THE TEN COMMANDMENTS: 65th Anniversary 4K Blu-ray re-issue (Paramount, 1923-1956) Paramount Home Video
Cecile B. DeMille once claimed, “Give
me any two pages of the Bible and I'll give you a picture.” And, indeed,
DeMille’s single costliest and highest-grossing film of 1956 was The Ten
Commandments, an elephantine Bible-fiction super-spectacular, designed to
dwarf all others gone before it, including DeMille’s own 1923 silent epic. That
the resulting picture is eye-popping and star-studded is little wonder. On a
purely visual scale, few Biblical colossuses before or since can lay claim to
as much staggering wealth in production values. After a lengthy career, this
proved to be DeMille’s final cinematic hurrah. But what a cinephile’s whopper
it is and has remained in these intervening decades. Despite changing times and
the steady erosion of God and country, The Ten Commandments gets
perennially revived every Easter as a rite of passage for the young and old.
DeMille’s approach to movie-making, even in the ‘bigger is better’ era of
stereophonic sound, Technicolor and widescreen, nevertheless harks from his
lengthy tenure in the silent era. The theatricality of those never-to-be
forgotten halcyon days, never quite left him; also, his innate passion – nee,
respect – for interpreting the ‘will of God’ – or some would infer, the
will of DeMille for which DeMille made absolutely no apology. "You are
here to please me," he often shouted at his extras,
"Nothing else on earth matters!" Undeniably, DeMille could be
heavy-handed and philosophical. Yet, he instinctively proved a showman at
heart, never above letting a good story go to waste. Once asked about his
‘exploitation’ of the Holy Scriptures, DeMille coolly replied, “The Bible
has been a bestseller for centuries. Why should I let two thousand years of
publicity go to waste?”
And yet, Paramount was not entirely
certain DeMille’s pitch to remake one of their biggest silent epics would do
for the new-fangled fifties. It was largely on his reputation, and, the
Oscar-winning success of the picture that preceded it (The Greatest Show on
Earth, 1952), and finally, Adolf Zukor’s say so, DeMille was granted the
privilege to pursue this passion project a second time around. And pursue it he
most certainly did. Mind-boggling are the statistics trumpeted by Paramount’s
publicity department, as lengthy and involved as the film’s main titles.
Consider just one fact: 60,000 extras dressed in as many costumes to perform
the exodus against the largest free-standing set (Seti’s city) ever built for a
motion picture to date. The strain of micromanaging such a colossus took its
toll on DeMille who suffered a major heart attack while on location in Egypt,
necessitating some quick subbing in by no less than the film’s star, Charlton
Heston – briefly seated in the director’s chair. DeMille recovered from his
coronary in a record three days and was back on the set, in charge and most
definitely in command. But it was bittersweet. His ailment had gravely weakened
him. A scant three years later, DeMille – one of Hollywood’s founding fathers,
and a mentor to scores that dared to follow in his footsteps, was dead.
As cinema art, The Ten
Commandments is not without its flaws – some of them glaring. As far as
historians and Biblical scholars are concerned the research conducted has
yielded an inconclusive screenplay by Joseph Holt Ingraham, Arthur Eustace
Southon, Dorothy Clarke Wilson, Aeneas MacKenzie, Jesse L. Lasky Jr, Jack
Gariss and Frederic M. Frank in which many artistic liberties were taken. I'll
bite. But, so what? Given the task of distilling one of the most pivotal
passages in the Bible into a manageable movie, the screenplay is a veritable
wonderment in both its comprehensiveness and concision. If artistic liberties
have been taken, and – no doubt, they have – then these have nevertheless
produced a superlative text book example of the meticulously crafted classical
Hollywood narrative. While the scope and size of the project is undeniably
impressive, DeMille becomes a tad too preachy, too reverent as it were, and too
ensconced in the factoid information he crams into his film’s voice-over narration
to truly see The Ten Commandments for what it is – or rather, what it
aspires to be: pure entertainment for the masses and a spectacle for the ages.
And then, of course there is the acting to consider – and reconsider.
