The annual Easter thread on The Ten Commandments

And my annual comment is: Do you realize that Ramses and Nefertiri are probably brother and sister?

Why else would this chick be living in the palace, with no apparent family of her own, designated as the wife of whoever becomes pharaoh? In a culture where royal brothers and sisters marry each other, to keep the royal blood pure? Yep, she was hot for Moses, because he was her one chance to marry someone who wasn't a relative.

"OH, MOSES!"

Holy Moses!

Why don't they make movies like this anymore? It's hard to imagine any camp value accruing to the superhero movies of nowadays.

R4 I had high hopes for Noah but that turned out to be a stinker.

[quote] It's hard to imagine any camp value accruing to the superhero movies of nowadays.

Give 'em a couple of years.

"With my last breath... I shall speak the name that I have forbidden....

Moses, Moses, MOSES!"

Yul's white cone thingie is gorgeous. He's the best dressed of the lot.

No expense spared.

Eh, Hercules isn't in it.

How could we possibly go through a Easter season without Anne Baxter, Yule Brenner and Charlton Heston fighting each other for scenery to chew? 🙄

And the biggest ham award for 1956 goes to...

R4 I agree - with all that high demand of people wanting to see big budget biblical epics.

Moses Supposes....

She sure knows how to chew the scenery. So bad.

hang the gay replublicans

Ah come on. Everything is huge in the picture. Including Nefretiri's nipples. A performance must be gigantic just to be seen.

I want young Moses's golden ear cuff as seen in the Baxter clip at R2.

Piss off Memnet, I looked great! Now come stand on this balcony. I wanna show you something.

An old friend of mine was in this movie playing both hunky Egyptian guards and hunky Hebrew slaves. He's been long gone but he used to tell me stories from the set. Yul Brynner, fresh from The King and I on Broadway, was apparently full of himself and an A-hole to everyone. Debra Paget, before turning into a 700 Club freak, was a playful delight. And Henry Wilcoxon, well, played well with all the sexes.

@r17, All I see are the band Aids covering her nips. The only way they could have gotten them by the 1956 censors

Some post his dick pics. Perhaps it's huge.

oops sorry

LOL

Yes, we just invited our favorite gay couple over for Easter dinner and a screening of the 10 Commandments. Nefretiri, Sephora, Dathan, Sethi and crew will have us hooting up a storm.

And Joshua. Well, Joshua...

Ramesses. Ramesses. RAMESSES!

"His God [bold]is[/bold] God!"

One of the funniest lines ever.

"Yul's white cone thingie is gorgeous. He's the best dressed of the lot."

It's actually historically accurate, the crown the Pharaoh wore during a period when Upper and Lower Egypt were united and not separate nations! Because Ramses II was apparently the first Pharaoh to unite the two halves of Egypt, apparently there's some debate about this.

I used to know an Egyptologist, and she said a lot of the production design in this film was very accurate, and that her interest in Egyptology came from seeing this movie as a child. So yes, the movie has an Egyptologist's Seal of Approval.

MOE - ZEZZ ........

MOE - ZEZZ ........

🐰 Love to come, r24, but I have a prior engagement in Jericho.

Religious aspect aside, this flick is so fap-worthy (Yul especially).

R30, here are some pics of Yul's jewels:

dem nuts.

A Spectacular classic epic film, perfect casting, the beautiful color, the huge sets, the elaborate costumes, casts of thousands, the Dated yet mesmerizing special effects,, so campy and over the top, and exceedingly delicious and infinitely entertaining! Multiple hours of entertainment, and not one wasted scene, it's the perfect Hollywood blockbuster from a bygone era, they just don't make them that way anymore... I watch this every year on TV since my earliest memory of about 3yo...

r27 I much prefer the "bowling pin" to the "fiddlehead."

I like the parting of the butt cheeks part...

r35 Not a miracle, but still spectacular. 😚

Moses has nothing to do with Easter, but whatever.

Easter coincides with Passover. The Jews at ABC programmed it for Passover and the Christians were delighted with a colorful bible story with something for everyone. My Irish Catholic aunties loved watching it every year on their console color tvs, which were often in a heated sunroom type location, or TV room, as this was before the era of "family rooms" and many people didn't put TVs in their living rooms.

1973 was the first year.

