HOLLYWOOD (RNS)—Consider the differences between (A) the 1956 movie by Cecil B. DeMille and (B) a new animated version of The Ten Commandments.
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
File Photo/MPA/1956
Charlton Heston portrays Moses in the classic 1956 Cecil B. DeMille epic, The Ten Commandments.
Running time
A. 220 minutes
B. 88 minutes
Faithfulness to Bible
A. It's still show business. Showman Cecil B. DeMille added a 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. The 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. The 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.
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.