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DVD The Ten Commandments (Special Collector's Edition)
Legendary silent film director Cecil B. DeMille didn't much alter the way he made movies after sound came in, and this 1956 biblical drama is proof of that. While graced with such 1950s niceties as VistaVision and Technicolor, The Ten Commandments (DeMille had already filmed an earlier version in 1923) has an anachronistic, impassioned style that finds lead actors Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner expressively posing while hundreds of extras writhe either in the presence of God's power or from orgiastic heat. DeMille, as always, plays both sides of the fence as far as sin goes, surrounding Heston's Moses with worshipful music and heavenly special effects while also making the sexy action around the cult of the Golden Calf look like fun. You have to see The Ten Commandments to understand its peculiar resonance as an old-new movie, complete with several still-impressive effects such as the parting of the Red Sea. --Tom Keogh
Review(s): DVD The Ten Commandments (Special Collector's Edition)
This Is A Great Movie!
The Ten Commandments is a great movie and Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner are very good in it though some of the supporting actors and extras are miscast but that doesn't distract from what an excellent movie it is and the good acting from Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner and how good the special effects are. I have this movie on video tape but I would definitely think of buying the DVD!
Grandiose Biblical Epic Retelling The Amazing Life Of Moses
Legendary director Cecil B. DeMille has gone down in cinematic history as the ultimate showman, who provided Hollywood with some of its most opulent and at times provocative productions over a half century of filmmaking. In my belief he really reached his peak with this magnificent 1956 production of "The Ten Commandments", which retold the life of Moses from the Old Testament. Often derided nowadays for being over the top or "campy", I see it as a wonderfully detailed retelling of an unforgettable story which is blessed with an incredibly expensive production rich in beautiful colour, lavish set pieces , carefully researched costumes, and many amazing special effects sequences which still look incredible even today. It is easily my favourite biblical story put onto film but any film lover can appreciate this production for its incredible production values, and for the respectful way in which this immense story is condensed into a three and a half hour running time. DeMille shows here his often underrated genius in making such a long film entertaining and the finished product is a cinema classic to cherish time and again. In a decade rich in filmed biblical stories "The Ten Commandments" towers over most of them in my belief as THE epic movie production from the 1950's.
Cecil B. DeMille took one of the most famous Old Testament stories and although large pieces of the life of Moses are still unknown to us , here has fashioned an inspiring story of one man's following of his destiny despite all the forces opposing him. "The Ten Commandments", opens with the decree by Pharaoh Rameses the First (Ian Keith),that all Hebrew first born currently kept as captives in Egypt are to be killed. We see the baby Moses spirited away by his mother and cast adrift on the Nile where he is found among the bullrushes by Pharoah's childless daughter Bithiah (Nina Foch), who raises him as her own . Many years later Moses now fully grown becomes the favoured adapted son of Pharaoh Sethi (Sir Cedric Hardwicke), much to the anger of Sethi's real son Rameses (Yul Brynner). The secret of his real heritage is kept from Moses and it is only by the chance discovery of his swaddling cloth which the devious maid Memnet (Judith Anderson), has kept all these years that Moses discovers his real ancestry. Once the favoured son of Pharaoh with a brilliant future ahead of him Moses is reduced to working in the Egyptian mud pits to make bricks for Pharaoh's new city. Once Sethi dies Rameses becomes the new Pharaoh and rids himself of Moses once an for all by exiling him to a life in the barren deserts of the Sinai. There by a miracle he encounters the clan of Jethro (Eduard Franz), and marries his eldest daughter the independant Sephora (Yvonne De Carlo). However the "God of no name", as the people call him has selected Moses to lead his people from the bondage of slavery in Egypt and after he experiences the miracle of the burning bush upon the sacred mountain Moses along with his faithful follower Joshua (John Derek), returns to Egypt and warns Rameses of what will happen to Egypt if his chosen people are not released. Only after the plagues and the death of each Egyptian families first born which includes Pharoah's son occur as prophesied by Moses does Rameses agree to release the people who then happily set off in search of their chosen land as promised to them. Along the way they experience the miracle of Moses parting the Red Sea to aid them in their escape from Egypt when Rameses chided by his wife Nefretiri (Anne Baxter),decides to pursue them. Once safely out of Egypt however Moses has many problems to overcome and when he journeys alone on to the sacred mountain to obtain God's commandments the people are stirred into rebellion by the trouble making Datham (Edward G. Robinson), who makes the people set up a false idol in the form of a golden calf. Moses returns with the inscribed tablets containing the ten commandments of God and destroys the false idol along with many who had worshipped it. Reunited under God's holy scripture written in his hand on the two tablets many years pass as Moses and his people travel through the wilderness and it is only when they reach the River Jordan that Moses realises his work is done in leading his people to freedom and he passes the mantle of leadership along to Joshua to go forth into the promised land of milk and honey as was foretold.
