Rating: 
Summary: Spectacular Rendition of Biblical Story
Review: "The Ten Commandments" is a spectacular rendition of the story of the deliverance of the Jewish people from bondage in Egypt. My only criticism is that it does not fully portrary the suffering of the Israelites or the brutality of their Egyptian taskmasters. For example, the scene in which Joshua is flogged is very tame. Although we hear the crack of the whip and see bloody stripes on his neck and chest, the idea of whipping a man who is wearing a shoulder strap is somewhat ridiculous. This is the pivotal scene of the movie, as it illustrates the point at which Moses became so impressed with the suffering of his people that he turned his back on his Egyptian upbringing. This is a serious decision, one with irrevocable consequences, and I doubt that the whipping of Joshua, as portrayed in the movie, would have persuaded a Prince of Egypt to become a Hebrew slave.
Rating:
Summary: Completely irresistable
Review: This utterly ridiculous, totally entertaining and completely irresistable epic defines "spectacle" for all time. Put away any sensibilities and sophistication you might bring with you, and just sit back, relax--and be completely blow away by the size, sweep, and yes, grandeur, of DeMille's pinnacle work. Only a director like DeMille--a pioneer of silent cinema and totally dedicated to the proposition that entertainment is good, and big entertainment is even better--would have had the confidence, arrogance and imagination to put this incredible mishmash together. "Damn the torpedoes--full speed ahead!"--you can almost hear DeMille evoking every heroic deed in history as he pulls out all the stops. "How much will it cost to part the Red Sea? 10 million--ok, here's 10 million, part the Red Sea!" Yes, it's completely unsophisticated and absurd, but it's also irresistable. Like listening to 10 Moody Blues records at once--complete sensory overload. Enjoy it!
Rating: 
Summary: Quality Control?
Review: DeMiles Ten Commandements is one of the greatest movies ever! However, Paramount's DVD is PATHETIC!When I recieved my copy from Amazon (I rate Amazon at 5 stars) the second disc had no movie on it. Amazon graciously replaced it. Unfortunately, the same problem occured. Wait a couple months on this one until Paramount gets their act together.
Rating:
Summary: Can something be dated and still be great?
Review: Sure, as long as you mentally filter out the boom-bang, blinding flashes and cast of thousands. A whole generation later, "Jesus Of Nazareth" was to offer a much less pretentious view of just as momentous a story. That's the whole secret--it's the event that counts. As another review points out, nobody remembers who did much of anything here, except for DeMille and whichever stars interested each of us. And there's a lot of them to choose from--CB had to make this story big, so he cast every superstar he could get his hands on, or so it seemed. Which resulted in some miscasting--this film's greatest moment of comic relief was unintentional--Edward G. Robinson as Dathan ("now lissen, Moses"). When I first saw this film, I ad-libbed another gag myself. At the time, I was a small boy watching it from the back seat of my parents' Chevy at Rochester NY's Lakeshore Drive-In. Just before Moses is given the tablets, he asks the Lord how he can prove what he's supposed to tell his people; "Who shall I say sent me?" The Lord replies "I am, that I am. Tell them I Am sent you". At that time in my life, I had been overdosed on Popeye cartoons on afternoon TV (they didn't have Oprah back then), so I proceeded to sing "I yam what I yam and that's all what I yam." Which earned me one hell of a swat.
Rating: 
Summary: EPIC PROPORTIONS.