Stylistically, The Ten Commandments is straight out of antiquity from
the silent era with extras and stars alike prone to grand gesticulating. This
lack of subtlety arguably serves our modern perceptions of antiquity. We never
think of people from the ancient world as just people going about their daily
business the same as ourselves, but see them as stoic, artfully placed
caricatures of human beings, more articulate than we and infinitely more
thought-provokingly inspired. DeMille’s
epic takes its swan dive into this misconception and as such, tends to lack any
genuine heart and soul. His story is a moving tableau, populated by waxworks
with the most fabulous oratory skills this side of Dale Carnegie. As such, The
Ten Commandments becomes the ultimate example of style trumping substance.
And DeMille, for all his reverence,
cannot help but occasionally transgress into pontificating. Even in interviews
to promote the movie, DeMille ostensibly saw himself as Hollywood’s undisputed
authority on the Bible. “Man has made thirty-two million laws since the
Commandments were handed down to Moses on Mount Sinai more than three thousand
years ago,” DeMille explained, “…but he has never improved on God's law.
The Ten Commandments are the principles by which man may live with God and man
may live with man. They are the expressions of the mind of God for His
creatures. They are the charter and guide of human liberty, for there can be no
liberty without the law.... Our modern world defined God as a ‘religious
complex’ and laughed at the Ten Commandments as old-fashioned. Then, through
the laughter came the shattering thunder of the World War. And now a
blood-drenched, bitter world — no longer laughing — cries for a way out. There
is but one way out. It existed before it was engraved upon Tablets of Stone. It
will exist when stone has crumbled. The Ten Commandments are not rules to obey
as a personal favor to God. They are the fundamental principles without which
mankind cannot live together. They are not laws — they are The Law.” And to
many a God-fearing/Bible-thumping mid-westerner of a certain generation,
DeMille appeared as God’s emissary in La La Land, using the medium of motion
pictures to disseminate the gospel on the largest canvas in the world.
Very loosely based on the Holy
Scriptures, our story begins in the time of Ramses I (Ian Keith) who declares
ever Hebrew man child shall be put to death to stave off rumors about a Messiah
having been born among them. One child slated for the slaughter is Moses (a
role played as an infant by Heston’s newly born son, Fraser). To spare his life, the child’s mother,
Yochabel (Martha Scott – and only 11-years older than Chuck Heston) casts Moses
upon the Nile in a floating basket quickly discovered by Egyptian princess,
Bithiah (Nina Foch), who also happens to be Seti’s sister. Bithiah’s lady in
waiting, Memnet (Judith Anderson) spied the Hebrew cloth the child is wrapped
in and tells Bithiah she will not see this son of slaves reared in the royal
house as one of their own. But Bithiah is a compassionate widow who orders Memnet
to sink the basket and swear an allegiance to their secret or die for divulging
the truth. Fast forward: an adult Moses (Charlton Heston) returns triumphant to
Egypt to honor Seti II’s (Sir Cedric Hardwicke) jubilee. Although the aging
ruler of the two lands has a son, Ramses (Yul Brynner) he favors Moses for his
humility and compassion. Whoever rules Egypt will also marry Nefritieri (Anne
Baxter), a sultry temptress who prefers Moses to Ramses and who kills Memnet to
keep Moses’ birthright from him. Through a merciless twist of fate, Moses comes
to realize he was not born to the royal house and vows to seek out his people
and his real family.
Meanwhile, the wily overseer,
Dathan (Edward G. Robinson) is seconded by Ramses to snuff out the true identity
of the Hebrew’s ‘deliverer’. After Seti’s master builder, Bacca (Vincent Price)
is found murdered the Egyptian guard launch into a manhunt to find the stone
cutter, Joshua (John Derek), the last man to have supposedly seen Bacca alive,
having come to the rescue of his beloved water girl, Lilia (Debra Paget). But
Dathan was hiding behind a pillar when Bacca was murdered by Moses. He relays
this message to Ramses who exposes Moses as a fraud at Seti. The benevolent
patriarch is crushed by this discovery, ordering that Moses’ name be stricken
from every book, tablet and obelisk.
