100th Anniversary of Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments (1923 version)

MSMB ^ | December 3, 2023 | Rob W. Case

[Making_Sense [Rob W. Case]]

It is nothing short of amazing to see how far movies have evolved since their earliest days to today. Movies at their earliest inception were state of the art, impressive spectacles that people dressed up for and flocked to see, for a fraction of the cost of attending performance-based arts like plays, concerts, and vaudeville acts. When silent movies came on the scene, the art of storytelling entered a new age, an age that, if done right, would have an impact that would be frozen in time, and become immortalized. Very few films from the silent era have high profile notoriety today, and that is because in today’s world, it takes a significant amount of attention, tolerance, patience, and broad-mindedness to sit down and watch a full length, black & white, silent feature film. This is where the power of story (in the subject matter’s portrayal) has to captivate its audience enough to make a lasting impact for it to be sought after later on, or looked at in discovery years later.

Cecil B. DeMille:

Cecil B. DeMille was one of the founding fathers of American cinema. As an offspring of playwrights, DeMille’s love for performance arts grew as he grew up, and he had a knack for creativity and imagination. But when he went into producing plays, his plays were struggling and he was poor, while his older brother William, a playwright himself was successful. Provision came by way of his mother, and connections were made that eventually landed him in the new medium of motion pictures. DeMille was fascinated by the limitless freedoms posed by motion pictures. DeMille said the year of his first silent film production in 1914, “Imagine, the horizon is your stage limit and the sky your gridiron.

[Making_Sense [Rob W. Case]]

Cecil B. DeMille's 1923 version of The Ten Commandments was a tremendous project for its time. It not only depicted on an epic scale one of the most foundational events in world history, but it also characterized why Judeo-Christian morality is so important in modern times. As DeMille himself once said, "The Ten Commandments are not rules to obey as a personal favor to God. They are the fundamental principles without which mankind cannot live together." This movie was also historical in the fact that it was an engine to innovation for motion pictures that continues today.

[crusty old prospector]

One day, I will need to watch the original.

[dfwgator]

[Secret Agent Man]

Yup, obeying most of these will keep you out of temporal troubles. More or less these commandmemts have been the core principles of the major world powers’ systems of laws. Whether they acknowledge it or not.

[NetAddicted]

Impressive quote from DeMille.

[Libloather]

Just looked that up recently - searching for the wheat in the bricks scene. Pretty sure they got minimum wage for that.

[FatherofFive]

Thanks for posting

[MeganC]

This will be my family’s movie tonight! Thank you!

[NetAddicted]

I forgot to say that I’ve loved Charleton Heston’s Ten Commandments since I first saw it as a kid. My dad loved classic movies, so I was introduced to lots of classic movies very early.

[vespa300]

The Ten Commandments? Nobody believes in the Ten Commandments. Well, they believe in the 9 commandments. The only commandment God said to “remember” is the one everyone forgot. Its amusing to watch the spin on why the Sabbath is no longer binding too.

God hallowed the 7th day at creation and made it a holy day. Jesus said he made the Sabbath for man.

Now watch the spin....to get rid of it. It’s kinda funny to watch.

[samiam5]

Do you keep the sabbath?

[ducttape45]

1923 version? I didn’t know there even was an earlier version than the Charles Heston film. Now I got something to check out.

[xp38]

I have the blue ray box set. It’s included. I’ve seen it. I don’t rate it very highly. Not because it’s silent but it bounces back and forth between contemporary and ancient times and thus it comes off as confusing and doesn’t feel very integrated as a whole. It really suffers in comparison to the 56 version.

[xp38]

As I said above I don’t recommend it. Now if you want to see something much better check out the silent version of Ben Her. That is really good and holds it own just fine.

[missnry]

Interesting bit of data is “Thou shalt not steal”… the interpretation is actually “Thou shall not KIDNAP”… Now doesn’t that make sense why satan er, I mean Hamastinians kidnapped all of those Israelis on 7 October?

[telescope115]

I have seen the 1923 version on a silent movie app, and I gotta agree. I was expecting it to be more like the Charlton Heston version, and I didn’t care for the way it was done, either.

[telescope115]

Seen that. The chariot race was pretty good.

[Varsity Flight]

Ben Hur: The Tale of the Christ

[Angelino97]

I think Ayn Rand was an extra on that film.

[vespa300]

>>Do you keep the sabbath?>>

I observe the Sabbath and keep it like I keep any of the other commandments. Jesus threw all the man made laws about Sabbath keeping out the window......but he never threw the baby out with the bathwater. It’s a blessed day, the best day, the rest day and yes....it can be the test day.

Protestants used to keep Sunday as the Lord’s day. The whole day. Now with dispensationalism, they have managed to throw out the ten commandments just to get out of the Sabbath and so they don’t even keep Sunday anymore .....much less the Bible Lord’s day.....the Sabbath. So you don’t keep Sunday like the rest of Christians today? It’s just like any other day? Is that how you interpret the 4th commandment? Just any other day?