Other Titles • The Ten Commandments • Die Zehn Gebote (1958)
Synopses for The Ten Commandments (1956)
1.
This spectacular biblical epic from legendary showman Cecil B. DeMille tells the story of Moses from his infancy to the triumphant moment when he led the Israelites out of captivity in Egypt. The film begins as the pharaoh's daughter (Yvonne De Carlo) discovers the abandoned infant Moses and takes him to the shelter of her family. Charlton Heston stars as the young man raised by the pharaoh as an Egyptian prince. Moses is righteous and kind, the favored successor to the kingdom, which results in the deep-seated jealousy of Prince Rameses (Yul Brynner). Rameses and Moses compete for the throne and the love of the young princess, Nefretiri (Anne Baxter), until Moses learns the truth about his origins and joins the Jewish slaves in their fight for freedom. After receiving the Ten Commandments from God, Moses helps free the Jews from the pharaoh's tyrannical rule, surmounting all obstacles in his way--including the parting of the Red Sea, in one of the movie's most famous scenes. Cecil B. DeMille's extravagant final film--and remake of his silent 1923 version--is a legendary combination of the master showman's love of historical realism, spectacle, lavish scenic design, and dizzying crowd sequences. The exodus alone is a stunning feat of modern cinema, featuring thousands of actors trekking through the arid desert as Pharaoh's chariots chase after them.
(12 votes)
2.
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, Amazon.com
(12 votes)
3.
Cecil B. DeMille's
For sheer pageantry and spectacle, few motion pictures can claim to equal the splendor of Cecil B. DeMille's 1956 remake of his epic The Ten Commandments. Filmed in Egypt and the Sinai with one of the biggest sets ever constructed for a motion picture, this version tells the story of the life of Moses (Charlton Heston), once favored in the Pharaoh's (Yul Brynner) household, who turned his back on a privileged life to lead his people to freedom. With a rare on-screen introduction by Cecil B. DeMille himself.
(10 votes)
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