While historians are still not able to place an exact date on when Moses and the "exodus", took place in Egyptian history, "The Ten Commandments", choosing the time of Rameses the Great really is first class story telling enriched with many wonderful performances both large and small. Charlton Heston had without a doubt one of his most unforgettable roles in this film and he really is the very image of how most of us think Moses looked. His transformation from a man of action and Pharoah's chosen son into a man driven by his spiritual convictions and destiny is truly an inspiring performance. The other leads in a perfectly cast Yul Brynner as Rameses, Cedric Hardwicke as Sethi, and Edward G. Robinson as the villianous Dathan, provide Heston with wonderful support and keep the eventful story moving along. Yvonne De Carlo long trapped in "B", grade adventure stories here proves her real acting abilities in the touching role of the wife of Moses, Sephora who shares all his hardships and who clearly sees his greater purpose on this earth. John Derek as the ever faithful Joshua delivers one of his best ever performances here and makes Joshua a man of great inner strength and conviction that I find very inspiring. Vincent Price before he became a great horror star has here a small but highly vivid role that he relishes as the sadistic Baka, the cruel master builder who places no value on human life at all and pays dearly for those beliefs. Being a Cecil B. DeMille production you would be quite right to expect the best in every department that went toward the making of this epic which was quite rightly nominated for 7 Academy Awards in 1956 including Best Picture and which won the Best Special Effects Oscar for that year. With wonderful location photography done in Egypt and the Sinai, the superb special effects for such scenes as the building of Sethi's city, the parting of the Red Sea which really is the climax of the whole story, and the inscribing of the tablets with the Ten Commandments, are first class visuals unequalled up to that time. DeMille really did know how to put on a show and the scenes of Court life in Rameses' Palace are beautiful with their rich colour, lavish decoration and incredibly detailed costumes and contrast vividly with the hardships that Moses and his people experience in the harsh wilderness on their way to the promised land. This general look really helps make "The Ten Commandments", great viewing even for those that might not be religious minded at all but who can enjoy it as the lavish full scale historical epic that it also is.
I never tire of "The Ten Commandments", and see new qualities in it's story telling and presentation with each screening. Somehow these efforts from the 1950's hold a total sincerity about what they are trying to say that I find very appealing. Often scoffed at as a campy DeMille excursion into a fantasy past I feel that is far too harsh a critcism of this supreme effort in religious epic filmmaking. I cannot recommend Cecil B. DeMille's last effort, "The Ten Commandments", highly enough and you are sure to enjoy it on a number of different levels that have earned this film the classic status it so richly deserves. Enjoy!
It's DeMille...You'll Either Love It or Hate It!
While Cecil B. DeMille's directorial skills were sometimes too rooted in the more grandiose style of the silent era, he CERTAINLY was ALWAYS a master showman, and his 1956 remake of "The Ten Commandments" is a whale of a show! Both pious and profane, posturing and sincere, it isn't great history, but it abounds in spectacle. While he was in poor health during the filming (suffering a seizure that was either a stroke or mild heart attack, while working under the 130-degree Egyptian sun), his distinctive 'style' was never more in evidence, with broad, overwrought performances, dazzling costumes and sets, monumental climaxes, and morals that are repeatedly hammered home. In 'classic' DeMille, there ARE no 'grays', everything is 'good' or 'evil', and 'evil' WILL be punished! Watching the film, you'll either enjoy the 'ride', or you'll groan, again and again. Personally, I love it, even with it's unintentional(?) campiness!
Among my favorite 'so bad it's FUN' moments are 'Rameses' Yul Brynner and 'Nefretiri' Anne Baxter's frequent use of "Moses, Moses..." whenever he predicts something dire (Brynner looks like he can barely keep a straight face, uttering the phrase); 'Sephora' Yvonne De Carlo's stoic, yet impassioned pitch to Moses to marry her, always looking away ('into the future', I presume), when comparing her assets to Nefretiri's; 'Dathan' Edward G. Robinson's entire performance (nearly epic hamminess from one of America's finest film actors); Woody Strode's Ethiopian 'Princess' companion, who praises Moses' kindness with so much heat and honey that Nefretiri suspects he was fooling around, down south; and Sir Cedric Hardwicke's 'Sethi', turning an Egyptian Pharoah into a world-weary lovable executive-type (one can't help but wonder how Rameses could be HIS son!)
Compared to Baxter's scenery-chewing, and Brynner's posturing, Charlton Heston's portrayal of Moses is so understated that he's often been criticized as 'wooden' in the role, which is unfair; while DeMille frequently posed him to match classic statues and paintings, his complete earnestness in the role, combined with his sheer physical presence, keeps him from receding into the backround of the spectacle that surrounds him. Despite thousands of Egyptian extras portraying Hebrews during the astonishing 'Exodus' sequence, filling the screen, Heston always grabs and holds your attention; certainly no actor has ever been a more memorable Moses!
The film has some very obvious merits; many of the special effects (particularly the 'Angel of Death' vapor, and the massive parting of the Red Sea) are still astonishing, today; Elmer Bernstein's score is an often 'over-the-top' joy to listen to; and the cast includes some very entertaining supporting players, including Nina Foch, Vincent Price, and DeMille's longtime associate, Henry Wilcoxon.
Taken as spectacle, as a grand entertainment for the senses, "The Ten Commandments" is quite a show, and it's continued popularity over the past half-century is proof that many are still captivated by it.
Cecil B. DeMille, master showman, knew his audience!
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