Exodus: Gods and Kings 3D Blu-ray (2014) [Region Free]

[HDTV1080P]

Exodus God’s and Kings Blu-ray 3-D Best Buy exclusive version (a brief user review)

Exodus God’s and Kings had a budget of $140 million dollars and box office sells of over $268 million dollars. Exodus God’s and Kings is a family friendly PG-13 movie with no foul language during the entire movie (The bonus material on the dedicated unrated bonus Blu-ray disc does have some foul language that may offend some people, see bonus feature section of this review for more details). The story of Moses is popular with the Judaism faith, Christian faith, and the Islamic faith (this is the target audience for this type of faith based movie). This Exodus Gods and Kings movie is written in a way that leaves things open to interpretation by the viewer and their belief system, since some scenes in the movie are not a literal interpretation of the historical Exodus record found in the second book of the Torah and Christian Old Testament. Instead, there are some scenes that use artistic license to tell the story of Moses. Therefore, some atheists will enjoy the movie since some of the plagues can be explained by natural causes instead of a divine power (At the same time those that believe in God will interrupt the naturally occurring plagues as God’s judgement against ancient Egypt). Ridley Scott’s Exodus movie has both excellent historical accuracies and historical errors. I originally saw Exodus Gods and Kings in a 3-D theater back on December 12th 2014. Seeing the movie a second time on Blu-ray resulted in me enjoying the movie even more after the second viewing. I do disagree with the artistic license of using an image of a Child as being God instead of God being a spirit. I enjoyed the classic 1956 Cecil B. DeMille’s Ten Commandments storyline more since I preferred the way God is shown in the 1956 version of the story of Moses and the Exodus. The Exodus God’s and Kings Blu-ray is a must own since the special effects are outstanding and realistic. Ridley Scott’s Exodus movie is the best of the best so far when it comes to seeing the plagues and the parting of the red sea.

Video quality

There are a total of 3 Blu-ray discs that come with the Best Buy exclusive Exodus Gods and Kings Blu-ray 3-D version. All 3 Blu-ray discs are dual layer discs and almost use the full 50GB of space. The Blu-ray 3-D version of the movie uses a total of 45.5GB out of 50GB (average 3D MVC bit rate is 32Mbps). The Blu-ray 2-D version of the movie uses a total of 44.3GB out of 50GB (average 2D AVC bit rate is 27.5Mbps). The Blu-ray Bonus material disc uses a total of 45.4GB out of 50GB. The 2-D version of the movie and all the bonus features use the MPEG-4/AVC codec at 1080P quality.

In the movie theater, I saw Exodus Gods and Kings in 3-D, and the 3-D quality was excellent. However, at this time I do not own a high-end 3-D projector. In the future, I will most likely purchase a 3-D projector. Therefore, my video comments are for the 2-D version of Exodus God’s and Kings when watched on a reference 60 inch Pioneer PRO-141FD display. The Red Epic camera system had some beautiful images. The 2-D video was just gorgeous and is reference material. Facial detail and overall resolution detail was excellent. The color quality was excellent with a nice deep black level. I have no complaints about the picture quality when viewing this movie in 2-D.

Audio quality

Exodus Gods and Kings is encoded in 7.1 DTS-HD Master audio which is bit for bit exactly the same as the 7.1 PCM studio master. For commercial movie theaters that are setup to play Dolby Atmos soundtracks, this movie was also released with a Dolby Atmos soundtrack in theaters only, however the Blu-ray does not contain any Dolby Atmos soundtrack.

I used a reference 7.1 listening room with tower speakers while watching Exodus Gods and Kings. The 7.1 lossless soundtrack mix and overall audio quality was outstanding. Ridley Scott movies in general have excellent reference quality soundtracks. All 7.1 speakers are used during many different parts of the movie with very clear easy to understand dialogue coming out of the center channel speaker. Exodus Gods and Kings on Blu-ray is reference quality. When it comes to faith based movies, there has never been another faith based movie that has sounded this good.

Bonus features on the 2-D Blu-ray disc

100% of all the bonus features on both Blu-ray discs use the MPEG-4/AVC codec at 1080P quality.

