The Ten Commandments (1923)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Cecil B. DeMille

Writer:

Jeanie Macpherson (story)

Release Date:

23 November 1923 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

The first part tells the story of Moses leading the Jews from Egypt to the Promised Land, his receipt...

Plot Keywords:

Cathedral | Moses | Pharaoh | Two Strip Technicolor | Sin

Cast

Theodore Roberts	...	Moses, the Lawgiver (prologue)
Charles de Rochefort	...	Rameses, the Magnificent (prologue) (as Charles De Roche)
Estelle Taylor	...	Miriam, the Sister of Moses (prologue)
Julia Faye	...	The Wife of Pharaoh (prologue)
Pat Moore	...	The Son of Pharaoh - prologue (as Terrence Moore)
James Neill	...	Aaron, Brother of Moses (prologue)
Lawson Butt	...	Dathan, The Discontented (prologue)
Clarence Burton	...	The Taskmaster (prologue)
Noble Johnson	...	The Bronze Man (prologue)
Edythe Chapman	...	Mrs. Martha McTavish
Richard Dix	...	John McTavish, her son
Rod La Rocque	...	Dan McTavish, her son
Leatrice Joy	...	Mary Leigh
Nita Naldi	...	Sally Lung, a Eurasian
Robert Edeson	...	Redding, an Inspector

Runtime:

136 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color (2-strip Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

UK:U | Canada:G | Finland:K-16 (1925) (second part) | Finland:K-3 (2006) (DVD) | Finland:S (1925) (first part) | South Korea:All

Filming Locations:

Fresno, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The Egyptian set seen in the prologue was, in reality, an enormous construction, and was actually considerably larger than the Babylon sets in D.W. Griffith's Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages (1916), to which they are often compared.

Goofs:

Factual errors: At the time this movie was made, affinity laws prevented a person from marrying his brother's widow.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Penn & Teller: Bullshit!: The Bible: Fact or Fiction? (#2.6)" (2004)

Thou shalt not give a stupid review.

Oops, broke that one. All joking aside, this film is incredible. Astonishing effects for the early 20s, where you couldn't twist any digital domain to your whims. The parting of the Red Sea is pretty convincing, even if was Jello. (Can you imagine wading through Jello? Ick.)

This film is told in two parts, as we get to see Moses receiving the Ten Commandments from God in what looks like a Fourth of July celebration. One with good fireworks. Most people know that story--Moses goes to deliver the Commandments, only to find everyone involved in a massive orgy. Here de Mille is in his element. He did so many massive orgies that he should have copyrighted them. We see people making out (not having sex--that would be wrong), men licking wine off women's feet (that is wrong, by gum), and a huge number of people trying to climb up what looks like a curtain. Why they're doing this only de Mille knows. All we need is Gloria Swanson being pawed by a tiger to make everything perfect. As some viewers may not know, de Mille can show whatever sin and debauchery he wants, because the sinners are going to get it in the end. They're gonna get it bad. From the giddy Israelites and their golden calf we're transported to the modern day (1923), where a woman reads the Bible. She can't be the sinner. A son stands nearby, looking very noble and content. Can't be him. Then, we see the other son. He looks bored and disbelieving. We have a sinner! Oh, and he's a bad one. He dances on Sunday, he steals women from their intendeds, he's involved in dozens of dirty dealings, and he's dating an Oriental leper. Beg pardon? I guess she's just thrown in for fun.

Of course, all's well that ends well, and everything turns out okay. This movie is silent, so the acting is a bit in-your-face, and the characters are extreme, but hey. It's necessary--literacy wasn't rampant back then, so filmmakers had to make everything painfully obvious. Some people weren't able to read the title cards, and they'd be lost without the silent films' distinctive pantomime.

Side benefit--the version I have on video features a nifty soundtrack by that powerhouse of the movie palace, the Wurlitzer organ.