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.

Ben-Hur (1959)

This Biblical epic follows Charlton Heston as Judah Ben-Hur a Jewish Prince that ends up being double crossed by his Roman friend Messala played by Stephen Boyd. You follow him from the slave ships to the arena and then to the final climactic Chariot race. Through the film he comes into contact with a young Rabi known as Jesus and he is impacted by these meetings. Through the time he is deeply concerned with what has happened to his family who were convicted with him.


Directed by William Wylder this story is epic in both scale and length at over 3 hours viewing it does take something to keep you in place for that length of time. And while it is far to long for any film it is definitely worth watching. The acting and scenery is brilliant and you really believe everything that is being portrayed, it follows Ben-Hur on his quest for revenge and gives you an impression of the time. There are many flaws in the historical accuracy but I think it all works well to give you a massive film that is rewarding.


This is a film that is over 50 years old and there is a pacing issue that I think many modern cinema watchers will struggle with, in these times of ADH mentalities, I can imagine many people not enjoying this. What I would recommend is taking the opportunity to pause it, there is a lovely break in the middle. Overall this is a strong recommend a 4 star worth watching.

Planet of the Apes (1968)

Film of 2012 #59


The Charlton Heston Sci-Fi classic, sees Charlton Heston crash landing on an unknown planet where humans are the slaves and the planet is ruled by Apes. I have seen this a few times and it is enjoyable enough however Charlton Heston is annoying in this film, he is arrogant and quite unlikeable and having heard a few things about him I do not know if this is supposed to be the character or the actor himself. Anyway one of the big things about this film is the make up effects with Roddy McDowall and Kim Hunter spending the entire film in Ape make up and the effects are quite  fantastic. 

This film is another film with a message about the equal treatment of animals and other races as the roles are reversed with Humans being the test subjects in experiments that include the dissection of the brain. Also there is a feeling from Heston of the frustration at getting his point across with him not being believed to the point where he is not allowed to defend himself and being treated like an animal. Cornelius and Zira played by Roddy McDowall and Kim Hunter are the liberals of the Ape world fighting for equal rights for humans.

This is a classic film and is worth seeing on many levels from the moral question about humans being treated as equal to the shocking conclusion that leads to other questions about humans on this planet to simply the make effects before CGI. Overall this is a 4 star recommend with a note to it being a classic film worth watching.