The ten commandments 1923
The ten commandments 1923 DVD
In 1923, Cecil B. DeMille made his debut in the biblical front with the mute version of the "Ten Commandments" with Theodore Roberts in the role of Moses and Charles de Rochefort in the role of Ramses. Confronted with the remake of 1956 the original edition has a second part with contemporary setting which is not of great interest, while the historical part is surprising. The story is the traditional one: Moses asked the Pharaoh to free the Jews but he didn't accept....
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The ten commandments 1923 DVD
In 1923, Cecil B. DeMille made his debut in the biblical front with the mute version of the "Ten Commandments" with Theodore Roberts in the role of Moses and Charles de Rochefort in the role of Ramses. Confronted with the remake of 1956 the original edition has a second part with contemporary setting which is not of great interest, while the historical part is surprising. The story is the traditional one: Moses asked the Pharaoh to free the Jews but he didn't accept. So the famous plagues were sent on Egypt until when Ramses was forced to accept the proposal of the prophet. Chased by the army of the Pharaoh, Moses opened the waters of the red sea and crossed them with his people, closing them on the Egyptian army and destroying it. When he reached the mount Sinai the prophet received the ten commandments, while in the valley the Jews were adoring a golden idol. When he came down from the Sinai Moses punished them.
With an exorbitant budget at disposal (more than a million dollars) DeMille made a movie famous for its plasticity and greatness of the crowd scenes( with 2500 background actors and 4000 animals), for the sperimental use of some shots in Technicolor and for the underwater shots of the Egyptians swept over by the waves. Demille used a lot of material in his remake of 1956, in particular some framings and close-ups.
Language: mute film
Captions: English and Italian.