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Visitors Review

Jonathan Farrugia 2013-05-20 09:26:17

What a film!

This is surely one of the best biblical epics ever to be filmed. Even thoughit is terribly long, it is also terribly inspiring. The use of colour (oreven the lack of it) is very ingenious, the script is intelligent, theacting is excellent, the visual effects are marvellous, the setting isrealistic, the score fits excellently and overall it is GREAT. It was avery intelligent idea not to base the script only on the Holy Scriptures,but also on other novels. This gave the plot an original story, whereeveryone knows how it will end, but how this end is reached is a mystery.The love sub-plots are also interesting bringing up such issues as maledominion over slave-girls, forbidden love and marrying for love instead forpro-creation. Sadly this was C.B. de Mille's last film, but on secondthoughts it could not have been better than this way: his last film ranksamongst his best and among the very best in cinema history.

user-554-485417 2013-05-19 16:23:58

Fantastic movie!

I watched the Ten Commandments. It is a movie filmed in the 1950s, onemy dad's favorites. I am amazed by how the visual effects were so goodback then. The parting of the sea was not as good as it is now, but Iam amazed that they could do that with such little technology. This isa summary of the movie: Moses was cast in the Nile in a basket. Hismother was protecting him from being killed by orders of the EgyptianPharaoh. An Egyptian princess finds him and takes him as one of herown. As Moses grows to become a great general, he falls in love withNefretiri. While an old woman, who was actually his mother, was workingon a pillar, she was almost crushed to death. Moses saw this and toldoff the supervisor. He then met Joshua, who tells him about God. Mosesreally wanted the slaves to not endure so much suffering in their work.Ramseses calls Moses the "Deliverer". Moses was the person to fulfillthe prophecy. Memnet tells Nefretiri about how Moses is a Hebrew. Shekills him. Moses goes to his family and realizes that he is a Hebrew.Liliah is engaged to Joshua, but Baka tries to capture her. Joshuasaves her but is captured instead. Moses rescues Joshua but kills Baka.Dathan hears Moses telling Joshua that he is a Hebrew. Moses isarrested, but he claims that he only wants to free the slaves. Moses issent to the desert and comes to the land of Midian. He meets severalgirls and he learns that their father is a Hebrew. Moses marries one ofthe daughters. When Moses was taking care of the sheep, he saw aburning bush. It was God's voice telling him to free the Hebrews. Mosesreturns to Egypt, but the pharaoh wouldn't let Moses' people go. Tenplagues were then set upon Egypt. The pharaoh's first born dies. He wasso distraught that finally he let the Hebrews go. Moses parts the RedSea and the Hebrews run to the other side of the sea. But as thepharaoh's warriors followed them, the sea closed and they drowned. AsMoses goes up to Mount Sainai to receive the Ten Commandments, hisfollowers built the Golden Calf. When Moses finds out, he becomesfurious and throws the tablets at the Golden Calf, causing it toexplode. God sends them to wander around the desert for 40 years.

Michael Neumann 2013-05-18 16:43:48

the widest of widescreen guilty pleasures

Cecil B. DeMille reads between the lines of Holy Scripture and rewritesthe Book of Exodus, with enough color, claptrap, and spectacle to fillseveral bibles. In a modest prologue the director himself introducesthe film, claiming it to be "based on historical documents", includingone particularly Gnostic text which (quoting Egyptian princess'Nefretiri') refers to Moses as a "sweet, stubborn, adorable fool".The production is a textbook exercise in epic entertainment, withCharlton Heston stepping into the mighty sandals of Moses and leadingthe nation of Israel out of Egyptian bondage, parting the Red Sea alongthe way. After such a show-stopping climax the encore carving of theactual Commandments atop Mount Sinai can't help but seemanti-climactic, and still requires some clarification: what kind ofexample does the Author of 'thou shall not kill' set by slaughteringthe firstborn of Egypt and drowning half the Pharaoh's army?DeMille approaches the story with all the gravity of a religiouscrusade, which of course only amplifies its many guilty pleasures. Thefilm was made for true believers, but perhaps only an unrepentantfreethinker could appreciate such hammy declamation of truly classiccornball dialogue. And with a running time of 3-hours and 39-minutes,thank the Lord His inventory of commandments ended at ten.