The rooms looked like this:

And us kids looked like this:

1970s Easter hat parades - slide show

Panoramic sugar Easter eggs.

And sexy men. I probably still believed in God. But it was logical step from sexy Jesus to sexy Moses. And then there were all the peplums and gladiator movies. I was on my way.

You don't really see anything, r21. The nude lining isn't sheer.

St. Mary's Stamford

It's a shame that the only Oscar this film won was the Special Effects Oscar. It should have won Best Picture instead of Around The World in 80 Days. The latter film is largely forgotten today whereas The Ten Commandments is watched every year.

But, Around the World was filmed in Todd A-0.:

Image result for what cinematic technique was used for Around the world in 80 days Unlike Oklahoma!, however, which was filmed additionally in 35mm CinemaScope, Around the World in 80 Days was filmed simultaneously in Todd-AO at 24 frames per second so that from this negative, 35mm reduction prints could be produced for general release.

Loury is a conservative POC, his views must be discounted.

I don't remember ever seeing 10 Commandments projected. I'll have to keep my eyes open for that. I wonder if there are good 35 mm prints around. Or if the just project digital restorations.

It’s boring. I’m not into the nostalgia for the 1950s thing so big here on DL.

[quote] Easter coincides with Passover

Gee, I wonder why?

Except when there is an extra month in the lunar Jewish calender (seven times in 19 years). Then Easter is no where near Passover.

Maybe it's nostalgia for biblical times, hunty.

[quote] I don't remember ever seeing 10 Commandments projected. I'll have to keep my eyes open for that. I wonder if there are good 35 mm prints around. Or if the just project digital restorations.

You may never get to see it in 35mm anymore. Projection in 35mm hides some of the old blue screen effects but in general the film looks much, much better in its digital incarnation because the color has been digitally restored to something akin to the original IB Technicolor prints (very rich, saturated color) whereas all the extant 35mm prints are in poorer Eastmancolor.

LEVITE TARTAN!!!!

R31, Yul is showing his Romany roots. I once spent the night with a gorgeous Romany man; his bush was abundant. I pulled my fingers through it. He exploded with that sensation. Best bush ever.

How vivid.

Yul's early life was wonderfully colourful!

I adore Anne Baxter in this film. I don't think it was she overacting, but that DeMille called for her to deliver the lines given her at the energy level she did to match the over-the-topness of the film's biblical blockbuster quality. Without her in the role, I think the movie wouldn't be nearly as campily entertaining and looked forward to seeing each year. So glad ABC and NBC keep up the old-school tradition still of showing classic holiday films in prime-time annually (this pic and "The Sound Of Music" on ABC and "It's A Wonderful Life" on NBC, respectively).

My fourth grade teacher wrote “vivid” on the blackboard and told us we needed to tell what it means by the end of the school day. Imagine, asking a student to use his brain to find an answer.

My 4th grade teacher showed us the Vitruvian Man and David and other nude men and nobody, boys or girls, went crying home to their parents.

I saw The Ten Commandments at a drive in the early 70s. I was 7 or 8 years old, so I can't speak to the quality of the print, though I don't remember having any complaints.

I always thought Yul Brynner was tall but he was only 5'8".

@r59, "I adore Anne Baxter in this film. I don't think it was she overacting, but that DeMille called for her to deliver the lines given her at the energy level she did to match the over-the-topness of the film's biblical blockbuster quality"

Everyone knows the whole Old Testament is filled with nothing but a bunch of drama queens

Memnet is the patron saint of the DL Maiden Aunt Brigade. She even looks like one.

When is it airing?

Palm Sunday?

Next week?

R56, I agree that Yul has a nice bush. He also has a good-sized uncut cock and substantial balls.

There ate ONLY ten?

*are

R63, I noticed how short Yul was while watching "The Magnificent Seven." He had a very compact physique compared to his co-stars, and then I read that he stood on top of mounds of earth to appear taller than Steve McQueen, who was only 5'9. As their feud progressed, McQueen would kick the mounds every time he passed one.

[quote] I always thought Yul Brynner was tall but he was only 5'8".

I used to think he and Chuck were the same height until I started to notice how they were strategically positioned. Heston was a good 6'3" and Yul was 5'8" at best.

Both very attractive but two very different types of masculinity.

Why did all the miracles stop? Is God dead?

Fabulous! JUST FABULOUS!!!

