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Stars: Charlton Heston, Yul
Brynner, Anne Baxter, Edward G. Robinson, Yvonne De Carlo, Debra Paget, John
Derek, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Nina Foch, Martha Scott, Judith Anderson, Vincent
Price, John Carradine, and Woody Strode
Writers: Aeneas MacKenzie, Jesse
L. Lasky, Jr., Jack Gariss, and Fredric M. Frank
Based Upon The Holy Scriptures And
Other Ancient And Modern Writings
Director: Cecil B. DeMille
Feature length: 220 minutes
Extras: Feature Length Audio
Commentary With Author Katherine Orrison, Newsreel Footage From The Original
Premiere In New York, 6-Part Documentary, Trailers
Languages: English Dolby Digital
5.1 Surround Sound, English Surround Sound, and French Language Monaural Sound
Subtitles: English Captions and
Closed Captions and French Language Subtitles On Select Extra Features Only
Packaging: Two-Disc Keep Case
Disc One Chapter Stops: 29
Disc Two Chapter Stops: 19
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
Sound, Dolby Surround Sound, and Monaural Sound
Year of Theatrical Release: 1956/DVD
Release: 2004
Theatrical Distributor: Paramount
Pictures
Home Video Distributor: Paramount
Home Entertainment
MPAA Rating: G
Reviewer: Mark A. Rivera
Cecil B. DeMille’s “The Ten
Commandments” (1956) is perhaps the greatest or at least among the greatest
biblical epics ever produced for the big screen. After garnering an Oscar® for
Best Picture of 1952 with “The Greatest Show On Earth,” Cecil B. DeMille
undertook the amazing quest to remake his film version of “The Ten
Commandments” using both a combination of biblical and historical texts as
inspiration. The film was shot both on location in Egypt as well as within a
gigantic soundstage shared between the Paramount lot and RKO Pictures. After a
career that spanned theater, silent films, radio, talking and widescreen motion
pictures, Cecil B. DeMille had become a household name and arguably a legend. He
also played himself in the film version of “Sunset Boulevard.” Only D.W.
Griffith and Alfred Hitchcock could command the kind of public respect and
attention to a motion picture the way Cecil. B. DeMille had in his prime. For
decades television broadcasts of “The Ten Commandments” have consistently
topped the ratings for the timeslot that it aired. In fact “The Ten
Commandments” is in many ways a viewing tradition that is associated with the
Easter holiday as much as with Passover.
The cast is outstanding with
memorable performances by Charlton Heston as “Moses” and Yul Brynner, who is
electrifying as “Rameses.” Edward G. Robinson also turns in terrific
villainous performance as “Dathan.” Though he may always be associated with
the many Roger Corman produced and or directed “Poe Films,” Vincent Price
brings a distinct smarmy charm to his portrayal of the Egyptian Master Builder
“Baka.” Price also played an important role in the religious feature “The
Song Of Bernadette.” Sir Cedric Hardwicke brings a great regality to his
portrayal of “Sethi.” Woody Strode had not yet become a recognizable African
American Actor people would remember from films like “Spartacus” and various
westerns. So he actually appears twice as two different characters in “The Ten
Commandments.” He plays the Ethiopian King in the first half of the film and
later he appears as one of Moses’ adapted mother’s servants during the
Passover sequence in the second half of the film. This had at times caused
confusion with later generations of viewers who recognized Strode as the
Ethiopian King from the beginning and then thought he was playing the same
character reduced to the role of a slave in the later half. DeMille brings in
subtle historical contexts into the film from the recorded explosion of a
volcano that Rameses blames as the true cause of the Nile River turning red to
having one of the ambassadors paying tribute to Rameses when he is Pharaoh be a
representative of King Priam of Troy. In the case of the volcanic eruption,
DeMille was convinced that even a scientific explanation for a miracle did not
diminish the belief in the power of God since he believed God worked through
nature.
DeMille’s personal profits from
“The Ten Commandments” were donated to charity and he personally saw to it
that all of his regular crewmembers that had worked with him through the years
on many films including “The Ten Commandments” would receive royalties from
the success of “The Ten Commandments.” It is important to remember that
DeMille was also one of the founders of the studio that is Paramount Pictures
today. Director Steven Spielberg has been quoted as describing the famous
sequence where Moses parts the Red Sea as one of the greatest special effects
ever caught on film. Other admirers of Cecil B. DeMille include acclaimed
filmmaker Martin Scorsese. Turner Classic Movies is showing a festival of
classic epics from various genres that includes an excellent two-part
documentary entitled “Cecil B. DeMille: American Epic.” I highly recommend
anyone with any interest in the work of Mr. DeMille to check this world premiere
documentary out. You can read my review of and find out more information
including airtimes by clicking here.
Paramount Home Entertainment
released “The Ten Commandments” to DVD as one of the studio’s early DVD
releases and one of the first if not the first two-disc DVD set of a major
theatrical classic to ever be released on the format. Comparing the transfer and
sound between both releases has led me to conclude that this is essentially the
same anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) aspect ratio presentation as the original
release with the same English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtrack mix as well.
Considering the film is nearly fifty years old, I think the 5.1 Surround
Soundtrack is still a great accomplishment and though there are some visible
imperfections, the restored picture quality is still breathtaking to behold. An
English Dolby Surround Soundtrack and a French Language Monaural Soundtrack is
also encoded onto both discs for the feature presentation along with English
Captions and Closed Captions for the hearing impaired as options. French
Language Subtitles are provided on select extra value features on disc two.
I was a bit disappointed to find
that the film was split in half at the intermission point of the movie on two
discs like the previous release. Maybe I’m wrong, but I thought the whole film
could fit on one DVD. The 135 minutes and 38 seconds of “The Ten
Commandments” are on disc one while the concluding 95 minutes and 43 seconds
are on disc two along with extra value features. The 1956 “Making Of”
trailer (9:59), 1966 trailer (1:00), and the 1989 trailer (1:41) are all
included on disc two. Exclusive to the “Special Collector’s Edition” DVD
set is a feature length audio commentary track with Katherine Orrison, Author of
“Written In Stone – Making Cecil B. DeMille’s Epic, The Ten
Commandments.” To say that this audio commentary is screen specific would be
an understatement. Mrs. Orrison manages to find the minutest details throughout
the film and make them both entertaining and educational without falling upon
simply narrating the action. This is in my opinion a terrific commentary and the
strongest element on this new two-disc “Special Collector’s Edition” DVD
release.
Also included is the six-part
documentary “So It Was Written So It Shall Be Done” (37:36), which can be
viewed individually or as a whole with interviews that include Charlton Heston
as well as other surviving cast members and Composer Elmer Bernstein and Cecil
B. DeMille’s granddaughter, who was present on the set of “The Ten
Commandments” and all of the participants share many recollections about the
acclaimed Hollywood Director. Newsreel footage from the premiere in New York
City in 1956 is also included (2:24). The main menu is animated while the
subsequent menus are all standard interactive still frames that are easy to
navigate.
I loved the commentary track, but
I don’t think the other extra value features included on the “Special
Collector’s Edition” justify an upgrade from the previous DVD release.
However if you have not added “The Ten Commandments” to your DVD library yet
and you wish to, them this is the version to go with. “The Ten Commandments:
Special Collector’s Edition” is available now at retailers on and offline
from Paramount Home Entertainment.
© Copyright 2004 By Mark A.
Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
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