2013-05-18 08:12:00

not your "run of DeMille" picture

Mr. DeMille exits his Hollywood career in the grandest style with thisepic.Although the film contains several cosmetic additions to the BiblicalMoses story it is told in broad strokes. The cast is top-notch (thoughcampy in parts) but the special effects for their time are great!This wasthe first Biblical movie that made a lasting impression on me as a child.The exit from Egypt is indeed your cast of thousands!

vincentlynch-moonoi 2013-05-17 20:06:14

A true classic epic

How much you like and appreciate this film probably depends upon threefactors: how you feel about old-fashioned Christianity, how you feelabout the excesses of Technicolor, and how you feel about CharletonHeston. Due to his conservative gun-toting beliefs, it's not easy forme to watch Heston, but I willingly make two exceptions -- this film,and Ben-Hur. This is old-fashioned story telling at its best, as toldby a master story-teller -- Cecil B. Demille. And it shows...adjustedfor inflation, it is the 5th highest grossing film in Hollywood'shistory.The only downer is that if you have a high definition television, thefact that many of the scenes are played in front of a screen behindwhich are projected realistic scenes of Egypt will be obvious...butagain, this was 1957.The scope of the story is tremendous, and its length (220 minutes)reflects that. But, there's not a minute wasted. Particularly wellacted are a number of scenes, including the one where Moses (Heston)learns of his true heritage. This is an interesting scene, too, becausethe acting is almost more of a classical nature, here. And, who canforget that first time they saw Moses part the Red Sea? Yes, today itlooks rather cartoonish, but when you consider that this film was madein 1956, that special effects becomes very impressive.There are too many actors to give note to each of their performances,but I will mention a few: This was Heston's most impressive role todate, and indeed, he is commanding in this role. Yul Brynner, alwayslow on my list as an actor, is, nevertheless equally impressive here asPharaoh Rameses II; he really struts! Anne Baxter is wonderful asNefretiri, the love interest of both Moses and Ramses. Edward G.Robinson -- though one of the bad guys -- is extremely effective asDathan. I was surprised to learn that it was Yvonne De Carlo who wasplaying Moses' wife...quite a good performance. John Derek, as Joshua,is very good here. Sir Cedric Hardwicke is impressive as Pharaoh Seti,as is Nina Foch as Bithiah, the adoptive mother of Moses and sister toSeti. The venerable Martha Scott is wonderful as the natural mothers ofMoses (just as she was later the mother of Ben-Hur. Henry Wilcoxon isanother face you'll recognize and appreciate...this time as Pharaoh'scharioteer. And I was happy to notice H.B. Warner (the druggist in"It's A Wonderful Life") as a sick old man.This is such a classic film that anyone interested in American cinemaought to watch it attentively at least once. Definitely one for the DVDshelf.

TheFilmConnoisseur 2013-05-17 13:42:40

A Holiday Classic

It has become a tradition to watch the Ten Commandments on Easter Sunday.And being that this is Easter I have decided to review this timelessclassic.****Excellent***Good**Fair*PoorDirected by Cecil B. DeMille and starring the god like figure of CharltonHeston as Moses. This is a biblical epic that despite your beliefs is anessential in epics. The movie admires the fact about how one man can makeadifference and how human nature can be our destruction. It is an epicmasterpiece!RATING: 4 STARS (****)Happy Easter everyone!

joebergeron 2013-05-16 04:17:56

Not such a bad guy...

It seems to me that Ramesses gets an unfairly bad rap from this movie.Sure, he's arrogant and bossy, but after all, he was of the royal lineof Egypt! In his competition with Moses, he was straightforward,honest, and did not stoop to unfair subterfuge. Why shouldn't heconsider Dathan's revelation a valid reason to disqualify Moses frombecoming Pharaoh? Even after achieving this victory, and having Mosestotally at his mercy, he does not execute his rival, but exiles him,even predicting that he'll forget his troubles with another woman.After several years, Moses shows up again, in total violation of thePharoah's edict. Ramesses reacts to this with unusual forbearance. Hemerely smirks, and permits Moses to hang around his court. Mosesdisrupts the river purification ceremony, but Ramesses prevents anyonefrom killing him. Moses turns up on a private terrace while Ramesses istrying to read, and instead of having Moses killed, Ramesses merelytries to ignore him and wishes he'd quit bugging him. In fact Moses isattacking his kingdom with multiple supernatural assaults, yet Ramessestries to shrug it all off as natural events and fails to molest hisfoster brother, or the Hebrews, until he has endured many provocations.Finally he reaches the reasonable decision to free the slaves, only tobe turned from this by the manipulations of Nefretiri, a foolish act ofpride and weakness on his part, not of evil. By the way, in the Bibleit is God who mysteriously hardens Pharaoh's heart all these times, notNefretiri.After his plan to kill the Hebrew firstborn backfires, he again decidesto free the slaves. The damage to Egypt would have been contained ifnot for the further scheming of Nefretiri. Of course we know fromhistory that Ramesses II was one of the most successful of all Egyptianpharaohs, and went on to an extraordinarily long and prosperous reign.I am left with the impression that Ramesses regarded Moses with acertain respect. Moses was certainly a more interesting characterbefore his encounter with the Burning Bush. I think if these two guyshad ever sat down together without their respective sticks beinginserted, they could have worked things out and avoided all kinds oftrouble. Of course that might have taken a toll on the movie's dramaticcontent.

