The Ten Commandments (1956)

The paradox of The Ten Commandments is that it is one of the easiest films to mock and parody, and yet it's magnificence is such that whenever discussion arises about the biblical epic, and indeed biblical films in general, it's name is never far away.

The films more risible moments begin from the very start as, rather than adopting a more conventional opening, director Cecil B. DeMille steps out from behind the curtain and delivers an almost ten minute lecture arguing for his film's historical credibility. There follows around ninety minutes of fictional hokum as DeMille invents a backstory, a cadre of friends and potential foes, and strings them together with such unintentionally hilarious lines like "Oh, Moses, Moses, you stubborn, splendid, adorable fool!".

And yet, at the same time these scenes also provide some of the film's most stunning moments. Take for example the scene where Moses erects an obelisk as his "brother" Ramsees stands limply by (the phallic symbolism is comically transparent). Yet, despite the fact that Moses completion of the task is never in doubt, DeMille manages to make dramatic and indeed spectacular footage from what is essentially, a construction scene. Thousands toil away in the immense heat of the desert, orchestrated  by one man's extraordinary vision, expertise and dedication to create an extraordinary masterwork - a description that suits both what we see on screen and what is going on behind the scenes.

Such parallels between DeMille's story of Moses and the modern day abound, not least because DeMille is determined to convert the story of the Exodus into a Cold War parable. DeMille's lecture at the start of the film concludes that "The theme of this picture is whether men are to be ruled by God’s law, or whether they are to be ruled by the whims of a dictator like... Ramsees" even adding "This same battle continues throughout the world today." The film carries this through in almost every respect from the casting of Russian-born Yul Brynner as Ramsees, through to the all American Heston striking a statue of liberty pose in the film's closing shot.

The film also goes out of it's way to elaborate on the parallels between Moses and Jesus, themselves the results of the Gospel writers' attempts to cast Jesus as a new Moses. As my friend Peter Chattaway observed, almost 20 years ago now, "Pharaoh orders the death of all newborn boys in Goshen, not because he is afraid of population growth, but because a star has prophesied the birth of a deliverer in their ranks". Moses' mother uses the words of the Magnificat when she finally meets her adult son. Joshua calls him "the chosen one". Others talk of how they dared not “touch the hem of his garment”. Moses himself explains his encounter with God at the burning bush in phrases that sound like the Gospel of John, "the Word was God", "his light is in every man" and so on. By reversing what Matthew and the other Gospel writers are trying to do DeMille effectively casts Moses in his own shadow.

The groundwork DeMille puts in during that opening ninety minutes pays off. The burning bush scene may not have aged well, but the scenes where Moses commands his former rival Ramsees to let his people go are as taut as Bryner's shendyt. Ramsees is still trying to win an old argument, but Moses moved on long ago. All the while the spurned Nefertiri is trying to keep the whole thing spinning in an attempt to hurt the man who spurned her and the one who didn't.

When the script finally starts to cover the actual biblical story, the spectacle becomes no less impressive. The eeriness with which the Angel of Death's green mist creeps through the Egyptian streets is a fitting climax to the nine plagues which have gone before. The scene of the Israelites leaving Egypt - a scene which actually delivers on the oft used strap-line "a cast of thousands" - deftly manages to combine the sheer scale of the event with the the individual and personal. An elderly man's dying wish here, and young girl and her dolly there, DeMille manages to take these small moments and make us imagine the impact of that multiplied ten thousand times.

Then, of course, there is the parting of the Red Sea. Film scholars still debate whether or not this version of the tale outdid his earlier silent version from 1923. Either way, both are hugely impressive even in the face of the tidal wave of CGI that dominates special effects today. The two scenes have had such a cultural impact that many today are shocked to discover the Bible actually describes a far more gradual process of the waters parting. So much for the film's repeated line "So let it be written. So let it be done".

And then, finally we get the obligatory orgy and the arrival of the titular commandments. Given his history DeMille was unlikely to pass up the chance to show scantily clad bodies writhing before the golden bull, but it's actually the sparks flying through the air to engrave the Commandments on the rock face which stick in the memory. As with the crossing of the Red Sea, the scene itself bears little resemblance to the corresponding passage from Exodus, where Moses is at the foot of the mountain with the people by his side, but such is the impact of this film that it's rare to find someone who thinks of either scene like the book.