I really enjoyed listening to the audio commentary track with Ridley Scott and co-writer Jeffrey Caine. In addition to that I turned on the Exodus Historical Guide which is a trivia track with pop up information that contains a lot of interesting historical information. Some of the deleted scenes were also interesting.

Exclusive Best Buy Bonus material Blu-ray disc

Every retail store and Internet website that sells the Exodus Gods and Kings Blu-ray 3-D package will ship the 3-disc Blu-ray set with a bonus material Blu-ray disc that contains over 5 hours of extras. The exclusive Best Buy bonus Blu-ray disc just adds 30 minutes of RED SEA visual effects. Overall, the bonus material was interesting to watch and contained a wide variety of information. The amount and quality of extra features is worth a 5 star out of 5 if one ignores the brief language issue. I watched all the bonus material and enjoyed the extras except for the foul language issue. Exodus Gods and Kings is a faith based movie for religious families. The movie is rated PG-13 and contains no foul language during the entire movie, in addition those that purchase the 2-D Blu-ray version will have no foul language while watching the bonus features. It’s only on the Blu-ray 3-D version of the movie where there is some foul language on the bonus material Blu-ray disc that might be offensive to some. Under the MPAA rules the f word can only be used twice for a PG-13 movie. However since the bonus material on this Blu-ray disc is unrated the f word can be used unlimited times. In fact the f-word is used several times in the extra features along with the s-word at least once, mother f, and Jesus name used as a profanity in vain. The only reason I am mentioning this issue is because I have never seen a faith based movies bonus material use profanity before. I understand that secular film crews are under a lot of pressure when making a movie, however for a faith based movies bonus material it would have been ideal to beep out the profanities. Some parts of the bonus material on the Blu-ray disc are not for playing back at a church Sunday school.

1. For example within the first 6 minutes of “Keepers of the Covenant Making Exodus Gods and Kings” the f word is used twice.

2. Another example of where all kinds of foul language is used is after 8 minutes into the “The Gods and Kings Archives: Production: Ridleyvision”

Conclusion

Exodus Gods and Kings is an excellent faith based movie with outstanding special effects that brings the historical text alive on the screen. The movie contains both historically accurate scenes along with artistic license for many other parts of the movie. The picture and 7.1 lossless audio is reference material. Over 5 hours of very interesting bonus material makes this movie an excellent bargain on Blu-ray 3-D. If the foul language issue on the bonus material Blu-ray disc is an issue for some families then one can purchase the 2-D Blu-ray version of the movie instead of the 3-D version to eliminate language that some people are offended by.

[levcore]

I never even thought about the language thing. I daresay i didn't even notice any bad language when i watched the making of! I must be immune to it.

[levcore]

The extras on this are immense, absolutely fantastic. Hours and hours of in depth stuff, brilliant.

[scherzo]

Originally Posted by levcore

I completely disagree, what was confusing or badly presented about the whole red sea sequence? It was great.

The confusion begins with Scott's bizarre decision to eschew the parting altogether. The crossing starts in water that appears a foot or so deep, but seems to wildly vary in depth depending on the shot. Moses and co. can see they're being chased down, but it's never clear just how far away the Egyptian chariots are. The shorelines are poorly defined on both ends, and I'd love to know how Rameses ended up on a different side than Moses after being swamped.(there's a reason Demille had him just wait behind)

I do agree the 3D improves on Prometheus, and really enhanced the Exodus experience overall.

[levcore]

Originally Posted by scherzo

The confusion begins with Scott's bizarre decision to eschew the parting altogether. The crossing starts in water that appears a foot or so deep, but seems to wildly vary in depth depending on the shot. Moses and co. can see they're being chased down, but it's never clear just how far away the Egyptian chariots are. The shorelines are poorly defined on both ends, and I'd love to know how Rameses ended up on a different side than Moses after being swamped.(there's a reason Demille had him just wait behind)

I do agree the 3D improves on Prometheus, and really enhanced the Exodus experience overall.