Catch a lotus and you catch a wish!

R59 even the plague of locusts chewed up less wheat than the scenery Anne Baxter chewed up.:

Little known fact: Moses’ full name is Moses Moses.

De Mille couldn't direct a convincing death scene from an actress who had just been stabbed in the heart.

That said, there is no excuse that can be afforded Anne Baxter (ever) except a desire to camp up Exodus.

Her sense of self-worth - inherited from her grandfather, Frank Lloyd Wright - protected her from understanding the evidence of the rushes or finished prints. She thought she was wonderful!

^But she had breasts. She had those womanly hips and figure that would charm any man...

[quote]Do you realize that Ramses and Nefertiri are probably brother and sister?

And my annual comment from now on would be: Do you realize that the pharoahs and ancient Egyptian royalty make the Habsburgs look like the poster children for genetic diversity?

Notable that Baxter’s wig and makeup are duplicates of Claudette Colbert’s in De Mille’s “Cleopatra.” De Mille must have quite liked Colbert’s looks in that (Colbert didn’t). I do think Travis Banton’s costumes for Claudette were sexier, more beautiful and more lavish than Edith Head’s for Anne Baxter.

De Mille considered Audrey Hepburn for Nefretiri but concluded that she did not have the right physicality for the costumes.

@r81, Mamie Eisenhower bangs were all the rage in 1956...

Long ago I toured Paramount movie lot. They actually still had at that time the place where they shot the Ten Commandments/parting of the Red Sea scene. Was not at all as you might imagine, but there was a little path with sand on the bottom and for the tour the waters were 'parted' but as I remember the 'Sea' was about 2 or 3 feet high and the waters were more drained off and film run backwards I think. Was nothing like the movie, a lot of that scene was special effects. See 2:48

I can't imagine Hepburn in the role, R82! Too fragile for either Heston or Brynner, far too tall for Brynner, and definitely lacking in the character's passionate nature.

But she wouldn't have looked ridiculous in the costumes, even if she wouldn't have looked sexy by 1950s standards - in fact she might have looked fabulous! Women in Egyptian art were portrayed as slim, and well. Some queens of Egypt were known for their long necks and fabulous bone structure.

We all have staff problems! Stanley Baxter as Anne Baxter.

Saturday, April 1 2023, at 7 PM on ABC. We should have a watch party.

Yes, the movie was pretty accurate in many ways. You know Moses was a very Egyptian name, and I think it was shortened because of that. Historically, there were a couple of Ahmoses as Pharoahs and four Thutmoses too

Saturday?

Okay then. I’ll be here.

Probably making the same comments I’ve been making for however long I’ve been here at this site and watching this great movie.

Hollywood at its best.

Well, who owns the film now and is making money off of it?

FYI:

Budget $13 million

Box office $122.7 million (initial release)

Gee, Egyptians were a lot paler back then. The Ice Age?

@r26,

"His God is God!"

One of the funniest lines ever.

I know right? I didn't vote for him 😏

The special effects involving blue screen are so horrendous, and were not even good for their time, yet the movie won the special effects Oscar!

I was on that same tour, R84!

My mom was completely disappointed. She said her tiny, hometown river was bigger than that stream.

The magic of Hollywood. 😛

@r90, "The Ice Age? "

Think about it, when the Egyptians were starting the pyramids Chicago was still under a half mile of ice 🤔

R94, that is not true.

[quote]Little known fact: Moses’ full name is Moses Moses.

Any relation?

Well I was on a tour too. Seti II and Rameses II. Their tombs. It was because of this movie I watched as a 12 yr old, that I wanted to go to Egypt, and I finally went three years ago, and it was highly satisfying. And overwhelming. IMO t hat was the true birth of civilization. And I am convinced more than ever that aliens left our ancestors here and they evolved. That shit is more than 4,000 years old. At least. The Sphinx is huge. So much bigger than I imagined.

Don't forget about me! I was in both Ten Commandments and FOLLIES!

[quote]Well, who owns the film now and is making money off of it?

It was produced by Paramount, and I can't find anything about the rights being sold since 1956, so I assume it's still theirs. ABC (Disney) has been showing it since the 1970s so they probably have a long-term contract. Otherwise you know CBS (Paramount) would be thrilled to play it for their elderly viewers.

Well, R97, your tour beats mine by a million miles. We also went to Disneyland.

