The Ten Commandments (1956)

A biblical epic from Cecil B DeMille, it stars Charlton Heston as Moses and Yul Brynner as Rameses. You start with Moses being found by the Pharaoh’s daughter in the reeds and is adopted and brought up in the Royal household. We follow the life of Moses as he is contacted by God and given the commandments and then he returns to Egypt to set his people, the Hebrew slaves free.

Running at 3 hours and 40 minutes this truly is an epic and it does need to be watched in more than one sitting, the flaws of this film run to the pacing. It is from a different era and can feel very slow at times, there is also the religious nature of the story that may not sit well with some people and their own beliefs. However I think that you can see past this and the fact that Charlton Heston is not a very likeable man. Also some of the coincidences that happen in the film are almost laughable and almost as if it was organised by God.

With sterling performances from Heston, Brynner and Vincent Price and some epic scenes with some awesome effects including the parting of the Red Sea this is a must see for all film buffs and historians. It shows exactly what film makers in the 50’s were capable of, this is a strong 3 star recommendation.