The costumes are, of course, fantastic and the immense sets are first class. Heston, Brynner and John Derek's muscles gleam. Anne Baxter purrs, Vincent Price camps it up and Cedric Hardwicke gets to drily deliver wry witticisms. Even Edward G. Robinson, who fell foul of Joseph McCarthy, gets to join in scowlingly dismissing Heston's bright-eyed pronouncements. Meanwhile Elmer Bernstein - a relative unknown at the time - underpins the story with his classical score. Amazingly whilst the film lasts for 220 minutes, it never feels like that long, no doubt explaining why despite the $13 million it cost to make, it made almost ten times that at the box office and no doubt made it's budget many times over in reruns, home video sales and regular broadcasts at Christmas and Easter.

But perhaps the most significant thing about The Ten Commandments is how it has become the definitive film for so many different categories. Despite decades of westerns and parlour comedies, it's this film that comes to mind when people today think of Cecil B. DeMille. Regardless of Ben-Hur's eleven Oscars, it's The Ten Commandments that is seen as the quintessential Charlton Heston performance. And, of course, it stands as the definitive example of the biblical epic. Few films indeed can claim to be so typical of, and central to, their genre as this. Double Indemnity for film noir. Star Wars, perhaps, for science fiction. Like them it deserves to be put on a pedestal and celebrated, even if we recognise that part of the reason it is so monumental is because time has moved on and we are unlikely to see anything quite like it ever again.

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Chattaway, Peter (1999) "Lights, Camera, Plagues!: Moses in the Movies" in Bible Review 15:1, February.

Ben Hur (1959)

Ben Hur is that rarest of Bible films - one that was both commercially and critically successful. The winner of an unprecedented 11 Oscars and still 13th in the list highest grossing films at the US box office (when adjusted for inflation) it's achievements are on a par with its eye-popping sets and its humongous 4 hour running time. And yet whilst many think of it as the best of all the Bible films, there are many who argue it's not even the greatest adaptation of General Lew Wallace's 1880 novel.

That honour arguably goes to Fred Niblo's 1925 silent version of the film which had in it's crew a certain William Wyler. Wyler quickly progressed from his role as assistant director to directing a few short films so that by the time the first talking pictures came about Wyer was a full director in his own right. His experience on Niblo's epic stayed with him though and following his big 50s successes with (two of my favourite films) Roman Holiday and Big Country he returned to Wallace's most famous novel.

Many of the elements in Big Country find their way into Ben Hur - the two feuding men locked into a destructive cycle of revenge; the epic scale of the film, replete with their deserts and dusty landscapes; and, of course, the casting of Charlton Heston. By this point Heston already had turned in his career defining role in another epic remake The Ten Commandments (1956).Both characters have the same moral compass even if Judah Ben Hur is thrown a little off course by his desire for revenge. It makes Ben Hur a more interesting character than Heston's rather one dimension Moses. The darkest moment is just as a beaten Messala is awaiting Ben Hur's visit before he dies (pictured above). Heston's frame stands menacingly in the iron door blocking out the light like the angel of death come for a prisoner. The music underscores the darkness of the moment, for both men. Yet, even so one of the film's weaknesses is that seems so much harder for the audience to see in Heston's face the sort of seething thirst for revenge that so many of the characters in the film seem compelled to comment upon.

It's a thirst of a different nature however that provides so many of the film's pivotal moments. Having (accidentally) almost assassinated the new governor of his home city of Jerusalem Judah finds himself slave trailing through the desert. He arrives at Nazareth almost dead with dehydration and is only saved when a mysterious member of the village defies Judah's captors and gives him a cup of water. Then after escaping from a sinking Roman ship on which he had been a galley slave he finds himself trapped on the open sea his thirst only made worse by the dangerously undrinkable water that surrounds him. Later trekking back to Jerusalem from Rome, where he has made a free man, he takes a moment to bask in the shade and refresh himself and meets shortly before meeting chariot racing enthusiast Sheik Ilderim. And finally, having found that seeing his sworn enemy die in a chariot race did not ease his thirst for revenge he finds himself on a road in Jerusalem moved by compassion to offer that same, mysterious stranger a cup of water when it is his turn to need water.

