Kaleidoscope's new critique is on a film classic: Paramount Pictures production of "The Ten Commandments".  Directed by Cecil B. DeMille (his final film), it stars Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner, Yvonne DeCarlo, Anne Baxter, Edward G. Robinson, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Nina Foch, Debra Paget, John Derek &, literally, a cast of thousands.  Not-rated,  it has a running time of 3 hr., 40 min.  At the time of its release, "Ten Commandments" was the most expensive film ever made. 

When one thinks of a cinema epic, one of the first films to consider is DeMille's.  With the advent of television in the early 1950's, Hollywood saw that its attendance was in decline—thanks mostly to the rise in TV viewership.  One countermeasure was with the advent of the widescreen process.  The first was called Cinerama, which used three film strips attached side by side & projected onto a curved widescreen.  Next was 20th Century Fox with the introduction of single-strip CinemaScope in 1953.  This was later followed by both Panavision, an independent company, & Paramount's VistaVision—the one used on Commandments.   

The film's plot is well known to most everyone.  It is the dramatization of the Biblical life of Moses (Heston) who is given up by his mother to escape Pharaoh's first-born son murder edict so that a savior of the Hebrews will not be born.   He is adopted by Pharaoh Sethi's (Hardwicke) sister Bithiah (Foch), and is raised as an Egyptian prince who later becomes the deliverer & redeemer of his true people, the enslaved Hebrews.  He leads them on an Exodus from Egypt, through the Red Sea, and on to Mount Sinai where he receives The Ten Commandments from God. 

As seen in its original iteration at last Sunday's Flashback Cinema presentation, the film is an epic in every sense of the word—from the performances; to the art & set decorations and costumes; & to the Oscar winning special effects.  DeMille introduces the film & narrates throughout. As directed by DeMille, the acting is exaggerated—as if DeMille was directing them onstage father than for film.  Heston & Brynner, both imposing screen figures, keep their performances just short of being accused of overacting.  The other actors' roles are in the same vein as the two above with one exception.  Robinson, as the Hebrew slave-master Dathan, gives a most naturalistic performance; he steals every scene he is in.  DeMille's direction is superb in the large-scale action and set pieces.   The more intimate scenes are a bit more awkwardly staged—again, it is as if he were directing for the stage rather than for film.  The seven credited screenwriters provide dialogue that, for the most part, is arched & stilted; however, in this film that is both colossal & sweeping in scope, one bears with it.  The art & set decoration by five craftsmen is spectacular; the costumes are period perfect; the cinematography is large-scale when necessary, intimately suitable when called-for, there are even scenes that mimic paintings by the masters such as Da Vinci, Raphael, Titian, etc—all nominated for Oscars.  The score by Elmer Bernstein, while not nominated, is both majestic & reverential—its stands with his best ('Magnificent Seven', 'The Great Escape', etc).  The Oscar-winning special effects, from a team headed by John P. Fulton, are impressive, even by today's standards.  The parting of the Red Sea, especially as seen on the widescreen (as I saw it on Sunday), is still a marvel to behold. 

I give "The Ten Commandments" 4 ½ out of 5 nuggets.  ABC usually presents it every year at Easter. My suggestion—if you can, see it in a movie theater.  It is a stunning & grand experience.