soon saw her career's most important part, as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), for which she won her sole Oscar. Later credits include Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), The Lucky Star (1980), Brainstorm (1983), Two Moon Junction (1988), Cruel Intentions (1999), A Perfect Man (2013) and many more. Fletcher passed away at age 88. R.I.P.

Jean-Luc Godard has passed away

Born in Paris, France, Godard lived much of his life in Switzerland. He wrote for French film criticism magazine Cahiers du Cinema and became foundational for the New French Wave that inspired new waves in scores of other countries across the world with his Breathless (1960). Later credits include A Woman Is A Woman (1961), Vivre Sa Vie (1962), Le Petit Soldat (1962), Contempt (1963), Alphaville (1965), Pierrot le Fou (1965), 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (1967), Weekend (1967), Every Man for Himself (1980), King Lear (1987), Century of Cinema (1995, documentary), Goodbye to Language (2014) and many more. Godard died of assisted suicide at age 91. R.I.P.

Wolfgang Petersen has died

James Caan has died

Caan was born the son of Jewish immigrants from Germany in New York. He got his start on TV in the early 1960s. His credits include El Dorado (1966), The Rain People (1969), Brian's Song (1971, TV movie), The Godfather (1972), - for which he earned his only Oscar nomination, - Slither (1973), The Gambler (1974), Funny Lady (1975), Rollerball (1975), Silent Movie (1976), Hide in Plain Sight (1980), - the only film he also directed, - Thief (1981), Misery (1990), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), Bottle Rocket (1996), Eraser (1996), Dogville (2003), Elf (2003), Las Vegas (2003-07), Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) and many more. Caan passed away at age 82. R.I.P.

Jean-Louis Trintignant has died

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Ray Liotta has died

Adopted from an orphenage at a young age, Liotta got hooked on acting in high school. He had various TV credits in the late 1970s and early 80s, with his film debut in The Lonely Lady (1983). Later credits include Something Wild (1986), Field of Dreams (1989), Goodfellas (1990), Cop Land (1997), Hannibal (2001), Blow (2001), Narc (2002), John Q (2002), Identity (2003), Observe and Report (2009), Youth in Revolt (2009), The Details (2011), Killing THem Softly (2012), The Place Beyond the Pines (2012), Shades of Blue (2016-18), The Simpsons (2018, TV-series), Marriage Story (2019), The Many Saints of Newark (2021), Black Bird (2022, TV-series) and many more. Liotta passed away at age 67 in his sleep while on production in the Dominican Republic. R.I.P.

Philip Baker Hall has died

Born in Ohio, Hall didn't start acting until he was 30. His long list of credits include Zabriskie Point (1970), Miami Vice (1987, TV-series), Midnight Run (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Cheers (1993, TV-series), Hard Eight (1996), The Rock (1996), Air Force One (1997), Boogie Nights (1997), Seinfeld (1991-98), Rush Hour (1998), The Insider (1999), Magnolia (1999), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Bruce Almighty (2003), Dogville (2003), The Zodiac (2005), Zodiac (2007), Curb Your Enthusiasm (2004-09), Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011), Modern Family (2011-12) and many more. Hall passed away at age 90. R.I.P.

William Hurt has passed away

Born in Washington D.C., Hurt's first film role was the lead in Altered States (1980). Later credits include Body Heat (1981), The Big Chill (1983), Gorky Park (1983), Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985), for which he earned his only Oscar as Best Actor; Chilrdren of a Lesser God (1986), for which he was also Oscar-nominated; Broadcast News (1987), for which he was again Oscar-nominated; Smoke (1995), A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), A History of Violence (2005), for which he was again Oscar-nominated; The Good Shepherd (2006), Into the Wild (2007), Robin Hood (2010) and many more. Hurt passed away at age 71. R.I.P.

Ivan Reitman has passed away

Born in Chechoslovakia, now Slovakia, Reitman's family fled the Soviet regime to Austria, then Toronto, when he was 4 years old. Reitman broke into movies as a director with Foxy Lady (1971). Later credits include Cannibal Girls (1973), Meatballs (1979), Stripes (1981), Ghostbusters (1984), Twins (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Kindergarten Cop (1990), Junior (1994), Father's Day (1997), Evolution (1998), No Strings Attached (2011), Draft Day (2014) and more. Reitman's son Jason Reitman is also a great filmmaker. Reitman passed away at age 75. R.I.P.

Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!

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8/24/2021

The Prince of Egypt (1998) - DreamWorks' fantastic, soaring Biblical animation

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