The Ten Commandmentsis an American epic historical drama film that grossed $122.7 million over a budget of $13 million during its initial release, becoming the highest-grossing film of 1956 and the 8th-highest-grossing film of all time when adjusted for inflation. It’s based on the novels Prince of Egypt by Dorothy Clarke Wilson, Pillar of Fire by J.H. Ingraham and On Eagle’s Wings by A.E. Southon, which are in turn based on the true story of Moses as told in his Biblical autobiographies Exodus and Deuteronomy, and is a remake of The Ten Commandments (1923). In Australia, it was originally rated G, which in 2004 was upgraded to PG for low level coarse language. The following are the 10 most recent Rotten Tomatoes critical reviews for the film.
There is no other picture like it. There will be none. If it could be summed up in a word, the word would be sublime. And the man responsible for that, when all is said and done is Cecil B. DeMille.
With a running time of nearly four hours, Cecil B. De Mille’s last feature and most extravagant blockbuster is full of the absurdities and vulgarities one expects, but it isn’t boring for a minute.
DeMille remains conventional with the motion picture as an art form. The eyes of the onlooker are filled with spectacle. Emotional tug is sometimes lacking.
It’s the gigantic vulgarity, the obsessive righteousness of the director himself, which keeps the show on the road and suffuses the movie with its daft power.
What makes this film work – something that religious films recently have completely lost the thread of – is that it’s not a sermon. It appeals by being compelling regardless of your religious allegiances.
It seems as if some films are perpetually being restored, with each new version touted as better than the last. That said, I can assure you that the new DVD and Blu-ray edition of…
DeMille’s last film (he died in 1959) is also his biggest, most spectacular epic, excessive and lurid, displaying him as a showman–must see for Hollywood students
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