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The Ten Commandments (1956 film)

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The Ten Commandments is a 1956 epic film from Paramount Pictures in VistaVision directed by Cecil B. DeMille, which tells in the broadest Hollywood style the Bible story of Moses (Charlton Heston) as he struggles to get Pharaoh Ramesses II (Yul Brynner) to let the Israelites leave Egypt.

It is the 5th highest grossing movie of all time, adjusted for inflation, with collections of $838,400,000.[link] In non-adjusted dollars, it held the record as the highest-grossing film with a religious storyline until the 2004 film The Passion of the Christ.

Contents

Plot Summary

[Spoiler warningSpoiler warning]: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The film covers the life of Moses from his discovery in a basket floating on the Nile as a baby by Bithiah, a childless young widow and daughter of the then-Pharaoh, Rameses I, to his eventual departure from Israel in the wake of God's judgment that he not be allowed to enter the Promised Land. In between, the film depicts the early adulthood of Moses as a beloved foster son of Pharaoh Seti I (successor of Rameses I and brother of Bithiah) and general of his armies, his romance with Throne Princess (the one who would be betrothed to the next Pharaoh) Nefretiri and rivalry with the Pharaoh's own son, Prince Rameses. That rivalry comes into play when Moses was charged with building a treasure city that Ramses failed to complete. When Moses assumes control of the project, he institutes numerous reforms concerning the treatment of the slave workers such as one day in seven to rest and even going so far as to raid temple granaries for necessary food supplies. Rameses uses these changes as proof that Moses is planning an insurrection by currying the slaves' favor, and points out that the slaves are calling Moses the "Deliverer" of prophecy. However, when Seti confronts Moses on the matter, Moses argues he is simply making his workers more productive by making them stronger and happier. He proves his point with impressive progress on the project that convinces Seti that Rameses falsely accused his foster brother and declared that Moses will get credit for the new city. Rameses, meanwhile, has been charged by his father with the task of finding out if there really is a Hebrew fitting the description of The Deliverer, and is having no luck.

Prince Moses learns that he is not a prince at all, but the son of Hebrew slaves who set him adrift on the Nile to escape the slaying of all firstborn male Hebrews by Rameses I's order, to prevent a prophecy of a Hebrew Deliverer freeing the slaves from coming true. Declaring he is not ashamed ("Egyptian or Hebrew, I'm still Moses"), but curious, he spends time working among the slaves to learn of their hardship, only to be rescued from the mudpits by Nefretiri. Moses then saves Joshua, a Hebrew stonecutter, from death at the hands of the Egyptian Master Builder Baka; he kills Baka, while Dathan, the devious and ambitious Hebrew overseer who's been charged by Rameses to help him find the Deliverer, watches from hiding. Moses confesses to Joshua that he himself is Hebrew; Joshua excitedly proclaims Moses the Deliverer, and although Moses denies it, Dathan has all the proof he needs. Revealing what he knows to Rameses, Dathan bargains for Baka's house, a post as Governor of Goshen and the ownership of Joshua's betrothed Lilia.

Moses is arrested and brought in chains before Seti, who begs him to say he is not the Deliverer. Moses does so, but avows that he would free the slaves if he could. Bithiah begs her brother Seti to blame her since Moses was just an innocent child when she took him from the Nile, whereupon Seti says, "I shall not see your face again". In a short, impassioned speech, Moses says that it is evil to enslave or oppress people, "to be stripped of spirit, and hope and faith, all because they are of another race, another creed. If there is a God, He did not mean this to be so!" This causes Seti to imprison him and order his name stricken from all records and monuments, to be unspoken in Egypt forever thereafter. Rameses banishes Moses to the desert, fearing to execute him lest he create a martyr. Meanwhile, Seti proclaims Nefretiri as Rameses' bride to her great distress.

After wandering alone for awhile and nearly dying of hunger and thirst, Moses is woken by the sound of seven sisters watering their flock with the well. Then several bullying Amalekites push the girls aside, whereupon Moses suddenly appears and beats all of them soundly with his staff, and forces them to leave. Moses finds a home in Midian with their father Jethro, a Bedouin sheik and leader of Midian, and marries his eldest daughter, Sephora.

Back in Egypt, Seti dies heartbroken, with Moses' name on his lips, and Rameses succeeds him as Pharaoh (becoming Rameses II), taking Nefretiri as his Queen. Herding sheep in the desert, Moses finds Joshua, who has escaped from hard labour in the copper mines. Soon thereafter, he makes a journey to the summit of Mount Sinai and is visited by God in the Burning Bush. Naming himself "I Am That I Am", God charges Moses to return to Egypt and free His chosen people.

At Pharaoh's court, Moses comes before Rameses to win the slaves' freedom, turning his staff into a snake to show Rameses the power of God, only to have the Pharaoh decree that the Hebrews be given no straw to make their bricks, but to make the same tally as before on pain of death. As the Hebrews prepare to stone Moses in anger, Nefretiri's retinue rescues him; but when she attempts to seduce him again, he spurns her, reminding her that not only is he on a mission, having been touched by God, but that he's married. As Moses continues to challenge Pharaoh's hold over his people, Egypt is beset by divine plagues. In an eerily quiet scene, the Angel of Death creeps into Egyptian streets in a glowing green cloud, killing all the firstborn of Egypt, including Pharoah's own child. Meanwhile Bithiah is released to Moses.

Broken and despondent, Pharoah orders Moses to take "your people, your cattle, your God and your pestilence" and go. The scene of the Exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt is one of the most spectacular in all of film.

