The Ten Commandments

“Throughout film history, Hollywood has produced a number of sweeping epics and generation-defining movies. However, one Biblical saga – Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments – has withstood the test of time. Beginning with the original 1923 silent film, a powerful story unfolds, comparing the Old Testament morality to contemporary immorality. The 1956 film is universally acknowledged among critics as a cinematic masterpiece with a legendary cast including Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner, and Anne Baxter. From its Academy Award winning director and revolutionary Oscar-winning special effects to its sweeping score and unforgettable sets, The Ten Commandments presents the inspiring story of Moses in all its stunning glory.”

The story of Moses begins in Egypt when Pharaoh’s edict demands all first-born sons of Hebrew slaves are killed to prevent the prophesized one who would lead them all from bondage. A Hebrew woman named Miriam (Olive Deering), wanting to save her newborn child, sends him floating down the Nile in a basket to spare him from death. As he floats downstream, the Pharaoh’s sister, Bithiah (Nina Foch), who has just lost her husband, finds the basket and keeps the child as her own, naming him Moses and swearing her servant to secrecy. Grown into a man, Moses (Charlton Heston) is the son that Sethi (Cedric Hardwicke) has always wanted, noble and just, willing to overcome any obstacle for the love of his Pharaoh. Sethi’s son Rameses (Yul Brynner) sees Moses’ successes as a danger to his position as next in line to rule Egypt, and marry Nefretiri (Anne Baxter) whom both are in love with. In a plot to disgrace Moses by convincing Sethi to put him in charge of the impossible task of building his treasure city, Moses becomes closer to the Hebrew slaves, making sure they are treated better, given more food and a day or rest, resulting in more productive work and the respect of the slaves. Moses eventually learns of his true heritage and decides to surreptitiously work in the pits with his people as a slave to learn of their true turmoil. As Nefretiri and Moses’ mother beg him to keep his past a secret, Rameses also learns that Moses was born a Hebrew, captures him and forces him out of Egypt, thus beginning Moses’ quest to discover his true calling from God and learn what He wants from him.

Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments does so much more than simply tell the story of Moses, it immerses you entirely into the world of the film, with its larger than life sets, special effects, with over fourteen thousand extras and fifteen thousand animals used for background characters. The introduction by DeMille, the Overture, Intermission; if any film deserves the title of a Hollywood Epic, it’s this film, a title still deserving after sixty-four years from its release.

Casting Moses couldn’t have been an easy decision, but I can’t think of anyone better than Charlton Heston. He was a towering presence no matter what film he was in, and could play any role given to him, whether it was Mexican police officer Mike Vargas in Touch of Evil, or astronaut Colonel Taylor in Planet of the Apes, Heston’s unmistakable, booming voice was always perfect for Moses in my mind, and I don’t believe there is another actor that was capable of pulling off the gravitas required for the role. To play opposite such an actor required someone very special, and that couldn’t have been anyone else but Yul Brynner. With an equally recognizable voice and certain gravitas about him, his Rameses was his own towering figure that stood against Moses. In a way, probably the actor with the most foreign look about him in a cast of predominately white Americans in the roles of Egyptians. As much as it was a simpler time back then, very much less PC than today, you could have an actor of the caliber of Brittish actor Sir Cedric Hardwicke as the Egyptian Pharaoh Sethi and have it be perfectly acceptable. Only one of the reasons The Ten Commandments would look very different if it were made today, if it were made at all. This was the golden age of Hollywood, the age of epics.

Video

The Ten Commandments is presented in 1080p High Definition Widescreen 1.78:1. This transfer includes the restored version done in 2010 and looks fantastic on Blu-Ray, separated into two discs at the intermission to ensure the highest possible quality. The picture is just stunning, with vibrant colors, details, all heightened in this newer transfer. Although grain is prevalent in some sequences, especially those containing the extraordinary special effects at the time, it is kept at a manageable level throughout.

Audio

The audio is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Remastered from the original 2.0, which is also included, this is one of the most beautiful and epic scores to go along with a film that demands such a score to accompany it. While normally I would fast forward through Overtures and Intermissions in older films, I found myself letting it play just to hear the magnificent orchestral score.

Special Features

One of the highlights of this set is the inclusion of the 1923 film The Ten Commandments, also directed by Cecil B. DeMille. Very different from what he eventually remade into one of the greatest epics of American cinema, it is indeed fascinating to look back and see the original vision he had, and to revisit such an old film.

The set itself comes in a DigiBook, larger than most, containing three Blu-Ray discs with colored pictures in between. With such a nice set being larger than most DigiBooks, there is honestly not much material on the pages. Where many have essays or other insightful stories about the film, this unfortunately only has small snippets from interviews or quotes. A missed opportunity on their part to make this set all the better.

1956 Features:

• Commentary by Katherine Orrison, author of “Written in Stone: Making Cecil B DeMille’s Epic, The Ten Commandments”
• Newsreel: The Ten Commandments Premiere in New York
• Theatrical Trailers: 1956 “Making of” Trailer/1966 Trailer/1989 Trailer
• The Ten Commandments: Making Miracles
• Photo Gallery

1923 Features:

• Hand-tinted Footage of the Exodus and Parting of the Red Sea Sequence
• Photo Gallery

The Ten Commandments is just as entertaining and meaningful today as it was over sixty years ago, showing that a Biblical story can reach audiences no matter their race, creed or religion. Presented in this beautiful set with the inclusion of the original version and a great release price, this set is one to pick up even if you already own it. So let it be written, so let it be done.