Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		3.5

Exodus: Gods and Kings 3D Blu-ray Movie Review

That land is his (in 3D).

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman March 16, 2015

Otto Preminger’s 1960 opus Exodus offered a still controversial portrayal of the rise of the nation of Israel in the wake of the horrifying linked events of the Holocaust and World War II. The film is probably best remembered today for its iconic Academy Award winning score by Ernest Gold, a score whose towering theme became an unexpected number 2 charting hit for the piano duo of Ferrante and Teicher. In a bit of unintentional irony, perhaps the most goyische singer of that era, Pat Boone, later wrote a lyric for Gold’s theme, a lyric which included the opening lines:

This land is mine
God gave this land to me.

Now Boone’s lyric of course referred to the Jewish People in general and therefore perhaps Moses by inference, but it still may have seemed weirdly anachronistic for such a “white bread” crooner to be espousing territorial rights in a region that had been beset by internecine (remember Abraham and his children, please) tribal warfare for untold millennia. The “real” (or at least original) exodus is of course one of the central stories of Judaism and by default Christianity, a tale that has been imprinted in countless minds not just due to the Bible but perhaps (as sad as this may strike some folks) more so due to annual broadcasts of Cecil B. DeMille’s legendary 1956 version of The Ten Commandments. That iteration of the timeless narrative is almost unapologetically hokey at times (I still can’t make it through a viewing without busting a gut when Anne Baxter gazes at Charlton Heston and emits the unforgettable line, “Oh, Moses, you stubborn, splendid, adorable fool!”), but it still manages to work up a rather remarkably potent emotional aspect as it details the Jews’ flight from slavery in Egypt into an ostensibly more hopeful future. Now Ridley Scott, certainly one of the more audacious and visually perspicacious directors working in contemporary film, has offered his interpretation of the Moses chronicle, in a revision which may not rise to the almost magical realist levels of Darren Aronofsky’s “reboot” of the Noah legend, but which certainly doesn’t feel itself beholden to either the original Biblical account or in fact to the accretion of popular tropes which have become part of the narrative due to offerings like the DeMille film. The result is often spectacular from a visual perspective, as might be expected, but Exodus: Gods and Kings never really delivers on an emotional level, beset by inadequacies in the screenplay and some odd casting and performance choices that tend to lift the viewer squarely out of the supposed historical milieu and (somewhat like the Aronofsky film) directly into a more contemporary ambience which is sometimes at odds with what’s being portrayed.

If Exodus: Gods and Kings doesn’t exactly plop the viewer down in media res, it at least forsakes the ark of bulrushes daubed with asphalt and pitch, as well as Moses’ assimilation into the home of the Pharoah, instead picking things up from Moses (Christian Bale) as an adult, about to join his “brother” Ramesses II (Joel Edgerton) on an incursion against the Hittites. A priestess offers ruling Pharoah Seti I (John Turturro— no, really, John Turturro) a mysterious prophecy indicating that one of the two supposed siblings will soon be saved, and the one doing the saving will go on to be a celebrated leader. It doesn’t take long for that prophecy to play out, and of course it’s Moses coming to the rescue of Ramesses, an act that saves Ramesses’ life but which sets up a cascading series of events based on fear and paranoia, as well as a certain karmic justice as Moses’ convoluted history finally comes to light.

A consortium of screenwriters, including Adam Cooper, Bill Collage (an especially fitting surname), Jeffrey Caine and Steven Zaillian, both redact and augment the original Biblical narrative, telescoping and in some cases outright omitting various elements while also introducing some other aspects that may strike some “true believers” as unnecessarily fanciful. Chief among these is a sequence which is probably the most similar in tone to some of Aronofsky’s formulation of the Noah story, when Moses’ vision of the burning bush is attended by a physical messenger from the Divine in the form of a child, all due to a bonk on the head courtesy of a rockslide. Despite Aronofsky’s magical realist sensibilities which run rampant through Noah, both he and in this film the more traditional skewing Scott seem averse to suggesting that God can just reach out and touch his creation. Instead, more “rational” seeming explanations (even if those are induced dream states, as in the case of Noah) are proffered for some of the Divine "messaging", as if to make the reality of God interacting with humans somehow more palatable.