How cool is that! Is it awfully expensive?

Was it a tour group or did you go with friends/family?

R100 I strongly urge anyone who is able to go. First I have to say, the people were really kind and friendly and helpful. And there were four Gay men in our group. Second, you have to go through a travel group. But make it a small group. 10-12 people. If you can. And make sure they're reputable. There's a lot of "merchants" hawking wares or wanting to carry your bags or whatever. YOur travel group guides will get rid of them. THey are persistent but when told to back off they do. There is security at ever visitors center for all the sites. It is very smooth and very subtle, but I never felt unsafe. This is a Muslim country. So be respectful. Politeness and kindness, a smile and a sincere thank you go a long way. And tipping. You have to tip. You give the bellman 1 American dollar and he is in heaven. They prefer American dollars but the Egyptian pound is OK. But you give 20 Egyptian pounds versus two American singles and hey. We stayed in nice hotels and we only ate in hotel restaurants. I like Middle Eastern food, but we had Asian food, an American Steakhouse and Italian too.Driving in Cairo and anywhere else in Egypt is insane. Seriously. Scary. lots of traffic and demolition derby time. Be glad you have an experienced driver. We were in an air conditioned van. We flew to Luxor from Cairo. Luxor is fantastic. is a few hours drive further south to Abu Simbel. Breathtaking. Rameses II sure did love himself. We took 9 nights ten days. Worth it. Drink only bottled water, brush your teeth with it, and no ice in drinks. Personally I think tr avel from November to May is the only time to go. It get unbearably hot otherwise. Oh. We took a boatride on the Nile for a couple of hours, but I am glad we didn't go on one of those cruises down the Nile. You see more if you don't. And stay in hotels on the East bank.

I wanted to add, I am not well to do. Not even close. I went to Egypt on plastic. Had aboutb$300 cash on me, and charged the rest on 3 credit cards. Ended up spending about $5,800 total.

Thanks R101. Didn’t want to ask about security/safety. ☺️

But I imagine it’s like all very tourist-y spots all over the globe. Nobody messes with the tourists.

$5800k doesn’t sound all that bad.

Maybe one day. 🤗

I was surprised at how inexpensive the top hotels we re. You'll spend a lot more in NYC. Cairo is not a city for walking around. We were escorted everywhere we went. No one got sick. No problems with pickpockets and no rude staff anywhere. I do want to give a plug to the Hilton in Luxor. Those young people, the staff, were just the sweetest, nicest people. Couldn't do enough for you. It's right on the Nile.Great view too.

Getting back to Ten Commandments, Charlton Heston is my guilty pleasure. Between this and Ben Hur, my God that man was gorgeous.

Mozschezs! Mozschezs!

Campfest with Charlton Heston, easily one of the worst actors to become a movie star at head of the cast.

Moses! Moses! MOSES!!!

From ChatGPT

[quote]"The Ten Commandments" is a 1956 American epic religious drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. The film was produced by Paramount Pictures.

As of my knowledge cutoff date of September 2021, Paramount Pictures still owns the rights to "The Ten Commandments" and continues to distribute it in various formats, including DVD and streaming. However, it's possible that ownership has changed since then, so it's best to check with the current owners or consult the most recent updates.

ChatGPT

How much money has the 1956 film "The Ten Commandments" made since its release?

[quote]It is difficult to provide an exact figure on how much money "The Ten Commandments" has made since its release in 1956, as box office revenue is only one part of a film's overall income. However, the film has been widely regarded as a commercial success, and it was one of the highest-grossing films of its time. According to Box Office Mojo, the film's original release grossed over $80 million worldwide. Adjusted for inflation, that would be equivalent to over $1.4 billion in 2021 dollars. In addition to box office revenue, the film has generated income through home video sales, television broadcasts, and other distribution channels. Overall, "The Ten Commandments" has been a significant financial success for Paramount Pictures and remains a classic of Hollywood cinema.

I'd follow John Derek's Joshua to Mongolia if I had to.

I love the name, Joshua.

If I would have had kids, I would’ve named one Joshua.

😬

John Derek has sexy nipples.

Also available for renting.

[quote]The Ten Commandments traditionally airs the Saturday before Easter, but this year ABC will broadcast the movie on Saturday, April 1 at 7 p.m. ET—one week before Easter. Check your local listings for more details. The Ten Commandments is also available for rent on Prime Video and iTunes.

