The Ten Commandments

In the early years of cinema, Director Cecil B. DeMille made an epic film called The Ten Commandments. Thirty-three years later he did it again. In the original film the story of Moses and the Great Exodus was a framing story around a modern tale of greed and corruption. The visuals were stunning for the time with the pinnacle being the parting of the Red Sea. But DeMille was an ambitious man and, with advances in film technology and a larger budget that included location shooting in Egypt during a time of war, he set out to film a true epic. The finished project ran nearly four hours, incorporated massive sets augmented with beautiful matte paintings by Arnold Friberg and ingenious use of blue screen effects to paint a world few audiences of the time would have seen. The scope of DeMille’s The Ten Commandments as well as the familiarity of the subject matter to mainstream Christianity made this film a financial success and a television mainstay every Easter to this very day. It also led to several Academy Award nominations including for Best Picture, losing out to another epic film, Michael Todd’s Around the World in 80 Days.

The Ten Commandments tells the story of Moses (Charlton Heston), a prince of Egypt and step brother to Rameses II (Yul Brynner). When Moses was born word of a Hebrew prophecy about a deliverer reaches the ears of Pharaoh Rameses I (Ian Keith) and he orders all the newborn Hebrew males to be killed. Moses’ mother, Yochabel (Martha Scott) saves the infant by hiding him in a basket and turning it loose in the river Nile where it is found by Bithiah (Nina Foch), the Pharaoh’s widowed daughter. She takes the infant in and raises him as her own, never revealing to him his Hebrew heritage. 

As a man, Moses becomes a general for Pharaoh and wins the heart of Nefretiri (Anne Baxter) though she is slated to marry the next Pharaoh instead. Moses is put in charge of the Hebrew slaves building a city for Pharaoh Seti I’s jubilee. He reforms their treatment, allowing them to observe the sabbath and providing them more food, something that prince Rameses uses to accuse him of planning an insurrection. Moses proves, though, that his reforms have made the slaves more productive all in the service of the Pharaoh. Later, Moses will discovered his actual heritage and, eventually, God’s plan for him to be the prophesied deliverer of his people out of Egyptian bondage. This sets up a one on one conflict between Rameses II, who succeeds Seti I as Pharaoh, and Moses. 

Whether you are a Christian, a believer in the Old Testament, or an atheist it makes no difference when watching a film like this. Believing that the events depicted in The Ten Commandments actually happened or viewing it as complete fiction matters not. It’s still a very well made story with an easy to follow plot. Cecil B. DeMille was a master filmmaker who knew how to craft an epic. This would be his final film and what a film to end on. Viewers going into it thinking it was all filmed in California using Hollywood trickery will be surprised to find out that DeMille achieved the seemingly impossible by securing permission from Egyptian President Gamel Abdul Nasser to film there during a time of upheaval and war. Nasser had seen a previous DeMille film, The Crusades, and was impressed with the reverence that film showed towards Muslims, something that was rare in those days. Nasser was a huge fan of that film because of this and allowed DeMille to film much of The Ten Commandments there. This gives the film a distinct look that couldn’t be easily replicated in California. The final film is a juxtaposition of Egypt and Hollywood sets blended together effortlessly.

For the story itself, DeMille took inspiration from several sources. Details are scarce in the KJV Holy Bible. To fill in those details and add dramatization, three books augmented the scriptures. Dorothy Clarke Wilson’s Prince of Egypt, J.H. Ingraham’s Pillar of Fire, and A.E. Southon’s On Eagle’s Wings fleshed out the narrative sufficiently. A handful of screenwriters took all of this prose and crafted a script that was worthy of an Oscar nomination, yet strangely got overlooked. So much happens over the course of the film and, coupled with a massive cast, could easily become difficult to follow yet it is never confusing.  

Production values are also top notch here. There’s no doubt this is a film of its era looking at it with modern sensibilities. It makes heavy use of matte paintings and other photo trickery to hide the limitations of the time. But modern filmmaking with the extensive use of CGI would not make this film better. The old style effects are part of its charm and, even though we can see how some of it was accomplished it is nevertheless awe inspiring. The parting of the Red Sea, just like the silent film DeMille made earlier, is still eye widening and amazing to look at. It’s not a flawless effect but perfect CGI water would not be as impressive to watch. A prime example of this is the exact same moment in 1998’s The Prince of Egypt. As good as that film is it still pales in comparison to DeMille’s epic and there is more of a sense of awe watching the parting of the Red Sea.

This would be Heston’s first Biblical epic, proceeding Ben-Hur by three years. He would go on to play such religious figures as John the Baptist, Latter-Day Saint President Brigham Young, and even God. But it all started here. Heston is nearly perfect here in a performance that ranges from stoicism to being unsure of himself. His awe at the sight of the Burning Bush is equally as compelling as his stark determination to work alongside his people once he knows the truth. Matching him beat for beat is Yul Brynner who perfectly incapsulates the jealousy of Rameses II, fearing being the weak link that could doom the Egyptian dynasty. Anne Baxter sits by his side goading him on as the ultimate woman scorned, determined to push Rameses II into killing Moses because he chose his people over her. Rounding out the antagonists is Edward G. Robinson as Dathan. Edward has taken a small degree of heat for his performance here and it’s really not deserved. The derision comes primarily from his being typecast as a big city gangster. He eludes none of that here and delivers a perfectly slimy performance as Dathan.  

This is an epic film on every level. DeMille nearly died making it yet only missed a single week of filming when he suffered a heart attack mid-production. He saw it through and it served as a benediction to his long career in Hollywood. He filmed an introduction to it as well as recorded voice over, much of which quotes directly from the KJV Bible. He lived for just a couple of years more but his health kept him from making another picture. The Ten Commandments is his final film and serves as his denouement. His career ran for over forty years and seventy films. In all that time there are only a handful of his films that come to mind when his name comes up. Of that short list, right at the top, is The Ten Commandments. He, quite literally, saved the best for last.

Academy Award Nominations:

Best Picture: Cecil B. DeMille

Best Art Direction: Art - Hal Pereira, Walter H. Tyler, and Albert Nozaki; 

Set - Samuel M. Comer and Ray Moyer

Best Cinematography Color: Loyal Griggs

Best Costume Design Color: Edith Head, Ralph Jester, John Jensen, Dorothy Jenkins, and Arnold Friberg

Best Film Editing: Anne Bauchens

Best Sound Recording: Loren L. Ryder

Best Special Effects: John P. Fulton (won)

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Release Date: November 8, 1956

Running Time: 220 Minutes

Rated G

Starring: Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner, Anne Baxter, Edward G. Robinson, Yvonne De Carlo, Debra Pager and John Derek

Directed By: Cecil B. DeMille