THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
Drama (USA, 1956)
Starring Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner, Anne Baxter, Yvonne De Carlo
Directed and produced by Cecil B. DeMille
"The Ten Commandments" was a great epic when made in the fifties, and it continues to enthrall the audience today. I saw it on a small TV-screen, and most certainly wished I could have watched it on the big screen.
The script follows the Bible to some extent, but also draws in non-biblical material, such as novels, which enhances the overall movie. (The Bible is a bit secretive about Moses' life until he reached 30.)
The old-fashioned epic style, impressive and visually stunning as it may be, isn't always as appealing to the modern movie-goer. Firstly, the movie is well too long and moves a bit slow at times. Then there is a lot of over-stylized acting, and although Charlton Heston is brilliant as Moses, he may be a little pompous at times. But he is a more powerful and impressive Moses than the animated character of the recent release "Prince of Egypt". Except for the snake scene at Pharaoh's Court, the effects are enjoyable. "Prince of Egypt" does a more 'realistic' Red Sea parting with modern computer-generated animation, but "The Ten Commandments" did it the best way possible in those days, and it's still impressive to watch.
As mentioned, the acting tends to be overdramatized, and this is a left-over bone from the days when silent movies ruled the cinemas. It must however be noted that Anne Baxter as Nefretiri and Yul Brynner as Rameses both do excellent performances, and Cedric Hardwicke as Pharaoh Sethi is convincing, and even humorous (his belated death scene).
Some of the love scenes, which function merely as subplots, do little more than wear out the audience, as we all are very anxious to get Moses going. After all, we do know the story. The ending is better than that of "Prince of Egypt"; we are here getting to the point where Moses appoints Joshua to lead his people into the promised land.
I rate this movie 5 on a 1-6 scale.
Stian M. Landgaard, February 3rd, 1999
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