Well folks, there were going to be three reviews for PRINCE OF EGYPT tonight, but the phoneline at my house is down, and I can't use the computer there, thus losing one.. Mixed review from England. Basically the fella didn't think it was the greatest film since The Great Train Robbery (no, not the Connery one), but it's not on my server, and since I have to use my portable. When the phone lines get back up and running.. well you'll see it. Instead, I have 2 examples of what the 'mass' opinion is. So far I've received about 15 very very very positives and one mixed. These come from a Barfly in Tennesee and The Running Man from Austria.
Barfly here with a report that I still can't believe myself. This morning, well 11:00 but it did wake me up, I received a call from the PR firm that sets up all the Nashville movie premieres. She told me that at 1:00 I was invited to an advanced screening of THE PRINCE OF EGYPT! The only way that I knew that this was not my friends messing with me was because on Monday, Jeffrey Katzenberg is having a forum to discuss the film, then showing the premiere to a larger audience, and then hosting a reception afterwards. The PR lady had informed me that I was invited to this weeks ago, but neither of us knew anything about the advance print.
I jumped out of bed and I don't think my feet hit the floor until...well, they still haven't. Only 8 people were at the screening and each person was representing press of some sort. We each had to sign in and they checked our credentials. I chatted with the PR lady before hand, and she said that some Dreamworks guy had flown in this morning with the print and that he was leaving right after the screening with it to go back to LA. Then the lights went down and the Dreamworks logo appeared.
This movie is everything that I have heard (mainly from AICN) and more. You already have spoilers of it on the site, so I won't rehash.
Music: If one bright spot can outshine another it has to be the music. Not only the songs where the characters sing but also the score. Hanz Zimmer and Stephen Schwartz see there music come alive and carry the viewer through the highs and lows of Moses' life as it takes turn after turn from beginning to end. The way the music works in this movie is why film is such an incredible collaberative art. It's the best use of music that I have seen since JACKIE BROWN and the best use of original material that I have ever heard.
Animation: Simply incredible. Katzenberg leaving Disney has raised the bar of animation and I can't wait to see what animators have to offer in the future if they are able to top this. The locusts were a bit dissapointing, but when he parts the Red Sea (that only counts as a spoiler to a real hethan) it is as beautifully done as Fellini's peacock spreading its wings against the snowy white landscape. Simply gorgeous and perfect and mesmerizing and harrowing and more than I ever imagined could be done through animation. Well, O.K., I had imagined it.
Voices: One problem with ANTZ is that the personalities that we associate with the voices distracted (except Woody's which enhanced) and POE teeters here because of the star studded cast (the cast can be found at IMDB), however the voices always seem to take a back seat to the words, and that is how it should be.
Story: Some have complained on this site that this story is old. Just go see this movie and quit complaining for the sake of complaining. Some stories were meant for animation (POE) and others weren't (Hunchback). It is a great story and it is beautifully told without talking down to its audience. In the past, I always felt that animation limited itself when it came to the story probably because of its perceived audience. Actually, I remember hearing that ANTZ didn't have any characters breaking into song and that the story was aimed at adults. In actuality, in ANTZ the themes were aimed at adults but the story was still a bit simple for my taste. POE has complete confidence in its audience and the music, the characters, the voices, and the animation combine to put one of the finest films in recent memory on the screen.
Final thoughts: In case you're wondering why Katzenberg is making this fuss in Nashville, it is because of the music. While the only Country artist that I heard in the film was Amy Grant, that PR lady sent me a fax with the Dreamworks music insignia on it that said "Prince of Egypt Nashville Album Featuring: Alabama, Clint Black, Charlie Daniels, Vince Gill, Faith Hill, Toby Keith, Allison Krauss, Reba, Pam Tillis and Wynona just to name a few." That was on the invitation for this coming Monday's Special Screening where I assume all of these country stars and country music execs are going to come see the film.
Harry, I can't wait to see it again on Monday night, and I will report if Katzenberg has anything cool to say. To tell you the truth, I have no idea what this forum with him from 2:00-5:00 is all about, but I'm sure it will be interesting.
Goodbye for now--BARFLY
And now.. from The Running Man...(English is not his first language, so no crappy comments till you start posting in German)
Greetings from Austria. First of all let me tell you this: This is a wonderful site of Yours and I try to visit it as frequently as I can. I really don’t want to bore the s… out of you. You sure get this a lot. But from what I realized – this isn’t just work for you – it’s a labor of love. Keep it up Harry, for what you do is just wonderful.
Now let me introduce myself. There are several reasons I can’t tell you my real name. For „It’s a Wonderful Life" is one of my favorite movies I'd like you to call me George.
I never thought I would ever have the chance to contact you. Thank’s to my job I finally had the opportunity to see a movie that’s not even started in the US.
Yes, today was the day I have seen DreamWorks „The Prince of Egypt".
To put it simply: It’s great. I’ve seen most of the animated Disney-Features – and I can understand why „The Lion King" became the success it’s been. It was groundbreakingly animated at the time and the story had this timeless and epic feel to it.
There simply hasn’t been anything compareable before. Till now …
The people all know the Moses-Storyline and there have been countless efforts in TV and at the movies to bring his story to life.
But who would have thought that the the most beautiful one would be animated?
It’s every bit I expected it to be: wonderfully animated, epic suspenseful and poignant. It should break the 200 Million-$-barrier in the US easily. Jeffrey Katzenberg knew exactly what he was doing choosing this timeless and yes, religious story.
For I’m not the religious person I probably should be my only fear for „The Prince of Egypt" was for beiing too religious. You know – like – listen all up fellas this is god speaking!
What a relief it wasn’t like that at all!
The cave-sequence in which god adresses Moses for the first time surprised me and was indeed deeply moving.
I recommend this film to anyone who embraces greatness in movies. Every one of the 90 minutes have been a real pleasure and made „The Prince of Egypt" a great movie-experience! A must-see-event!
As for you Harry, excuse my grammatical mistakes. Hope there aren’t too many of them.
Greetings from Arnie’s homeland
The Running Man