jyoung-11 2013-05-15 20:55:26

The Biblical Epic

Having seen Yul Brynner in 'The King and I', Cecil B. DeMille decided tocast him as Ramsees in this biblical epic. From here, Brynner's career wasset for the rest of his life.This four hour epic is arguably the spectacle of all biblical epics, andranks alongside 'Ben Hur' as an epic film. DeMille's style is very stageyand Victorian in all of his films (with the exception of 'Samson andDelilah'), and makes you feel as though you are watching a Victorian stageplay rather than a film.However, Yul Brynner's acting is second to none, and the dialogue betweenRamsees, Moses and Pharoah is pure genius. It is arguably a culmination ofall of DeMille's work, but certainly not his best. He approaches the film ina very scholarly manner, but does not leave behind his Victorian stagedirection roots. In some scenes the dialogue and interaction between thecharacters rings bells of earlier films like 'The Plainsman' and 'North WestMounted Police', and surprisingly, the film does not build up to a climax as'Samson and Delilah' did.The film does belong in the DeMille canon not because it is a self containedentertaining film, but because it is a culmination of all of his previouswork, it is a biblical epic, and he approaches it from a scholarly manner.The one person that has DeMille to thank for establishing his career is YulBrynner.

Tim Cox 2013-05-14 00:32:49

The Ten Commandments

DeMille epic is superb for its brilliantcinematography and early mastering of specialeffects.

PeachHamBeach 2013-05-13 07:18:30

I don't care, I'll always LOVE it!!!

"Oh Moses, Moses...you stubborn, splendid, adorable fool!!!"Hollywood's view of the Bible, yep!!! Over the top acting??? You bet!!! Thesame themes over and over??? Of course!!! Long??? Oh yeah!!!So what???!!! THE TEN COMMANDMENTS starring Charlton Heston, Anne Baxter,Yul Brynner, Cedrick Hardwicke, Edward G. Robinson, Vincent Price and JohnDerek is the great Cecil B. Demille classic of all time. THE PRINCE OFEGYPT, that fairly recent animated film was a beautifully done, state of theart telling of the exact same story, yet it will never go down in historylike this 1956 epic!!! Even with all its Hollywood-ized content (glamour, passion, white facesportraying ancient dark skinned civilizations, with the exception of thoseportraying Nubians, Ethiopians and a few Arabs), THE TEN COMMANDMENTS is anoble, sincere, God-glorifying piece of film, presenting all of itscharacters as humans, showing humanity in all of its lightness, darkness,and imperfection. Moses, who begins as a "fair young god", a heartthrob who has the heart ofNefretiri and a conqueror who returns in triumph from a war with Ethiopia,evolves completely into a prophet of God, a sober, serious leader whodelivers the Hebrews out of 400 years of horrible slavery. Nefretiri, theperfect female, skin as white as curd, arms as soft as the breast of a dove,madly in love with the heartthrob, shows her dark side when Moses, havingreturned from exile to confront the Pharoah, refuses to resume their loveaffair. We even love Sethi, played to absolute perfection by the greatBritish actor Hardwicke. We know he has no love for the Hebrew nation, thatthey are no better than worms to him, yet we see him as a human being, awonderful father figure, a man who loves his children, (it is a fact that inthose days, half sisters and half brothers married, so Nefretiri and Rameseshad the same father and different mothers) no matter what else he is.Robinson is memorable too, as troublesome Dathan, who is constantly plantingand sowing seeds of doubt and distrust into the peoples' minds as theyjourney from Egypt to Canaan. He and Yul Brynner had some great dialoguescenes: "A rat's ears and a ferret's nose" "To use in your service, GloriousOne!!!"The one loathsome character I could feel nothing for was Rameses, played bythe stonefaced Brynner. I have never really observed any of this actor'sother work, not even Westworld, so I cannot compare this performance to anyother. I only felt contempt for him, and I doubt if Brynner is a bad actor.It's probably rather the character of Rameses who is devoid of humanity. Iadmit he had some cruelly good lines: "Give this Prince of Israel one day'sration of bread and water" and "They SHALL remember the name of Moses...onlythat he died under my chariot wheels!!!"The costumes are gorgeous. I too loved Lilia's golden gown that Baka madeher wear, and Nefretiri's many sheer veils were lovely. The jewelry, wararmour, and of course the robes of the peasant Hebrews wereexcellent.

