La Bible : Moise

We have seen almost every interpretation of Moses and the Exodus. Film, Made for T.V. Movie even the Animated effort(s) and the question remains why did they bother?! There is only one (1) version worth watching and it is shown every year around Easter/Passover on the ABC Network. Cecil B. DeMille's THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, Paramount (1956). Better yet, buy it on DVD and get both his versions.

Yes, we know all the faults of the film. A presentation suitable for a early 20th Century Stage melodrama. SFX that could/should have been tighten up. Plus some over the top acting, but that ignores the positives. Egypt looked like a powerful EMPIRE, which it was. Not some back-water mono-chromatic third world state. When GOD struck down with its POWER, you knew IT meant business. Rameses was a Rat, Nefretiri a over sexed nymphomaniac and Moses true to the Lord, without the second guessing introspective.

What you get in MOSES is a wimp, who whines about doing the Almighty's will. Weasly Hebrews who are not worth saving and SFX which would have been better done in the 1935, let alone in 1995! Plus a musical score which is not forgettable, but not even noticed. It takes more then a strong cast to make a great film. It takes a Director/Producer that loves the subject matter. There is no doubt that DeMille filled the bill in both matters.

This is probably the most beautiful of all the Moses films, and the poor colors of the film is rather an asset to its substance and character than a failure, like a sepia haze veiling the whole film in desert colors. Ben Kingsley makes a very different Moses from Burt Lancaster and Charlton Heston, much more human and sensitive, which could be nearer to the truth. His doubts and shortcomings are more convincing than Charlton Heston's icon and Burt Lancaster's authoritarian hardness. Like in "Moses the Lawgiver" with Burt Lancaster, Aaron is here given an important prominence and is impressively played by David Suchet, who almost transcends Ben Kingsley. Pharaoh is impressively played by Frank Langella and couldn't be more convincing, although, just like in "Moses the Lawgiver", he is entirely wrong. Ramses II was the Pharaoh at the time, Merenphtah ruled only for a short time after his death as an already old man, and Yul Brunner remains the best Pharaoh on film in "The Ten Commandments", which by general consent remains the best Moses film even after almost 60 years. Ennio Morricone succeeds even better in this film with the music than he did in the Burt Lancaster version, it guilds and caresses every scene in perfect moods and colors and adds to the very sensitive portrayal of the Moses complexities, which remain inexplicable to this day. This is perhaps the only Moses film to really love.

Yesh, I wanted more! Honestly, I was completely captivated by this film. After having read that part of scripture, I was overwhelming pleased with the attention to detail in remaining true to scriptural accuracy. Time and again I found myself saying out loud, "I remember reading that part!" or "They sure didn't bother to include that in the version with Charleton Heston." Which I DID like, by the way :).

There were several scenes that brought me to the brink of tears. It was truly an emotionally charged film with most excellent acting.

I had the pleasure of watching it in its entirety and uninterrupted on Trinity Broadcasting Network only taking a run to the restroom and a quick change of my laundry in under 5 minutes. HA!

The 1995 TV movie, "Moses," is mostly faithful to the Bible accounts that it covers in the exodus. It has six of the 10 plagues, and it has several of the events during the desert sojourn, including most of the major signs of God's power. It has good scenes of the Ark of the Covenant, the Tabernacle and the meeting tent, although there is no discussion of these.

It includes the important scouting of the Promised Land. God was ready to lead them into the land just a few months into the exodus, but the people balked. Ten of the 12 scouts said they would not be able to overcome the inhabitants who were there. The people didn't trust God to lead them in conquest of the land, so he condemned them to roam the desert for 40 years, until all those over age 20 had died.

I give this film six stars for its story accuracy during the exodus. It could have been a couple notches higher but for its shortcomings. The special effects are only fair. We see a short scene of the Red Sea after it has parted. When the Nile turns into blood, it looks as though a red filter is sliding over the camera lens. The earthquake seems more like the camera moving around while the people fall and slip.

One of the phenomenal things about the exodus was its sheer size. It involved two to three million people (based on Ex. 12:37). They set out with herds, flocks and belongings from Rameses, the great delta city that the Israelites had been building. This film fails to capture any of that. We see only a small area of adobe homes where the slaves live, and no sign of a great city. There are no scenes of masses of people. Most group scenes had no more than 100 people in them.

Another weak aspect is the story of the early years of Moses, and his adult character. The Bible is silent on most of the first 30 years of his life. It says only that he became the son of Pharaoh's daughter. As such, he would have been taught physical skills and the "art" of combat in the royal household. We see just a glimpse of that in a stick- fighting scene with his cousin. Otherwise, Moses is a clumsy child, withdrawn, and insecure. It's not likely that Moses would have known or visited his real family in his early years. Would Pharaoh have tolerated someone from the despised Israelite slaves as a member of the royal household? There is more in scripture and tradition that attest to the very unlikelihood of this.

Ben Kingsley's grown Moses is very good in his frequent internal conversations with God. But he is not the image of one who could rouse the people to follow him out of Egypt. In the Bible, Moses admits to not being an eloquent speaker, but that hardly equates to his being a lesser man physically. The scene of Moses at the well in Midian is quite novel. It seemed like another way to avoid his being portrayed as a strong man, physically or otherwise. But would Midian shepherds a few hundred miles away from the capitol of Egypt believe that this rag-tag character was from the royal Egyptian household? Or that an army of chariots had just crossed the desert and was about to put upon them? More likely, they would have thought he was an escaped thief. And, when Moses stays with Jethro's family for decades, he surely would encounter those same Midian shepherds in the days, weeks and years ahead. But where would Pharaoh's army be to back him up? No, I don't think much careful thought went into this character for Moses.

The film also is weak in the names of characters, including some who aren't named directly in the Book of Exodus. The first pharaoh in the film, when Moses is growing up, is Rameses I. But his tenure was less than three years. Most scholars think that Seti I was the pharaoh at that time. His reign was about 12 years. His son, Rameses II, was about 30 years old when he became pharaoh and was the chief builder of the glorious city, Rameses. And, he reigned for 67 years which would encompass the time that Moses was in Midian and then leading the exodus. The name of the pharaoh's daughter in this film is Ptiri, but I could find no reference to that name anywhere. In the film, the Pharaoh tells Moses that she died while he was gone. But a later Bible entry (1 Chronicles 4:17) lists Bithiah as "the daughter of Pharaoh." According to tradition, she was banished by Pharaoh for having brought Moses, an Israelite, into the house of the Pharaoh and pretending him to be her own. And, she left with Moses on the exodus – part of the "mixed multitude."

Some other Bible names are omitted, and fictitious names added. Zerack is a frequent complainer and critic of Moses in this movie. I can't find a reference to him anywhere. Dathan isn't mentioned at all, but in the Bible he, Korah and other leaders of the rebellion are swallowed up in the earthquake.

Many movies have been made about the exodus. This one is good for its account of the exodus itself, but not very good otherwise. I would like to see an exodus movie someday that has the account of the seraph snakes that bite and kill many of the Israelites for their constant grumbling against Moses and God. And then Moses making the bronze snake and putting it on a high pole for the people to gaze on and recover from their snake bites.

While Ben Kingsley is a great actor his adaptation of Moses is not one of his better roles. He simply is not believable as the great Hebrew leader. Regardless of this fact the movie is definitely worth watching.