Review – The Ten Commandments

Among my guilty pleasures, this is one of the guiltiest. Cecil B. DeMille takes so long to tell the story of Moses, the exodus from Egypt and the title subject that it’s almost faster just to read the Bible. Further, the casting is a big mistake. Though I concede I’m not much of a judge of men, I just can’t imagine many Egyptian princesses actually preferring rock-headed Charlton Heston to smooth, stylish Yul Brynner. And the script? Don’t even get me started on the dialogue! And yet I’ve seen this so many times I know much of it by heart. Perhaps it’s a childhood comfort association, because this used to show a lot around Christmas and Easter. Maybe it’s an appreciation of the finest in sanctimonious camp and spectacle. Or maybe it’s just that when I’m using the TV as background noise it’s nice to have something on that’s familiar enough for me to ignore most of it. Whatever the case, I can’t go all the way to “buy the tape” here, but I do confess that it’s part of my personal collection. Worth seeing