The greatest event in motion picture history!
Escaping death, a Hebrew infant is raised in a royal household to become a prince. Upon discovery of his true heritage, Moses embarks on a personal quest to reclaim his destiny as the leader and liberator of the Hebrew people.
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Character
Epic, earnest, resolved and classical in form.
- intimateepic
- earnestironic
- resolvedopen-ended
- classical in formformally daring
- gravecomic
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“Is Charlton Heston the best thing in The Ten Commandments?”
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“Is it too big for its own story?”
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“Is The Ten Commandments a masterpiece, not merely a very good film?”
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Reviews on TMDB
Written by TMDB members; each links to the original. Not part of Tastebuds's numbers.
- CinemaSerfon TMDB · Jun 20247/10
Until very recently, I had never actually made it all the way through this Cecil B. De Mille marathon. It is a glorious piece of cinema but no amount of beautiful colour and costumes can detract from what is really rather a staid, over-egged production. Sir Cedric Hardwicke helps open the proceedings as Seti, but once he has gone the film loses much of it's class and just becomes a vehicle for Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner to play Moses and Ramses as this overly scripted tale of frail brotherly love becomes enmity and ultimately open hostility. Edward G. Robinson and Vincent Price present us with a bit of menace; the special effects are cleverly applied - giving the plagues an extra bit of potency and Elmer Bernstein provides a strong score but basically this is just one long story more of biblical, than, epic proportions.
Read the whole review on TMDB - John Chardon TMDB · Apr 20209/10
His God "is" God! The Ten Commandments is at the top end of Hollywood historical epics. It was to be Cecil B. DeMille's last ever directing assignment and he bows out with a gargantuan epic that to this day stands as a testament to his brilliant talent as one of the masters of epic film making. The story cribs from a number of biblical sources, some of which are hokum and not to be taken as a religio lesson, but basically it tells the tale of Moses (Charlton Heston) and how he came to lead the Israelites to their exodus from Egypt - culminating in his delivering of God's own Ten Commandments to the people. No expense is spared, with a top line ensemble cast being joined by over 25,000 extras. The wide-screen special effects work dazzles the eyes, the direction of ginormous crowd sequences impressive, and an ebullient spectacle is never far away in what is a picture running at three hours thirty minutes (add ten for the glory of an intermission). It would have been easy for the cast to get lost amongst such a large scale production, but the principals shine bright and make telling characteristic marks. Heston was born for the Moses role, Yul Brynner absolutely excels as Moses' silky
Read the whole review on TMDB - Cat Ellingtonon TMDB · Feb 2017
(The King of Egypt - with his sword drawn - and his Queen, together, converse about killing Moses, servant of the Most High God) ... Queen Nefretiri: 'Bring it back to me, stained with his blood!' Pharoah Rameses: 'I will... to mingle with your own!' Inspired by the Book of Exodus, this Cecil B. DeMille-directed, Academy Award-winning biblical epic, the seventh most successful film of all-time, needs no further analysis. Among the undisputed, where exceptionally classic one-liners are concerned, The Ten Commandments is a timeless generational masterpiece, and a National Film Registry-honored landmark of the Hollywood cinema industry ... Period. Five out of five glittering stars.
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Cast
- Charlton HestonMoses
- Yul BrynnerRameses
- Anne BaxterNefretiri
- Edward G. RobinsonDathan
- Yvonne De CarloSephora
- Debra PagetLilia
- John DerekJoshua
- Cedric HardwickeSethi
- Nina FochBithiah
- Martha ScottYochabel
Crew
- Cecil B. DeMilleDirector
- Fredric M. FrankScreenplay
- Jesse Lasky Jr.Screenplay
- Jack GarissScreenplay
- A.E. SouthonNovel
- Dorothy Clarke WilsonNovel
- J.H. IngrahamNovel
- Loyal GriggsDirector of Photography
- Elmer BernsteinOriginal Music Composer
- Anne BauchensEditor
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Pairings
Companions we picked from the closest works, and how to take them.
Similar in taste
Closest on the same fourteen dimensions, from everything scored on Tastebuds Other media included when they land close.
The King of Kings 192786% alikeBoth epic, earnest, resolved.
King of Kings 196182% alikeBoth epic, earnest, grave.
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ 192581% alikeBoth epic, earnest, grave.
Braveheart 199580% alikeBoth epic, earnest, resolved.
Spartacus 196078% alikeBoth epic, earnest, classical in form.
Ben-Hur 195977% alikeBoth epic, earnest, classical in form.
The Greatest Story Ever Told 196577% alikeBoth epic, earnest, resolved.
Thirteen Days 200077% alikeBoth earnest, epic, classical in form.
The Winds of War 198380% alikeTelevision · Both earnest, epic, grave.
The Pillars of the Earth 201077% alikeTelevision · Both earnest, classical in form, epic.
Often watched with
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