The Ten Commandments (1956) | |
| Director(s) | Cecil B. DeMille |
| Producer(s) | Cecil B. DeMille, Henry Wilcoxon (associate) |
| Top Genres | Adventure, Drama, Epic, Historical |
| Top Topics | Ancient World, Book-Based, Exotic Lands, Religious, Sibling Rivalry |
Featured Cast:
The Ten Commandments Overview:
The Ten Commandments (1956) was a Adventure - Drama Film directed by Cecil B. DeMille and produced by Cecil B. DeMille and Henry Wilcoxon.
SYNOPSIS
For DeMille's last picture, Hollywood's undisputed master of the cast-of-thousands epic pulled out all the stops, topping even his 1923 silent telling of the Exodus story. Heston, in a role that became his signature, gives a highly charged performance as Moses, the Hebrew who became an Egyptian prince and then led his people out of slavery, and there isn't a false note in the production. The parting of the Red Sea, an effect that manages to remain glorious even in our age of computer graphics, was accomplished by massive amounts of water being poured into a tank and then reversed (the effects took the Oscar). The 35th anniversary video edition features an uncut 245-minute version, with Dolby stereo sound and an on-screen introduction by DeMille. The collector's edition includes a signed card from Heston.
(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).
.The Ten Commandments was inducted into the National Film Registry in 1999.
Academy Awards 1956 --- Ceremony Number 29 (source: AMPAS)
| Award | Recipient | Result |
| Best Art Direction | Art Direction: Hal Pereira, Walter H. Tyler, Albert Nozaki; Set Decoration: Samuel M. Comer, Ray | Nominated |
| Best Cinematography | Loyal Griggs | Nominated |
| Best Costume Design | Edith Head, Ralph Jester, John Jensen, Dorothy Jeakins, Arnold Friberg | Nominated |
| Best Film Editing | Anne Bauchens | Nominated |
| Best Picture | Cecil B. DeMille, Producer | Nominated |
BlogHub Articles:
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (1923)
By Dan Day, Jr. on May 31, 2025 From The Hitless Wonder Movie BlogI've mentioned a few posts ago how I had been reading Scott Eyman's EMPIRE OF DREAMS, a biography of Cecil B. DeMille. Ironically last month Edward R. Hamilton Booksellers had on sale the Paramount DVD of DeMille's silent 1923 version of THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, a version I had not yet seen. Being in a... Read full article
The Ten Commandments (1956, Cecil B. DeMille) (2)
By Andrew Wickliffe on Apr 7, 2019 From The Stop ButtonWhile Yul Brynner easily gives the best performance in Ten Commandments, until the second half of the movie Anne Baxter gives the most amusing one. She's an Egyptian princess and she's going to marry the next pharaoh. The next pharaoh is either Brynner or Charlton Heston. Cedric Hardwicke ... Read full article
The Ten Commandments (1956, Cecil B. DeMille) (1)
By Andrew Wickliffe on Apr 7, 2019 From The Stop ButtonWhile Yul Brynner easily gives the best performance in Ten Commandments, until the second half of the movie Anne Baxter gives the most amusing one. She's an Egyptian princess and she's going to marry the next pharaoh. The next pharaoh is either Brynner or Charlton Heston. Cedric Hardwicke ... Read full article
The Ten Commandments (1956, Cecil B. DeMille) (3)
on Apr 7, 2019 From The Stop ButtonWhile Yul Brynner easily gives the best performance in Ten Commandments, until the second half of the movie Anne Baxter gives the most amusing one. She's an Egyptian princess and she's going to marry the next pharaoh. The next pharaoh is either Brynner or Charlton Heston. Cedric Hardwicke ... Read full article
The Ten Commandments (1956, Cecil B. DeMille) (4)
on Apr 7, 2019 From The Stop ButtonWhile Yul Brynner easily gives the best performance in Ten Commandments, until the second half of the movie Anne Baxter gives the most amusing one. She's an Egyptian princess and she's going to marry the next pharaoh. The next pharaoh is either Brynner or Charlton Heston. Cedric Hardwicke ... Read full article
See all The Ten Commandments articles
Quotes from
Moses: The man stupid enough to use you as a footstool would not be wise enough to rule Egypt.
Gershom: [Moses and Sephora are now parents] Did the little boy die in the desert, my father?
Moses: No, God brought Ishmael and Hagar into a good land.
Gershom: The same God, who lives on the mountain?
Moses: It may be, my son.
Sephora: Moses! Moses!
Moses: Here.
[Gershom starts to try blow shofar and Moses chuckles]
Moses: Your mother is calling.
Sephora: Moses! There is a man, among the sheep.
[Sephora saw Joshua]
Moses: Keep sounding the alarm, Gershom, but stay here, until your mother comes.
Sephora: In the cleft, behind the rock.
Moses: Your eyes are as sharp as they are beautiful.
Joshua: Four hundred years we have waited.
Moses: Pharaoh's soldiers will not wait so long.
Joshua: The Almighty has heard our outcry. You are the Chosen One!
Moses: I know nothing of your god.
Joshua: He knows you, Moses. He has brought you to us, and you cannot turn your back upon Him. You will deliver us!
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Facts about
The effect of clouds that appear over the Red Sea was accomplished using a "cloud tank". A glass tank is filled with water and paint is poured into it. By varying the density of the paint, and the salinity of the water, it is possible to get several distinct layers.
Atleast 14,000 extras and 15,000 animals were used, during the production and acting, as the movie was being filmed.
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