Washington, dc catholic online just in time for holy week, paramount pictures is releasing a fully restored high definition version of cecil b. According to hollywood lore, while filming the orgy sequence which precedes moses descent from mount horeb with the two stone tablets of the ten commandments engraved, cecil b. The series was filmed in egypt, mount sinai, and the sinai peninsula. The ten commandments christian movie that was originally produced and directed by cecil b demille. Demille can be seen pointing to something on the set of the film.
He later remade the film, with charlton heston as moses, in 1956. The wording is slightly different, but the meaning is the same. The ten commandments tells the story of moses, leader of the. The ten commandments is a 1956 american epic religious drama film produced, directed, and. Demille was perched on top of a ladder delivering his customarily longwinded directions through a megaphone to the hundreds of extras involved in the scene. That story certainly serves to almost bookend his career, said richard adkins, hollywood heritage vice president and collections manager of the. In this regard, it must be clearly understood that there is a vast difference between the original afrikan spirituality and the derived eurochristian religion. Demille had paul iribe, a french artist known as the father of art deco, create 21 sphinxes for the movie.
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the film, which will be broadcast tonight on. The ten commandments film was a masterpiece in its day. The ten commandments is a 1923 american silent religious epic film produced and directed by cecil b. Demille made a blackandwhite film of the ten commandments in 1923. Moses, an egyptian prince, learns of his true heritage as a hebrew and his divine mission as the deliverer of his people. Sixty years later, the ten commandments remains one of. New version of ten commandments in miniseries on abc. Moses original ten commandments were written by the finger of god. This epic was shot largely on the paramount lot in hollywood, though this time there was some genuine location filming in egypt. Sinai that god himself wrote on tablets of stone to take down to the people. Demille, shot in vistavision color by technicolor, and released by paramount pictures.
Demilles 1956 remake of his epic the ten commandments filmed in egypt and the sinai with one of the biggest sets ever constructed for a motion picture enjoy the video and feel free to. Giant sphinx from ten commandments film unearthed 91. Demille told her, yvonne, your greatgreat grandchildren will watch this film one day. Demilles 1923 silent movie the ten commandments, which were left in the guadalupenipomo dunes after. Cecil b demilles early silent version of the story of moses and the israelites bizarrely grafts on a modern morality fable. Ras safsafa, south sinai governorate, egypt mount sinai 22 of 22 found this interesting interesting.
Over 30 years after his first version, cecil b demille returned to the ten commandments, ditching the modern day moralities to produce the peak of hollywood megakitsch, which lurches wildly from hysterical camp to heartinmouth drama. The ten commandments and god spoke all these words. Was the ten commandments movie originally in black and. The ten commandments is a 1956 american epic religious drama film produced, directed, and narrated by cecil b. The 1923 version was shot both in black and white and 2strip technicolor an early. Filmed in 1956 and starring charlton heston, the epic movie set a new standard for beauty and pageantry on the big screen. The ten commandments appear twice in the hebrew bible. The original 10 commandments that god wrote on were destroyed by moses. He and his colleagues found a variety of items in the cavern, including, incredibly, the original tablets containing the ten commandments. The first half of the film is the sex part, hovering over all the biblical jargon. Many images featured on this site are obtained from original stills from the silverbanks pictures collection, h owever, a large number of. Subsequently, god gave moses what we now know as the ten commandments, which may be found in exodus 20 and what other answerers have posted on this forum. Sinai at seeing the children of israel reverting to idolatry. Oscars best picture winners best picture winners golden globes emmys san diego comiccon new york comiccon sundance film festival toronto intl film festival awards central festival central all events.
Its been a few years now that the ten commandments has been available on dvd, in a very basic issue with nothing more than the movie and a trio of trailers. Yul brynner stars as the pharaoh rameses ii in the 1956 film the ten commandments. I am the lord your god, who brought you out of egypt, out of the land of slavery. Sphinx head from ten commandments movie set found buried in. The commandments include instructions to have no other gods. Demilles ten commandments set lay buried for 68 years, but a filmmaker says he can dig it this link is to an external site that may or. Sinai, the people had made a golden calf and were worshipping it. It happened right after god wrote them and gave them to moses. In 1956, charlton heston made hollywood history by playing moses in cecil b. On the set of the ten commandments 1956 tonight, as part of television tradition.
The 10 commandments are given in the old testament, twice. Written by jeanie macpherson, the film is divided into two parts. The exodus scenes were filmed in the dunes california, and demille airlifted hundreds of orthodox jews from new york, because he believed they would make the most authentic israelites. This photo was taken while shooting the film ten commandments 1956. The film is based on prince of egypt by dorothy clarke wilson, pillar of fire by j. Filming locations 15 filming dates 3 filming locations. The ten commandments was actually shot in egypt for 10 weeks.
Cecil b demille made two versions of the ten commandments. Demille would go on to make three more biblical epics 1927s the king of kings, 1932s the sign of the cross and 1949s samson and delilah before revisiting the story of moses in his final film, 1956s the ten commandments. The ten commandments exclusive new set photos 60th. In other words, the modernday eurochristian ten commandments did not come or were not received from god above. The ten commandments is a 1923 american silent religious, epic film and produced and directed by cecil b. According to hollywood lore, while filming the orgy sequence that precedes moses descent from mount horeb with the two stone tablets on which the ten commandments are engraved, producer and director cecil b. And the ten commandments is arguably his greatest movie ever earning seven oscar nominations, including one win for best special effects. According to the bible in the book of exodus, chapter 34 to be exact, moses comes down from mount sinai after spending 40 days and nights of prayer and fasting as the jews are encamped at its base, being treated to the kindness of his adopted fami. Applied earthworks archaeologists uncovered one of the 21 giant sphinxes shown in its original state from the 1923 movie the ten commandments. Giant sphinx from ten commandments film unearthed 91 years. The ten commandments was first broadcast on the abc network on february 18, 1973, and has aired annually on the network since then, with.
Demille used an old gambit of his, two men in a rivalry over a woman. When moses saw that, he became so angry that he broke the commandments, then took the tiny pieces and made the. Filming ten commandments 1956 this photo was taken while shooting the film ten commandments 1956. The ten commandments is a 2006 miniseries that dramatizes the biblical story of moses. The 300pound sphinx was one of 21 sphinxes used in the silent movie the ten commandments, which was filmed in 1923. No one knows what the original ten commandments were because they were destroyed by moses when he came down off mt. You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.
With charlton heston, yul brynner, anne baxter, edward g. The wording given above is called a traditional catechetical formula and is found in the. The original line, attributed to god in leviticus 25. The 1923 version was shot both in black and white and 2strip technicolor an early version of technicolor. The september 14, 1956 issue of colliers featured a number of brynners snapshots taken during filming of the ten commandments. Archaeologists work to preserve the decaying remains of a sphinx built for cecil b. What happened to the original ten commandments tablets.