Despite the celebratory feel of the scene, we actually miss out on some lost footage that DeMille cut. One must not look any farther then our political figures to see how Americans feel about their war heroes. This important tie-in with other biblical stories is another reoccurring theme that DeMille did an excellent job of encompassing into his narrative.Ĭharlton Heston comes into the throne room, with riches from victories in far of lands. It is a classy maneuver to keep the theme up from the story of the flood, just so we know that the destiny of this child is to save his people. Nothing out of the ordinary, but a nice touch to this rendering of the Moses story.Īn ark brings baby Moses, played by Charlton Heston’s son to add to the realism, onto the scene. Every main character has atleast one, with some characters such as Moses getting multiple themes. While this is clearly a challenge, as we move through each act we shall be able to see DeMille attempted to make that happen.Īs any good movie of this nature will do, we have re-occurring musical scores that will let us know who we are too be watching for, or who is in control of the scene. Despite the obvious main character of each portion, Orrison also notes that it was of the utmost importance to DeMille that Heston never trump God. The first act is Moses Prince of Egypt, followed by Moses the Outlaw/Shephard, then Moses the Choosen Law Giver, and Moses the Patriarch of his People. Demile’s Epic, The Ten Commandments” notes on the DVD, Demille broke the story down into four sections. While such a premise might work for “Survivor 12: The Promised Land,” not so much for an epic movie.Īs commentator Katherine Orrison, Author of “Written in Stone-Making Cecil B. Our story would be short and boring if we stuck with a version where thirty years of Moses’ life was omitted, and wandering around the wilderness for a majority of the movie. We’ve transitioned into hearing the words of the King James Bible, but not for long. In case we hadn’t been given enough to ponder about the type of Moses we are going to see in action, the movie actually starts. In case we didn’t get that this struggle rages on, DeMille reminds us that, “This same battle continues throughout the world today.” We just went from not liking an enemy we haven’t met to thinking of them as the most despicable evil to live. One of the questions posed at the beginning is, “whether man ought to be ruled by God’s law, or whether they are to be ruled by the whims of a dictators like Rameses.” We already know the answer to this, but the slightly more subtle use of “dictator” in this post-World War II generation brings about a new connotation. His speech, once broken down, tells us what our eyes and ears are to be alert too over the next few hours. From the very outset of the movie, DeMille sets the tone as to what his agenda is in this movie. He might as well start up a large “USA!! USA!!” chant. Moses has become our hero, in a nationalistic sense. The important fact is that DeMille goes along with the biblical tradition the best he can, but still uses the stories to narrate a tale that could connect with its contemporary audience. ![]() Despite DeMille’s claim to have made a very accurate film, and in several cases he does succeed, we still see a whole lot of film-friendly plot devices. But to what means and to what ends does this Moses we witness attain his heroic status? Henry Noerdlinger, who directed research for DeMille said, “…It is presented to the public in the hope that it may convince the movie goer that what he sees on the screen is as honest and accurate a reproduction of historical events as time and money and research could combine to produce” (online database). Surprising, because as much as that running back on the field who scored a touchdown is a hero to all of his fans, Moses is turned into a mighty hero before our eyes. Surprisingly, we don’t find a large, stadium sized crowd cheering the name as you might find at a football game. The one who says it, and the voice intonation changes pretty much every time. “Moses…Moses…” We hear it often throughout the Cecil B. I also was too lazy to go through and delete citations…the bibliography is on a separate disc drive, so if by some chance I need to dig up for anyone, just drop me line. ![]() Posted in Excellente tagged DeMille, Heston, movies, Ten Commandments at 6:32 am by thatmovieguyĪ note before you read: This was a paper I wrote for a class in college…so if my voice seems a little funny, I was probably trying to do my best to please my prof. SeptemIssues Within DeMille’s 1956 “The Ten Commandments”
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