Overview
Cecil B. DeMille's original silent version of the classic biblical tale is a two-part saga that moves from Old Testament times to the immorality of the Roaring Twenties. The tale of Moses is told as a prologue: Divinely inspired, Moses (Theodore Roberts) frees the Jewish slaves of Egypt from the bondage of the whip-wielding pharaoh Rameses (Charles De Roche). In true DeMille style, the director lavishly re-creates the splendor and decadent wealth of Ancient Egypt with a stylish 1920s Art Deco flair. A cast of thousands flees the great city and passes through the parted Red Sea in a stunning, technologically advanced sequence. The film also features hand-painted frames of fire and brimstone that engulf the screen and fade to black when DeMille deftly switches gears and tells a modern moral parable set in the 1920s household of a pious widow (Edythe Chapman) who reads from the Bible to her grown sons, expounding on the moral virtue of the Ten Commandments. This early classic is an intriguing combination of DeMille's passion for biblical spectacle and his love of entertaining morality tales.
Awards:
Main Cast & Crew:
Cecil B. DeMille - Director
Theodore Roberts
Charles de Roche
Estelle Taylor
Julia Faye
Terrence Moore
James Neill
Lawson Butt
Clarence Burton
Noble Johnson
Edythe Chapman
Details
- Format: DVD (AC-3, Dolby, Widescreen)
- Run Time: 136
- Color Format: B&W
- UPC: 032429288042
- Genre: DRAMA
- Rating: Not Rated
- Release Date: November 2017
Movie Reviews
Synopsis:
The original silent version of Cecil B. DeMille's classic moves back and forth in time from the Old Testament's morality to the immorality of the 1920s.