The Ten Commandments

I saw this movie after DreamWorks Animation's "The Prince of Egypt" but that film doesn't fully overshadow Cecil B. DeMille's "The Ten Commandments" from my mind. With this 1956 film, DeMille is doing a remake of his own silent film from 1923 (some of the cast and crew came back to work on this version). The acting and scale make this motion picture very special. The Biblical story of Moses is powerful enough that any sincere cinematic adaption will be sure to entertain. As a Latter-day Saint, this film has some meaning for me.

Moses' story is one of the sources of the popular story pattern, "The Hero's Journey". We have a protagonist who is called to adventure but initially rejects the call. He has to leave his known world and endure a variety of challenges with the help of supernatural aid. After accomplishing his task, he is received into eternal life. DeMille's opening address establishes a theme of the importance of freedom and this is appealing for a western audience. The film's story is dramatized to make a better tale for the big screen than the actual story in the Bible and I don't mind this. As a side note, I believe that Moses knew who he was growing up. The New Testament seems to indicate that. Reference is made to a prophecy of a deliverer and modern day revelation indicates that Joseph the dreamer prophesied of Moses by name. The Joshua/Liliah/Dathan love triangle is another story alteration. The character of Joshua is personified like unto Douglas Fairbanks or Errol Flynn so that is entertaining. Moses as the main character is established as wise and good hearted. He shows mercy unto his people even though he is unaware of his actual parentage. His compassion pays off in that the city he is building progresses well. Once Moses is sure to become the next Pharaoh, Memnet can no longer remain silent. Nefretiri comes across as your cliché princess but her dark side is revealed when she kills Memnet. Then Moses learns the truth because even he is wise enough to see past Nefretiri's good looks and uncover the truth that she has come to accept & is hiding. Moses could help his people so much as Pharaoh but instead he joins them in labor due to his honest nature. He can't live in luxury while his kinfolk are slaving away. Just as all lost children, he wants to learn who he really is. After a period of secret association with them, Moses will claim the throne of Egypt because he believes it is the only way to help his people. He doesn't believe he is the deliverer but would free the slaves if he could. He makes this known unto Seti to the shock of all. Seti is pained but as Pharaoh must pass judgment. I love how Moses gets his robe and staff. The first appearance of the staff is ironic because it was used to bind him a moment ago. The shots of Charlton Heston in the deserts of Egypt are very impressive. After the montage of wandering, we get some needed comedy relief by way of the younger daughters of Jethro. The fight at the well is pretty cool. Just like the evil men, we are taken by surprise because we thought Moses was unconscious. He defeats multiple men and then gets the reward of multiple women admirers. I like though how Moses chooses the mature daughter, Sephora, to be his wife.

The main problem I have with “The Ten Commandments” is the change in Moses after he comes down from the burning bush. He has aged and his personality is different. He seems to separate himself emotionally from others because of his new calling. Yes, any man who sees a vision or talks with God will never be the same but that doesn’t mean they completely and suddenly change like DeMille portrayed. I believe that a prophet is not some superhuman being but rather an ordinary man. The key difference is the divine calling that a prophet receives. When a man is called to be a prophet, God has prepared them beforehand for when the calling comes. Moses' time in the desert accomplished this and I think it would have been better if his hair and beard had already been grey when Joshua shows up. The only change in Moses I wanted after the burning bush was an acceptance of his calling and a new-found determination. Instead I get a zombie that suddenly has longer and greyer hair. His love for Sephora seems unimportant to him. Nefretiri's love for Moses drives her manipulative acts. If she can't have Moses, he cannot win. She becomes a very complex antagonist. My favorite special effect in "The Ten Commandments" is when the serpent transforms back into a staff in Moses' hands. I still can't figure out how they did that. I enjoy the drama of the off-screen cries during the destroying angle sequence. DeMille's greatest accomplishment in the movie is the scene when Israel leaves Egypt. The huge number of extras and animals that Charlton Heston is leading is so impressive. What is even more astounding is that in real life, the number of people and animals would have been even more. The Red Sea sequence is the climax of the movie for me. The use of special effects and real water is very well done. The sequence concludes with the perfect line: "His God is God". This is a truth that the audience should pay attention to, especially while watching the Golden Calf scenes. These scenes are a warning to us. Just as the Israelites have seen a huge miracle, we have seen a marvelous, motivational film. They forgot and built an idol but will we forget the messages we have learned from "The Ten Commandments" and go back to our evil habits? Faith precedes the miracle. Another important message is that freedom can be taken for granted. The people are no longer slaves but end up forgetting by what power they were delivered. We must never forget those that fought to give us our modern-day freedom. Evil against the law will bring upon us the judgments of God at some point. A minor flaw with these wickedness scenes is that the rising action of the entire film becomes unbalanced by falling action after the climax of the Red Sea. The Sinai scenes are not nearly as climatic as the parting of the sea.

Heston had worked for DeMille before on the Oscar winning Best Picture "The Greatest Show on Earth". As a fun fact, Heston's son Fraser was Baby Moses. I am sure everyone is aware that Heston is also the voice of God and he did a great job in differentiating his voice. Other noteworthy performers in this show are John Derek and Vincent Price. The use of extras makes this film huge and that is one of its biggest selling points. I don't know how DeMille was able to choreograph them all in that there were also children and animals. DeMille himself was the narrator by the way. The digital restoration in 2010 is quite impressive but I could still see black lines from the optical compositing. If ILM was able to get rid of those digitally for "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi" Special Editions, why not those working on the restoration of this film. A few Latter-day Saints have back stories with the production of this film. The then-president of my church David O. McKay visited the set and remained friends with DeMille up until his death. Another member of my church, Arnold Friberg, was the Oscar nominated costume designer on the film and was credited with designing Moses' robe, the colors of which incidentally are those of the Tribe of Levi. DeMille gave him the robe as a gift after the production. Friberg is also credited with providing a method by which Moses could ordain Joshua at the end of the film: the laying on of hands.

This film was a box office hit and is my favorite film from 1956. Other future versions of the story such as "The Prince of Egypt" make obvious references to DeMille's version, which was his last directorial film. On the occasion of writing this, I got to see the film on the big screen as part of a special Easter screening. "The Ten Commandments" is on the American Film Institute's lists twice. It is #10 on the list of the best epic films and Charlton Heston's Moses is #43 on the list of heroes. The movie won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects and was nominated for Best Picture. The performances and sheer size of the picture are very noteworthy. I believe I am descendant of the Israelites who were led out of Egypt and so this film is powerful for me.

4 Stars