Wallace's book was subtitled "A Tale of the Christ" and whilst all three of its cinematic adaptations have trimmed down the pseudo-biblical material, it is still very much an integral part of the film. Here the film starts with a nativity sequence even before the opening credits. Whilst Jesus makes various appearances throughout the film, this sequence is as much about Balthasar as it is about the newborn in the manger. The magus meets Judah at several points in the latter part of the film as he seeks to answer the question about who that special baby grew up to be. Not dissimilarly Jesus also makes fleeting appearances as the aforementioned compassionate stranger and then as a preacher at a suspiciously high-altitude gathering, though as Judah turns away we never hear his actual words.

But it's at the end of the film where Jesus begins to dominate proceedings, even despite already being in captivity. During Judah's absence his sister and mother have contracted leprosy and are hiding away, near death, in a colony. The stories of Jesus, combined with Judah's own desperation, lead him to carry his sister into the centre of Jerusalem where the people recoil in horror. Despite Jesus' impending crucifixion

For all their good intentions these final few scenes are rather problematic. Firstly the film's dramatic tension rapidly begins to dissipate. Despite it's nearly four hour running time it's only in these moments that the film begins to drag. Secondly whilst the authors of various gospels, especially Matthew's, try to highlight the importance of Jesus' death by furnishing it with various supernatural events, none of it really seems consistent with the type of healing event which happens to Judah's sister and mother here and so typified Jesus' early ministry. Thirdly whilst the film itself clearly links the healing of Judah's family to Jesus, it's not at all clear why any of the characters within the story would do the same. The Christ of this story has only been helpful, kind and rather charismatic. There's no real mention of his miraculous healings.

I concede that these are fairly minor nitpicks and thankfully they don't detract from the magnificent fare elsewhere in the film. The chariot scene rightly stands out as one of the greatest ever scenes in the movies (and my seven year old loved seeing how it had been appropriated by the makers of The Phantom Menace). It bides its time before setting the two leads head to head, by which time the villainous Messala has already shown ample evidence of what he is capable of and Judah has already shown his mettle. The stunts push right up to the boundary of believability without ever leaping over them and Messala's comeuppance is so all encompassing that is generates the right degree of compassion despite of his previous villainy. Almost as good is the boat battle which forms the high point of the first part of the film.

Yet for all the impressive sets, costumes and stunts, it's the intimate humanity which gives Ben Hur its beating heart - the pain of betrayal, the determination to survive, the hope of justice, the fickleness of victory and the anger of loss. For the most part Wyler knew precisely how to use the action to bring these emotions to the fore in a way that stressed the similarities between his protagonists and his audiences so that he could use the extraordinary to shine light on the ordinary.

Heston, DeMille and The Greatest Show on Earth

Four years before The Ten Commandments Charlton Heston and Cecil B. DeMille teamed up for a different kind of big film The Greatest Show on Earth (1952). It was the only best picture Oscar of DeMille's career and such a huge hit that without it Ten Commandments might never have been made.

At the time, Heston was a relative unknown, who managed to get the part after DeMille saw him on the lot at the studio. But Heston holds the film together, despite his inexperience. There's much here that echoes his portrayal as Moses. in the first part of The Ten Commandments Moses is shown to be an expert master builder marshalling an army of people to pull off an incredible feat of erecting Egypt's ancient buildings and there's much of that here too. Such is the size of the circus here that its often been show that it's the circus that us the real star if the show.

Then there's Brad/Moses' drive, focussed on the end goal and not easily swayed from his vision of the right outcome by personal sacrifices of those close to him. Several time in The Greatest Show on Earth the comment is made that he instead of blood he has sawdust in his veins,and a similar trait appears after Moses' encounter with the burning bush, where he's so focussed on freeing the Israelites that he leaves his wife behind and pains Ramsees whom he clearly cares for a great deal.

There's also the love triangle in both films Heston is loved by two women, seems largely detached from deep feeling for either of them, but ultimately leaves one of them disappointed (although they both marry someone else). I can't quite put my finger on the exact similarity between Gloria Grahame and Anne Baxter, aside from them being stars of key films noir, but there's a certain girl-next door approachability about them both even though one is a Princess and the other rides elephants.

For DeMille's part there's no 10 minute prologue in The Greatest Show on Earth as there is in The Ten Commandments, but DeMille does do the voice overs, moving the story at several key points and revelling in the kind of pomposity that so defines his films in general.

