The Ten Commandments DVD
Paramount Home Video
Rated: G
Genre: Family
Length: 128 minutes
Director: Cecil B. DeMille
Year: (1956)
Britt Gillette's The Ten Commandments DVD Review
Nominated for seven Academy Awards including Best Picture, The Ten Commandments is by far the best rendition of the story of Moses ever to sweep the big screen. Directed by Cecil B. DeMille, the film is based on the Old Testament epic which tells the story of the enslavement of the Hebrew people by the Egyptians. Following hundreds of years of suppression, God hears their wailing calls and sends his messenger Moses to demand that Pharaoh set them free. With a hardened heart, the ancient monarch refuses, setting the stage for a battle with the Almighty that threatens to leave Egypt in ruins…
The film begins with the birth of Moses, a Hebrew born to slaves. Fearful that her son will be murdered as is Pharaoh's decree (the king is fearful the Hebrews will soon outnumber the Egyptians and thus overpower them), the Hebrew slave woman places her newborn in a basket floating among the reeds along the Nile.
While bathing one day, the child is found by Pharaoh's daughter who takes the child as her own. Moses grows up in the palace of Pharaoh as Egyptian royalty, his true identity hidden by the princess and her handmaid, Memnet (Judith Anderson).
The film skips past his adolescent years to the early adulthood of Moses (Charlton Heston), a noble man of strong character who is much favored by Pharaoh Sethi (Cedric Hardwicke). He is also the object of the affections of the beautiful Nefretiri (Anne Baxter). Sethi's biological son, Rameses (Yul Brynner) is jealous of Moses because he holds favor with his father and with the beautiful woman touted as future queen.
In an effort to trick Moses, Rameses suggests that Moses be put in charge of an effort to build a great city in Sethi's honor. The Hebrew slaves are not working fast enough, but Rameses increases their productivity by giving them food and rest. Sethi is so pleased that he names Moses as his successor.
But the dark secret of Moses' past can not remain hidden, and when Nefretiri finds out the truth from Memnet, she murders the handmaid. Too noble to turn from his people, Moses faces the truth and acknowledges this newfound fact to Sethi. As a result, Moses is banished from Egypt forever.
Wandering through the desert, he eventually encounters a well in Midian where he defends the seven daughters of Jethro from trespassers. Moses settles down in Midian, marries Jethro's eldest daughter Sephora, and enjoys a fruitful life well into his latter years. But the peace enjoyed by Moses is soon broken when he climbs the nearby mountain to look at a burning bush. The spirit of God is in the bush, and God tells Moses to return to Egypt where he will be the instrument by which God will free his people…
When Moses arrives in Egypt, he issues God's commands to Pharaoh (now Rameses). But Rameses does not listen. He refuses to free the Hebrews. So following God's orders a series of plagues are wrought on Egypt. After each one, Rameses still refuses to free the slaves. Finally, when a curse from his own lips kills Rameses's firstborn son, he relents and agrees to free the slaves.
Under the direction of Moses, thousands of Hebrews pack up treasures of silver and gold on livestock and ride out of Egypt and into the desert. In the desert, the camp next to Mount Sinai where Moses leaves the group and makes a pilgrimage to the top of the mountain to commune with God. On the mountain, God issues a series of ten commandments on stone tablets for Moses to present to the Hebrew people. But when Moses returns from his meeting with God, he finds the Hebrew people engaged in raucous debauchery and idol worship. Angered, he throws the stone tablets in their direction.
When order is finally restored, the Hebrews travel onward where they pitch their tents on the shores of the Red Sea. Support for Moses is firm until the people cite Rameses headed in their direction with a legion of chariots. With the raising of Moses' staff, God places a whirlwind of fire between Pharaoh's chariots and the Hebrews while he parts the Red Sea. The Hebrews travel across the dry bed of the sea, and before they approach the other side, the whirlwind of fire disappears. With the chariots about to reach them, the last Hebrews reach land and the sea returns to normal, sweeping away the armies of Pharaoh - the last act of destruction to befall the broken Rameses…
Winner of the Academy Award for Best Special Effects (1957), it's readily apparent that The Ten Commandments was not filmed yesterday. However, the movie is not ridiculously dated in its imaging and special effects - at least, not enough to detract from enjoyment of the film. Furthermore, the movie remains a blockbuster to the present day because of the commanding performances put forward by the main characters pitted against each other - Moses (Charlton Heston), Rameses (Yul Brynner), and God's voice (Charlton Heston). The strong portrayal of various Old Testament characters by seasoned professionals will stand the test of time. The Ten Commandments is certainly one of the top one hundred films ever produced, and a definite must-see…
Britt Gillette
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Posted on 16 December 2004