The Ten Commandments (50th Anniversary Collection)

Life is full of spice when there is drama involved. This world would have been such a boring place if Lucifer had not rebelled. Drama fills up the blanks in life where the balance of good and evil aligns to make this universe interesting. So is the case with a good play or a film. All the ingredients that make this the greatest film of all times are painted into this canvas by the master painter, Cecil.B.DeMille. This was his last work and in 1956 he gave the world a film carved out of not so well known passages on the life and times of Moses and the deliverance of the Ten Commandments. There are scenes in the film that remain with you till eternity. The opening shot of the innumerable Jewish slaves working on the busts, columns and pillars during Pharaoh Sethi's regime with a dark red painted on the big Cinevista 65 lens making you gasp at such an early stage. The editing is superb. Each scene fills its part. When Moses is driven out and spends forty days in the wilderness of Sinai, the photography is awesome. The red and orange flames on the Mount Sinai when Moses first encounters the mountain are superb. The burning bush is craftsmanship at its best without the techno supports of the modern age. the scenes of the plagues in Egypt with the Nile turning red and culminating with the descent of the hand of death on the Passover day from the dark blue night sky and clouds are without a parallel even after 52 years. What do you say then about the parting of the Red Sea? This has to be the greatest scene filmed ever and without computer graphics, too. My God! Finally the scenes of the Ten Commandments being written on stone with fire and lightning from the sky ("written with the fingers of God Himself"!) on Mount Sinai together with the abrupt arrival of Moses during the lascivious revelry under the mount leave you breathless. Charlton Heston as Moses is absolutely divine and you just can't say that he is not Moses there. Yul Brynner is Ramases II in the flesh. I don't think anyone else would have carried out that role as he did. Sir Cedric Hardwicke is superb as Sethi. Anne Baxter as Nefretiri is gorgeous. She enjoys the role to the hilt. A lovely cameo by Vincent Price as Baka the Master Builder. Edward.G.Robinson is excellent as Dathan the overseer. John Derek is effective as Joshua. Debra Paget as the water girl Lilia is admirable. The entire film's drama is bound and woven into a fine texture by Elmer Bernstein with his superb symphonic score. The regal theme of Moses and deliverance remains fresh in my mind even today. Drama doesn't get bigger than this.There are films being made after this; tons of them; yet, this remains the film to beat with William Wyler's Ben Hur coming real close.

I FIRST SAW THIS MOVIE IN 1956,
WHEN IT WAS RELEASED. I WAS MESMERIZED.
IT WAS THE GREATEST MOVIE I HAVE EVER
SEEN UP TO WHEN IT WAS RELEASED. SINE
THEN, IT IS STILL THE GREATEST MOVIE
I HAVE EVER SEEN. I WOULD LIKE TO
SEND COPIES TO FAMILY. HOWEVER, I CAN
NOT MAKE COPIES. SO, I HAVE THEM COME
TO MY HOUSE AND WATCH IT. I CONSIDER
IT THE GREATEST MOVIE I HAVE EVER SEEN.
ROBERT A. LESTER

One of the most well acted, well directed and greatest stories ever told. It transends generations. I've watched this movie every Easter since I can remember, and now my children carry on the tradition. This is one to add to the collection.

Except for Yul Brynner's performance, costumes and attire, the rest of the movie is Old Testament religious propaganda. The movie is a slap in the face of the ancient Egyptians (of the New kingdom in the 18th & 19th dynasties) face. Moses never led the Hebrews from Egypt. He drove them out with the rest of the Hyksos invaders in 1570 BC. I'm surprised that more people don't question the Old Testament Megalomania. Is there a way to vote zero stars?

This is exactly the kind of movie we need more of. But, I know that will never happen, not in America. Starring Yul Brenner, Charlton Heston -This is Cecil B. Demile's great, big, wonderful telling of Moses. He was put on the river in a basket before the Egytians could kill him along with all the other Hewbrew children. He was found in a drifting basket my Bithia the Pharoh's sister. She raised him in the palace as her own. One day, he and everybody else found out he was a Hebrew...Woo-hoo! Buy it for the rest of the story. "So let it be written, so let it be done" (You'll understand this line from the movie once you see it) Based on the Old Testament writings with excellent special effects for 1956. I bought this with "The Robe" another classic starring Richard Burton."Were you out there?" (you'll understand this line too when you buy The Robe)