This movie and 1959's Ben-Hur are my two favorite "biblical epics" (although I've never seen most of the rest of them!). I watched Ben-Hur in the theater a few months ago, and ran across this one while browsing YouTube one night. I decided to click on it just to see if it had the spoken intro with Cecil B. DeMille, which it did, and before I knew it I was 2 hours in.
I have to say this movie has not aged nearly as well as Ben-Hur, when it comes to the grand biblical epics. The best parts of it, these days, are the production details and the costumes. The scale of the production is jaw-dropping, especially when it comes to the crowd scenes during the Exodus sequence. And of course, the famous "parting of the Red Sea" sequence is amazing as well -- although none of it has the grandeur it deserves when watching it on a TV screen. Too bad that's the only way most people these days have seen it.
Charton Heston is pretty much perfect as Moses; it's hard to imagine anyone else doing what he did in this movie. The part where says "Behold his mighty hand!" just before the Red Sea parts, combined with the look of the churning black clouds in the background, gives me a chill every time. And watching Yul Brynner and Anne Baxter's interactions never gets old. He is the perfect bad guy -- never giving up until he is absolutely crushed. You really wind up feeling for the guy. "Your shadow fell between me and my father....between me and my fame.... and between me and my queen. You have conquered, Moses. Go out from among us, you and your people. I set you free." And then he changes his mind, and masses the whole army to follow after the "freed" slaves and destroy them all, only to see his whole army drowned when the sea crashes in on them. You can really see why 1956 audiences must have just been awestruck by the special effects in this movie, especially when seeing it on a huge screen. It's still effective today, almost 70 years later.
Among the rest of the cast, my other favorite character in the movie is Sethi, played by Cedrick Hardwicke. I wish he'd had more scenes. He gives some humor to his role. And many of the women in the movie are, you have to admit, quite easy on the eyes. I suppose more than a few young fellers in the late '50s got a good kick out of seeing Anne Baxter, especially, in the various tight-fitting outfits she gets to wear in this film.
Where it has not aged well, for me, is in the acting. Sometimes it just seems like they are all running at half-speed. Maybe I've seen too many modern movies and now expect livelier dialogue. The Passover scene, especially, seems to drag. And the overall writing, while often very eloquent, is also quite often very campy, ("Oh Moses, Moses, you stubborn, splendid, adorable fool!" probably being the most famous example.)
The other part of the movie that hasn't aged well is: Moses's hair. I don't get the point of, whenever he has an interaction with God, he gets a makeover and looks 20 years older. It's borderline distracting. Even his wife, Sephora, comments on it. You would think, after spending a month up in the mountain with the burning bush, he'd look a little disheveled. But no, he looks like he just came from the tonsorial parlor sporting a fresh dye, comb and wave. And at the very end, I get that he's supposed to be very, very old, but come on. The two-foot white beard and blown-dry rug up top just doesn't feel biblical to me.
Most of the special effects have aged surprisingly well, with one exception: The fire scenes. The burning bush, especially, is unconvincing. I remember as a 10-year-old kid seeing this for the first time, and being disappointed in it even then. I was expecting movie magic, and got what looks like an old yellow light bulb instead. The pillar of fire, too, is so obviously animated.
This is one movie I wouldn't mind seeing a modern day remake of, if they would stay true to the source material and not modernize it too much. Snap up the dialogue, really pour money into the effects, and find a great unknown actor to play Moses. Could be a big deal. Although I was excited about the Ben-Hur remake a few years ago and we all know what a turkey that turned out to be.
These gripes aside, it's still an impressive movie. If you've never seen The Ten Commandments on a theater screen, keep an eye out for a '70th Anniversary' screening next year and give yourself a three hour thrill. Just try to ignore Moses's hair.
I have to say this movie has not aged nearly as well as Ben-Hur, when it comes to the grand biblical epics. The best parts of it, these days, are the production details and the costumes. The scale of the production is jaw-dropping, especially when it comes to the crowd scenes during the Exodus sequence. And of course, the famous "parting of the Red Sea" sequence is amazing as well -- although none of it has the grandeur it deserves when watching it on a TV screen. Too bad that's the only way most people these days have seen it.
Charton Heston is pretty much perfect as Moses; it's hard to imagine anyone else doing what he did in this movie. The part where says "Behold his mighty hand!" just before the Red Sea parts, combined with the look of the churning black clouds in the background, gives me a chill every time. And watching Yul Brynner and Anne Baxter's interactions never gets old. He is the perfect bad guy -- never giving up until he is absolutely crushed. You really wind up feeling for the guy. "Your shadow fell between me and my father....between me and my fame.... and between me and my queen. You have conquered, Moses. Go out from among us, you and your people. I set you free." And then he changes his mind, and masses the whole army to follow after the "freed" slaves and destroy them all, only to see his whole army drowned when the sea crashes in on them. You can really see why 1956 audiences must have just been awestruck by the special effects in this movie, especially when seeing it on a huge screen. It's still effective today, almost 70 years later.
Among the rest of the cast, my other favorite character in the movie is Sethi, played by Cedrick Hardwicke. I wish he'd had more scenes. He gives some humor to his role. And many of the women in the movie are, you have to admit, quite easy on the eyes. I suppose more than a few young fellers in the late '50s got a good kick out of seeing Anne Baxter, especially, in the various tight-fitting outfits she gets to wear in this film.
Where it has not aged well, for me, is in the acting. Sometimes it just seems like they are all running at half-speed. Maybe I've seen too many modern movies and now expect livelier dialogue. The Passover scene, especially, seems to drag. And the overall writing, while often very eloquent, is also quite often very campy, ("Oh Moses, Moses, you stubborn, splendid, adorable fool!" probably being the most famous example.)
The other part of the movie that hasn't aged well is: Moses's hair. I don't get the point of, whenever he has an interaction with God, he gets a makeover and looks 20 years older. It's borderline distracting. Even his wife, Sephora, comments on it. You would think, after spending a month up in the mountain with the burning bush, he'd look a little disheveled. But no, he looks like he just came from the tonsorial parlor sporting a fresh dye, comb and wave. And at the very end, I get that he's supposed to be very, very old, but come on. The two-foot white beard and blown-dry rug up top just doesn't feel biblical to me.
Most of the special effects have aged surprisingly well, with one exception: The fire scenes. The burning bush, especially, is unconvincing. I remember as a 10-year-old kid seeing this for the first time, and being disappointed in it even then. I was expecting movie magic, and got what looks like an old yellow light bulb instead. The pillar of fire, too, is so obviously animated.
This is one movie I wouldn't mind seeing a modern day remake of, if they would stay true to the source material and not modernize it too much. Snap up the dialogue, really pour money into the effects, and find a great unknown actor to play Moses. Could be a big deal. Although I was excited about the Ben-Hur remake a few years ago and we all know what a turkey that turned out to be.
These gripes aside, it's still an impressive movie. If you've never seen The Ten Commandments on a theater screen, keep an eye out for a '70th Anniversary' screening next year and give yourself a three hour thrill. Just try to ignore Moses's hair.
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