The Ten Commandments (1923)

Movie
German title	The Ten Commandments
Original title	The Ten Commandments
Country of production	United States
original language	English
Publishing year	1923
length	146 minutes
Age rating	FSK 16
Rod
Director	Cecil B. DeMille
script	Jeanie Macpherson
production	Cecil B. DeMille
camera	Edward Curtis , Bert Glennon , Donald Keyes , J. Peverell Marley , Ray Rennahan
cut	Anne Bauchens
occupation
Theodore Roberts : Moses Charles de Rochefort : Pharaoh Ramses Richard Dix : John McTavish Estelle Taylor : Miriam Julia Faye : wife of the Pharaoh James Neill : Aaron Lawson Butt : Dathan Clarence Burton : Overseer Noble Johnson : bronze man Rod La Rocque : Dan McTavish Leatrice Joy : Mary Leigh Nita Naldi : Sally Lung Robert Edeson : Redding Charles Ogle : the doctor Agnes Ayres : The Outcast

The Ten Commandments (original title: The Ten Commandments ) is an American monumental film by Cecil B. DeMille from 1923. Some scenes of this silent film were shot in an early form by Technicolor .

Emergence

In the jazz-dominated era around 1920, audiences began to shift their interest away from romance films to moralizing films. The Los Angeles Times therefore organized a survey asking which DeMille film one would like to see in the cinema. The majority of the readers opted for a film with a historical-religious theme, specifically eight people, independently of one another, suggested The Ten Commandments .

action

The story of Moses takes up about two fifths of the film at the beginning. It describes the exodus of the Jews from Egypt, led by Moses. When the Golden Calf is worshiped, there is a change to the present. Two brothers are confronted with each other. One follows his mother's teachings, obeys the Ten Commandments, and becomes a poor carpenter. The other breaks each one and is temporarily very successful as a building contractor, but ultimately doomed. Mother and carpenter are also juxtaposed. While the mother emphasizes strict fear of God and Old Testament obedience, the son rather pursues the path of the loving and forgiving God. The film makes the son's interpretation seem like a better alternative.

Locations

The Exodus was filmed in the Nipomo Dunes in San Luis Obispo County . Today there is an archaeological excavation site there. After the shooting, the up to 33 meter high backdrops were blown up and buried in the sand. Over the years, however, they were exposed again by the wind. Parts of the scenes taking place in the present were filmed in San Francisco . The scene in which Moses divides the Red Sea was filmed in Seal Beach . In 1987 Paramount released the film on VHS.

Remakes

→ Main articles : The Ten Commandments (1956)  and Exodus: Gods and Kings

In 1956 DeMille directed a second, expanded version of the Bible story. In this, the present-day plot was dispensed with and the early years of Moses were dealt with in more detail.

Television films

→ Main article : The Ten Commandments (2006)

In 2006 the life of Moses was filmed again under the above title. This version from 2006 is a two-part TV series by director Robert Dornhelm and also only takes place in pre-Christian times.

literature

• Klepper, Robert K .: Silent Films, 1877–1996. A Critical Guide to 646 Movies. Jefferson (NC) and London 1999.

Web links

Commons : The Ten Commandments  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• The Ten Commandments in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Moses, a calf and ten commandments. Article by Hans Schmid. Retrieved June 23, 2012
• Description and pictures in the article The Ten Commandments. In:  Wiener Bilder , September 13, 1925, p. 10 (online at ANNO ).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Jerzy Toeplitz The Story of Film , Volume 1