Scott’s visual sense never fails him in this appealingly gargantuan production, but as sometimes at least tends to be the case with this director, story elements are not always well focused. This film is also beset by some peculiar performance choices, as well as some stunt casting that will pull most viewers squarely out of the historical milieu. In the first of those aforementioned issues, Joel Edgerton offers a mumbly Method take on Ramesses that might have been done by someone of James Dean’s sensibilities back in the days of good old Cecil B. DeMille. In the second category, when people like Sigourney Weaver (no, really, Sigourney Weaver) traipse through the film (as Pharoah John Turturro’s wife) with little to offer other than differing (and patently odd) headdresses, the typical reaction will probably be stifled snickering and rolled eyes, despite what may have been Scott’s purely honorable intentions in offering his former collaborator a chance to dress up and get paid for it.

The film offers suitably grand, CGI laden, sequences for big set pieces like the parting of the Red Sea and (at least some of) the plagues that beset Egypt, but it often fails to really connect on an intimate level, despite halting attempts to deliver more “human interest” via Moses’ contentious relationship with Zipporah (Maria Valverde). Occasionally, supporting performances like Aaron Paul’s Joshua manage to crack through Scott’s overwhelming visual style to deliver something approaching genuine emotion.

It’s been a really interesting last year or so for the so-called Biblical Epic, with Aronofsky’s completely peculiar but often quite compelling take on Noah and now this somewhat more stolid but occasionally audacious “reboot” of the Moses story. A lot of people have been going on record stating that love it or loathe it, the Aronofsky film at least offered something rather radically different from the DeMille days of yore. The ironic thing about this is that Scott may have reinvigorated the DeMille ethos in more ways than one. His Exodus: Gods and Kings is certainly relatively more traditional, despite some occasional lapses into whimsy, but it also recreates a certain glossy sheen that tended to be part and parcel of Biblical Epics back in the 1950s and 1960s. That sheen is almost always fascinating to look at it, but it also acts as a lacquer keeping the characters and the audience separated by an emotionless if shiny veneer.

Exodus: Gods and Kings 3D Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Exodus: Gods and Kings is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment with both an AVC (2D) and MVC (3D) encoded 1080p transfer in 2.40:1 on separate discs. Digitally shot with a variety of Red Epic cameras, Exodus: Gods and Kings is an often breathtaking visual experience in high definition. Scott's always assured and stunning visual sense is perfectly realized by his frequent collaborator, cinematographer Dariusz Wolski. The film offers a nicely interwoven selection of CGI effects, and Scott wisely frequently uses these for huge panoramic shots that instantly deliver depth and scale, but are far enough away so that pernsickety sorts won't be wondering whether every individual has defined facial characteristics. The image is wonderfully clear and sharp throughout this presentation, despite a huge array of lighting conditions and elements like color grading. Color grading is in fact (once again) very much in evidence, with (once again) blue and yellow the preferred shades. Detail and fine detail are both exceptional despite the somewhat rather aggressive accretion of various hues (look at screenshot 4 for one of the more extreme examples, one which also offers a good look at shadow detail). In brightly lit environments under relatively normal lighting conditions, fine detail is superb, offering clear delineation of elements like the crags around Turturro's eyes or the tufted fabrics of some of the royal outfits. While the bitrates aren't overly impressive, there are no problematic issues with artifacts or image instability.

Exodus: Gods and Kings' 3D presentation is often very impressive, but it's also curiously restrained, especially for a director of Scott's visual acuity. There's almost always significant depth of field, achieved both through placement of foreground objects but also by establishing clear planes within the frame, but there are very few if any typical "in your face" elements, despite the opportunity for same in some of the battle sequences or scenes like the parting of the Red Sea. Even in sequences bathed in deep blue hues, there's clear dimensionality and depth. My display had one very brief instance of crosstalk early in the film when Moses and Ramesses are gallivanting around the palace, but otherwise this was a problem free presentation.

Note: We are only able to screencapture 2D images for our Blu-ray reviews. Therefore, screencap 20 is actually of the menu of the 2D disc. The 3D disc does not offer any Extras.