Review: Everyone knows Charlton Heston portrayed Moses in THE TEN COMMANDMENTS - but who composed the music? Who designed the Academy Award-winning special effects? Who provided the inscriptions for the film's stone tablets (and where did the stone come from?). Moviegoers are familiar with their work, not their names, but the background roles these and a host of others played in making the movie contributed significantly - not only to our enjoyment of Cecil B. DeMille's epic last film, but also to its impact and quality. Heston and DeMille have become so identified with historical epics, and with THE TEN COMMANDMENTS in particular, that the images of DeMille as a creator of biblical extravaganzas and of Heston as Moses have become indelibly linked. Though DeMille's film clearly has a spiritual theme and humanitarian overtones, it isn't "religion" per se. It's entertainment, but with a sincere, heartfelt and significant message. That message is as valid now as it was nearly five decades ago when the film was made - and by extension, as unabated as when the real patriarch of the Old Testament actually lived thirty three centuries ago. To some, the film's content may seem outdated and old-fashioned; to others, so might seem 18th-century music, but this doesn't invalidate the significance of the work of DeMille or of Mozart. Certainly by implication and almost by definition, THE TEN COMMANDMENTS has a stronger connection to Hebraic culture and history than do most other films in that genre, notwithstanding the predictable objections of some biblical scholars. It's no accident that this was DeMille's magnum opus. The spiritual message in his biblical-subject films was deeply felt by him throughout his career, and manifested itself in his work, deeds, and the conduct of his life. He read the Bible almost daily and their stories colored his outlook. Though professionally a stern taskmaster who could treat peers with severity and sometimes even brutally, he also admired honesty and treated underlings with dignity and generosity. His proclivity for biblical films was a feature of his professional life, and by design he'd arrange crowd scenes, particularly around holidays, so that actors would have work and income. These are not the marks of a man devoid of goodness of spirit. Visually, the parting of the Red Sea was arguably the most moving sequence in the film. Certainly it was the most skillfully done and "realistic" in terms of special cinematic effects. The dense "clouds" in the sky were achieved by producing brit smoke which was then optically tinted and darkened, and superimposed into the appropriate shots. The pillar of fire that barred the Egyptians' way was animated - as was the column of fire atop Mt.Sinai, which represented God's presence and which, with flash powder, burned the inscriptions into the stone. Twice in the film we hear a voice representing God's. In both cases the voice was of course sonically modified for drama and impact. Heard at the giving of the law on Mt.Sinai was the voice of the late basso-profundo, Delos Jewkes (though there have been contradictory reports). The voice heard at the burning bush, however, was provided by Charlton Heston himself. That more than one such voice was used in the film seems to correspond to the multiplicity of people's spiritual views. It may be more than coincidence that DeMille began and ended his survey of historical themes with the same biblical subject. When his first (silent) version of THE TEN COMMANDMENTS was made in 1923 (with Theodore Roberts as Moses) at the then-staggering cost of $1.3 million, it was generally held that DeMille had taken grandiose leave of his senses - but the film broke every attendance record in existence and actually inspired a number of young men to become rabbis, priests and ministers. The re-make of the film more than three decades later officially cost Paramount $13,282,712.35. John P. Fulton won the Academy Award for Best Special Effects. That it was the only Oscar that went to THE TEN COMMANDMENTS that year was a keen disappointment to DeMille - but there can be a balance without symmetry: when we're asked to think of a biblical film, it's THE TEN COMMANDMENTS that usually comes to mind first. Though DeMille was not of Jewish upbringing per se, the traditional Hebraic propensities for a love of learning and a thirst for knowledge were reflected in his penchant for authenticity in his films. In keeping with this principle he retained a research staff at Paramount Studios, and engaged authorities from various religions as technical advisors on THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. Significantly, he even made special arrangements to have stone tablets cut from the red granite of a peak known in that area today as Jebel Musa (in Arabic, "Mountain of Moses"): Mt.Sinai itself. The tablets, which DeMille kept in his office for a time after the film's completion, were about 21" long, 11" wide and 1" in thickness. Henry Noerdlinger, chief of DeMille's research staff, verified