The Ten Commandments is a 1923 epic silent film directed by Cecil B. DeMille, starring Theodore Roberts as Moses, Charles de Rochefort as Pharaoh Rameses, Estelle Taylor as Miriam the sister of Moses, and James Neill as Aaron, the brother of Moses. The cast also included notable silent film actors: Nita Naldi, Leatrice Joy, Rod La Rocque, Richard Dix, Estelle Taylor and Agnes Ayres. It was a grand spectacle of early Hollywood filmmaking, running 146 minutes and including two scenes in Technicolor. The first half tells the biblical story, while the second half is a morality parable set in modern times. The movie was released by Paramount Pictures. 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... A silent film is a film which has no accompanying soundtrack. ... Cecil Blount DeMille (August 12, 1881 – January 21, 1959) was one of the most successful filmmakers during the first half of the 20th century. ... Moses or Móshe (מֹשֶׁה, Standard Hebrew, Tiberian Hebrew Mōšeh, Arabic موسى MÅ«sa, Geez ሙሴ Musse) is a legendary Hebrew liberator, leader, lawgiver, prophet, and historian, and also one of the greatest figures in Jewish history. ... Pharaoh (Arabic فرعون ; Hebrew פַּרְעֹה ; Geez ፈርዖን FärÊ»on) is a title used to refer to the rulers of Egypt in the pre-Christian and pre-Islamic period. ... This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Nita Naldi Nita Naldi (April 1, 1897 - February 17, 1961) was one of the most successful silent film actresses of the Roaring Twenties. ... Leatrice Joy Leatrice Joy (November 7, 1893 - May 13, 1985) was an American film actress best known for her career in the early silent film era. ... Rod La Rocque Rod La Rocque (November 29, 1896 - October 15, 1969) was an American actor. ... Richard Dix publicity photo Richard Dix (July 18, 1893 - September 20, 1949) was an American actor. ... Estelle Taylor (May 20, 1894—April 15, 1958) was an American Hollywood actress whose career was most prominent during the silent film era of the 1920s. ... Agnes Ayres (April 4, 1898 - December 25, 1940) was a silent film star in the 1920s. ... Logo celebrating Technicolors 90th Anniversary. ... The Paramount Pictures logo used since 2003. ...

Despite its epic scale, the Moses story only takes up about the first half of the film. After that, the story changes to a modern setting involving the commandments. Two brothers make opposite decisions, one to follow his mother's teaching of the ten commandments and become a poor carpenter, and the other to break every one of them and rise to the top. The film shows his unchecked immorality to be momentarily gainful, but ultimately disastrous.

A thoughtful contrast is made between the carpenter brother and his mother. The mother reads the story of Moses and emphasizes strict obedience and fear of God. The carpenter, however, reads from the New Testament story of Jesus' healing of lepers. His emphasis is on a loving and forgiving God. The film also shows the mother's strict lawful morality to be flawed in comparison to her son's version.

Location

The location at which the exodus was filmed, Nipomo Dunes, San Luis Obispo County, California (near Pismo Beach), is now an active archaeological site. The filming site was originally chosen because its immense sand dunes provided a superficial resemblance to the Egyptian desert. After the filming was complete, the massive sets — which included four 35-foot tall Pharaoh statues, 21 sphinxes, and gates reaching a height of 110 feet, which were built by a small army of 1,600 workers — were dynamited and buried in the sand. However the burial location at Nipomo Dunes is exposed to relentless northwesterly gales year-round, and much of what was buried is now exposed to the elements, as the covering sand has been blown away. Location in the state of California Formed 1850 Seat San Luis Obispo Area  - Total  - Water 9,364 km² (3,616 mi²) 806 km² (311 mi²) 8. ... ...

Remake

DeMille directed a second, expanded version of the biblical story in 1956. See The Ten Commandments (1956 film). The Ten Commandments is a 1956 epic film from Paramount Studios in VistaVision directed by Cecil B. DeMille, which tells in the broadest Hollywood style the Bible story of Moses (Charlton Heston) as he struggles to get Pharaoh Ramesses II (Yul Brynner) to let the Israelites leave Egypt. ...

External links

• The Ten Commandments at the Internet Movie Database
• The Ten Commandments Archaeological Site