Dorothy Clarke Wilson (this work contains material from the book "Prince of Egypt"), J.H. Ingraham (this work contains material from the book "Pillar of Fire") (as Rev. J. H. Ingraham) |5 more credits »
When strongman Samson rejects the love of the beautiful Philistine woman Delilah, she seeks vengeance that brings horrible consequences they both regret.
In the Roman province of Judea during the 1st century, Roman tribune Marcellus Gallio is ordered to crucify Jesus of Nazareth but is tormented by his guilty conscience afterwards.
Director:
Henry Koster
Stars:
Richard Burton,
Jean Simmons,
Victor Mature
Barabbas, the criminal that Pontius Pilate induced the populace to vote to set free, so that Christ could be crucified, is haunted by the image of Jesus for the rest of his life.
Director:
Richard Fleischer
Stars:
Anthony Quinn,
Silvana Mangano,
Arthur Kennedy
Fierce Roman commander Marcus Vinicius becomes infatuated with beautiful Christian hostage Lygia and begins questioning the tyrannical leadership of the despot Emperor Nero.
An astronaut crew crash-lands on a planet in the distant future where intelligent talking apes are the dominant species, and humans are the oppressed and enslaved.
Director:
Franklin J. Schaffner
Stars:
Charlton Heston,
Roddy McDowall,
Kim Hunter
To escape the edict of Egypt's Pharaoh, Rameses I, condemning all newborn Hebrew males, the infant Moses is set adrift on the Nile in a reed basket. Saved by the pharaoh's daughter Bithiah, he is adopted by her and brought up in the court of her brother, Pharaoh Seti. Moses gains Seti's favor and the love of the throne princess Nefertiri, as well as the hatred of Seti's son, Rameses. When his Hebrew heritage is revealed, Moses is cast out of Egypt, and makes his way across the desert where he marries, has a son and is commanded by God to return to Egypt to free the Hebrews from slavery. In Egypt, Moses' fiercest enemy proves to be not Rameses, but someone near to him who can 'harden his heart'.Written by
Ron Kerrigan <mvg@whidbey.com>
This was composer Elmer Bernstein's first major project. Bernstein had just had some success with his jazz score for The Man with the Golden Arm (1955). However, he was not Cecil B. DeMille's first choice to score the film. DeMille had a long relationship with Paramount contract composer Victor Young, who had been working with DeMille since North West Mounted Police (1940). Unfortunately, Young had become very ill and could not accept the assignment. See more »
Goofs
After Moses tells Nefretiri a shepherd girl is his wife, Nefretiri's position relative to Moses changes when she asks him whether his wife has hair with an "odor like sheep." See more »
Quotes
Sethi:
The man best able to rule Egypt will follow me. I owe that to my fathers, not to my sons.
See more »
Crazy Credits
This film does not end with the credit "The End", but with the written line "So it was written, so it shall be done". See more »
Alternate Versions
In all of the film's theatrical releases, Cecil B. DeMille appears in a short prologue in which he prepares the audience for what they will see, including the fact that the picture will concentrate heavily on the early years of Moses before he led the Hebrews out of Egypt; he also indicates the length of the film and the fact that it will be shown with an intermission. This prologue has always been cut in the film's network television showings. See more »
We are facing one of the most consecrated biblical epics ever made and the magnum opus of Cecil B. DeMille. The story is well known, most people know the Bible even without having read it. Concerning the work of the cast, it's great even if we consider that they're overly theatrical and lack here some veracity and naturalness, essential to play in cinema. Charlton Heston is the great actor of the film, in the role of Moses. Yul Brynner was also excellent as Pharaoh Ramses, as Anne Baxter in the role of Nefretiri. Edward G. Robinson surprises in the role of the hypocrite Dathan. But what makes this film particularly intense is the beauty it has. The setting is one of the biggest that Hollywood has ever made, with thousands of extras with carefully detailed period costumes. Everything was thought to the detail and we love all this visual show. Of course, historical accuracy has been left in the background. DeMille had his school on Broadway and might not attach much importance to the historical details but knew how to make a great show. The visual and special effects are quite realistic, the state of the art of cinema of this time, and still can seem credible today, more than fifty years after it's premiere. The soundtrack of Elmer Bernstein is strident, betting heavily on metals and percussion, in a clearly symphonic style that was thought to make everything even more grandiose. In short: it's a consecrated epic that many people still watch, almost religiously, at Easter (in Portugal it's normal to be broadcast on TV in this period, year after year). The big problem of this film is the very theatrical dialogue and acting. It looks like theater. But we can forgive this fault because it's more or less overshadowed by the visual and sound show.
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We are facing one of the most consecrated biblical epics ever made and the magnum opus of Cecil B. DeMille. The story is well known, most people know the Bible even without having read it. Concerning the work of the cast, it's great even if we consider that they're overly theatrical and lack here some veracity and naturalness, essential to play in cinema. Charlton Heston is the great actor of the film, in the role of Moses. Yul Brynner was also excellent as Pharaoh Ramses, as Anne Baxter in the role of Nefretiri. Edward G. Robinson surprises in the role of the hypocrite Dathan. But what makes this film particularly intense is the beauty it has. The setting is one of the biggest that Hollywood has ever made, with thousands of extras with carefully detailed period costumes. Everything was thought to the detail and we love all this visual show. Of course, historical accuracy has been left in the background. DeMille had his school on Broadway and might not attach much importance to the historical details but knew how to make a great show. The visual and special effects are quite realistic, the state of the art of cinema of this time, and still can seem credible today, more than fifty years after it's premiere. The soundtrack of Elmer Bernstein is strident, betting heavily on metals and percussion, in a clearly symphonic style that was thought to make everything even more grandiose. In short: it's a consecrated epic that many people still watch, almost religiously, at Easter (in Portugal it's normal to be broadcast on TV in this period, year after year). The big problem of this film is the very theatrical dialogue and acting. It looks like theater. But we can forgive this fault because it's more or less overshadowed by the visual and sound show.