The Ten Commandments (1956)

Cecil B. DeMille's classic retelling of the Biblical story comes to the screen in absolutely epic proportions on all fronts.

I needn't go into the plot description too much, as I'm sure many people are already aware of the story of Moses, the adopted Prince of Egypt who leads his people, the Israelites, out of slavery to the Egyptians.

I will mainly focus this review - short as it will be - on a few points I would like to mention.

Firstly, the scale of this film is just magnificent, particularly given the time in which it was made. The number of extras would seem to be in the hundreds, if not the thousands. And every single one is dressed superbly, allowing the reality of the events to really sink in.

Rameses II (Yul Brynner).

Speaking of the reality of the events, the screenplay - written by Aeneas MacKenzie & Jesse Lasky Jr. & Jack Garris & Fredric M. Frank - was taken primarily of course from the book of Exodus in the Bible. However, there were also significant chunks of Moses's life - particularly between the time when he was a baby rescued from the Nile by Bithiah (Nina Foch) and the time he killed the Egyptian - which do not feature in the Biblical narrative. For this, the writers turned to ancient historians, namely Philo and Josephus, to fill in some of the gaps. In doing this, they are able to give a reasonably accurate depiction of his life.

The music - as with all elements of the film - is absolutely epic. Composer Elmer Bernstein has created an magnificently expansive score, recorded with full orchestra, and filled with recurring themes and motifs. There are some parts of the film that feature music that perhaps didn't need to be there, but on the whole, it is well-placed throughout. And as previously mentioned, the epic nature of the film and the epic nature of the score are well-matched.

Loyal Griggs's cinematography is equally stunning. In particular, his capturing of the large-scale crowd scenes is amazing, but he works well in close shots, too.

Nefretiri (Anne Baxter).

The performances of the cast are superb. Charlton Heston as Moses and Yul Brynner as Rameses II are particular standouts, with an equally stunning performance by Anne Baxter as Nefretiri. With a film of this size and scope, you want to be sure your main cast can hold the screen well, and capture the magnitude of what they are doing, and these three - and others - are well up to the task.

Moses (Charlton Heston) about to part the Red Sea.

I really don't think there is much more that needs to be said. It was inspiring to watch this film again - it had been a while since my last viewing - and I recommend it to anyone who either has yet to see it or has not seen it in a while.

8 1/2 out of 10.