this in a letter to this reviewer. Bearing little similarity to what we recognize today as Hebrew but strongly resembling the ancient and angular Phoenician alphabet (roughly contemporary with the Canaanite era and written only with consonants and no vowels), the symbols on the tablets were written for the film by Dr. Ralph Marcus of the Institute for Oriental Studies at the University of Chicago. Music contributes to our enjoyment of a film more than most of us can imagine. In the impact THE TEN COMMANDMENTS has on us, the unseen role composer Elmer Bernstein plays can't be understated. His music not only sets the mood but actually primes the viewer for the entire feature. Cecil B. DeMille's favorite composer in Hollywood was Victor Young, who died in 1956. Had his health not been failing, it's certain he would have scored THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. Any number of composers could have done so but Demille had an interest in the young Bernstein, fostered by Victor Young's recommendation. Bernstein acknowledges he planned his score in keeping with the kind of music he knew DeMille wanted for his films. He commercially recorded the score several times, thereby fulfilling a prophecy Demille himself had made. During the preparation of the original score, he said the composer would someday have occasion to perform and record this music again. Demille's comment was touchingly foretelling: "Your music will surely outlive me, and possibly even yourself." DeMille is no longer here; thankfully Elmer Bernstein is; and it seems likely the film THE TEN COMMANDMENTS will outlive everyone. JEFFREY DANE
Rating:
Summary: Breathtaking
Review: The Ten Commandments is one of the greatest films of all time. The spectacle and storytelling are simply immense. I like Ben-Hur better, but this is a superb epic. Just one question: Is the AFI completely stupid? Ben-Hur should have been much higher on their list, but I can live with that. The fact that The Ten Commandments didn't even make the list blows my mind!
Rating:
Summary: GREAT
Review: This is a must see. A movie that will get you thinking about what a real stinker we really are.Great acting, great family classic.
Rating:
Summary: GREAT movie!
Review: I love this movie! Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner, Ann Baxter, Vincent Price, and all the actors are very successful in their roles. Cecil B. DeMille set out to make a movie that was "worthy" of the Bible, and he accomplished his goal! I appreciate the fact that DeMille went to the actual settings in Egypt and Sinai to film this movie. His prologue and the epilogue, in the Widescreen version, are an added bonus to the movie. I thoroughly enjoyed this epic movie!
Rating:
Summary: A spectacle of all time; so movingly meaningfull !
Review: Cecil B. De Mille's Ten Commandments redifined the aesthetic beauty of creative spectacle in motion picture production.This is the movie I have really seen over the greatest number of time.Right from the begining one is held spellbound.The soundtrack is so wonderfully conducted that one gets really moved to watch the movie.I must confess that this splendid soundtrack continues to draw me to the Ten Commandments.With the original theartrical thriller now incorporated,one is more intrestingly led into the very spectacle of this outstanding movie of all time.The opening scene where Pharoah and his advisers discuss the military danger posed to Egypt by a feared deliverer of the Hebrew slaves at Goshen is striking and sharp.Aferwards De Mille could have done better with the killing of the firstborns scene by making more realistic.Subsequenty,the treatment of the Moses's life as a prince of Egypt is a superb explanation of cinematographic content.Even as a baby Fraser Heston must be well commended for his fitting cries.Charlton Heston himself plays out a well acted role that marks him out as the best in the sphere of all time movies.Heston's voice is so well suited to the atmospheric splendour and trials of the plot.Indeed,what really gives De Milles's Ten Commandements the numero uno spot it occupies in movie history is the uniquely crafted conversation.The movie's dialogue is so beautifully put that one can actually say that apart from the action,it is its moving and so meaningfull dialogue that makes this great drama a runaway success.From Pharaoh opening 'I number my enemies by their swords not by their chains, high priest' to Moses' 'one stupid enough to use you for a footstool will not be wise enough to rule Egypt' and so on, one finds real flavour for the movie till Heston's 'let him who is on the Lord's side come to me'.SURELY, this is a spectacle of all time!
Rating:
Summary: Wow! Charlton Heston takes on the Egyptians with no guns!
Review: MPEG-2 compression and reproduction are superior! This movie is spectacular! Cecil B. DeMille would be proud of this version of his timeless classic... A must have! Now I'm waiting for Ben Hur and El Cid on DVD. MM
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