Many of our readers have repeatedly asked us to add direct ratings to the reviews printed on our pages. We have made a conscious decision not to do this in the past, mostly because we are of the opinion that reviews are always highly subjective, even more so when culminated in one to five star ratings. We feel everyone has to make up his own mind about a film and a particular release. In our reviews we have the chance to highlight certain strengths and weaknesses of a release, leaving it up to our readers to decide how important certain aspects are to them. Some people feel strongly for commentary tracks while others don’t care much for it. Some people believe trailers are a must-have addition to a DVD while others never watch a trailer on a release because they actually just watched the entire movie and find a trailer superfluous. It is not up to us to make up your mind! We are here only to give you guidance and recommendations, which is much better done in text form than in a focal rating.

However, sometimes releases come along that are absolutely stellar and clearly stand out above the rest for a number of reasons. Some of these DVDs could be called the perfect releases. Discs thatfeature an incredible movie in a flawless presentation. Discs that also contain plenty of bonus materials, but not for their own sake, but to truly enhance the experience and to give people real insight into the filmmaking process. Discs that also push the technological envelope and help making DVD as a whole more attractive to audiences. A disc that is almost too good to be true.

For these rare gems we have decided to create an award, which we would like to call DVD Review’s Gold Seal Of Excellence. If you ever happen to see this award next to any of our reviews, you will know that this is a perfect disc. One that no DVD owner can afford to miss!

The disc that ultimately triggered this award, and the first DVD release to receive this seal of approval is Dreamworks’ The Prince Of Egypt for its outstanding cinematic qualities, for its technical excellence and for one of the best presentations we have ever seen on DVD!