The Ten Commandments
1956 Directed by Cecil B. DeMille
Synopsis
The Greatest Event in Motion Picture History
Escaping death, a Hebrew infant is raised in a royal household to become a prince. Upon discovery of his true heritage, Moses embarks on a personal quest to reclaim his destiny as the leader and liberator of the Hebrew people.
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**Part of the Best Picture Project**
Though he had planned to make another film, it's appropriate that Cecil B. DeMille's last film ended up being The Ten Commandments. It's a film entirely devoted to the epic spectacle that DeMille's legacy would leave behind. It's big and grand in scope, and truly devoted to the fantastical.
Dramatized from the second book of the Bible, Exodus (with some portions from Numbers and Deuteronomy taken as well), it's a well known story that seems almost appropriate for DeMille's sense of scale. Everything doesn't just look big, but the film feels big, and at nearly 4 hours, it's hard for it not to.
Charlton Heston's notable wooden acting comes in handy here to the…
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"Those who do not live by the law... shall die by the law!"
The word "Epic" gets thrown around to easy nowadays to describe films with CGI, explosions and men in costumes. There are a handful of films I would tag as "Epic", Cecil B. DeMille The Ten Commandments is one of them.
The grandeur of the film is not only view in the story itself but in the production, the acting and the scope, this is one of those rare films that set a bar for a genre and a generation.
Charlton Heston is a master actor, the man is impressive, an spectacular performance. The rest of the cast was outstanding but Heston was in another level, the man…
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In 1923, film maker extrordinaire Cecil B DeMille made a silent movie called the Ten Commandments, which, at the time was considered "epic." It clocked in at a whopping 136 minutes, and engaged in all kinds of visual trickery, most notably using a slab of jell-o cut in half to stand in for the parting of the red sea.
3 years before his death in 1959, his last movie, which he part narrates, is a remake of that epic, itself re-defining the word. Where the earlier version spent some of its time in the modern world, this takes us and plants us firmly in biblical Egypt.
Starring a cast of who's who in Hollywood at that time, it's central protagonists…
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10 Commandements’ 10 Commandments of Drinking
(an Easter Tradition)
www.outsidecommentary.com/?p=114 -
¿Quién no la vio en Canal cinco? No me la perdía. A pesar de tener ya más de cincuenta años, me sigue asombrando los efectos.
Ooooh, Cecil B. De Mille, you bastard.
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It would be easy to dismiss Cecil B. Demille's 1956 retelling of the Book of Exodus as pure Hollywood melodrama, but that would ignore just how good it really is. Sure, Demille is still framing his films as if he's still working in silents, and the dialogue tends toward the overwrought, but THE TEN COMMANDMENTS is still a stunning spectacle even 57 years later. It may be 4 hours long, but it never drags, and the sheer size and scale of the production never fail to impress. It's a traditional Hollywood epic in the best sense of the word, overcoming its hokier elements with sheer conviction and grandiosity.
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**Part of the Best Picture Project**
Though he had planned to make another film, it's appropriate that Cecil B. DeMille's last film ended up being The Ten Commandments. It's a film entirely devoted to the epic spectacle that DeMille's legacy would leave behind. It's big and grand in scope, and truly devoted to the fantastical.
Dramatized from the second book of the Bible, Exodus (with some portions from Numbers and Deuteronomy taken as well), it's a well known story that seems almost appropriate for DeMille's sense of scale. Everything doesn't just look big, but the film feels big, and at nearly 4 hours, it's hard for it not to.
Charlton Heston's notable wooden acting comes in handy here to the…
-
It would be easy to dismiss Cecil B. Demille's 1956 retelling of the Book of Exodus as pure Hollywood melodrama, but that would ignore just how good it really is. Sure, Demille is still framing his films as if he's still working in silents, and the dialogue tends toward the overwrought, but THE TEN COMMANDMENTS is still a stunning spectacle even 57 years later. It may be 4 hours long, but it never drags, and the sheer size and scale of the production never fail to impress. It's a traditional Hollywood epic in the best sense of the word, overcoming its hokier elements with sheer conviction and grandiosity.
-
"Those who do not live by the law... shall die by the law!"
The word "Epic" gets thrown around to easy nowadays to describe films with CGI, explosions and men in costumes. There are a handful of films I would tag as "Epic", Cecil B. DeMille The Ten Commandments is one of them.
The grandeur of the film is not only view in the story itself but in the production, the acting and the scope, this is one of those rare films that set a bar for a genre and a generation.
Charlton Heston is a master actor, the man is impressive, an spectacular performance. The rest of the cast was outstanding but Heston was in another level, the man…
-
We watch this every Easter. Sometimes we watch just the first half because that's when Anne Baxter is the fiercest, sometimes we watch it all. This year we just watched the first half.
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One of those films that define the word "epic." Cecil B. DeMille's final film is also his best. With great acting (especially from Yul Bryner), a great story, and visual effects that were revolutionary at the time, this film is a triumph. My only issue (and the reason I don't watch it often) is the length. And even at that, this is probably the greatest biblical story ever told on film.
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A long, but very effective portrayal of the story of Moses.
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Easily the silliest Technicolor extravaganza of the 1950's. Having said that, I have loved this film beyond all reason for most of my life. I am not religious at all and I could care less about God's laws. I guess I respond to the epic film-making.
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Ok, ok I know. It's the hammiest of hammy movies. It doesn't capture the true spirit of Moses. It manufactures romance and intrigue that might get in the way if you're looking for something more truly "biblical."
But "The Ten Commandments" was and remains an indelible part of my life both as a child and as an adult, overflowing with De Millian grandeur from stem to stern.
The sumptuous sets, the proverbial cast of thousands, the gorgeous costumes and grand scenery-chewing set pieces do not fade with familiarity. In fact it occurs to me each year (it is an annual Passover ritual) that my reactions to it now are the same as my reactions to it as a child. I…
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This review reportedly contains spoilers. I can handle the truth.