The performances are pretty good, though Jimmy Stewart steals the show in a role that ultimately makes me wondered if it influenced the performance of another Moses actor, Burt Lancaster, 37 years later in Field of Dreams. Also, as influence on later films goes I cant help wondering if one of the more memorable lines from Donnie Darko owes a debt to one exchange featuring Stewart.

But it is the circus tricks that really sets this apart from its contemporaries, particularly as these days films want to be able to say "no animals were harmed in the making of this film". Circuses have a reputation for animal cruelty - though it's possible that many are cruelty free - but it has to be conceded that many of the scenes of animals doing things were hugely impressive and, for anyone born after 1952, this is as guilt-free a way of seeing such spectacular achievements as I can think of.

So if you've not seen it, I would recommend it. It's not a Bible film as such but informs The Ten Commandments a little and it showcases DeMille and Heston at the top of their games.

Comparison: Bricks Without Straw

Time for another Moses comparison. This week it's the scene(s) where the Hebrews are forced to provide their own straw for their bricks. It's a little more complex here than previous comparisons of Moses films. Anyway here are the films I looked at this week:

The Ten Commandments (1956)
Ten Commandments (1956) 50th Anniversary Collection – Region 2
Disc 2, Chapters 2 to 3 - 0:05:54 to 0:08:53 [2:59 minutes]
Moses played by Charlton Heston
DeMille and co. do a good job of tying Moses' trick with his staff into the punishment meted out on the Hebrews. When asked how they will manage under the new conditions, Pharaoh suggests Moses' stick might do it for them. Moses and Aaron return to the Hebrews who seemingly were expecting an instant release and when they discover that Moses has failed they quickly turn against him. A shorter clip could be made stopping at around 8:18 minutes.

Moses the Lawgiver (1975)
Network/Granada Ventures – Region 2
Disc 1, episode 2, chapter 9 – 39:46 to 41:14 [1:28 minutes]
Moses played by Burt Lancaster
This production handles this scene rather unusually. Having been summoned back to Egypt, Moses has a one to one conversation with Pharaoh, but no specific request is made. Then we are shown Aaron on his own requesting the three days in the desert. It ends with a task master telling him to relay a message. There's a cut and we see bewildered Hebrews finding out that no straw will be available to them now. Joshua objects the most forcefully and is punished and, like the 1956 film the episode ends in chaos.

The Ten Commandments (1994)
Goodtimes; Nine Film Set – Region 2
Chapter 6 - 29:26 to 31:26 [2:00 minutes]
Moses voiced by Joel Briel
This is a fairly low quality animated film, complete with a cheeky talking bird and an uber-brat of a Pharaoh's son. It doesn't mention the withdrawing of straw provision, opting instead for having Pharaoh tell Moses they have to double the amount of bricks which they must produce.

Testament: The Bible in Animation: Moses (1996)
Bible Society; Nine Film Set – Region 2
Disc 1, title 3, chapter 2 - 13:38 to 14:28 [0:50 minutes]
Moses voiced by Martin Jarvis
Rather unfortunately, the events here fall across a scene break. Aaron performs the staff to snake trick, but Pharaoh is somewhat unimpressed. A cut follows and we overhear two Hebrews complaining about having to make bricks without straw and voicing their preference for leadership rather than tricks. The camera pans beyond them to a boat out on the Nile which shortly afterwards Moses will be turning to blood.

Moses (1996)
Time Life Box Set – Region 2
Part 1, chapter 5 - 47:35 to 56:05 [8:30 minutes]
Moses played by Sir Ben Kingsley
This is the only portrayal to show this incident before Moses turns his staff into a snake in front of Pharaoh, despite the fact that this is the biblical order. It's also a fairly lengthy clip. Whilst a shorter clip could be used that ends at 51:35, what follows is interesting enough to perhaps warrant inclusion. The Israelites fail to meet their target and so their Hebrew overseer is whipped, seeking out Moses to confront him later on.

The Prince of Egypt (1998)
Dreamworks 2006 Single Disc version – Region 2
Chapter 15 - 41:41 to 45:45 [4:04 minutes]
Moses voiced by Val Kilmer
Like the animated Ten Commandments this film omits any mention of the fact that the Hebrews now have to source their own straw, opting instead to have Pharaoh order the Hebrews to double their quotient. It's because of this that I've included a couple of other animated versions in this comparison of the Moses story as one of our congregations is aimed at (young) children and adults.

