The Ten Commandments, 1956 vs. 2007

c. 2007 Religion News Service (Eds: `A’ in each category represents the 1956 film by Cecil B. DeMille and `B’ the current version.) Moses A. Charlton Heston B. Voice of Christian Slater Voice of God A. No on-screen credit (Heston may have supplied the voice of God) B. Elliott Gould Pharaoh Rameses A. Yul Brynner […]

c. 2007 Religion News Service

(Eds: `A’ in each category represents the 1956 film by Cecil B. DeMille and `B’ the current version.)

Moses


A. Charlton Heston

B. Voice of Christian Slater

Voice of God

A. No on-screen credit (Heston may have supplied the voice of God)

B. Elliott Gould

Pharaoh Rameses

A. Yul Brynner

B. Voice of Alfred Molina

Running time

A. 220 minutes

B. 88 minutes

Faithfulness to Bible

A. It’s still show business. Showman Cecil B. DeMille added romantic back story of a love triangle among Rameses, Moses and Princess Nefertiri, but in many parts stuck close to older English translations of biblical texts. Film does not show all the plagues and does not include Moses’ return to Mount Sinai for second set of Ten Commandments.

B. More Bible, less romance. New version uses more modern language and leaves out the soap opera subplot. Lower costs of animation allowed the filmmakers to show all the plagues and scenes such as God supplying water and food to the complaining Israelites.

Campiest scene

A. Nefertiri’s flirtatious approach to Moses: “Oh Moses, Moses, you stubborn, splendid adorable fool.”

B. Moses and Aaron near the end of their lives guffawing about the havoc caused by the plague of flies let loose on Egypt.

Sizzle factor

A. DeMille’s film, hands down. He knew it didn’t hurt to show a lot of flesh to reach a mass audience. The orgy scene was a masterful balancing act for a biblical epic.

B. The new, tamer version is aimed at families and youth. The violence in the story may frighten young children, but many adults will find the PG-rated film appropriate for older children.

Overall vibe

A. Serious, often foreboding. Heston’s portentous performance, with a grave voice and serious demeanor in almost every scene, brings to mind the dark, realistic depictions of the Baroque style of much 17th-century religious art. The voice of God is ethereal, sounding to modern ears almost like one of the ghosts visiting Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.”

B. Much lighter. Slater and Gould give the modern version a more personal, laid-back Southern California approach. The film presents God more as a loving, caring deity than a judgmental ruler.

(David Briggs writes for the Plain Dealer of Cleveland)

KRE/LF END BRIGGS425 words

A photo of Moses from the new “Ten Commandments” film is available via https://religionnews.com.

Eds: See mainbar, RNS-10-COMMANDMENTS, transmitted Oct. 23.

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