Lots of facts about the movie at the link.

We never talk about the sequel, The Ten Excuses.

Orson Welles as Capacious

Ethel Merman as Joshua's strumpet

Burl Ives as Gluttonius

Judy Garland as Barbitua

And Helen Lawson as The Virgin Merry

"Campfest with Charlton Heston, easily one of the worst actors to become a movie star at head of the cast."

True, but the man had real star quality! And sex appeal, and testosterone, and height and a great bod, and a face that was very handsome in a non-standard way. I had a mad crush on him when I was a hormonal teenager, who didn't know that in real life he was a dolt and a twat.

And the thing was, despite his limitations as an actor, he really did work as a lead in these big biblical epics. He was incapable of subtlety but these roles called for a certain kind of overactin, and he did have enough charisma to hold the audience's attention in spite of all the bombast and silliness going on around him. Burt Lancaster turned down the lead in Ben Hur because he was an atheist, and IMHO he was right to do so.... because Heston wasn't as good an actor, but he was *sincere*. That went a long way towards making him work, in spite of his professional and intellectual limitations.

I think what Heston did in many roles is good acting. It's an entire vibe and identity, and carries movies. Soylent Green. Planet of the Apes. Etc.

R117 but he was always playing Charlton Heston. Sort of like John Wayne always was John Wayne no matter what the movie was about. When Heston stepped away from that stereotype as in Touch of Evil or Big Country, he wasn't effective, IMO. Hollywood seemed to need that one major uber masculine leading man type. Clint Eastwood was sort of the heir to all that, back in the day. When we look at Errol Flynn, Clark Gable, they played a type. Gable was really good in the one movie where he wasn't "Clark Gable." That would be Misfits.

[quote]We took a boatride on the Nile for a couple of hours, but I am glad we didn't go on one of those cruises down the Nile.

Word to the wise.

She was a slut!

I loved Edward G. Robinson in this movie. He was SO hammy. He was always a favorite of mine from the old days. Great character actor. Loved him in Double Indemnity. Now he's a guy who seemed to always play the same type of character.

I think the thing that causes me to enjoy it still, after all these years, is Yul Brynner's performance and the dialogue. This script was so well written!

Just watched this again thanks to this thread. EG here, and haven't seen it in its entirety since the 80s. It holds up against modern movies in many ways, in that it has a well-structured script, a dose of camp, good looking people, eye-popping spectacle, but of course also the religious element. I'm an agnostic now, but I do miss that extra "spiritual" feeling I would get when I was a school age Catholic believer seeing this film.

[quote] I think the thing that causes me to enjoy it still, after all these years, is Yul Brynner's performance and the dialogue.

A true movie star, in that you can't take your eyes off him when he's on screen. And with those eyes, he doesn't even have to have any real acting talent.

Agreed. Brynner has a presence and a magnetism, despite not being tall.

Brynner also managed to look good in his costumes. I noticed that Heston doesn't wear the traditional Egyptian headgear.

[quote]I noticed that Heston doesn't wear the traditional Egyptian headgear.

He doesn't?

George Lucas needs to step in and update this movie with better special effects.

R128 are you talking about "remastering" it and just making the original better? Because I would hate for them to actually remake it. It should not be touched. You will never find anyone as good as Yul Brynner. He is definitely irreplaceable. Maybe you could get a new Moses or Nefertiti. But no one can do Rameses like this guy.

R128 here. No, I meant just replacing some of the special effects in the original. If I were suggesting a remake, I don't think George Lucas would've even come to mind!

I could play the Bancroft part!

@r127, Heston looks so much like a Jewish slave 😂 ... Must be from the lost Aryan tribe

R129, I agree that Yul Brynner is a pivotal part of the movie's success. I also like the performance of Sir Cedric Hardwicke as Seti.

Yul is just HAF in this...

Do we need a new thread for the watch party this Saturday eve?

R135 Yes. I will be there watching with a small gaggle of my gay friends. Is this more a red wine or white wine event?

[quote] Yule Brenner

Oh, dear.

I only like rewatching the first part of the movie when the Hebrews were enslaved and Moses thought he was Egyptian. Then it gets sort of boring when he became MOSES.

Got to love a movie about Passover becoming some kind of Easter event.

