The Ten Commandments (1956)
- 4 hours ago
- 3 min read
When I was growing up, Easter didn't start until the annual TV showing of Cecil B. DeMille's THE TEN COMMANDMENTS hit the small screen.
Those first commanding notes of Elmer Bernstein's score would fire up and we'd all settle in for our traditional evening (or TWO when ABC would break it into two prime time nights!).
Clocking in at nearly 4 hours, DeMille tells the story of Moses from his birth to death with plenty of spectacle and BIG performances from a huge cast.
Charlton Heston (Ben Hur) is Moses, capturing the man's despair when he falls from Prince of Egypt to the hard labor of a Hebrew slave. Heston is a legend in the role, carrying gravitas whether he's in the robes of a slave or a prince.
Yul Brynner (The KIng and I, Westworld) is terrific as his brother Ramses, all ego and bombast in the face of any challenge. Brynner's family has shared that this was the only one of his films that Brynner truly enjoyed watching. They said he was proud of his performance, and very proud of being in the film. He regarded it as "the biggest film ever made, forever."
We all know the story by now, so the pleasure of the film is watching DeMille throw everything he has at the screen. There are massive outdoor sets, on a scale unimaginable in today's world of digital painting. The film is splashed in the best special effects that 1956 could buy (no, they don't hold up very well today) and what must have been a year long shoot on Mount Sinai and throughout Egypt.
When Moses is sent back to Egypt to convince his brother to "Let his people go", all the scenes of the plagues and the final Passover night are perfectly staged by DeMille.
No one is ever going to accuse DeMille of having a light touch. Some of his actors are completely out of control. Anne Baxter is horrible as Nefretiri, chewing the scenery down as fast as DeMille can build it. Some of her final scenes are so strange in motivation I still can't figure out the logic after many viewings. Edward G. Robinson seems like he time traveled as a 1930's mob boss to become a Slave master. As Billy Crystal used to hilariously say, Robinson practically yells "Moses, yer a wise guy, see.." and Vincent Price is less than convincing as a violent builder lusting after beautiful slave women.
There are some great standouts beside Heston and Brynner, including Yvonne DeCarlo and John Derek.
The scenes with the burning bush, the creation of the tablets and of course the entire half hour sequence depicting the Exodus from Egypt and the parting of the Red Sea are all part of film history.
The Passover sequence terrified me as a kid and its powerful staging still compels today.
Those are 14,000 real extras and 15,000 real animals on camera during the exodus scene. Today, there would be nothing but CGI people on screen and there's something to be said for the OG approach, with DeMille's camera sweeping up, over and through the incredible mass of humanity leaving Egypt.
Ridley Scott's parting of the red sea in 2014's "Exodus: Gods and Kings" is indeed far more spectacular. But that film missed the camp that DeMille brings to this 70 year old masterpiece.
You have to hand it to DeMille. He keeps this old fashioned, family entertainment moving for nearly four hours without slowing down, crafting a powerful story for the ages. History can't question his commitment to making the film. He suffered a heart attack during production, after climbing 130 feet to check a faulty camera perched on one of the giant gates used during the exodus sequence. He took two days off, then returned to work, against his doctor's orders, to complete the film!
I think it would be against some commandment somewhere not to pull this expensive chestnut out for holiday viewing.
When adjusting box office results for inflation, only 6 movies have ever grossed more than this massive 1956 blockbuster. When you can only show it 3 times a day in theaters, that's even more impressive. Until Mel Gibson's 2004 epic "The Passion of the Christ" this movie was the highest-grossing religious epic in history, earning over $65 million, over $800 million in today's dollars.
This film has been part of my life since the mid 1960's. It's never really Easter until it's on screen. Regardless of your personal religious take, THE TEN COMMANDMENTS is spectacular entertainment for generations of families.
We'll appreciate the kitsch and the overacting right along with the jaw dropping spectacle and give it a B+.
Happy Easter weekend all!
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