The movie critique portion of this review was written by my colleague Michele Arbir.
Originally released in 1956 and produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille, The Ten Commandments is a classic still 65 years later. When the opportunity arose for me to review this title, I jumped at it. As a kid, we watched this movie every year on the eve of Easter. The film aired on the ABC network in 1973 and still does to this day. The Paramount film was shot in gorgeous VistaVision (with color by Technicolor), which captured an image that was both wider than the typical theatrical image and twice the resolution of normal 35mm film. A grand filming technique for an epic tale.
Enjoying the good life in the court of Egypt’s pharaoh, Moses (Charlton Heston) discovers he was found by his mother in a basket in the river. Moses finds out his Hebrew heritage and, later, God’s expectations of him. After he leaves the court and returns home, his mission is to liberate his people from captivity. Through the aid of plagues and divine intervention, he manages to lead them out of Egypt and across the Red Sea. The next challenge is even greater and comes in the form of the golden calf idol, however, and it takes an unforgettable visitation by God on Mount Sinai for Moses’ mission to prevail.
These days we have Marvel films, that is our version of a big-budget epic. In the ‘50s and ‘60s, they had their big bible epics. Filmed on location in Egypt, Mount Sinai, and the Sinai Peninsula, the film was DeMille’s last and most successful work. This was a grand spectacle for the ages. The Ten Commandments featured one of the largest sets ever created for a film and was the most expensive film ever made at the time. In 1957, the film was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, winning the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects (John P. Fulton, A.S.C.). DeMille won the Foreign Language Press Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director. Charlton Heston was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture (Drama) for his role as Moses.
In 1957 when the film released it was the longest motion picture ever to be released. So long was the movie it needed a 10-minute intermission in that three hours and 39 minutes. What made the movie stand out most was it had the trickiest photography ever displayed in film history. Up until that time scenes in the picture were never thought of or dreamed of until DeMille came around. His expert cinematographers got to work and discovered that they could command their VistaVision cameras to perform ‘miracles’ for them.
The Ten Commandments is a biblical epic that not even Ben Hur can measure up to. The overly dramatic film with Heston becoming Moses makes this so much fun. Poor Yul Brynner ends up with the Egyptians who seem to have no goodness at all. In my days as an adult I’ve heard over and over it’s not biblically correct. No, it is not and I don’t watch it for that reason but that it’s a beautiful piece of movie art by itself.
To this day watching the movie the part where the angel of death is killing the firstborns of Egypt gives me goosebumps. When you can hear the screams and lamentations of the people as they discover what plague has struck them now, in the night, spooky. When the Hebrews start walking out of Egypt after 400 years of bondage, the film looks colorful both visually and metaphorically. The performances are good stuff for the time period. The film might seem a little silly for modern audiences but it still holds its own. The pharaoh’s costume looks fantastic as do all the others. I’m not an Egyptologist, so I can’t speak for the historical authenticity of any of this. But it certainly looks amazing. It sounds superb also – the audio is beautiful. The music is suitably gorgeous and of the times. All in all, it’s a classic that should be watched at least once. Try to watch it in two sittings if you can’t watch it at once. “His God… is God” – Pharaoh “Let my people go!” – Moses
Video Quality
Paramount Home Entertainment presents The Ten Commandments with a glorious 2160p Dolby Vision transfer sourced from a 6K scan of the original VistaVision negative. For my money, The Ten Commandments ranks among one of the strongest presentations I have ever seen for a film on 4K UHD. The film features some miraculous colors within the costumes and settings that pop off the screen with a vibrant intensity. The Dolby Vision offers a depth and stability of color that is frankly mind boggling. You only need to take a look at the intensely blue skies to see what a stunning sight this presentation is overall. The same could be said of the ornate jewels that sparkle with a lovely allure. The black levels are simply perfect with nothing in the way of crush present, and white levels are solid as a rock with no evidence of blooming.
The level of detail and clarity is stunning with the appropriate amount of natural film grain intact. The grain resolves quite well without ever being clumpy or unsightly. The texture on display in the costumes and within the production design are a revelation. Even facial details like sweat present with impressive clarity. This transfer does not seek to eliminate any of the dated elements of the matte shots like removing wires or smoothing over seams. This presentation is true to the original look of the film without the added resolution making elements seem even more out of place. The film appears to be entirely free of dirt and damage, which makes the feature feel like it could have been made yesterday. There does not appear to be any jarring digital anomalies such as compression artifacts, banding or any other such nuisances. This presentation is an award-worthy effort from the team at Paramount.
Audio Quality
Paramount has delivered a DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio presentation that is very pleasing. While music is very important to establishing the grand emotions of the film, the dialogue is the driving force of the narrative and it comes through clearly from beginning to end. When it does come to the music, such as the lucious overtures and other score elements, the track is in rare form with its handling of the different core elements. The track balances vocals with the environmental sounds with magnificent clarity. The speakers really come to life when elements such as important gust of wind spread through them. There is even a decent amount of low-end support that adds a bit of sonic texture to precise elements within the narrative such as more forceful plagues. Paramount has provided a top-notch, spacious audio presentation that presents the film quite capably. The disc also comes with a host of subtitles options including English (SDH) subtitles.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary: Katherine Orrison, author of Written in Stone: Making Cecil B. DeMille’s Epic, The Ten Commandments, delivers a simply incredible commentary track in which she thoughtfully details almost every aspect of the story you would possibly want to know after dedicating seven years of her life to becoming the definitive authority, including talking with DeMille himself. From the opening in which she discusses the hand lettering of the credits to the larger insights such as the struggles of making a biblical epic in the 50s, the information could not be better. This is one of the all-time standout commentary tracks.
- Newsreel – The Ten Commandments in New York: A really fun, vintage two-minute newsreel that gives you a glimpse at the red carpet premiere including the stars, creatives and other famous names arriving with some colorful commentary about each individual.
- Trailers: Three trailers for the film are presented here including the 1956 “Making Of” Trailer, the 1966 Trailer and the 1989 Trailer.
Final Thoughts
The Ten Commandments is not only a movie that serves as an Easter staple for many households, but it rightfully earns its place among the greatest epics that have ever existed. The level of ambition from Cecil B. DeMille is something worthy of admiration, and the fact that he was able to match that ambition on screen is even more mindblowing. Charlton Heston delivers one of his great performances as Moses, and the star-studded ensemble carefully supports him every step of the way. Paramount Home Entertainment has released a 4K UHD Blu-Ray that ranks among the most impressive of the format thanks to it’s 5-star A/V presentation. If you have the technology at your disposal, this is the definitive way to watch this classic at home. Highly Recommended
The Ten Commandments is currently available to purchase on 4K UHD Blu-Ray and Digital.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Paramount Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