Moses/Christ, slavery/sin, Red Sea/waters of baptism, Promised Land/Heaven.

R138. I'm with you. Aside from the locusts the second half is dull.

The story is dull, but I have to watch it for Yul Brynner.

If it was a Paramount film, does anyone know why the parting of the red sea was on the Universal Studios tour?

[quote][R129], I agree that Yul Brynner is a pivotal part of the movie's success.

Hey! What about me? WHAT ABOUT ME!

[quote]I could play the Bancroft part!

Who?

God, I loathe Dathan, he’s an asshole of epic (literally 😛) proportions.

R143, the parting of the Red Sea was shot on the Paramount lot, ca 1956.

The "Parting of the Red Sea" attraction was added to the Universal Studios Tram Tour, among several others, in 1973, in a bid to reimagine the backlot and attract more visitors. Charlton Heston, who had just signed to do Universal's "Earthquake," was on hand for the grand opening of the new attraction. Apart from that, there really was no connection to the Paramount production.

I'm surprised that Paramount allowed it, unless Universal paid a licensing fee.

The Psycho house on the tour makes sense, since some of the film was shot on the studio lot.

[quote]R141: Aside from the locusts the second half is dull.

No locusts in this film. Or frogs, lice, flies, or livestock pestilence.

R38, I responded to the thread title.

It needed lepers.

R146, we were supposed to loath Dathan...but I couldn't because it was Edward G Robinson, and as a superfan of old movies, I adored him. I thought he was hilarious. He played Dathan just like one of his gangster roles. And the scene between him and Yul Brynner, when they are at the MAster Builder's house after he was killed, is priceless. Two truly great actors having fun with their big scene together.

R152 Agreed! 🤪🥰

ITS STARTING!!!

Is there a "watch" thread? I didn't see one. Channel 7 here in NYC interrupted for a few minutes to warn us of the storm......that's nothing compared to the wrath of God that's coming.

R156: I guess it's this one. Already had one of my favorite lines: Which God?

Was Jackals and Hounds a real game? Do we have any Egyptologists in the thread?

I could never love you.

Where's your messiah NOW?

I like the part about Jesus in this movie.

The perfect film for Easter.

R161: It's for Pasach, you farbissen goyim.

R161: You will never wear your wedding night gown!

You Brenner was pretty hot in his day.

Yul^

It's Brynner! BRYNNER111 You philistine!

Do they also still play Wizard of Oz once a year on one of the old networks?

I don't think so.

Is anybody here?

I like Yul’s side ponytail.

DANCE YOU MUD TURTLES. DANCE!!!!!!

Miriam is also a very pretty name.

Joshua is so oily. 😬

Those muscled male extras were hot.

John Derek looking gorgeous as always.

R167, I'm pretty sure that Wizard of Oz used to air around Thanksgiving/Christmas back when it was network only.

She said it! She said it!

[quote] Oh, Moses, Moses! You stubborn, splendid, adorable fool!

God made men, men made slaves.

Great line

R178: Which god?

R169: Been wondering that myself. Was going to start a new thread but been trying to kickstart this one.

In the central time zone, Baka is about to spank Joshua who's bound to the pillars. Joshua will be more worthy after this...

R158 : it is apparently a real game.

R181: Wonderful! I shall give you the wealth of Egypt, the Prince of your heart's desire, and the throne of Egypt. Or give me leave to go....

R182 I love that scene. I love watching Yul Brynner's expressions as Dathan bargains with him. I just love Yul Brynner.

See? There was a time jump and they never show how Rameses captured Moses, just moved to Seti's Jubilee.

So, assuming that this exodus story is true, and Moses was a real person, have there been accounts in history of this man? Anything written down on papyrus?

I think I read or saw somewhere that there had been a real person, a Prince, that had actually been erased from the Egyptian history books.

I saw a show on some science-y channel that mentioned this person but they didn’t know what his crime or wrongdoing had been.

I have never watched this film. I might give it a crack this evening.

I killed for you!