Stephen Stranges 2013-05-13 07:33:30

You either love it or hate it. I LOVE it.

I, like many others, love this film. It is one of the greatest evermade, and most of those who condemn it do so either because theyconsider DeMille to have been talentless or because the film does notstick close enough to the Bible. The latter are generally ignorant ofthe research done for the film by Henry S. Noerdlinger (see his veryinformative book, "Moses & Egypt: The Documentation to the MotionPicture...")Director's style: DeMille's family bible & those found in many19th-cent. homes were graced by the engravings of Gustave Dore, aFrench artist of the mid-1800's. His style, like that of the 17th-cent.French painter Poussin, was highly theatrical, with figures beingdepicted in admittedly unnatural poses, looking as if they weresculpted figures lifted from the frieze of the Parthenon. These artistswere depicting larger-than-life events (like the Exodus) & did not wishto show them as mundane, everyday occurrences. DeMille's critics shouldlook at these artists' attention to colour, composition, and exquisitedetail, & then compare them to the works of later, more famous artistsand try to maintain that the earlier works are inferior. Indeed, theydisplay a level of talent which the later ones either did not possessor chose not to display. It is thus unfair to condemn DeMille's style,as every director has his own, either flamboyant or low-key.I won't address the question of whether or not Moses existed, but willsay that the "Biblical Minimalists" who reject almost everything in theearly part of the Torah have a very prejudiced agenda. Eager to destroythe hold that Judaism/Christianity have on people, they do their bestto invalidate these religions' foundations. Appealing to questionableanachronisms in the Bible, they try to show that these cast doubt onthe whole narrative, even though impartial, creditable scholars havefound ample (though often circumstantial evidence) to support theexistence of Abraham, Moses, etc. The question of who the Pharaoh ofthe Exodus was is tied to chronological considerations beyond the scopeof this review, but many conservative scholars still put forth RamesesII as the best candidate. Story: An intoxicating mix of the Bible & somewhat streamlined Egyptianhistory. The love affair between Moses & Nefretiri as well as thecharacters of Memnet & Baka were taken from "Prince of Egypt," a novelby Dorothy Clarke Wilson. Some liberties with the Bible are taken: oneof them was a virtual necessity. In Ex. 32, when Moses finds his peopleworshipping the golden calf, he orders his fellow-Levites to slay 3000of them. A mod. audience could not accept such brutality unless it camefrom God.. Thus the writers combined 2 incidents: the calf episode &the destruction of Dathan & Abiram, who were indeed swallowed up by theearth in a separate rebellion (Numbers 16). The writers incorporatedtraditions from the Midrash on Exodus into the film with consummateskill. The prominent role assigned to Dathan comes from such sources,as does the participation of Bithiah in the Exodus. Performances: Heston & Brynner are superb. Their acting is, at times,rather histrionic, but it should be remembered that in an epic lessthan grandiose-style acting is not in keeping with the subject matter.Yes, Anne Baxter hammed it up (but less than Jethro's daughters, whogush like lovesick teenagers over Moses), but such minor complaints areeclipsed by the overall lustre of the film, which does not have asingle boring minute. Some have said that Edward G. Robinson seems toomuch like the gangster characters he played in other films. I had neverseen these films prior to watching "The 10 Commandments"; so thiscriticism only applies if one is accustomed to seeing him in suchroles.Costumes: EXCELLENT. Even Moses' red robe with black & white stripes isbased on a Jewish trad. which ascribes these colours to the Levitetribe, to which Moses belongs. The Egyptians (except for the priests)did NOT only wear white & were able to produce very diaphanousmaterials, though not as gorgeous as those seen on screen, but all thejewellery is authentic. Also, the dress of Egyptian queens did notemphasize the breasts, but DeMille was shrewd enough to realize thatAnne Baxter's cleavage would attract male audiences. Sets & Props: VERY accurate: reliefs on treasure city's pylons wereinspired by actual 19th Dynasty designs...throne seen in opening whereRameses I condemns all Hebrew male newborns to death is an EXACTreplica of one found in Tutankhamun's tomb. Lettering on tablets isauthentic Canaanite/Paleo-Hebrew.Special FX: Still look fantastic, though matte lines can be detected;their surreal look is effective. Use of effects animation to createpillar of fire better than real fire, as the Bib. fire was an unearthlyone. An interesting & racially progressive element in the film is found inscene where Moses presents Ethiopian king & sister to Sethi. In 1956racist America, it would have been unthinkable to show Moses involvedwith a black woman. But DeMille managed to suggest something here whichwould elude viewers unfamiliar with Josephus. In this source, Moses, asgeneral of the Eg. army, cannot capture Saba, the Ethiopian capital,until Princess Tharbis (her name appears in the credits but is notspoken on screen) tells Moses that she will deliver the city to him ifhe weds her, to which he agrees. In the film, Tharbis (Esther Brown),with a provocative expression, hands a necklace to Moses, saying thathe is "wise." Sethi: "It is pleasing to the gods to see a man sohonoured by his enemies." "And such a beautiful enemy!" Nefretiricomments. Why is Moses wise? Because he married Tharbis to conquerSaba! And Nefretiri sees her as a rival! In a prejudiced era, DeMillewas very daring. So much for accusations of his lacking subtlety! Hewas really quite progressive!

