The Ten Commandments (1956)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Alexander D

  
  With the full technicolor, the increased setback, and the whopping length, we expect an epic such as GONE WITH THE WIND: melodramatic, yes, but thoroughly engaging. Instead, we are shocked to receive something completely different: a melodrama that succeeds in its entirety with… More
  With the full technicolor, the increased setback, and the whopping length, we expect an epic such as GONE WITH THE WIND: melodramatic, yes, but thoroughly engaging. Instead, we are shocked to receive something completely different: a melodrama that succeeds in its entirety with information, but not much else. In fact, not even an hour has passed before you are just beginning to feel mentally asleep. I award points to THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, though difficult to watch, for its grand historical value. DeMille is certainly not one to say he knows nothing about Moses. Clearly, a film that goes as far as to inform about, say, Mosesâ(TM)s love life, can carry on endlessly with notice about more importantâ"but previously unheard ofâ"events (and it did).

• Mister C

  
  This was Cecil B.De Mille's last theatrical feature,with a running time of nearly four hours(basically the running time of 3 hours and 40 minutes which includes the opening overture,intermission, and exit music),this stunning and most extravagant blockbuster is full of… More
  This was Cecil B.De Mille's last theatrical feature,with a running time of nearly four hours(basically the running time of 3 hours and 40 minutes which includes the opening overture,intermission, and exit music),this stunning and most extravagant blockbuster is full of absurdities and vulgarities,but in all aspects this star-studded widescreen Vista Vision and Technicolor spectacle is ravishing,and De Mille's form of showmanship,which includes his own narration,never falters. Charlton Heston might be said to achieve his apotheosis as Moses-unless one decides that it's Moses who's achieving his apotheosis as Heston-and most of the other in the star-studded epic which is based on the Holy Scriptures are comparably mythic. Simultaneously ludicrous and splendid,this epic is driven by the sort of personal conviction one almost never finds is subsequent Hollywood monoliths. The scenes with includes the parting of the Red Sea is one of the best special effects ever made. With its all-star cast that includes Yul Brenner(Rameses), Anne Baxter(Nefertiri), with Yvonne De Carlo(Sephora), Debra Paget(Lilia), John Derek(Joshua), Edward G. Robinson(Dathan), Cedric Hardwicke(Sethi), Nina Foch(Bithiah), Martha Scott(Yochabel). The film was nominated for an impressive Nine Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director(but lost the Best Picture Oscar to "Around The World in 80 Days"),and won the Oscar for Best Special Effects(John P. Fulton,with some of the effects coming from the Disney studios). If you want to see "The Ten Commandments",my advice is not to see this on television(since seeing it on TV around Easter time doesn't do any justice,or for that manner seeing it on DVD),but see this movie the way it was suppose to be seen.....in a movie theater equipped with full 70MM projection and experience it in full six-track stereophonic sound.

• Sajin P

  
  A ceremonious 4 star. Watching the Red-sea parting sequence, you just cant stop wondering how they achieved that, with the kind of technology they had in the 50s.

• moon r

  
  practically everyone i've ever known has seen this film at least once as network television used to show it twice a year. cecil b. demille's denunciation of the sinful life while gloriously wallowing in it is nonetheless glorious, a big movie that has BIG implanted into… More
  practically everyone i've ever known has seen this film at least once as network television used to show it twice a year. cecil b. demille's denunciation of the sinful life while gloriously wallowing in it is nonetheless glorious, a big movie that has BIG implanted into it's very DNA, hollywood style grandeur and fun.

• Richard C

  
  I was bored through most of this. Its so long and cheesy. I know its old and I enjoyed parts of it but I was falling asleep by the end of it but come on its almost 4 hours. Grade: C

• Michael E

  
  The movie was very, VERY long to sit through and by the time it was done i thought it was OK it wasn't as good as the "Prince of Egypt" but i thought it was pretty good

• AJ V

  
  I know it's a remake and I'd love to see the original, but this movie is still worth watching if not for the spectacle, then for the all star cast, or the brilliant way the story is brought to life.

• Wahida K

  
  This is the only The Ten Commandments version I like to watch. The Remakes or the recent version are just nothing comparing to this one.

• Daniel P

  
  I will admit, I was nodding off by the end of it, but this is still a great movie. Yes, it's incredibly hammy, but that's sort of the point isn't it? The sets are opulent, the colours just pop off the screen, the score is enchanting and the acting... well, they tried… More
  I will admit, I was nodding off by the end of it, but this is still a great movie. Yes, it's incredibly hammy, but that's sort of the point isn't it? The sets are opulent, the colours just pop off the screen, the score is enchanting and the acting... well, they tried hard... a signpost film, in the running with Ben-Hur for the title of "template of the modern epic". Stagy and dated by now, but something you simply must see once... even if it will take four hours!

• Jon L

  
  I will have to rewatch this one as it has been so long since I have seen it.

• Ken S

  
  Very silly

• danny d

  
  a grand epic in every measure. there were problems with this film, demille told more of the parts to the story that are less sure than he did the parts that are recorded in Scripture, the actors hammed it up a little too much, and the melo drama took a greater role than the plagues.… More
  a grand epic in every measure. there were problems with this film, demille told more of the parts to the story that are less sure than he did the parts that are recorded in Scripture, the actors hammed it up a little too much, and the melo drama took a greater role than the plagues. but the film was highly reverential, the sets, costumes, and cinematography were excellent, and the effects were great for a film in the late 50's. all in all, despite the story changes and innaccuracies, this is great story telling and an overall wonderful film.

• Mark H

  
  Grand, magnificent biblical epic from Cecil B. DeMille that holds your attention for over 4 hours.

• Lenny M

  
  Epic in every sense.

• Curtis L

  
  okay

• xGary X

  
  Pompous, self-important swords and sandals epic bearing all the hallmarks of Cecil B. DeMille's penchant for stagey self indulgence. It has a quality cast, but I'd have to be mighty bored to sit through the whole of this long winded bible thumpathon...

• Aaron N

  
  Moses: Let my people go. This is a grand scale epic. A prestige picture from back in the 50s, made with larger than life sets, costumes, production designs and state of the art effects for the time. It has Charlton Heston as the great, tan, strong Moses and Yul Brynner as the… More
  Moses: Let my people go. This is a grand scale epic. A prestige picture from back in the 50s, made with larger than life sets, costumes, production designs and state of the art effects for the time. It has Charlton Heston as the great, tan, strong Moses and Yul Brynner as the counter-balance Rhameses. The characters, as with the production are all larger than life and it all works for a giant biblical epic, recounting the story of the Hebrew slaves being freed by Moses from Egypt. The movie is nearly 4 hours long, epic in length, and is the kind of movie that one would only watch once a year, so it's a good thing it always comes on during the time of passover. Despite its length, the film is still extremely watchable, it takes its time, but is done on such a grand scale that it does not matter much. A great epic tale.

• jay n

  
  most of the acting is incredibly arch but somehow its still highly watchable and the special effects are pretty good considering the age of the film

• Jason S

  
  A classic that was always playing on tv when I was a kid. Really long though.

• Tom E

  
  Not as good as Ben Hur -- Edward G Robinson isn't convincing

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