Well there were two names I came across studying Ancient Egyptian history. Ahmose and Thutmose. And apparently striking the name of your predecessor was a time honored practice in Egypt. Thutmose II hated his aunt Hatshepsut, who became the first woman Pharoah so when she died and he ascended the throne, he tried mighty hard to literally rub out her name, behead her statues, etc. But he was a very good Pharoah busy with his armies, so he didn't get them all. But other royals were always taking over monuments from predecessors, etc. So Seti's pronouncement was consistent with history. Now Seti I and Rameses II were real, and the Rameses of this story was a highly regarded Pharoah. He had a successful reign. Now I have no idea of when the Jews left Egypt. But they came to be in Egypt because of Joseph, whose brothers sold him into bondage and he eventually wormed his way into the Pharoah's favor. Once he was a big shot he invited his brothers and father to Egypt to live. This is the origin of the 12 tribes of Israel.Their tribes were very big and prosperous. But over time, shit happened and they were oppressed and enslaved, after Joseph died. I think Joseph was the son of Jacob.

Yul just elevates every scene. "Farewell, my one time brother!"

[quote] A man! A man!

[quote] Who cares! He's a man!

Ancient Egyptian DL.

Now Yvonne De Carlo was beautiful. But the thing is there were Hebrew type tribes living out in the wilderness.

Yvonne DeCarlo is so beautiful in this film!

“He is awake tonight!”

So wtf did he care about the Master Builder? He couldn’t get Lilia back, could he?

Hey, the male palace servants behind the dying Pharaoh’s curtain are working out on ab-crunching machines!? Rude.

Thank you, R188!

I also knew that Joseph had been sold by his asshole brothers, and that he gained favor with the pharaoh.

I loved that line, "Moses there's a man among the sheep! " LOLOL !

Love it ,R190

🤣😂

I record it every year and watch it on Easter Sunday. Makes the day go by faster

[quote] LOLOL !

LoL! :)

See, now that was an interesting thing I had overlooked in previous viewings. When Jethro tells Moses that his people were descendants of Ismael. According to the Bible, Abraham had two sons by two different wives. His first wife Sara was believed too old to bear children and yet God had told him his descendants would be as many as there are sands in the desert. So WTF? Right? Eventually Sara tells Abraham to lie with her servant, and Egyptian slave named Hagar. So Ismael was Abraham's first born and he was part Egyptian and part Hebrew. When Sarah got pregnant a little while later, she sent Hagar and Ismael away into the desert. So Jethro is a descendant of Ismael. Interesting.

Now, was that Mt. Sanai?

"Moses! Your hair!"

Moses just came back down the mountain sporting his new “senior Grizzly Adams” hairdo.

I had a cafeteria Catholic friend in college who would make our group of friends watch this every year - out of guilt and penance I guess. We all brought beer and vodka and made up drinking games so a good time was had by all. Almost like watching Rocky Horror spread over four hours.

[quote]R188: Well there were two names I came across studying Ancient Egyptian history. Ahmose and Thutmose.

Ah-mes (The Moon is born) and Thoth-mes (Thoth is born). Same with Rameses (Born of Ra). The Egyptian word here, mes, or ms, 'born of,' or 'son of.'

It's not the same as Moses (Mosheh), which meant 'drawn from' (water). While 𝑚𝑒𝑠 and 𝑚𝑜𝑠ℎ𝑒ℎ are somewhat homophonic (sounding the same), they are unrelated in terms of meaning.

So, no, 'Moses' is not an Egyptian name.

[quote]Now I have no idea of when the Jews left Egypt.

They didn't. The Jews weren't slaves in Egypt. It's a myth.

Who else can soften pharaoh's heart...

Or harden it.

[quote] Who is the slave, and who is the pharaoh?

Said like Norma Desmond.

I think poor Nefertiri went a bit mad when Moses was forced to leave.

That woman was not well, and when her son died, well, all bets were off.

😳😳

OK. Now When Moses came down from the mountain and he saw all the sinning etc. and he got angry and he threw the tablets down and broke them and the movie shows how there's an earthquake and a chasm opens to destroy the evildoers. So how come at the end the Ark of the Covenant has the tablets in it, and also the first five books of the Bible. Genesis, Exodus, etc.etc.etc. I see a plot hole.

Why wouldn’t the pharaoh have more children?

Was the thought of having sex with his own sister that repellent? I mean, obviously so, but they should have at least had a spare.

I’m not there yet but Moses said that the Lord God restored the tablets to them.

He probably spent a few more days up there, carving out new tablets.

So the pyramids were already there in the time of Ramses II?

