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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |
directed by Cecil B. DeMille
USA 1956
Based on the Holy Scriptures, with additional dialogue by several other hands, The Ten Commandments was the last film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. The story relates the life of Moses, from the time he was discovered in the bullrushes as an infant by the pharaoh's daughter, to his long, hard struggle to free the Hebrews from their slavery at the hands of the Egyptians. Moses (Charlton Heston) starts out "in solid" as Pharaoh's adopted son (and a whiz at designing pyramids, dispensing such construction-site advice as "Blood makes poor mortar"), but when he discovers his true Hebrew heritage, he attempts to make life easier for his people. Banished by his jealous half-brother Rameses (Yul Brynner), Moses returns fully bearded to Pharoah's court, warning that he's had a message from God and that the Egyptians had better free the Hebrews post-haste if they know what's good for them. Only after the Deadly Plagues have decimated Egypt does Rameses give in. As the Hebrews reach the Red Sea, they discover that Rameses has gone back on his word and plans to have them all killed. But Moses rescues his people with a little Divine legerdemain by parting the Seas. Later, Moses is again confronted by God on Mt. Sinai, who delivers unto him the Ten Commandments. Meanwhile, the Hebrews, led by the duplicitous Dathan (Edward G. Robinson), are forgetting their religion and behaving like libertines. "Where's your Moses now?" brays Dathan in the manner of a Lower East Side gangster. He soon finds out. A remake of his 1923 silent film, DeMille's The Ten Commandments may not be the most subtle and sophisticated entertainment ever concocted, but it tells its story with a clarity and vitality that few Biblical scholars have ever been able to duplicate. It is very likely the most eventful 219 minutes ever recorded to film—and who's to say that Nefertiri (Anne Baxter) didn't make speeches like, "Oh, Moses, Moses, you splendid, stubborn, adorable fool"? ***
Excerpt from Christopher Null's review at filmcritic.com located HERE |
Posters
Theatrical Release: October 5, 1956
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
Comparison:
Paramount Home Entertainment (Special Collector's Edition) - Region 2 - PAL vs. Paramount Home Entertainment (Special Collector's Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Paramount (55th Anniversary) - Region FREE - Blu-ray |
Big thanks to Henrik Sylow and Gary Tooze for the Screen Caps!
1) Paramount Home Entertainment (Special Collector's Edition) - Region 2 - PAL - LEFT 2) Paramount Home Entertainment (Special Collector's Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC - MIDDLE3) Paramount - Region FREE - Blu-ray - RIGHT |
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Now available in a bare-bones Blu-ray edition here: |
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Distribution |
Paramount Home Entertainment Region 2 - PAL |
Paramount Home Entertainment Region 1 - NTSC |
Paramount Home Entertainment Region FREE - Blu-ray |
Runtime | 3:41:53 (4% PAL speedup) | 2:15:36 + 1:35:42 = 3:51:18 | 2:15:48.807 + 1:35:49.618 |
Video |
1.74:1 Aspect Ratio
16X9 enhanced |
Original Aspect Ratio
16X9 enhanced |
1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc 1 Size: 42,655,843,037 bytes Feature: 42,161,055,744 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 34.59 Mbps Disc 2 Size: 33,431,727,087 bytesFeature: 29,561,966,592 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 34.21 Mbps |
NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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Paramount Home Entertainment (Special Collector's Edition) - PAL Disc 1
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Paramount Home Entertainment (Special Collector's Edition) - PAL - Disc 2
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Paramount Home Entertainment (Special Collector's Edition) - NTSC Disc 1 |
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Paramount Home Entertainment (Special Collector's Edition) - NTSC Disc 2 |
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Paramount Blu-ray Disc 1 |
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Paramount Blu-ray Disc 2 |
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Audio | 5.1 Dolby Digital English, 2.0 Dolby Digital Italian / German / Spanish / French Mono (dub) |
5.1 Dolby Digital English, 2.0 Dolby Digital, DUB: French 2.0 Dolby |
DTS-HD Master Audio English 3274 kbps 5.1 /
48 kHz / 3274 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps /
24-bit) Dolby Digital Audio English 256 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 256 kbps / DN -4dB / Dolby Surround Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB Dolby Digital Audio French 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB Dolby Digital Audio Portuguese 256 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 256 kbps / DN -4dB / Dolby Surround Dolby Digital Audio Spanish 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB |
Subtitles | English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish and More | English, French, none. | English, English (SDH), French, Portuguese, Spanish, none |
Features |
Release Information: Studio: Paramount Home Entertainment Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details: Chapters 48 |
Release Information: Studio: Paramount Home Entertainment Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details:
DVD
Release Date: Chapters 48 |
