edwagreen
In the event you have forgotten the 1956 masterpiece, your memory will be restored when you see this very weak version of the old testament tale.This version has many different interpretations. Moses, as a young children knew of Amron and Yochobel, his true parents. In fact, Amron was alive when Moses was a child. We see a hesitating Aaron and that Moses had another brother other than the eventual King Ramses.The dialogue here is not good. When the Lord reveals himself to Moses at the burning bush, Moses just about says-"I shall not go," 3 times as if he is a stubborn child.Notice that Moses' mom never ages in this production. I thought that Zipporah would actually be jealous of her mother-in-law's beauty.The plagues come in rapid succession movie wise and Ramses looks more like a mummy. The thespians merely state their lines. There is little to no emotion depicted here.
sternsf
It is difficult to compete against classic greatness, but once you make that choice and the decision is in play, you need find the best and brightest resources to keep your product top drawer, and on the cutting edge of quality. If your intention is to aim for second or third (or fourth) best, why even try? It is with that, I wonder why this version of the Ten Commandments was written, produced, and aired. I would ask the producers, "What were you thinking? Were you endeavoring to create a projected deficit?" If perhaps the producers were thinking, "We want to examine this biblical story from another point of view..." Then I would say "OK, I watched the show, now what's the point of view?" The premise of this "possible point of view theory" eludes me. I can generally watch programs, and (right or wrong) at least get a sense of what the creators were trying to accomplish. Not so, here. I recognize names such as "Robert Halmi" (the producer) and I can associate his work with some eye catching product; Tin Man, Earthsea, Flash Gordon, Jason and the Argonauts. Low budget entertainment based on myth, history and comic book entertainment. A perfect genre for Sci-Fi Channel. So I still have to ask Robert Halmi..."What was the point of THIS Ten Commandments, What WERE you thinking?" …………FJS
Clayton Van March (Hallows_Eve_Chocologic)
Truly, this is the most grand made-for-television production ever made. It is made on a true epic scale of Biblical proportions. Filled with many spectacular riveting scenes, and eye-catching visual effects, this tells the Biblical tale of Moses like no other. What people have to know, is that this version is NOT a remake of the original DeMille masterpiece. This is a knew imagining of the inspired story, which took place 3,500 years ago. It is a RENEWING of this tale, to the modern generation. Most younger viewers these days would fall asleep through the 1956 version if they watched it now. There was a particular style of Acting, Production, and Direction back then, glitziness, and that was the only form of film allowed in Hollywood. The characters' personal lives were not even thought of to be explored. They had no personality, they were just people on the screen, that you spent a few hours staring at. But since the late 70s, early 80s, THEIR lives jumped out of the screen, and into YOUR lives. You felt sorry for them, mourned for them, shared they joy and happiness. This miniseries really used that personality technique. Never before had I understood the lives of these monumental figures as I do now after watching this. Well-known actors such as Dougray Scott(Ever After), Naveen Andrews(Lost), Omar Sharif(Lawrence of Arabia), Mia Maestro(Alias), Paul Rhys(From Hell), and an array of many other stellar talents, not to mention 20,000 local Morroccan extras, battle the many tough characters and personalities of the Biblical story of the Exodus. Padma Lakshmi was also a superb pick for drop-dead-gorgeous Princess Bithia, Moses' adoptive mother, Matthew Sim was a top pick for the Demon-Possessed Soothsayer and his notable line "Bring down every horse and it's rider!", Karim Saleh was great as Joshua, Susan Lynch was a lovely Miriam, Linus Roache was a bold Aaron, and Richard O'Brien had a great guest appearance as the Tutor.Acting was not the miniseries' only strong point, of course. The Cinematography was breathtaking, exploring the great beauty of Ouarzazate, Morrocco, which seems very similar to the Holy land. Robert Dornhelm's Direction was fabulous, Robert Halmi Sr.'s Production was extremely worth all the possible turmoil producing can be, and the script by Ron Hutchinson made this miniseries possible, and enjoyable. Without his great script, there would be no film, we have to remember that, and he did a very good job at it.The costumes by Ann Hollowood made you feel like you had traveled back in time, the make-up by 9 talented artists was very down-and-dirty, as it would have been, the emotional score by Randy Edelman was splendid, and the sets were first-class. But what was truly grand, were the Visual Effects and the CGI animation, that re-created the Burning Bush, the Ten Plagues, the Parting of the Sea, the purification of the bitter waters, Mount Sinai, and the giving of the Holy Laws, it is surprising that only 5 people were on the FX team.Filled with drama, suspense, action-packed war scenes, spectacular miracles, and amazing talent, The Ten Commandments two part 2006 miniseries is the most Biblically and Historically accurate version ever made, and I will cherish it in my home. Watch it with the Bible on your lap, or the Koran, or the Jewish Midrash, and you'll see accuracy also. Television and RHI Entertainment has finally hit Adulthood.