Ten Commandments (2006)
Disc 1; 42:42 to 51:22 [8:40 minutes]
Moses played by Dougray Scott
This is one of this film's better moments. Again it's fairly long, but it shows not only the confrontation between Moses and Pharaoh, but also the response of the people, with the detail about the bricks without straw only being released before the end of the scene. Moses borther acts as a go beyween and chastises Moses for getting Pharaoh's back up.

Ten Commandments (2007)
32:40 to 33:36 [0:54 minutes]
Moses voiced by Christian Slater
I was one of the few critics that was fairly forgiving about this film when it was released, but it looks very dated today - the trees don't move in the air, nor does the characters hair (which people pointed out at the time) and the characters movement is stilted. It's not a bad portrayal of this scene however. Pharaoh spells it what he will do and then we cut to the Hebrews who we see suffering under the new restrictions. This is followed by a contingent of disgruntled Israelites trying to get Moses to admit he made a mistake to Pharaoh.

Comparison: The Burning Bush

As I mentioned last week my church is looking at Exodus at the moment, and having been tasked with finding some suitable video clips to portray Moses' early life for last Sunday's meeting, I've now been asked to hunt out the best portrayals of the Burning Bush episode for this coming week.

As with last week, I'm going to exclude the more obscure films such as Demille's 1923 The Ten Commandments (as it omits this episode anyway) and Moses und Aron as they are a bit too complex. I am however going to include DeMille's 1956 version of these events as his depiction is significantly shorter than his portrayal of Moses' early life, which lasts for roughly half the film.

The Ten Commandments (1956)
Ten Commandments (1956) 50th Anniversary Collection – Region 2
Disc 1, Chapter 29 - 2:05:00 to 2:07:50 [2:50 minutes]
Moses played by Charlton Heston
Given the length of the overall movie it's strange that this pivotal scene is so short. The special effects here are weaker than I remembered them and Moses is given no signs with which to convince the Israelites of his encounter with God. The identity of the voice of God was hushed up at the time and, no doubt due to DeMille's death shortly after, it's never been something that has been cleared up entirely satisfactorily to my mind. Strangely, given the importance of head covering in Judaism, Moses begins this incident with his head covered up, but by the end of it his head is uncovered. His hair hair has not only become more grey, but it has also changed it's style, marking his transition from desert shepherd to God's chosen leader.

Moses the Lawgiver (1975)
Network/Granada Ventures – Region 2
Disc 1, episode 2, chapter 2 – 9:45 to 14:45 [5 minutes]
Moses played by Burt Lancaster
This production consistently seeks to demythologise the events which is depicting, and this scene is no exception. This time there is no secret about the identity of the actor who provides God's voice: it is Lancaster himself. Whilst this can be explained as simply the voice we are most likely to hear God speak with (DeMille used Heston's voice in such a manner in the latter part of his film) it also leaves open the possibility that Moses is simply imagining the encounter. In a similar fashion, the two signs that God gives Moses are shot using an unusual effect which could be read as a hallucination, though it also does not rule out a more traditional interpretation. The two things that are unexplained are 1 - why the bush and the surrounding fires all go out at once, and 2 - why this encounter changes Moses to the extent that it does.

Testament: The Bible in Animation: Moses (1996)
Bible Society; Nine Film Set – Region 2
Disc 1, title 3, chapter 2 - 7:18 to 9:46 [2:28 minutes]
Moses voiced by Martin Jarvis
For some reason the Testament interpretation of these events has already given Moses white hair (tradition does suggest he was 80 by this point) that stretches down his back, making Moses look rather odd. God is again voiced by the actor playing Moses, although here it seems less sceptical. The signs are mentioned but not shown, and everything is over rather quickly.

Moses (1996)
Time Life Box Set – Region 2
Part 1, chapter 3 - 29:10 to 34:20 [5:10 minutes]
Moses played by Sir Ben Kingsley
This is one of the better portrayals. Ben Kingsley's acting is good here, even stuttering as he tries to convince God that he is not a good public speaker. It also uses some early CGI to turn the snake into a stick, which holds up reasonably well fourteen years later.

