The Ten Commandments (1956)

Subject: The Ten Commandments (1956) Sat Aug 16, 2008 2:36 pm

This Cecil DeMille film is a remake of his own 1923 silent film of the same name. Basically, the film deals with the life of Moses from his birth until his death. The vast majority of the film deals with the events leading up to the freeing of the slaves from Egypt and leading up to his receiving of the commandments. The film covers a lot, but it isn't too difficult to follow even for someone who isn't an expert on the Bible.

The biggest stars in this film are Charlton Heston who plays Moses along with Anne Baxter and Edward G. Robinson. There are some other important characters, but they're played by actors who are less famous. While everyone does at least a decent job, they didn't come off as overly-spectacular either. I prefer Heston in Ben-Hur over this one.

The main problem with the film was its epic scale. At 220 minutes, it is a very long film to sit through. Unlike Ben-Hur which had some pretty exciting moments like the chariot scene, this doesn't really have anything like that. The special effects, while good for 1956, don't really come off as all that believable. The burning bush doesn't look like it's on fire, etc. As the film sticks to a rather well-known story, it is quite predictable. Unlike Ben-Hur, this film has a strong religious tone throughout and often times comes off as overly-preachy.

While it's a decent film, the sheer length means this probably isn't going to be all that enjoyable to people who aren't at least somewhat religious. Add in special effects which seem a little primitive by today's standards, a predictable story, and average acting and you have a film that's only around average.

70/100
C-

UP NEXT: A much shorter film, Dr Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.
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