Nefritieri is betrothed to Ramses and Moses exiled into the desert where
presumably he will die. Instead, he receives his true calling from God and is
discovered by Sephora (Yvonne DeCarlo), a lowly peasant girl tending flock with
her sisters. Moses and Sephora are married and Moses returns to Egypt after
Seti’s death to challenge Ramses as supreme ruler. Moses is commanded by Ramses
to prove his God is God. In response, Moses transforms his staff into a
serpent. A court mystic challenges the transformation as a cheap magician’s
trick by transforming his own staff into another serpent. However, when Moses’
snake devours the mystic’s, the court is horrified. Ramses, however, is unmoved
and unimpressed.
Next, Moses uses his staff to turn
the Nile as red as blood. The inhabitants are petrified and plead with Ramses
to release the Hebrew slaves from bondage. But when Ramses learns of a mountain
in the Cataracts that spewed red clay into the river, he blames the Nile’s
redness on a natural occurrence. Moses returns to Ramses court, declaring that
forty days of darkness shall fall upon the land. Indeed, after a brief
interlude the skies become dark. Hail falls to the ground, turning to fire upon
the earth. Ramses threatens Moses, declaring that if another plague comes to
Egypt, he will turn the Nile red with the blood of first-born Hebrews.
Realizing that Ramses has brought about the ultimate death, Moses instructs his
followers to smear lamb’s blood across their doorways to prevent the pestilence
from entering their homes. Instead, the plague murders Ramses and Nefritieri’s
only son. Emotionally destroyed, Ramses releases the slaves from bondage. But
as Moses leads the Israelites into the desert, Nefritieri goads her husband
with the promise he once made to her – to destroy Moses. Inflamed by her words,
Ramses calls the Egyptian guard to amass for the slaughter of the Hebrews who
have been led to the edge of the Red Sea.
Dathan attempts to woo the
terrified masses to his side with promises of clemency. But Moses draws his
staff against the waters and parts the sea so that they may escape to the other
side. Ramses forces are consumed when these walls of water tumble back onto the
ocean floor. He returns alone to Nefritieri, humbly declaring that Moses’ “God
is God!” Yet, all is not well within the camps made at the foot of Mount Sinai.
While Moses is up in the mountains receiving the divine word, his followers are
seduced by Dathan to build a golden calf for worship. They indulge in all forms
of debauchery. Repelled by what he sees, Moses raises the stone tablets given
to him in anger. He casts the word of God to the ground, the tablets shattering
and creating an earthquake that swallows up all the nonbelievers.
Unfortunately, Moses actions have also displeased God. He is instructed to show
the Israelites the path to the Promised Land but is not to follow them himself.
At the crossroads of the past and the future Moses bids farewell to Joshua and
Sephora, telling them to go forward with God’s blessing.
The Ten
Commandments is a monumental achievement by any standard one may ascribe to it.
DeMille’s perfectionism was, in fact, in overdrive throughout, though
especially during pre-production, reportedly flinging an early draft of the
screenplay onto Jesse L. Lasky Jr.’s desk, saying “What I have crossed out I
didn't like. What I haven't crossed out I'm dissatisfied with.” And yet, Biblical scholars have been
particularly tough in their criticisms and condemnation of the picture ever
since – even as an entertainment. DeMille’s interpretation of God’s voice in
particular (actually Charlton Heston’s in slo-mo) is a particular bone of
contention. Indeed, upon reflection, it sounds creepy, rather than motivational,
yet strangely lacking in the sublime. John L. Jensen and Arnold Friberg’s
costume design also gets picked apart as a nod to fifties’ chic re-envisioning
of ancient Egyptian clothes. And then, of course there is the narrative
structure to consider. Many historians feel the first half of the picture plays
like a Peyton Place retrofitted for the chariot and toga sect with palace
intrigues, family incest, and other sundry infidelities abounding in glorious
Technicolor. By comparison, the latter half of the picture is slavishly devoted
to pure spectacle, capped off by the parting of the Red Sea, achieved using a
full-scale miniature photographed in long shot: two clear glass boxes filled
with blue tinted water. By gradually removing the clear side panels from each
box and photographing the spillage at very high speeds (later played back at a
regular 24 frames per second) the effect of a towering and thunderous curtain
of water thrashing down on the invading Egyptian charioteers proves utterly
complete and jaw-dropping.
Despite academic criticisms, most
film critics of the day were exceedingly kind to The Ten Commandments as
highly fictionalized movie art. Audiences too were overwhelmed by the spectacle
and flocked to see the movie over and over again. Adjusted to today’s
inflation, The Ten Commandments has earned roughly $446 million worldwide,
making it the fifth highest grossing film of all time. It remains among the
most beloved movies ever made and a perennial favorite on Palm Sunday TV broadcasts.