The Prince of Egypt (1998)
Dreamworks 2006 Single Disc version – Region 2
Chapter 15 - 41:41 to 45:45 [4:04 minutes]
Moses voiced by Val Kilmer
This quite a creative portrayal of Moses first encounter with God. Firstly it uses two actors for the voice of God, the more dominant is male, but a woman's voice also whispers the words along at the same time, and with greater sustain. We also hear echoes of the past and the future as the implications of this moment strike Moses. Moses perhaps pushes things further here than in the other films (in line with the text) resulting in God's final outburst being an angry sounding one. The one false note is when God tells Moses he will smite Egypt only for the background music to swell up into an uplifting crescendo.

Ten Commandments (2006)
Disc 1; 30:00 to 31:50 [1:50 minutes]
Moses played by Dougray Scott
This might be one of the clips I use, whilst I dislike Moses' hair at this point, it is quite short, and has the most convincing effects. Scott argues with God quite well, again stuttering like Kingsley in the earlier mini-series. The scene is preceded by Moses disobeying his father-in-law's command to pay no attention to the holy mountain.

Giving of the Ten Commandments

My church is looking at the Ten Commandments at the moment, so I got asked to dig out some clips of Moses receiving the commandments. I looked at the following five which are probably the best crafted of those available:

The Ten Commandments (1923)
The Ten Commandments (1956)
Moses the Lawgiver (1975)
Moses (1996)
Ten Commmandments (2006)

As well as being the best clips they are probably the most widely known. The other popular Moses film that is not on the list is obviously The Prince of Egypt, but this only really shows a brief shot of Moses holding the commandments right before the credits roll. Likewise there is no equivalent scene in 1974's Moses und Aron For the record I could also have included clips from the following:

Green Pastures (1936)
The Living Bible - Moses, Leader of God's People (1958)
Greatest Heroes of the Bible - The Ten Commandments (1979)
History of the World Part 1 (1981)
The Ten Commandments: The Musical (2006)
Ten Commandments (2007)

...not to mention a whole host of cartoons.

Anyway, for anyone interested in repeating the exercise elsewhere, here are the start and end places/times of the clips I used - the clip length, and the version that I used. In most cases these are region 2, but I imagine the difference will be very slight, particularly as the DVD releases for the first two are identical regardless of the regional code. Links are to previous posts on each film. I've also added the leading actor's name and a few comments.
The Ten Commandments (1923)
Ten Commandments (1956) 50th Anniversary Collection – region 2
Disc 3 - Chapter 6; 35:05 – 42:48 [7:43 minutes]
Moses played by Theodore Roberts
This is the oldest of those available, and, for those unused to silent films, the style takes a bit of getting used to. Note the age of Moses here, and also that DeMille's citations are from Exodus 31 and 32 rather than the first account of the giving of the commandments in Exodus 19 and 20.

The Ten Commandments (1956)
Ten Commandments (1956) 50th Anniversary Collection – region 2
Disc 2 – Chapter 15; 73:12 – 78:45 [4:30 minutes]
Moses played by Charlton Heston
This is, obviously the most famous version, but it's utterly reliant on DeMille's earlier version. The streak of fire writing the commandments is fresh, but otherwise it's just a remake. Note how in both examples Moses receives the commandments at the top of the mountain, and whilst commandments 1 and 2 are being broken (not that the people would have known given this film's chronology!)

Moses the Lawgiver (1975)
Network/Granada Ventures – Region 2
Disc 2 – Chapter 3; 10:48 – 15:00 [4:12 minutes]
Moses played by Burt Lancaster
This is perhaps the most controversial version of these events, but it's relatively accurate to the accounts in Exodus. The clip ends with Moses on his way up the mountain with the tablets already under his arm, with the people having already agreed. An earlier scene shows Moses hearing God's call (in Lancaster's own voice) from the top of the mountain, but it's entirely ambiguous as to whether these commandments are from God or from Moses. It's also good how they are given more as prose than as "commandments".

Ten Commmandments (2006)
Disc 2 – Chapter 7; 68:10 – 72:04 [3:52 minutes]
Moses played by Dougray Scott
This is the most recent of the five, and it's main concern seems to be showing off it's technology. There's a heavy dependence on DeMille too - the idea of Moses going up the mountain to get the tablets, and of them being literally written by God (although not literally the "finger of God" as the text states), not to mention the desire to make this a showy scene.