Exodus: Gods and Kings 3D Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Exodus: Gods and Kings offers a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 audio presentation which is in its own way as impressive as the visual element. Surround activity is near constant and is not entirely reliant on the film's big set pieces, though elements like the early battle where Moses saves Ramesses to, later, the huge sequences involving the Red Sea, offer the audiophile a really immersive, all encompassing aural experience. Even quieter scenes, like a little heart to heart between Seti and Moses on a kind of outside veranda of the Pharoah's palace, offer great placement of ambient environmental effects which immediately help to establish a sense of space and ambience. Dialogue is presented very cleanly, and the film's enjoyable score (by Alberto Iglesias) is also well positioned throughout the surrounds. Fidelity is top notch, dynamic range is extremely wide, and there are no problems to report.

Note: The 3D and 2D discs have different audio and subtitle specs. The specs above are for the 3D disc. See our Exodus: Gods and Kings Blu-ray review for specs on the 2D disc.

Exodus: Gods and Kings 3D Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This three disc set includes the 3D version of Exodus: Gods and Kings on its own disc which contains no supplements. This set also includes the 2D disc which is also available as a standalone release (with the supplements included on that disc), as well as a third bonus disc of additional supplemental material.

Exodus: Gods and Kings 2D Disc:

• The Exodus Historical Guide is a "trivia track" of sorts, though calling events this epochal "trivia" seems a little odd.


• Deleted and Extended Scenes (1080p; 14:57) are available in both 2D and 3D (even on this standalone 2D disc), and also contain some unfinished picture and sound elements.


• Commentary by Ridley Scott and Jeffrey Caine is an interesting and often quite philosophical set of ruminations by Scott and co- writer Caine. There are optional subtitles for the commentary available.

Bonus Disc:

• Keepers of the Covenant: Making Exodus: Gods and Kings (1080p; 2:33:15) is a fantastically in depth and informative seven part look at virtually every aspect of the pre-production, shooting and post-production of this epic. Making this even more of a treasure trove for fans is the so-called "Enhancement Mode," which provides portals to other "pods" (as they term it) of information.


• Enhancement Pods (1080p; 48:07) offers direct and separate access to the "pods" mentioned in the above supplement, a variety of often fascinating featurettes that cover a wealth of historical and other data.


• The Lawgiver's Legacy: Moses Throughout History (1080p; 23:14) unfortunately spends too much time on pointless interviews with the cast and crew and too little on the actual history.


• The Gods and Kings Archive includes:

  Pre-Production:

  Ridleygrams (1080p; 11:10) is a series of storyboards with Scott's notes. This is available either in auto advance or manual advance mode (the timing is for the auto advance option).

  The Art of Exodus: Gods and Kings (1080p; 32:42) is a set of galleries covering items like Costume Design. This is again available with either auto or manual advance options (the timing indicates the auto advance option).

Production:

Ridleyvision (1080p; 13:28) features Scott's "adventures" with Google Glass while filming.

Unit Photography (1080p; 34:12) offers some great behind the scenes peeks, and is again available in either auto or manual advance mode.

Post-Production and Release:

Promotional Featurettes (1080p; 20:03) offers both domestic and foreign skewed pieces.

HBO First Look (1080p; 12:14) is a glorified EPK.

Marketing Gallery:

Trailers (1080p; 10:07)

TV Spots (1080p; 6:25)

Social Media (1080p; 13:10) is a photo gallery, available in either auto or manual advance mode.

Exodus: Gods and Kings 3D Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Exodus: Gods and Kings is a problematic treatment of iconic source material, one that trades a bit too much in a post-modern approach toward its subject, while also resolutely eschewing even the hint of any "real" supernaturally Divine interference. That makes it a rather odd "Biblical" epic to begin with, something that is probably only exacerbated by some annoying performances. All of that said, the film is often quite riveting and is certainly never less than stunning from a purely visual standpoint, and (as in the case of Noah, love it or loathe it), it's a much more traditional film than perhaps even Ridley Scott meant for it to be. Technical merits are very strong and the 3D combo pack offers great supplements. With caveats noted about the film itself, Exodus: Gods and Kings comes Recommended.