The Ten Commandments review

 Number 422 on the top 1000 films of all time is Cecil B. Demille's 1956 biblical epic 'The Ten Commandments.'

The Ten Commandments dramatises the second book of the bible Exodus. We see Moses (Charlton Heston) change from an Egyptian price into the saviour of the Jewish people. Yul Brynner plays the Egyptian pharaoh Rameses II who clashes with Moses. Such events include the ten plagues, the exodus itself, the parting of the Red Sea and the receiving of the eponymous Ten Commandments.

There is no doubt that the Ten Commandments was a technical marvel upon its release. Although it's certainly outdated by modern standards, I was very impressed by the special effects from the burning bush to the parting of the Red Sea. At the time it was absolutely groundbreaking.

I have also read the bible including the book of Exodus. It is a dense text, but Cecil B Demille did well translating it to the screen. Sure, you can argue, that the almost four-hour runtime is excruciatingly long for today's Tiktok generation, but perhaps the length was necessary to truly convey the full extent of the book of Exodus. Granted it might have been overlong for me, but I think Rhodes managed to hit all the key plot points.

In the lead role, we have Charlton Heston who plays Moses with all the righteous indignation that we would expect from Heston. By righteous indignation, I mean lots of shouting - similarly to Planet of the Apes or Ben-Hur. Yul Brynner was also very good as the villainous Rameses II.

I'm not sure how well the Ten Commandments would appeal to a modern-day audience, but there's no doubt that it was a technically-proficient, Oscar-darling of its time.