Release Information: Studio: Paramount Home Entertainment Aspect Ratio:- 1.78:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc 1 Size: 42,655,843,037 bytes Feature: 42,161,055,744 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 34.59 Mbps Disc 2 Size: 33,431,727,087 bytesFeature: 29,561,966,592 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 34.21 Mbps
Edition Details:
• Trailers (3 - 56', 66', 89')
Blu-ray
Release Date: Chapters 29 + 19 |
Comments |
NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were ripped directly from the Blu-ray disc. ADDITION: Paramount - Region FREE Blu-ray - March 2011: Overall this is a highly impressive upgrade. It is described as 'meticulously restored' and I have no reason to question this statement in regards to this 55th Anniversary Edition 1080P transfer. Every visual facet supports the vastly improved bitrate (approaching 6X) with tighter colors, excellent contrast and even some depth. This is light years beyond the DVD appearance. Incredibly impressive. NOTE: The, almost 4 hour film, is again spread over 2 discs (both dual-layered Blu-rays) with the Overture, Intermission and Exit music. Audio is another improvement - almost as powerful as the video - with a DTS-HD Master 5.1 track at 3274 kbps. Solid bass and effect separations are notable if not always crisply defined. This is a strong update from the DVDs and one that blends in so well with the glory of the presentation. There is also a Limited Edition Gift Set Blu-ray / DVD HERE that is described as having an all-new, never-before-seen, hour-long documentary on the making of The Ten Commandments, entitled “Making Miracles.” This standard edition has the previous commentary from Katherine Orrison, author of “Written in Stone: Making Cecil B. DeMille’s Epic, The Ten Commandments” on both the 1956 Feature Film and the 1923 Silent Film - as well as the Newsreel: The Ten Commandments - Premiere in New York in HD and 3 Theatrical Trailers - also in HD. It is almost impossible not to endorse this - the film itself is always kind of overwhelming but in this improved resolution - it is indeed a wide-eyed home theater experience that is definitely worth the price of admission. We can certainly encourage purchase - WOW! ***
ON THE DVDs: The two DVD editions are virtually identical excepting that the PAL edition obviously has the 4% speed-up and, as usual, more audio DUB and subtitle options (as well as a different color font to the NTSC counterpart). Image quality has no extensive differences and extras are duplicated. Gary Tooze ***
The
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DVD Menus
(Paramount Home Entertainment (Special
Collector's Edition) - Region 2 - PAL - LEFT vs. Paramount Home
Entertainment (Special Collector's Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC - RIGHT)
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Paramount - Region FREE - Blu-ray
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CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE BELOW TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Screen Captures
1) Paramount Home Entertainment (Special Collector's Edition) - Region 2 - PAL - TOP 2) Paramount Home Entertainment (Special Collector's Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC - MIDDLE3) Paramount - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM |
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1) Paramount Home Entertainment (Special Collector's Edition) - Region 2 - PAL - TOP 2) Paramount Home Entertainment (Special Collector's Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC - MIDDLE3) Paramount - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM |
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1) Paramount Home Entertainment (Special Collector's Edition) - Region 2 - PAL - TOP 2) Paramount Home Entertainment (Special Collector's Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC - MIDDLE3) Paramount - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM |
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1) Paramount Home Entertainment (Special Collector's Edition) - Region 2 - PAL - TOP 2) Paramount Home Entertainment (Special Collector's Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC - MIDDLE3) Paramount - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM |
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1) Paramount Home Entertainment (Special Collector's Edition) - Region 2 - PAL - TOP 2) Paramount Home Entertainment (Special Collector's Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC - MIDDLE3) Paramount - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM |
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1) Paramount Home Entertainment (Special Collector's Edition) - Region 2 - PAL - TOP 2) Paramount Home Entertainment (Special Collector's Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC - MIDDLE3) Paramount - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM |
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1) Paramount Home Entertainment (Special Collector's Edition) - Region 2 - PAL - TOP 2) Paramount Home Entertainment (Special Collector's Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC - MIDDLE3) Paramount - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM |
Box Covers |
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Now available in a bare-bones Blu-ray edition here: |
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Distribution |
Paramount Home Entertainment Region 2 - PAL |
Paramount Home Entertainment Region 1 - NTSC |
Paramount Home Entertainment Region FREE - Blu-ray |
Report Card:
Image: |
Blu-ray |
Sound: |
Blu-ray |
Extras: | Special Edition |