Cecil B. DeMille "THE TEN COMMANDMENTS" (1956) in HD on ABC. It's so clean!

Incredible deal. You can hardly buy blank disks this cheap -- they're giving those films away. Plus that's... what, 6 hours' worth of classic movies for $8?

 

we will be watching the Ten Commandments Easter Sunday... a tradition for us for us going on 30 years now...

 

Has it already aired? Don't they show it on Easter?

 

Hell if I know anymore. Programming has changed so much with cable. I suppose someone like AMC could air it in HD.

 

I think it airs tonight (Saturday ) on ABC at 7 pm

 

not a good clip of this, but:

 

Trading in the traditional TV viewing this year with the fantastic Blu-ray. Watched about an hour last night, and it looks amazing.

 

It's playing at the local multiplex tomorrow.

 

And two showings on Wednesday

 

I've never really seen this movie. Just bits and pieces over the years. Is it really worth seeing it from beginning to end?

 

It's one of Charlton Heston's signature movies as an actor...if you're at all a fan of his work, seeing it from start to finish is A MUST!!!

 

Yes. If you're more on the secular side, like I am, you can still enjoy this movie on multiple levels. On the political level, the struggle of the Jews against their Egyptian masters can be seen as in some ways similar to the revolts or struggles or any oppressed people anywhere, and any time. For a short and brilliant book about reading this story this way, look for Michael Walzer's "Exodus and Revolution."

This movie was part of the Cold War, as you can see from Cecil B. DeMille's introduction, but it has meaning far beyond that.

In terms of the movie, it's very long, sometimes plodding, stagy, and melodramatic, and yet still strangely compelling imho. DeMille did some good stuff, in spite of himself. The production design is impressive. The costumes are amazing. No CGI here, although there is a fair amount of rear screen projection.

As lukejosephchung writes, this one of Heston's signature roles.

Since I'm an art historian, I was amused by this casting detail: Heston got the role because of the artist Michelangelo. Here's how it happened. In c. 1515 Michelangelo did a magnificent sculpture of Moses. And it just happened that the young Heston, when fitted with a huge fake beard, looked *a lot* like this sculpture. When DeMille was shown this almost eerie parallel, the decision was made. It was also cemented by the excellent working relationship he had with Heston on his previous film, the underrated, imho, Greatest Show on Earth.

 

You can't tell by how everybody talks about it on here?

 

To follow up on benjaminhuf's response here, it's also worth noting that Heston later played Michelangelo himself in the 1965 Fox movie "The Agony & The Ecstasy" opposite fellow Oscar-winner Rex Harrison, who played Pope Julius. The 2 of them acted up a storm in THAT film, too...and it's now available on blu-ray as well. Heston became something of a specialist as an actor portraying real-life historical figures in the latter half of his career...beginning with "The Ten Commandments"...

 

This one and Ben-Hur are annual musts at this time of year. Unfortunately, TCM decided to bury the latter in its schedule (2 am ET this morning). They are showing King of Kings and The Greatest Story Ever Told tomorrow afternoon, though.

 

Costco has the 6-disc special edition BluRay of "Ten Commandments" on sale for $24. That's a great price. The extras (theater-program reproduction, hardcover book, document facsimiles, costume sketches, etc.) are quite nice.

 

yes, another benefit of having those movies in your film library...

 

With DVRs, still working VCRs (like mine), streaming, You Tube, and on, and on, watching something when it's broadcast has become a thing of the past.

Not to mention, already owning these films in one's personal library.

 

from imdb trivia on this movie:

According to Hollywood lore, while filming the orgy sequence that precedes Moses' descent from Mount Horeb with the two stone tablets of the Ten Commandments engraved, Cecil B. DeMille was perched on top of a ladder delivering his customarily long-winded directions through a megaphone to the hundreds of extras involved in the scene. After droning on to the extras for several minutes, DeMille was distracted by one young woman who was talking to another woman standing next to her. DeMille stopped his speech and directed everyone's attention to the young woman. "Here," DeMille said, "we have a young woman whose conversation with her friend is apparently more important than listening to her instructions from her director while we are all engaged in making motion picture history. Perhaps the young woman would care to enlighten us all, and tell us what the devil is so important that it cannot wait until after we make this shot." After a moment, of silence and temporary fright, she spoke up and boldly confessed, "I was just saying to my friend, 'I wonder when that bald-headed old son of a bitch is gonna call 'Lunch!'" DeMille stared at her for a moment, paused, then lifted his megaphone and shouted, "Lunch!"

 

and these...

According to Charlton Heston's autobiography, the filming of the orgy scenes was so grueling that it prompted one female extra to exclaim, "Who do I have to f___ to get OUT of this movie?"

In the 2004 DVD release, Heston in an interview admitted that he was the voice of God.

 

Last two....

Cecil B. DeMille suffered a heart attack during the production after climbing 130 feet to check a faulty camera perched on one of the giant gates used during the exodus sequence, as it was occurring. He took two of days off and then, against his doctor's orders, returned to work to complete the film.

Because of the numerous scenes that required multiple cameras to be running simultaneously, Paramount had the Mitchell Camera Corporation build additional VistaVision cameras for this production. Decades later, these cameras were highly sought after by special effects companies due to their ability to produce large area negatives on standard 35mm filmstock.

 

amazing price! wish I had a Costco around here! Damn. Doesn't seem to be available on their website?

 

Orgies! Incest! Craven Idolatry! Plagues! Mass murder! Fun for the whole family! In HD!

 

Watching this on ABC as we speak for the first time . The film looks amazing