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Legendary silent film director Cecil B. DeMille didn't much alter the way he made movies after sound came in, and this 1956 biblical drama is proof of that. While graced with such 1950s niceties as VistaVision and Technicolor, The Ten Commandments (DeMille had already filmed an earlier version in 1923) has an anachronistic, impassioned style that finds lead actors Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner expressively posing while hundreds of extras writhe either in the presence of God's power or from orgiastic heat. DeMille, as always, plays both sides of the fence as far as sin goes, surrounding Heston's Moses with worshipful music and heavenly special effects while also making the sexy action around the cult of the Golden Calf look like fun. You have to see The Ten Commandments to understand its peculiar resonance as an old-new movie, complete with several still-impressive effects such as the parting of the Red Sea. --Tom Keogh
Amazon.com Essential Video
Legendary silent film director Cecil B. DeMille didn't much alter the way he made movies after sound came in, and this 1956 biblical drama is proof of that. While graced with such 1950s niceties as VistaVision and Technicolor, The Ten Commandments (DeMille had already filmed an earlier version in 1923) has an anachronistic, impassioned style that finds lead actors Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner expressively posing while hundreds of extras writhe either in the presence of God's power or from orgiastic heat. DeMille, as always, plays both sides of the fence as far as sin goes, surrounding Heston's Moses with worshipful music and heavenly special effects while also making the sexy action around the cult of the Golden Calf look like fun. You have to see The Ten Commandments to understand its peculiar resonance as an old-new movie, complete with several still-impressive effects such as the parting of the Red Sea. --Tom Keogh
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ten Commandments (blu ray)...Paramount's restoration is as miraculous as parting of the Red Sea,
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This review is from: Ten Commandments [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)
Video: The restoration by Paramount was a monumental task. Because of the length of the film, a truck was used just to transport all the reels of films. Ron Smith of Paramount was able to view the film using its only one remaining VistaVision projector to determine the original colour and density. Some of their difficulties included restoring the yellow colour that had faded out over the years. The final product (1080p 1.78:1 transfer) was simply amazing. Fine detail was simply unbelievable. Textures were immaculate. You could see individual stitches in Moses' mother's Hebrew robe. You could see each one of the tiny golden squares that make up Pharaoh's elaborate chest pieces. Colors were bright and bold. The ornate Egyptian costumes burst off the screen with rich gold, deep blue, and crimson red. Skin tones were always natural. Thank you to Paramount for putting this lengthy film on two BD-50 discs, reducing compression to the minimum. (4.5/5)Audio: The DTS HD MA-5.1 was a tremendous improvement over earlier standard edition. Music and effects combined to create a bombastic, enveloping viewing experience. Elmer Bernstein's score was brassy and bold, and the movie's sound effects - lots of swirling wind and thunderclaps - were quite forceful. (4/5) Paramount's famous outdoor water tank was constructed for 'The Ten Commandments' to create the parting of the Red Sea, which garnered the film its only Academy Award (for visual effects). The sparking granite tablets in the film were created using gun power. The water on both sides as well has the crashing wave approaching from the back were all filmed separately in the tank. The sea bed was two back-to-back sound stages at Paramount and RKO. And the sky was separate as well. Did you know that after DeMille's on-set heart attack (which he had while climbing up to the top of those giant gates), he didn't tell the crew, cast, or studio, fearing a shutdown of the production. Instead, he said he had dysentery. His doctors warned finishing the movie could kill him, but he refused to stop. DeMille's wife went on to direct some of the film's scenes so her husband could stay still. The video reproduction is simply astounding. The audio is well done and adds new life to the movie. Paramount has done an astonishing job in restoring this epic movie. Highly recommended.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Great Film STILL Short Changed,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Ten Commandments (Special Collector's Edition) (DVD)
I wonder why this edition wasn't held for the C.B. DeMille bio that Turner just produced. Instead we get a lot of anecdotes from Orrison, whom made an inaccurate statement that Brenner and Heston were about the same age. This is wrong, Brenner was in fact 9 years older than Heston. Also, her commentary really spotlighted an actor named Clint Walker who was just an extra. This was a definite who cares moment, like many within her commentary.C.B. DeMille was the star along with Heston, Brenner and Baxter. There should have been more attention given to the 'stars'. Why was I surprised that the packaging was 'downgraded'. You actually have to remove 'the first' disc to get to the second disc and no chapter card insert. It takes too much time to sum up this mess. Lets just hope that Warners will get the next edition right. This one needs work - except for the transfer that is which was fine the first time around without the ho hum 'extras'.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
2-Disc Special Collector's Edition,
By filmflavor (San Antonio, TX United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Ten Commandments (Special Collector's Edition) (DVD)
I have always loved this movie since I was a child. I already own the VHS version of this movie but wanted it on DVD and since they came out with a Special Collector's Edition (2-disc), I decided to preorder the DVD. I think the transfer of the movie is very good, though it is showing its age now in places. The movie still looks beautiful and the sound is good for its age too. My only complaint is that the 2-disc DVD set is in a thick DVD plastic box and you would think it contained a thick pamphlet or insert. Don't get me wrong, I prefer plastic over the cheap cardboard DVD boxes being put out now on a lot of old classics, but it doesn't even contain a paper insert even though there are 2 clips for the insert. I'm not sure if this was a mistake or if this DVD set doesn't come with any inserts. Was the insert missing? Am I the only person that received this DVD set without an insert or did everybody get the same thing? Otherwise, I highly recommend this DVD set for anybody that loves old Hollywood epics. I'm never bored by this movie.
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