It would take more than a man to lead the slaves from bondage. Southon novel On Eagle's Wings and the Dorothy Clarke Wilson novel Prince of Egypt.ĭeMille had previously made the film in a silent 1923 version. The film is based on Prince of Egypt by Dorothy Clarke Wilson, Pillar of Fire by J. DeMille, shot in VistaVision (color by Technicolor), and released by Paramount Pictures. The film was adapted by Aeneas MacKenzie, Jesse Lasky Jr., Jack Gariss and Fredric M. The Ten Commandments is a 1956 American epic religious drama film produced, directed, and narrated by Cecil B. The giving of the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai is also considered a dramatic highlight.Īside from the Academy Award for Best Effects, Special Effects and was nominated for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color, Best Cinematography, Color, Best Costume Design, Color (Edith Head, Ralph Jester, John Jensen, Dorothy Jeakins and Arnold Friberg), Best Film Editing, Best Picture and Best Sound, Recording. The parting of the Red Sea won the film its Oscar for Special Effects, while the worship of the Golden Calf owed something to opera staging of Saint-Saëns' Samson et Dalila. Co-stars include Yul Brynner as his adoptive brother, Pharaoh Ramesses II. DeMille and stars Charlton Heston in the lead role. It was released by Paramount Pictures in VistaVision on October 5, 1956. Robinson, Yvonne De Carlo, Debra Paget, John Derek, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Nina Foch, Martha Scott, Dame Judith Anderson, Vincent Price and John Carradine. The Ten Commandments is a 1956 American motion picture that dramatized the biblical story of Moses, an adopted Egyptian prince-turned deliverer of the Hebrew slaves. The movie's cast evokes its period: Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner, Anne Baxter, Edward G. In 1999, satisfying both audiences, the film was deemed 'culturally significant' by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. For decades, a showing of The Ten Commandments was a popular fund-raiser among revivalist Christian churches, while the film was equally treasured among film buffs for DeMille's 'cast of thousands' approach and the heroic but antiquated silent-screen-type acting. Moses, raised as a prince of Egypt in the Pharaohs household, learns of his true heritage as a Hebrew and his divine mission as the deliverer of his people from slavery. With Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner, Anne Baxter, Edward G. In non-adjusted dollars, it held the record as the highest-grossing film with a religious storyline until the 2004 film The Passion of the Christ.Ĭritics have argued that considerable liberties were taken with the Biblical story, affecting the film's claim to authenticity, but this has had little effect on its popularity. The Ten Commandments: Directed by Cecil B. It is the 5th highest grossing movie of all time, adjusted for inflation, with collections of $838,400,000.

DeMill, which tells in a Hollywood style the Bible story of Moses (played by Charlton Heston) as he comes to know God and to get Pharaoh Ramses ( Yul Brynner) to let the Israelites leave Egypt. The Ten Commandments is a 1956 epic film directed by Cecil B.

The ten commandments movie wiki