R212 Oh, yes. Giza had at least 3 pyramids that predated Rameses. I was noticing as the chariots were galloping after the Hebrews to get them back, that looked a lot like the Temple of Karnak and across from it, The Temple of Luxor. I think Rameses II had a lot of kids and a lot of wives.

There is a long time rumor that Fidel Castro was in this movie.

Some say he appeared as an Egyptian soldier.

[quote]Moses just came back down the mountain sporting his new “senior Grizzly Adams” hairdo.

No, R203. He came back as Barry Gibb.

[quote]There is a long time rumor that Fidel Castro was in this movie.

[quote]Some say he appeared as an Egyptian soldier.

Actually, r214, he was one of the dancers in the freewheeling patio number.

Brynner was sex on a fucking stick.

Oh, that wanton WHORE who polishes the golden calf with her hair!

[quote]This movie has everything...

except the light-hearted Easter egg hunt in the Sinai desert, which DeMille reluctantly cut after a disastrous preview.

Fucking Dathan!

Dies, you lousy piece of shit.

^oops, Die, ^^

So historians and Egyptologists say Rameses II was one of the greats. He built a shit ton of statues and monuments and temples celebrating himself too. He was very successful at war and diplomacy, and made Egypt a wealthy nation, and he lived to be 90-91. They examined his mummy and he had arthritis and dental problems. No shit. He had at least 7 wives or consorts, and fathered between 88 - 103 children, many of whom he outlived. So in real life he was a total bad ass.

And

𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕳𝖔𝖑𝖞 𝕾𝖈𝖗𝖎𝖕𝖙𝖚𝖗𝖊𝖘

Wow, interesting, R222.

Thank you all for answering my questions.

This is really a fascinating topic.

In watching the “parting” of the Red Sea, I can’t help but think what if all of this had really happened?

The sea parts by magic, it seems. How awe inspiring, how unfathomable, how incomprehensible it might have been for those simple, devout people.

I LOVE Baxter, Brynner, Cedric Hardwicke and Judith Anderson in this. The costumes and color palette and attention to detail are extraordinary as well. What I MOST enjoy are all the campy scenes with slave girls and Jethro's daughters. I could watch these scenes over and over delighting in all the hammy "girly" stage business and the Biblical pizzazz and lasciviousness! I always love crowd scenes when some lucky day player actor or extra gets a single line like "STONE HIM!!!!!!!!" and it's delivered in an inauthentic but very energetic show biz manner! "The Ten Commandments" is my cup of tea! LOVE IT!

[quote]John Derek looking gorgeous as always.

Yes, John Derek adds to the male eye candy in this film. Sometimes he gets overshadowed by Brynner and Heston, but he's hot, too.

"Blood makes poor mortar!"

It's interesting that Martha Scott played Charlton Heston's mother in both 'The Ten Commandments' and 'Ben-Hur'.

"This man makes himself a god!" "I prefer him as a MAN!"

Vincent Price makes Baka the Master Builder into a bit of a queen. But Price must have enjoyed taking a break from horror films to appear in this.

[quote]What I MOST enjoy are all the campy scenes with slave girls and Jethro's daughters.

It's problematic that he parades his daughters like common desert prostitutes and offers to give one of them away as a bonus for services rendered. It's also troubling that he looks lustfully at them as they dance.

[quote]In the central time zone, Baka is about to spank Joshua who's bound to the pillars. Joshua will be more worthy after this...

Vincent Price probably enjoyed the scene where Baka has Joshua tied up and threatens to whip him. (Price was bisexual, as his daughter revealed a few years ago.)

Ann Baxter is too short for many of these gestures.

I’m the tribute from Ethiopia to fill Pharaoh’s new treasure city.

Oh, Bobby Ray, Bobby Ray, Bobby Ray!

[quote] I’m not there yet but Moses said that the Lord God restored the tablets to them. He probably spent a few more days up there, carving out new tablets.

... writing this down ...

R210, no spare? Smart pharaoh!

OK, now that this is over with, we have to watch another God movie for Easter itself. This is Holy Week if you're a Christian. And if your Jewish Passover is upon us. So I will nominate King of Kings with the beautiful Jeffrey Hunter. Any other suggestions are welcome.

Life of Brian is sacred to me.

For another Moses movie don't forget Prince of Egypt, at least the opening shirtless chariot race.