Synopsis
Through the story of two brothers, both princes of the greatest empire on earth, an evocation of the epic of Moses. If one of the two brothers reigned over Egypt, the other had an even more extraordinary destiny. When their relationship, based on a lie, is revealed to them, everything separates them, their faith, their past and their future and will thus cause the fall of a dynasty.
Test carried out from the USA Universal edition with VFF and STFR.
NB: Image comparisons (.jpg compression, 8-bit) are strictly for illustrative purposes and are not representative of what Ultra HD Blu-ray will display on your calibrated UHD HDR screen.
Video Quality
The Prince of Egypt (1998), directed by Brenda Chapman, Steve Hickner and Simon Wells was released in 1998. This high-budget animated film produced by DreamWorks Animation chronicles the Exodus from the Old Testament. On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of its release, Universal has undertaken a 4K restoration of the feature film. Added to this is a new supervised color calibration in HDR10 and the original ratio respected in 1.85:1.
This opus awakens to a new youth. The film dust present on the previous master has been eliminated with optimized noise management. The slightly gravelly aspect present on the previous master is no longer relevant. Video compression has also been improved from the previous Blu-ray edition, allowing images to display more stable and without fluctuation. Another noticeable improvement is the noticeable sharpening of lines and drawings, which now appear thinner and crisper, giving the whole thing a more realistic and impactful look. HDR grading resulted in increased dynamics of images, imparting a vivid and vivid impression, making the Prince of Egypt a spectacle from which a brighter aura emanates. For example, the scenes of the exodus of Moses, the wall engravings, and other passages with the burning bush are sublime. The whites are brighter and with better delineated designs, especially the white part of the characters’ eyes (Ramses, Moses or even Zipporah). The representation of Egyptian hieroglyphs is more detailed, with a more marked relief and a more radiant golden appearance (on the old engravings). Flames appear more dangerous and fiery. Less dull and buried, the night scenes (Life of Moses in Midian) also gain in readability. It’s a concrete and welcome upgrade.
In HDR10, the brightness level of the brightest pixel in the entire stream (MaxCLL) stands at 997 nits. An average value of brightness peaks was measured at 291 nits. Similarly, on the entire feature film, 72.01% of the shots are composed of highlights (with a median measured at 130 nits). Regarding HEVC video compression, the average bitrate was measured at 63608 kbps.
Audio Quality
The film has a rich and complex soundtrack, which, in its original version, benefits from a remix in DTS:X format. (DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 core, 4174 kbps, 24-bit). The Prince of Egypt (1998) was first praised for its outstanding soundtrack by Hans Zimmer. It mixes rich instrumentation and strong choirs. The circulation of sounds through the different channels remains effective, in particular the atmospheric effects which remain convincing in terms of circulation. The dialogues are impactful and warm throughout the film, offering a clear and distinct listening quality for the spectators. In terms of dynamics, some scenes stand out, including the parting of the Red Sea with its deep bass or the firestorm that stops the pursuit of Ramses. The good news also lies in the presence of a VFF in DTS 5.1 format (768 kbps) and FR subtitles. This further reinforces the interest of this import.
Bonuses
– The making of the film The Prince of Egypt
– Multilingual presentation of “When You Believe”
– The basics of animation: The chariot race
– Focus on technical effects
– Audio commentary with directors Brenda Chapman, Steve Hickner and Simon Wells
Conclusion
We salute the importance of this restoration. The Prince of Egypt (1998) gains in modernity with superior brilliance, more crystalline detail rendering and more striking colors. The DTS:X sound remix of the original version and the presence of a VFF DTS 5.1 reinforce the interest of this American import.
