THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

In 1923, Cecil B. DeMille adapted a biblical story to film for the first time in his career with his silent version of The Ten Comandments, starring Theodore Roberts as Moses and Charles De Rochefort as Ramses. Unlike the 1956 remake, the original version has a second part set in the 20th century that is not very interesting, while the historical part is surprising. It follows the story established by tradition: Moses asks the Pharaoh in vain to free the Jews. Then the famous plagues fall on Egypt, until Ramses is forced to accept the prophet’s request. Pursued by the Pharaoh’s army, Moses opens the Red Sea and leads his people across, trapping the Egyptian army and destroying its fleet. On reaching Sinai, the prophet is given the Ten Comandments while in the valley the Jews begin to worship a golden idol. Moses, after coming down from Sinai, punishes the idolaters…
With this film, endowed with an exorbitant budget (more than a million dollars), DeMille produced a work that has remained famous for the plasticity and grandiosity of its mass scenes (with 2,500 extras and 4,000 animals), for its experimental use of Technicolor in some shots and for its shots filmed in the water of the Egyptians being swept away by the waves. DeMille reused several shots and some close-ups for his 1956 remake.