| Nominated for seven Academy Awards including Best | | | | to turn from his people, Moses faces the truth and |
| Picture, The Ten Commandments is by far the best | | | | acknowledges this newfound fact to Sethi who |
| rendition of the story Moses ever to cross the big | | | | banishes him from Egypt forever. |
| screen. Directed by celebrated Hollywood trailblazer | | | | Wandering through the desert, he settles in Midian, |
| Cecil B. DeMille, the film is based on the Old | | | | marries Jethro's eldest daughter, and enjoys a fruitful |
| Testament epic which tells the story of the | | | | life. But the peace enjoyed by Moses is soon broken |
| enslavement of the Hebrew people by the Egyptian | | | | when he encounters a burning bush. The spirit of God |
| empire. Burdened by hundreds of years of | | | | inhabits the bush, and God tells Moses to return to |
| oppression, God hears the wailing calls of the | | | | Egypt where he will be the instrument by which God |
| Hebrews and sends his messenger Moses to demand | | | | will free the Hebrews. |
| Pharaoh set them free. With a hardened heart, the | | | | Arriving in Egypt, Moses issues God's commands to |
| ancient monarch refuses, setting the stage for a | | | | Pharaoh Rameses. But Rameses does not listen. In |
| battle with the Almighty that threatens to leave | | | | vengeance, God inflicts Egypt with a series of |
| Egypt in ruins... | | | | plagues. Nevertheless, Rameses still refuses to free |
| The Ten Commandments begins with the birth of | | | | the slaves. Finally, when a curse from his own lips kills |
| Moses, a Hebrew born to slaves. Fearful her son will | | | | the firstborn son of Rameses, he relents and agrees |
| be murdered, a Hebrew slave woman places her | | | | to free the slaves. But when he changes his mind |
| newborn son in a basket to float among the reeds | | | | once again, only a miracle from God can save the |
| of the Nile. But the child is found by Pharaoh's | | | | Hebrews from a certain and imminent death... |
| daughter who accepts the child as her own. As a | | | | Winner of the Academy Award for Best Special |
| result, Moses grows up in the palace of Pharaoh as a | | | | Effects (1957), it's readily apparent that The Ten |
| member of Egyptian royalty, his true identity hidden | | | | Commandments was not filmed yesterday. However, |
| by the princess and her handmaid, Memnet (Judith | | | | the movie is not ridiculously dated in its imaging and |
| Anderson). | | | | special effects - at least, not enough to detract from |
| The film then fast-forwards to the adolescent years | | | | enjoyment of the film. Furthermore, the movie |
| and early adulthood of Moses (Charlton Heston), who | | | | remains a blockbuster to the present day because of |
| has grown into a noble man of strong character | | | | the commanding performances put forward by the |
| much favored by Pharaoh Sethi (Cedric Hardwicke). | | | | main characters pitted in conflict: Moses (Charlton |
| Moses is also object of the affections of the | | | | Heston), Rameses (Yul Brynner), and God's voice |
| beautiful Nefretiri (Anne Baxter), a fact which further | | | | (Charlton Heston). This strong portrayal of various |
| stokes the ire of Sethi's biological son, Rameses (Yul | | | | Old Testament characters by seasoned professionals |
| Brynner), a jealous rival to Moses. Pleased with the | | | | will stand the test of time. The Ten Commandments |
| efforts of Moses, Sethi eventually names him as | | | | is certainly one of the top one hundred films ever |
| successor. But the dark secret of his past can not | | | | produced, and a definite must-see for any cinema |
| remain hidden, and when Nefretiri discovers the truth | | | | aficionado... |
| from Memnet, she murders the handmaid. Too noble | | | | |