Gislef 2013-05-13 03:45:11

Epic Schmepic

Oh, please - the dialogue sounds like it flowed from the pen of Ed Woods(really - check out the Memorable Quotes). It takes forever for the plot toget anywhere, and the Moses/Nefretiri romance wouldn't be out of place in aafternoon soap opera. Charles Heston must curse this movie with every otherbreath, so badly did it typecast him for years to come. The F/X areimpressive, and a lot of money was also spent on cast and locations. Withits annual Easter showings on network TV, it's perhaps the most memorable ofthe old-style "epics," but it just doesn't stand up toscrutiny.

2013-05-11 02:21:00

One of my Favorite Movies

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS is a film that will inspire all. There is good and evil present in all forms of society. This film is good old fashioned film making with an important message about the human spirit: it flaws, weaknesses and triumphs. Yul Brynner is very good.

scribbler-2 2013-05-10 15:52:10

Visually (archetypically?) predictable.

To those familiar with theoreticalconcepts of filmmaking my commentshere will probably appear ridiculous;however, to me, a complete layman,the things that I want to talk about seem rather intriguing.First, I'd like to say that the TenCommandments is the only epic of itskind that I happened to see so far,which, by the way, I did just a littlewhile ago, because this kind of movie is not, shall we say, your everydayentertainment in the predominantlyatheistic Russia.What attracts me to this film, however, isn't its subject matteror particular genre, but rather something about its cinematography, which I never noticed in any other movie.The thing that I found remarkable is that every major (and hence predictable) scene looks exactly as you would expect it to look like in terms of the composition, the camera angle and the general direction in which the charactersmove.Do other people feel so too, or is it just me? Maybe we're talking about some archetypes here? Anyway, plainly speaking, it looks like Mr. DeMille was someone who really managed to strike the right chord.

Walzking 2013-05-10 03:23:00

As indestructible as the Pyramids themselves, and as human....

