Die zehn Gebote

Every time it played at our local cinemas I went to see it and sat through it at least twice. I cannot remember how many times I have seen this wonderful movie. I first saw it when I was about 11 and marvelled at it as a spectacle. I wept when Heston wept and rejoiced when he did. As I grew older I came to love Brynner's fantastic performance and lust after Anne Baxter (only better in All About Eve). Cedric Hardwicke, Edward G. and Debra Paget (Hubba Hubba)all impressed me. I was sorry Vincent Price was killed so early - what a great villain. It still demands my attention when it appears on TV. I swear I have seen it enough, but if I catch a glimpse then I have to see it again!! I find it unbelievable that it won almost nothing at the Oscars. At least best Actor for Brynner and best supporting actor for Edward G.!! No costume design? No set design? No Music? A travesty!! See this if you have not already - you are in for a treat- it still stands up. Long but absorbing.

Baka - "Would you lose the throne because Moses builds a city ?" Rameses - "The city that he builds shall bear my name. The woman that he loves shall bear my child. So it shall be written. So it shall be done......"

Hats off to the persons who wrote his lines and designed his costumes. Yul Brynner played Rameses to the hilt . I really believe he was the only actor at that time fit to play that role , his deep voice ,his accent,his bow-legged walk, his well-defined body even his scorching insults were done with a Princely flare that only Brynner could have pulled off.

Rameses - "....you are going to be mine, all mine like my dog or my horse or my falcon, only, I would love you more and trust you less......" - speaking to Nefretiri.

and there's more . Great,just Great...

When I was 10 years old I saw The Ten Commandments in the the theater which is the only place it really should be seen. At the time I thought it was the greatest film ever. All that splashy color cinematogaphy and eye filling spectacle. The guy that put this together is some kind of special genius. Then I grew up.

Today in a lot of quarters this and other DeMille sound films are viewed as pretty high camp. Especially those that touch on a religious theme. It's that dialog and The Ten Commandments longer than any other of his films has more of it. People talking some of that high falutin' nonsense, together with a good mixture of sex.

What a lot of people fail to remember is that before Cecil B. DeMille came to Hollywood he was an actor and playwright on Broadway. He learned his trade at the feet of David Belasco, the premier Broadway producer/playwright of his day. In that Victorian/Edwardian era, ALL the actors, in Belasco plays especially spouted that stuff. I recall Anne Baxter saying that Moses spurned her like a strumpet. How many people do you know who use the word strumpet in their every day conversation? Or Yvonne DeCarlo saying to Charlton Heston that he Moses is God's torch to light the way to freedom and that by the way she loves him?

DeMille made one great casting decision in getting the only actor who could play Moses and make it believable. This indeed was Charlton Heston's career role and as he said in his autobiography if you can't make a career out of the lead in two DeMille pictures it ain't happening.

One other member of the cast Edward G. Robinson as Dathan loved this picture. Robinson had been dropping in star status since the late Forties and was now doing mostly B films. DeMille, whose rightwing politics Robinson despised, gave him this part and Robinson's career got a big shot in the arm. Robinson was grateful and gave him full credit in his unfinished memoirs. Most of the last half of The Ten Commandments is a running verbal battle between Heston and Robinson who is trying to keep some kind of control. Robinson is almost like the leader of a company union with the Hebrew slaves as members and Robinson sure enjoys the perks of office.

The first half of the film is the sex part, hovering over all the biblical jargon. DeMille used an old gambit of his, two men in a rivalry over a woman. It worked in previous films like Northwest Mounted Police, Reap the Wild Wind, Unconquered and now here. Anne Baxter is a royal princess promised to the next Pharoah designate. But who will Sir Cedric Hardwicke designate. Charlton Heston his nephew or Yul Brynner his son? Anne Baxter has Nefretiri has both these guys hormones in overdrive. She favors Moses, but then Moses gets a higher calling.

Though he was no director of actors and his sense of drama was generations old, DeMille was a firm believer in two things, fill the screen and make the films move. 50 years later the parting of the Red Sea will still make one gasp. It's not just publicity hype when The Ten Commandments is advertised with a cast of thousands, that is thousands you're seeing on that screen.

Elmer Bernstein wrote the musical score for The Ten Commandments one of his first. He credited DeMille with teaching him how to write musical scores for film that underscore movement. This score brought him his first real notice as a film composer and he certainly became one of the best.

Given the computer technology available today, one can only imagine what Cecil B. DeMille could create today. Of course he'd insist on some of the same writing, but then again without it, it wouldn't be a DeMille picture.

Nobody ever wants to see a movie more than once because the quality and charm of the movies of today are just not enough to coax you to. But every once in a while there comes a movie which, firstly never lets you take your eyes off the screen for the full length of its feature and secondly,makes you want to watch it over and over again without boring you. Not only that, the more times you watch it, you feel that you missed something the last time. Cecil B. DeMille's THE TEN COMMANDMENTS is that kind of a movie. There have been many movies made on the topic of this Hebrew born prince of Egypt, but none compare to the way in which it has been portrayed in THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. There are a number of reasons for that:

1. When casting the role of Moses, Charlton Heston was chosen above all others including Bert Lancaster, not because of his knowledge of the Bible, but of his striking Physical resemblance to Michelangelo's sculpture of Moses especially the facial structure not to mention the stout build of a prince.

2. The sets for the film were specially designed and the splendour of ancient Egypt in all its glory was recreated especially for this movie.

3. The role of Rameses II was given to Yul Brynner after DeMille observed his magnificent performance as the King of Siam in Rodgers & Hammerstein's THE KING AND I, confirming that he is well suited for a stubburn and malificent heir to the Egyptian throne.

It was not only Heston as Moses who made this movie a success, but all the elements that came together, the cast of thousands, the special effects,the costumes, the sets and most of all the simply unbelievable "parting of the red sea".

It is a wonder why this movie only received one oscar; that of the Special effects, yet I think it deserved alot more. It did not even strike at the box office. Even then it never fails to enchant millions, no matter what religion they follow. Movies like THE TEN COMMANDMENTS and it success in the hearts of millions, shows quite clearly that a movie, in order to be loved by millions the world over, does not necessarily have to strike gold at the box office.

To watch this film, you don't have to believe in God, but if you believe in good triumphing over evil and freedom from slavery of foreign masters, then this is the movie for you.

The parting of the red sea! The confrontation at Mount Sinai! This movie is full of spectacular scenes and images! De Mille truly was a great filmmaker. His powerful imagination is evident in the Ten Commandments. This is his masterpiece. It carries you along on an epic adventure that is as big as the old testament. It captures the ancient, epic feel of the original Bible story. It has several stunning performances that could have easily been cheesy and fake, but are convincing and fascinating. Some say that the dialog is campy. I don't think so. I've seen this movie many times and have never thought so. It's nothing like the terrible dialog in Plan 9 From Outer Space from the same decade. The romance may be a cliché now, but it was quite original when it first came out and is still interesting. I personally don't like romance, so the fact that I wasn't bothered by this one is really saying something. This marvelous story is wonderfully told by De Mille and I would strongly recommend it.