Moses (1996)
Time Life Box Set – region 2
Part 2; 29:30 – 36:20 [6:50 minutes]
Moses played by Sir Ben Kingsley
This is perhaps my favourite of these five clips, largely because I had to see it to make me realise how the story actually appears in Exodus. It's sticks very closely to the text (Exodus 19:10-20:21), but given how stagey other version have been, this is a good thing, which is also why I recommend showing it last. I also like the idea of the commandments being something that welled up from the people as they encountered God, and the idea of the people corporately being the mouthpiece of God.

Got a Spare $60,000?

Over a thousand pieces of Charlton Heston's movie memorabilia will be auctioned off later in the summer according to The Washington Post (amongst others). Highlights include the green kaftan that Ben-Hur wears at the crucifixion and his costume from The Ten Commandments (1956). But the most impressive item is surely a set of the commandments themselves which are expected to raise $60,000. The auction is due to take place on the 31st July and the 1st August. If only my second child wasn't due to be born the same day...

(Hat tip to Peter Chattaway).

Charlton Heston (1923-2008)

I was sorry to hear of the death of the great Charlton Heston on Saturday. I can still remember, as a boy, rushing back home from playing football in the park in order to watch The Ten Commandments on TV one New Year's Day. As an actor he was champion of the historical epic in general and the Bible Film in particular. People often discuss whose face they picture when they think of Jesus, but when it comes to Moses there's no question: it's Heston.

It was undoubtedly DeMille who made Heston a star, giving him his big break in The Greatest Show on Earth and making him a household name with The Ten Commandments. Today Heston's performance seems a little dated in places, but overall it's still as monumental as it was 50 years ago. As with the film in general, it always seems to play better than I remember it.

Three years later Heston won an Oscar for his role in another Bible Film, of sorts, Ben Hur pictured in this blog's header image). The film won a record number of Oscars, but it was Heston's performance, along with the chariot race scene that really captured the attention. Heston's portrayal captured the inner battle between Ben Hur's heroism and his bitterness.Then in 1965 he turned in a brief role in The Greatest Story Ever Told. The standard complaint about this film was its parade of A-list stars making cameos, not least John Wayne's climatic moment as a centurion. In fairness Heston's performance was no better. It was the only feature film to star both actors.

Heston made numerous other historical films, El Cid, Big Country, The Agony and the Ecstasy, Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra and The Three Musketeers to name just a few. He often joked that his face belonged to another century, but in reality it was as much his charisma and nobility. Michel Mourlet first noted his "eagle's profile" with his "imperious arch of eyebrows", and in that way he embodied America¹.

He had plenty of choice roles in the modern era as well. In 1958 he was cast as a Mexican detective in A Touch of Evil and he became one of the few actors to get to choose their director. Chuck chose well, and Orson Welles got to make what is perhaps his second greatest film.

In later life he also ended up fronting a series of documentaries - "Charlton Heston Presents - The Bible" and voicing an animated version of Ben Hur, as well as turning in a handful of smaller roles. Reading stories and obituaries from various news outlets reminded me of one that I had temporarily forgotten - his hilarious cameo in Wayne's World 2.Predictably there are also mentions of his work as head of the NRA. Whilst I disagree with his politics I'm deeply saddened by the vitriol of some of the comments on the BBC website. They seem to forget / are unaware that not only do the majority of Americans favour the right to own a gun, but they also live in a household that actually does.

For Heston, however, this was simply part of his life long fight for civil rights as embodied in his presence at civil rights protests in the early sixties. It's rare for someone cross party agendas in such an extreme way. Rarer still for it to be done in a way that seems to exhibit such logic. As I said disagree, but, it has to be said most respectfully.

It was Heston's role with the NRA that gained him his last memorable screen role - as the bad guy in Bowling for Coumbine (2002). Director Michael Moore put in a lot of hours in the editing room, and Heston came out of it looking pretty bad. Shortly afterwards, however, he announced that he was suffering from Alzheimer's and his apparent discombobulation during Moore's interview suddenly made sense.Following his announcement he retired from public life and it seemed increasingly likely that the next news story about him would be the announcement of his death that came yesterday. Even before he reached 84 he had boasted that he had lived enough for two lives, and one wouldn't be surprised if his arrival at the pearly gates leads one or two of the inmates to exclaim "it's Moses!"

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There are a few other pieces on Heston at the BBC, The Guardian, The Times, The Telegraph and The Independent.

1 - Michel Mourlet, "In Defence of Violence" in "Stardom: Industry of Desire" Gledhill (ed). (1991)