Faunus Reviews

The Prince of Egypt (1998)

You'll laugh...you'll cry...you'll wish Disney had done it!!!

[7/10 · 20 December 1998]

All year long, we've heard how fantastic the animation and music in THE PRINCE OF EGYPT (the second animated film from the fledgling DreamWorks company in one year) would be. How unlike anything else we had ever seen it would be. How...well, you get the picture.

It started out wonderfully. (I believe the name of the song is "Deliver Us") Ofra Haza, who provided the interesting Egyptian background to "Pump Up the Volume" by one-hit-wonder Marrs over a decade ago) was moving as Yocheved, mother of the infant Moses. And the animation was immense, sprawling, fabulous!!!

But just past the chariot race (the film's second big animation scene) it started losing a lot of what the opening sequence had promised us. Facial features on the adult Rameses looked more like cheap television animation than state of the art computerized animation. The music was...well, boring. And I'm sorry but Tzipporrah looked a little too much like Disney's Pocahontas for my comfort--in fact, her entire outfit looked more Native American than it did Midian.

This is not to say there were not moments that took my breath. The parting (and crossing) of The Red Sea was amazing. And the animation and song during which the hand of God smote the Egyptian empire (er...the plagues, that is) was nothing short of flawless.

See this movie, yes. But remember, Disney's done animation longer and better, and unless Dreamworks comes a long way soon, Disney will continue to dominate. And also, make sure you read the real story of Exodus and don't take Hollywood's word for it.

Psycho (1998)

I'll tell you why...

[8/10 · 6 December 1998]

...because he could.

Who in their right mind would not, if they had the means and the opportunity, take their favorite film and so honor it? Gus Van Sant has taken his favorite film, dusted it off, polished it up and made it new again. Yes, it's the same screenplay, the same score and even some of the same locations, but it never tries to outdo the original or replace it.

I saw the remake at a matinee show and then rented the original.

Both stand alone. Heche, for instance, gives us a colder, more calculating Marion Craine, whereas Janet Leigh played the sneaky siren more like a doe trapped in oncoming headlights. And Vaughn's Norman is creepier, more childlike, laughing almost maniacally at his own lame jokes while stuffing his face with candy. Perkins's Norman was ovbiously mad from the first second he stepped into his first scene. With Vaughn, you can understand why Marion Craine would have trusted him--he had his "sane" act down.

Hitchcock's Psycho and Van Sant's Psycho are more like brothers than rivals. Anyone going to the theater to prove the remake never should have been made should save him/herself the indigestion and stay home.

Keys to Tulsa (1997)

Skip it.

[1/10 · 6 December 1998]

Perhaps the biggest waste of production time, money and the space on the video store shelf. If someone suggests you see this movie, run screaming in the other direction. Unless, of course, you're into self-abuse.