Every time I stumble across this essential slab of Hollywoodiana on cable,satellite, etc., I sit for a few minutes, cackling like a road-companyJackNicholson at the utter cheesiness of it all, and the numbing seriousnesswith which everyone in the super-starry cast seems to approachit.But may that scary Old Testament God of the Hebrews strike me with 11plagues if, after the manic reaction wears off, I'm not utterly hooked onit, AGAIN.It's the exuberance that DeMille, then in his 70s, brings to this timelessdreck that saves it; it's as if he's blithely indifferent to thequasi-Kahlil Gibran-esque dialogue and the danger of meddling too muchwithone of the Almighty's fave tales. He just keeps piling on the extras andtheset decoration until it all just WORKS.The acting is resolutely stony, with Chuck Heston (then all of 26) settingthe tone with the granitine baritone and the chiseled features of acinematic golem. (For all that, he'd never give a better actingperformancein toto than this one.) The smirking Anne Baxter holds up the distaff endwith sleazy, slippery girlpower, and the very yong Yul Brynner matchesHeston brick for brick as the young Rameses.The veteran Edward G. Robinson, playing the scheming Jew that allProtestantAmerica knows lurks in corporate boardrooms the world over, seems to betheonly cast member acquainted with the notion of dramatic irony: he sneerslike some Eigth Avenue pawnbroker who's heard one too many sad stories,andhe's utterly unrepentant when he (almost) puts the kibosh on Moses' partyinthe desert.I could spend hours delineating why this creaking tripe shouldn't work,butwhy bother? "The Ten Commandments" is just a indelible piece of Hollywoodcraft the likes of which, for good or ill, we shall likely never seeagain.--30--

peapulation 2013-05-10 00:17:04

The Greatest Story Ever Told...up to that point

There are advantages and disadvantages to watching The Ten Commandmentstoday. One advantage is that it's still spectacular to see the greatart direction and the effects that were put in in the era that didn'tneed cgi to be spectacular; hence all the efforts are more appreciatedand the plot is more authentic (although Hollywood style). Thedisadvantage is that, in comparison to Ben-Hur, The Ten Commandmentshas not dated so well.It's still something quite admirable. To direct and manage something asbig as this film could not have been an easy task, so what DeMille didis quite extraordinary. And there are some undeniable good things, likeYul Brynner's excellent performance, and, although Heston is not asgood as he would have been in Ben-Hur, his Moses pose with his handsspread out is as iconic as anything.The film occasionally pitfalls in the dialog. Epics were hardlyadmirable for their accessible dialog. But at least in Ben-Hur (I keepreferring to that because I believe that is one of the best filmsever), there was an attempt to modernize the lines. Here, thescreenwriters seem to have been more interested in reproducing moredialog as it'd written in the Bible than help the flow and pace of thefilm. As well as that, the voice over is simply out of place.Incidentally, because it is a voice-of-God narration, it's alsoironically awkward.As well as that, there are some scenes that seen today just looklaughable. Like the sequence where Moses has to choose his wife amongJethro's daughters who perform the dance for him. The sequence is quitelengthy, considering that we know he will marry the one who is mindingthe sheep, because that's the good natured thing to do.Another annoying thing is that the spectacular nature of the filmleaves little way for the emotional side of it. The amazingsurroundings make it so that there is little time to show the people'sstruggles. There is too little emphasis on the hatred between Ramesesand Moses. In fact, Moses as a whole becomes a trivial character. He isalways noble, throughout the film, but his transition from an Egyptianto a Jew is hardly explained. Such a transition should have taken a lotmore thought and pondering, and personal conflict. Instead, there justisn't any of that at all. Moses knows what he is to do all along, andas a result, the character of Moses becomes more unbelievable, and welose contact with him, because he is no longer a human. This may begood in the Bible, but it leaves little for the film.You may argue that DeMille is spectacular, but he comes from an oldschool directing style that gets in the way of the film's advancement.In this film, as in other ones of his, it is possible to seesimilarities between his way of working and Griffith's way. The actorsare taken care of less, and as a result, the characters appear moredistanced.Still, it's a film that should be seen, if not for its meaning, becauseit really shows what these religious epics were about and why peoplerushed to see them at the time. Now, the closest we get to that hype isThe Passion of the Christ.

savvydude 2013-05-09 09:42:14

An epic for the ages

To consider the epics of our current age (Troy, Alexander) incomparison with earlier epics like 'The Ten Commandments' it is nowonder that many yearn for the films of yesterday. I suppose thatdirectors like Cecil B. DeMille had a much more keen interest instaying true to the classic storyline and exposing it, instead ofcontemporary filmmakers who are insistent on interjecting political andsocial relevency into ancient stories. And yet, despite criticalpanning and box-office disaster, the highly touted directors who havedelivered a non-ending supply of filmed revisionist history seemdetermined to keep it going.

joseph952001 2013-05-08 18:19:55

Ohhhhhh! Moses! Moses! Moses!