I see now what you are saying. The change in depth of water is no doubt due to the fact that no sea bead is completely flat and as they are crossing you can see there are dips and rocky bits, with more water in the dips that they have to wade through. In watching the extra features Ridley definitely wanted to ground the red sea parting in as much natural fact as possible as he says as much, so it is done as if there had been an earthquake and all the water got sucked out, then came back as a tidal wave. of course this will not satisfy purists and i understand that. Good point about them ending up on opposite sides though as they were very close together when the wave crashed down upon them.

[Impossible]

Excuse my ignorance as I don't know the original story but which scene was actually meant to be the parting of the red sea?

Was it meant to be the end bit when they were all racing down the beach?

[levcore]

Originally Posted by Impossible

Excuse my ignorance as I don't know the original story but which scene was actually meant to be the parting of the red sea?

Was it meant to be the end bit when they were all racing down the beach?

Yes that whole section when they arrive at the beach and the sea begins to drain away. It was depicted very differently in the Cecile B DeMille version.

[nycomet]

Originally Posted by levcore

Yes that whole section when they arrive at the beach and the sea begins to drain away. It was depicted very differently in the Cecile B DeMille version.

I know! It was like Ramses flushed his toilet and all the water in the Red Sea went down!

But I must say the ensuing tsunami (accompanied by several tornadoes) was total eye candy!

[Show spoiler]
If you ever see this (water slowly drains away):

84791_large.jpg

Get ready for THIS (water comes back in full force):

Wave.jpg

[StingingVelvet]

I got the deluxe edition when it was $16.99. Sold the digital code for $4 and now just sold the 3D disc on ebay for $14 all by itself. I want to thank Fox for paying me $1 to own the BD and special features disc.

[levcore]

I listened to the commentary over the weekend, great commentary as expected but sadly Ridley doesn't really discuss 3D. It's pretty much the only thing he leaves out, which is a real shame. I perhaps would have preferred two commentary tracks also as it's Ridley and the writer and it divides time between the two (recorded separately).

I rewatched the movie as well, this time with my parents who enjoyed it a lot, although my Mother took issue with a few of the changes that had been made and some of the dialogue used. This is such an immense 3D experience and is probably in my top ten movies for 3D. Stunning use of the format.

[sookymonster]

Originally Posted by StingingVelvet

I got the deluxe edition when it was $16.99. Sold the digital code for $4 and now just sold the 3D disc on ebay for $14 all by itself. I want to thank Fox for paying me $1 to own the BD and special features disc.

Why are you posting in a 3d forum if you sold your 3d disc and probably don't like 3d?

I'm confused..

[infiniteCR]

This was absolutely STUNNING in 3D!

More of this Hollywood

[mulscul]

This is currently $12.99 at Amazon and Best Buy for anyone thinking of getting this for the documentary and bonuses but weren't that big of a fan of the film.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listi...8308701&sr=1-1

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/exodus-g...&skuId=2036012

[keenly]

Poor, tame 3D.

[MattJ1991]

Is it weird that I'm considering picking this up because I want to watch the Making Of Doc? The movie was average in my opinion but I love in depth making of features.

[TheLivingEnd]

Originally Posted by MattJ1991

Is it weird that I'm considering picking this up because I want to watch the Making Of Doc? The movie was average in my opinion but I love in depth making of features.

Not even a little. I myself am fascinated by all aspects of filmmaking and found the bonus materials on this to not disappoint in the slightest.

[MattJ1991]

Originally Posted by TheLivingEnd

Not even a little. I myself am fascinated by all aspects of filmmaking and found the bonus materials on this to not disappoint in the slightest.

That great to hear. Amazon.ca has the collectors edition on sale so I think it's time to take the plunge.

[levcore]

Even if you're not crazy about the movie you may also find the commentary an interesting listen

[MattJ1991]

I just got this. I got Best Buy to price match Amazon so it was only $12.99 for the 3D Deluxe Edition. I'm going to watch the Making of Documentary before the Academy Awards tomorrow

[PRO-630HD]

Very desaturated bluray compared to the 2D version. Decreased contrast with raised blacks as well.