This film is so popular and DeMille puts together such a cast that if anyone out there is thinking about a remake, I would guess the casting department would be mulling over who would play Charlton Heston, rather than Moses; who would portray Yul Brynner as Rameses; and who would be the perfect Ann Baxter? Doing a remake of DeMille's rendition would be like remaking THE WIZARD OF OZ or CASABLANCA.
When her character is introduced at the beginning of the film, Ann Baxter looks stunning as she strikes a now classic pose. She also does a great job toying with Rameses mind in the palace, as both her and Rameses pray for their dead firstborn son to be brought back to life by the god, Horus. The words "So let it be written; so let it be done" spoken by Rameses father, and then by Rameses II. My favorite line spoken by Yul Brynner is: "The slaves are mine; their lives are mine; all that they own is mine." This finally cements his image as a truly tyrannical Pharoah, though any child would have figured this out already. The screenwriter loves to have the cast refer to Moses by saying his name twice in succession: "Moses, Moses!" I told myself once I would sit down and count how many times "Moses, Moses!" was said in the film. There is one segment of the film however, where the script is so 1950s cornball I can barely stand it. Everyone is so happy that all good things begin happening at once, i.e. " ... You have a newborn son!" (Yay Yay) If this happened in modern times someone surely would bellow "I won the lottery". (The scene I am referring to is when the slaves are leaving Rameses' city heading for the promised land).
Still, DeMille successfully translates his own majestic, original vision creating this epic for the big screen. When I saw it the first time on the big screen at age seven, I thought this was the greatest movie ever! The frequent cornball dialog in places is easily forgotten when one becomes awestruck by all of the huge, glorious sets which are favorably complimented by solid art direction, cinematography and, as advertised at the time, "a cast of thousands!" This film is a "must see" for any serious film student, fan or fanatic! Enjoy with lotsa popcorn!
When her character is introduced at the beginning of the film, Ann Baxter looks stunning as she strikes a now classic pose. She also does a great job toying with Rameses mind in the palace, as both her and Rameses pray for their dead firstborn son to be brought back to life by the god, Horus. The words "So let it be written; so let it be done" spoken by Rameses father, and then by Rameses II. My favorite line spoken by Yul Brynner is: "The slaves are mine; their lives are mine; all that they own is mine." This finally cements his image as a truly tyrannical Pharoah, though any child would have figured this out already. The screenwriter loves to have the cast refer to Moses by saying his name twice in succession: "Moses, Moses!" I told myself once I would sit down and count how many times "Moses, Moses!" was said in the film. There is one segment of the film however, where the script is so 1950s cornball I can barely stand it. Everyone is so happy that all good things begin happening at once, i.e. " ... You have a newborn son!" (Yay Yay) If this happened in modern times someone surely would bellow "I won the lottery". (The scene I am referring to is when the slaves are leaving Rameses' city heading for the promised land).
Still, DeMille successfully translates his own majestic, original vision creating this epic for the big screen. When I saw it the first time on the big screen at age seven, I thought this was the greatest movie ever! The frequent cornball dialog in places is easily forgotten when one becomes awestruck by all of the huge, glorious sets which are favorably complimented by solid art direction, cinematography and, as advertised at the time, "a cast of thousands!" This film is a "must see" for any serious film student, fan or fanatic! Enjoy with lotsa popcorn!