DVD Reviews

The Ten Commandments - Blu-ray Review

By Jeff Swindoll Mar 30, 2011, 14:52 GMT

Based on the Holy Scriptures, with additional dialogue by several other hands, The Ten Commandments was the last film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. The story relates the life of Moses, from the time he was discovered in the bullrushes as an infant by the pharoah\'s daughter, to his long, hard struggle to free the Hebrews from their slavery at the hands of the Egyptians. Moses (Charlton Heston) starts out ...more

Thou shalt be delighted with the Ten Commandments on Blu-ray.  The special effects may not have aged well, but the film looks gorgeous on the new format and the performances are still done on an epic scale.  You might say on a biblical proportion.  So it is written so let it be done. 

The pharaoh is aware of a prophecy that a Hebrew male will be the deliverer of his enslaved workforce.  To avert this exodus he orders that all newborn Hebrew males be killed.  To avoid this horrific fate, Yoshebel (Martha Scott) puts her newborn into a reed basket, entrusts the child’s (Fraser Heston) fate to God, and floats him down the Nile River. 

Bithiah (Nina Foch), the sister of Pharaoh Seti I (Cedric Hardwicke), is bathing by the Nile and finds the child who she names Moses and hides his Hebrew origins.  Moses (Charlton Heston) is raised like the son of Seti, who favors Moses, and therefore Seti’s biological son Ramses (Yul Brynner) sees him more of a rival than a brother.  Princess Lilia’s (Debra Paget) hand will go to the next Pharaoh and she’s in love with Moses and it looks like the two will marry. 

Moses was tasked with waging war in Africa and is returning triumphantly from his campaign.  Ramses challenges Moses to take up the challenge of building Seti’s treasure city, a task that Ramses is failing at thanks to his throttling and starving the imprisoned Hebrew workforce.  Moses takes over the assignment, feeds the workforce, and the city moves faster towards completion. 

It looks as if Moses is to be the next Pharaoh until his secret origins are revealed.  Moses embraces his slave origins but cannot deny them to Seti so he’s banished.  In the desert he joins with a nomad tribe herding sheep and marries Sephora (Yvonne de Carlo).  However, an encounter with a burning bush reveals a larger destiny as the man whom God has chosen to free the Hebrews from the thumb of Pharaoh Ramses. 

The bible was not unfamiliar ground to legendary director Cecil B. DeMille.  He began his journey with 1923’s The Ten Commandments, did the King of Kings (1927, starring H.B. Warner who has a cameo in Commandments) and saw the Sign of the Cross in 1932 (ironically reveling in the sinners scenes) to name a few. 

His second crack at the Ten Commandments would also turn out to be his last film, as a warning heart attack on set would eventually lead to his demise.  His epic would literally feature casts of thousands as well as the best special effects that money could buy in 1956.  Those effects would win the picture an Academy Award and certainly awed audiences of the time. 

Sadly, those effects haven’t aged well with time, although there is a certainly beauty in their simplicity.  Must have been the lovely color palate as well.  To put it simply, the Ten Commandments looks gorgeous on Blu-ray. 

The cast is a powerful one with Heston valiantly leading the way.  I had forgotten also how powerful Brynner was as his opposite.  It’s a fiery performance of equals.  However, the whole film is gifted with a stellar cast.  Vincent Price as the wicked master builder, Edward G. Robinson as the superbly oily overseer, Debra Paget as the object of dual affections, and many more.  Certainly the pristine transfer adds to it all. 

The Ten Commandments is presented in a 1080p high definition transfer (1.78:1).  Disc one special features is a commentary by Katherine Orrison (author of Written in Stone: making Cecil B. DeMille’s epic the Ten Commandments) and the first half of the film (up to the intermission).  Disc two continues the film and commentary, but adds a 2 minute premiere newsreel and 12 minutes of trailers (both in high definition). 

Those wanting more special features will look towards the limited edition which adds a documentary as well as being housed in a recreation of the stone tablets, but expect to pay more than this two-disc edition. 

The Ten Commandments may have some creaky parts, but it earns its epic designation.  The performances are as powerful as the good book itself.  It still stands the test of time and the new pristine transfer actually breathes more life into it. 

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