The Ten Commandments (1956 film)
A 1956 epic film directed by Cecil B. DeMille, dramatizing Moses’s life, the Exodus from Egypt, and the giving of the Ten Commandments.
Parting of the Red Sea: The biblical episode in which Moses leads the Israelites through a sea divided by divine intervention. The film’s elaborate sea-parting sequence is its most famous special-effects set piece.
Cecil B. DeMille: An American film director and producer known for large-scale historical and biblical spectacles. He directed the film and designed its grand scale as the culmination of his biblical filmmaking.
Book of Exodus: The second book of the Bible, recounting Israel’s oppression in Egypt, escape, and covenant with God. It supplies the film’s central narrative, though the screenplay also reshapes and supplements it.
Academy Award for Best Visual Effects: An annual Academy Award honoring achievement in visual effects in motion pictures. The film won the award for its effects, including the staged parting of the sea.
The Ten Commandments (1923 film): Cecil B. DeMille’s silent film pairing a modern moral story with a biblical account of Moses. DeMille remade his earlier film as a full-length biblical epic, dropping its modern-day storyline.
Charlton Heston: An American actor known for leading roles in historical and epic films. His performance as Moses became one of the film’s defining elements.
Biblical epic film: A large-scale film dramatizing stories from the Bible through spectacle, historical settings, and heightened drama. The film exemplifies this genre’s blend of sacred narrative and Hollywood-scale production.
United States National Film Registry: A collection of films selected by the Library of Congress for preservation as culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant. The film was selected for preservation in 1999.
The Prince of Egypt: A 1998 animated musical film dramatizing Moses’s early life and the Exodus. Its later animated retelling offers a distinct approach to the same biblical story.
Yul Brynner: A Russian-born actor known for stage and screen roles, including King Mongkut and Rameses II. His Rameses embodies the political rival whose resistance drives the conflict.