IMDb > The Ten Commandments (1956)
The Ten Commandments
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The Ten Commandments (1956) More at IMDbPro »

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The Ten Commandments (1956) -- Music video
The Ten Commandments (1956) -- The Egyptian Prince, Moses, learns of his true heritage as a Hebrew and his divine mission as the deliverer of his people.
The Ten Commandments (1956) -- Clip: Moses received The Commandments
The Ten Commandments (1956) -- The Egyptian Prince, Moses, learns of his true heritage as a Hebrew and his divine mission as the deliverer of his people.
The Ten Commandments (1956) -- Sinematurk - Trailer (Flash)
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Overview

User Rating:
7.9/10   19,016 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 4% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Cecil B. DeMille
Writers:
J.H. Ingraham (novel) and
A.E. Southon (novel) ...
more
Contact:
View company contact information for The Ten Commandments on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
5 October 1956 (USA) more
Genre:
Adventure | Drama more
Tagline:
The Greatest Event in Motion Picture History more
Plot:
The Egyptian Prince, Moses, learns of his true heritage as a Hebrew and his divine mission as the deliverer of his people. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
Won Oscar. Another 3 wins & 7 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(47 articles)
Veteran’s Day: Movies Veterans Love
 (From Screen Rant. 11 November 2009, 3:45 AM, PST)
Badasses of Horror: Part Two
 (From Fangoria. 9 November 2009, 6:30 AM, PST)
User Comments:
Behold HIS mighty hand..DeMille's I mean. more (174 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Charlton Heston ... Moses

Yul Brynner ... Rameses

Anne Baxter ... Nefretiri

Edward G. Robinson ... Dathan

Yvonne De Carlo ... Sephora
Debra Paget ... Lilia
John Derek ... Joshua
Cedric Hardwicke ... Sethi (as Sir Cedric Hardwicke)

Nina Foch ... Bithiah
Martha Scott ... Yochabel
Judith Anderson ... Memnet

Vincent Price ... Baka
John Carradine ... Aaron
Olive Deering ... Miriam
Douglass Dumbrille ... Jannes
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Additional Details

Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents
Runtime:
220 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
70 mm 6-Track (Westrex Recording System) (70 mm prints) | Dolby Digital (1998 re-release) | Dolby (1989 re-release) | Mono (35 mm prints)
Certification:
Iceland:16 | South Korea:All | Brazil:Livre | USA:Approved (Certificate #18021) (original rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:G | Belgium:KT | Chile:14 | Finland:S | Netherlands:AL | Norway:12 | Sweden:15 | UK:U | USA:G (1972) | West Germany:16 | Canada:PG | Spain:T
Filming Locations:
Abu Rudeis, Egypt more
Company:
Motion Picture Associates more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The last line of the film "Proclaim liberty throughout all the land, unto all the inhabitants thereof" was taken from Leviticus 25:10 of The Bible. It is also printed on the Liberty Bell. more
Goofs:
Factual errors: Omitted from the scene where the Egyptian chariots are pursuing the Israelites through the Red Sea is the fact that the Lord caused the chariot wheels to be clogged or out of alignment so that they swerved and drove with difficulty. (Exodus 14:25) more
Quotes:
Moses: Would you bury the old woman alive in a tomb of rock?
Yochabel: Wise and noble One, It caught. I have not the strength to free myself.
Moses: Your shoulders should not bear a burden, old woman.
Yochabel: The Lord has renewed my strength and lightened my burdens.
Moses: He would have done better to remove them.
more
Movie Connections:
Featured in "The O'Reilly Factor: (2008-08-22)" (2008) more

FAQ

How does it end?
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User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
34 out of 43 people found the following comment useful.
Behold HIS mighty hand..DeMille's I mean., 10 September 2004
Author: Scaramouche2004 from Coventry, England

What a fantastic movie to climax DeMille's illustrious career.

Charlton Heston, king of the biblical epics, shines brightly as Moses, the one time Egyptian Prince, who now carries staff and perm in order to work Gods will and free his enslaved people from bondage.

Yul Brynner, in what I believe to be his finest turn before the camera plays Rameses the Pharoah who's hateful relationship with Moses spans the entire epic. He is charismatic and shows off the arrogance of a stubborn Pharoah to perfection. This is indeed a film stealing performance.

The beautiful Anne Baxter is at her sultry best as Nefretiri, the woman who would be queen to Rameses, but a slave in love to Moses. However the character is complex and I certainly had trouble in deciding who's side she was on in this epic battle of good verses evil. In the beginning she claims not to care for Moses' discovered background and is willing to be with him no matter what, however as the film progresses she does nothing but ridicule him and belittle him in true anti-semitic fashion.

Edward G. Robinson, Vincent Price, John Derek, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Yvonne De Carlo, Nina Foch, John Carradine, and Debra Paget all lend fine and memorable support, to an already colourful and breathtaking experience.

Incidentally it is worth mentioning that so convincing was Martha Scott in her role as Moses' mother Yochabel, that she was given the chance to play Charlton Heston's mother again in the later epic Ben-Hur.

Another interesting fact is, it was Charlton Heston's own voice who spoke the words of God. It was Heston's own idea that to hear God would be to feel God from within, which is why he thought it would be interesting to hear His voice as his own.

A remake of DeMille's earlier screen adaptation of the fine book of Exodus, many can see why this film ranks as his ultimate achievement. The sets were lavish and the story handled with suitable reverence and dignity.

People today often make the mistake of comparing older films like this to the modern epics of today with regards to their effects and they quite wrongly categorize them as inferior. Today anyone can create CGI images on their PC. Even my three year old daughter can make something look convincing with a mouse and a keyboard and although these effects are great, people have to remember that CGI was not available in 1956.

Okay there are a few obvious matte backdrops used here, but to achieve the effects they did nearly fifty years ago was an outstanding and impressive feat which took talent and knowledge. I tend to look upon these effects as superior because it took the use of mans own brain to bring them about. The human brain is the best computer available, yet one seldom used in todays world. So please take this on board before you slam The Ten Commandments for it's "cheap and nasty" look as one reviewer called it.

This movie is ALMOST faultless, even the length is forgivable as I was so engrossed, I hardly notice the time passing.

One fact that did rouse my curiosity was Moses' appearance throughout the film. I know he went to speak to God at the burning bush, but did he really have to stop off at the salon on the way back? Or did God appear to Moses complete with curling tongs and hair dryer? "Just a little off the top Oh Lord."

And why did Moses seem to age more than everyone else? It seemed like he went from a youthful dark to everyones favourite Santa in the space of a week.

This aside, this film is a fantastic piece of cinema and must rate as a personal favourite of all fans of Biblical epics.

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Three women on the rock HighClassHaddock
Mean God jamdonahoo
Yvonne DeCarlo Melissax1972
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