Regrettably, DeMille, who wrapped principal photography on August 12th -
ironically a date to coincide with his own 74th birthday - never entirely
recovered from the strain of making it. Arguably, his reputation never did
either. While evangelist, Billy Graham regarded DeMille as Hollywood’s “prophet
in celluloid”, movie critic Pauline Kael rather murderously referred to
DeMille as a “sanctimonious moralizer”; …and she should know! The most
ingratiating of the backhanded compliments came from DeMille’s contemporary;
director, William Wellman who suggested that “…I think his films were the
most horrible things I’ve ever seen in my life. But he put on pictures that
made a fortune. In that respect he was better than any of us.” Yet, perhaps
the most astute and heartfelt of these eulogized observations are those from
director, Martin Scorsese who, in hypothesizing upon the kernel of endurance in
DeMille’s legacy, summarized that in spite of his sermonizing, “…the
marvelous superseded the sacred. He presented such a sumptuous fantasy that if
you saw his movies as a child, they stuck with you for life.” Had he lived,
DeMille would have likely concurred with this posthumous accolade.
Unfortunately, on January 20th, 1959, DeMille, experiencing chest pains, was
attended at home by his family physician who suggested immediate
hospitalization. “No,” DeMille quietly replied, “I think I’ll go to
the morgue instead.” The next day, he did.
It took Paramount Home Video a
while to get around to a fully restored and remastered hi-def release of The
Ten Commandments. But ever since the ‘ground up’ remaster of 2010, the
studio has rather shamelessly repurposed it ad nauseam in various repackaged
efforts, designed to reap the rewards of a perennial that will likely always
sell tickets. And thus, we have the ‘new’ 65th Anniversary 4K
release with different cover art but precious little else to recommend it. This
is the same 4K Blu that came out in March of this year with more lurid artwork.
I recall being rather disappointed upon my first viewing of the 4K disc in
March as the differences between it and the immaculately realized Blu from
Paramount were marginal at best. In fairness, there were decided improvements –
especially when viewing the picture on a massive screen in projection. Was it
worth the upgrade then? Arguably, yes, as VistaVision, the fifties’ ultimate in
motion picture high fidelity, had finally found its contemporary counterpart in
4K. So, here again, for the 65th edition we have exemplary contrast,
alas, still with minute black crush and SFX matte work extremely well-concealed,
looking every bit as exquisite in 4K, without any untoward digital tinkering to
finesse it. The restoration work done by
Paramount 5+ years ago still holds up spectacularly well. The DTS 5.1 audio,
particularly Elmer Bernstein’s underscore, is satisfying. As for dialogue, it’s
crisp and clean. But like the previous 4K edition, this 65th rehash is
a colossal disappointment in the ‘extras’ department. We do get DeMille’s 1923 silent
classic (not released with the previous 4K effort), but again, ONLY on Blu-ray and
still in need of much work to create a suitable master. This set is still shorn
of the rest of the extras that accompanied the deluxe Blu-ray edition, out of
print currently, and fetching big bucks on Amazon. So, no documentary on the making of this epic,
or Chuck Heston’s diary reflections – none of the goodies or swag that
accompanied that release. No, I suspect, if anything Paramount will be
revisiting this well yet again for the picture’s 70th, hopefully by
then to get ‘right with the Lord’ and collectors and re-issue all that plush
padding to accompany a movie that requires no re-introduction. Retained here, Katherine
Orrison’s comprehensive audio commentary, and trailers for this and the silent
version. For shame! The Blu-ray box set of The Ten Commandments was an
event-styled event, worthy of DeMille’s efforts. The 65th 4K, like its’ non-65th
4K edition, is merely an excuse to peddle a previous master, just, in the
format it was originally produced – but never made available. Judge and buy accordingly. But for God’s
sake, as well as your own, do not part with the 2010 box – a treasure trove of
goodies for true inspiration!
FILM RATING (out
of 5 - 5 being the best)
4
VIDEO/AUDIO
5+
EXTRAS
1 – ho-hum…the
beat goes on.
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