The Ten Commandments is the most gaudy, over-acted, and funny movie, inplaces, that was ever made. How in the world could these actors andactresses keep a straight face? I'm sure they with much instinct knewthat this could be the biggest all-time bomb ever put on the screen ifthey didn't play this movie with God-Awful overacting at it's worse,and that's what makes this camp classic so entertaining! And here'sDame Judith Anderson, playing a slave, with an embarrassing look on herface as to how she could ever get conned into playing this role, butwho knows, at that time in acting career, maybe she needed the money!One time Hermoni Gingold appeared on the Jack Paar Show on earlytelevision, and he asked her what she thought of the first time shepulled into the Harbor and saw our Lady standing in the Harbor, and Ms.Gingold, in her very British accent said, "Oh! I thought it was justwonderful! But, I could help wonder why they had a statue of JudithAnderson in the Harbor! I have the letter-box version of this film andevery time someone appears saying, "Ohhhh, Moses! Moses! Moses! Iexpect someone to jump up and shout out JERRY! JERRY! JERRY! But theclassic funny scene out of many that no one sees is when Yul Brynnerconfronts Ann Baxter and tells her EXACTLY what to expect with herbeing his wife and that he will treat her better than his horses!Insult to injury wouldn't you say? Then he tells her something likethis that she will come to him when he wants and that whether sheenjoys his love making is no concern of his, but, he adds in anarrogant manner, "But I think you will!" And the look on Annie'soveracted expression is priceless, and FUNNY! Of course, we all knowabout Edward G. Robinson being told he's going to go to hell! But, whateveryone doesn't seem to see at the end of the film, probably becausewe're so tired and want this whole nearly four hours of hamming it upto end, anyway, Moses comes down from the mountain and Eddy boy says,"Here, now! Did you carve those tablets yourself? Moses, you take toomuch upon yourself!" And when the Red Sea, which was liquid jellopouring out and then with clever reverse photography got the sea toopen, anyway, there are these three maids that look like strippers outof your local strip bar, in a trio with their arms up, wind blowing,trying to protect themselves from heaven knows what! Of course, themusic is extravagant and very powerful to match the overacting of itsentire cast! And at the end, Charelton Heston in his white wig lookinglike an ad for Johnson and Johnson surgical cotton supplies, ends thefilm telling everyone to go into the world and the audience heaves asign of relief and quickly makes tracks out of Dodge! But, takingeverything into account, this movie is very entertaining, and a classiccamp romp for everyone in the cast to the over-scored musicalsoundtrack. With less competent actors, this movie would have floppedon its nose! It's funny how certain lines in movies become famous, evenMoses! Moses! Moses! has become as famous as You'll Be Hiss, You'll BeHiss, You'll be History and Lion's and Tiger's and Bears, in The Wizardof Oz! Great cast! Great music! And, I only have one more thing to say:"Ohhhhhh! Moses! Moses! Moses! Indeed!"

Katie 2013-05-07 19:55:17

Good Movie.. but I liked the Prince of Egypt Better

If you are Christian or Jewish and you don't know the story of Moses,then don't call yourself that. (I find it funny that I have to put aspoiler notice on one of the most well known biblical story.) I sawthis movie when I was nine, and had nightmares about it. I suppose theywere trying to show the truth about slavery, but the part about thegrease woman just got to me. The characters were overly dramatic, whichalways annoys me, and the story was stretched out too much. I supposeif I were to watch it now, I'd probably like it better, but from achild's point of view, the movie was terrifying!! My sister and I hadto sleep with our parents after watching it. Instead, I suggest thePrince of Egypt, with great music and story.

Joel Jordan 2013-05-07 09:20:16

THE greatest movie ever made bar none

Yes, yet again ABC has broadcast this monumental epic. Proving as time goesby, THIS movie is greater than all the rest. I just watched "BEN-HUR" onTCMthis morning and it can boast the great chariot race and oscar winningvisual effects, but nothing on the par with the over the top visuals of"TheTen Commandments". I was lucky enough to see this film on a wide screen in1972. The greatest sequence in film History has to be the stupendousspectacle of the red sea. The clouds rolling in, Pharoah and his armyapproaching, the waters slowly starting to become turbulent. Then theformation of the "pillar of fire". The initial parting of the red sea wasjust one of the eye-popping visuals of this sequence. The many differentshots of the walls of churning water were truly an amazing feat of mattephotography. The closing of the sea certainly proves (as one viewer said)that was REAL WATER!!This sequence alone is worth the marathon viewing time leading up toit..seeit on DVD!!