Goaded into rage by Nefretiri in her grief and anger at Moses, the Pharaoh arms himself and chases the former slaves with his armies to the shore of the Red Sea. Held back by a pillar of fire, the Egyptian forces can only watch as Moses parts the sea's waters ("Behold His mighty hand!") to provide his people a route of escape. As the Hebrews race over the seabed, the army rides in hot pursuit as the fire-pillar fades away. The Hebrews make it to the far shore just in time to witness God's closing of the waters on the Egyptian army, drowning every man and horse. Rameses looks on in despair, and all he can do is return to Nefretiri, informing her, "Moses' god is God."

The former slaves camp at the foot of Sinai and wait as Moses again ascends the mountain. When Moses delays coming down from Sinai, the Hebrews lose faith and, urged on by Dathan, build a golden calf as an idol to bear before them back to Egypt, hoping to win Rameses' forgiveness. The people proceed to indulge their most wanton desires in an orgy of sinfulness. Meanwhile, high atop the mountain, Moses witnesses God's creation of the stone tablets containing the Ten Commandments. When he finally climbs down, Moses beholds his people's iniquity and destroys both of the tablets in rage, creating an earthquake crevasse that swallows all who do not join him at his side. After God forces them to endure forty years' exile in the desert wandering lost to prove their loyalty, the Hebrews finally arrive in the land of Israel. An elderly Moses then appoints Joshua to succeed him as leader and goes forth with Sephora out of Israel to his destiny.

Popularity

Critics have argued that considerable liberties were taken with the Biblical story, affecting the film's claim to authenticity, but this has had little effect on its popularity. For decades, a showing of The Ten Commandments was a popular fund-raiser among revivalist Christian churches, while the film was equally treasured among film buffs for DeMille's "cast of thousands" approach and the heroic but antiquated silent-screen-type acting. The movie traditionally aired once a year on ABC around Passover.

In 1999, satisfying both audiences, the film was deemed "culturally significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.

The parting of the Red Sea won the film its Oscar for Special Effects, while the worship of the Golden Calf owed something to opera staging of Saint-Saëns' Samson et Dalila. The giving of the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai is also considered a dramatic highlight.

Aside from winning the Academy Award for Best Effects, Special Effects, it was also nominated for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color, Best Cinematography, Color, Best Costume Design, Color (Edith Head, Ralph Jester, John Jensen, Dorothy Jeakins and Arnold Friberg), Best Film Editing, Best Picture and Best Sound, Recording.

The film was adapted by Aeneas MacKenzie, Jesse Lasky Jr., Jack Gariss and Fredric M. Frank from the J.H. Ingraham novel Pillar of Fire, the A.E. Southon novel On Eagle's Wings and the Dorothy Clarke Wilson novel Prince of Egypt.

DeMille had previously made the film in a silent version in 1923. It has since been remade again as a television miniseries broadcasted in April 2006.

Cast:

Other well-known talent in the film's "cast of thousands" included Herb Alpert as a Hebrew drummer, Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer as a slave, Michael Ansara as an Egyptian taskmaster, Robert Vaughn as a spearman and a Hebrew, Clint Walker as a Sardinian captain and DeMille himself as the film's narrator, all uncredited.

Decalogues

One legacy of the movie are scores of public displays or monuments of the Ten Commandments that DeMille paid to be erected around the country as a publicity stunt. Known as decalogues, the displays were set up by the group Fraternal Order of Eagles, sometimes in or near government buildings. Several have been involved in court battles over whether their presence violates the First Amendment to the United States Constitution's Establishment Clause.

Differences from the Bible

There are many differences between the film and the storyline as it is traditionally understood from the Bible. In the movie, Yochabel, Moses' birth mother, is shown as a slave working on the Treasure City construction site. However, the descendants of Levi (the third son of Jacob) had never been enslaved. Thus, when Moses made the decision to leave the royal palace, he would not have been part of the workforce. DeMille was aware of this; he has Yochabel in a later scene saying "We are Levites, appointed Shepherds of Israel."

The movie depicts the Israelites as worshipping the Golden Calf while Moses was on the mountain, receiving the commandments. As is noted several times in the Bible, however, the reception of the Ten Commandments began as a national revelation, as opposed to the private one depicted in the DeMille film.

DVD

The Ten Commandments has been released to DVD on three occasions:

First Edition released on March 30, 1999 as a two disc set, with the following specs:

Disc One & Two: The Movie + Extras

Second Edition released on March 9, 2004 as a two disc set (Special Collectors Edition), with the following specs:

Disc One & Two: The Movie + Extras

Third Edition released on March 21, 2006 as a three disc set (50th Anniversary Collection), with the following specs:

Disc One & Two: The Movie + Extras

Disc Three: The Movie (1923 Version)

The Ten Commandments DVD Covers
First Edition
2 Disc Set 		Second Edition
2 Disc Set 		Third Edition
3 Disc Set
130px 130px 130px

Trivia

Production

The screenplay was the creation of a committee of writers, headed by "Rev." J. H. Ingraham (actually a novelist who wrote Pillar of Fire) and "Rev." A.E. Southon (actually the novelist of On Eagle's Wings), who were listed as reverends to add to credibility for the script. Dorothy Clarke Wilson, Aeneas MacKenzie, Jesse Lasky Jr., Jack Gariss, and Fredric M. Frank also contributed.

In the commentary for the DVD edition, Katherine Orrison (a protege and biographer of Henry Wilcoxon), describes the historical research that DeMille and associates did at the time. Some details were incorporated into the film, while more minor ones were left out because they might distract viewers. Orrison also points out that many details of Moses' life which were left out of the Bible are present in the Holy Koran, which was used as a source whenever possible. She also describes some interesting coincidences in production; the man who designed Moses' distinctive rust-white-black striped robe used those colours because they looked impressive, and only later discovered that these are the actual colours of the Tribe of Levi.

External link

 

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