Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

BoardChiri Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

Casey Duggan It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Francene Odetta It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

SimonJack This movie, "The Ten Commandments" is from a TV mini-series of 2006. The size of scale and use of special effects are pluses, although the CGI was overdone for the bottom of the Red Sea. The film has just half of the 10 plagues, and glances over most of these – the waters turning to blood, frogs, locusts, fiery hail, and death of the first-born. After the Red Sea crossing and destruction of Pharaoh's army, the film has only three more signs of God's power. The first is Moses sweetening poisoned water. The second is his striking a rock to bring forth water, but it eliminates the significant second strike by Moses that was his sign of doubt for which God would deny him entry into the Promised Land. The third is the appearance of manna in strange circles on the ground, with no name for it or explanation beforehand. The film has an account of the Ten Commandments, the making of a golden calf, and the killing of the dissidents' families. It shows the Israelites carrying the body of Joseph out of Egypt to be buried in the Promised Land. It gives a glimpse of the Ark of the Covenant, but doesn't explain what it is. The film leaves out the earthquake that swallows up Dathan and other dissident leaders. It glosses over the Passover, showing only the marking of Israelite homes with lamb's blood on the door posts. And it omits a crucial event and major aspect of the exodus. That was the scouting of the Promised Land for 40 days by young men from the 12 tribes. They returned with fruit of the land, but 10 of the 12 said they could not hope to conquer the land. We can grant license to all films with their imagined accounts of Moses growing up in a royal household in Egypt. The entire story of the birth and childhood of Moses covers a mere 10 verses in the Bible (Ex. 2: 1- 10). Nothing is said of his upbringing except that after his weening, he was brought up by Pharaoh's daughter, Bithiah, as her own son. We learn of the names of his parents, Amram and Jochebed, in Exodus 6:20 and Numbers 26:59. Bithiah's name doesn't appear until First Chronicles 4:17. Pharaoh banished her for having brought an Israelite into the house of Pharaoh, pretending him to be her own. By tradition, Bithiah left with Moses on the exodus. She was part of the "mixed multitude."The next five verses of the Book of Exodus (2:11-16), tell of Moses killing an Egyptian and fleeing to Midian. The last 10 verses of Exodus cover more than 50 years of Moses' life. Moses was 120 years old when he died (Deuteronomy 34:7), which was 40 years after the start of the exodus. He marries Zipporah, eldest daughter of Jethro; their son, Gershom, is born; and Moses shepherds the flocks of his father-in-law. God's calling of Moses from the burning bush takes up the next four chapters of Exodus, 3-6. The next six chapters (7-12) cover Moses and Aaron confronting Pharaoh, the 10 plagues and the institution of the Passover. The flight from Egypt begins with Ex. 12:33. The last 28 chapters of Exodus cover the Ten Commandments, the grumbling and rebellion of the people against Moses and God, the Ark of the Covenant, and the wandering in the desert. After the 10 plagues, God gave more than two dozen signs of his power to the people in their flight from Egypt. Some of this is repeated, more events occur and more details are provided in the next three books of the Bible. At the end of Deuteronomy, the Israelites reach the Promised Land. Moses sees it from atop a mountain, but is not allowed to cross the Jordon River. He dies and is buried there. No one knows the location of his grave. This 2006 TV film is very heavy with dialog and melodrama. Dougray Scott plays Moses as an angry man, believing in God and his power, but lacking connection to the God of his fathers – Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. His character is unlike Moses as he describes himself in the Bible – "not eloquent …slow of speech and of tongue" (Ex. 4:10). The film seems heavily weighted on portraying God as vengeful and hard, rather than as impatient and angry because of the unfaithfulness of the people, and their rebellion in the face of all the signs he has given them. It was due to their lack of faith and trust just a few months after leaving Egypt when they scouted the Promised Land, that the people were condemned to wander for 40 years in the desert – until all those over age 20 had died. But this film omits this major event, which is crucial to the Bible lesson. One very curious account is a fictitious couple who commit adultery and are then stoned to death. This distraction is woven throughout the exodus and takes up considerable film time. But, it has no bearing on the exodus, and no grounding in scripture. Another lengthy piece of fiction is the training of the Israelites for combat. By the end, we see warriors with shields, spears, swords and big bows. This version of Moses and the exodus has too much fiction that detracts from the story. Its focus is not on a God who repeatedly forgives the people and then disciplines them for their unfaithfulness, which is the tenor of the Bible accounts. The character of Moses seems quite different from scripture. The film has a scale of the immensity of the exodus and has good special effects, but it skips far too many details and events. It drags on far too long with made-up material.

drystyx "Literary license" is used in nearly all films, even historical films. And when the History is close to prehistoric, as in the case of Moses, then more literary license can be expected.This version of "The Ten Commandments" gives us a more doubting Moses than we're used to. It delivers on the miracles, so it isn't entirely Atheistic, but gives a somewhat more Agnostic view of Moses. If not for the miracles, we would think the voices are truly in his head when God speaks.This version of Moses has him questioning God, yet for some reason we don't understand his devout desire for power that he shows when he decides he'd rather lead people in the desert than go home with a beautiful wife and a caring family.There is much bloodshed, as there is in the story of Moses. True to literature, he doesn't have qualms about killing women and children. No real explanation is given for this, but then no explanation is given in the Bible, either, except for blind submission to God's will.The film doesn't try to answer what God's will is. It does give us the explanation of a mostly passive God. Like most of us who read the Bible, Moses is confused by "I am that I am", and the film helps establish his rendering a meaning to that. This version shows a God who acts at times with miracles, but insists on humans doing a lot of work, and a lot of people are hurt. We don't know why. The film doesn't try to justify it, nor try to condemn it.

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.

strummingsam I appreciate the effort that the filmmakers wanted to depict the story of Moses and the exodus of Israel, and that the film helps viewers to put themselves into Moses' shoes and gain understanding of the intense burden laid upon Moses' shoulders. As excited as I was to see this film, I was greatly disappointed in the storyline. (I'll leave out the videography, special effects, and artistic ability in this review.) What is most disappointing is the historical inaccuracy of this movie and how it is so far from the historical accounts from Biblical texts. One of the overarching principles from the Bible is that *God* led His people out of Egypt, and He promised that He would take them to a land that is flowing with milk and honey. Not only did He give this promise, but He led His people in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. He never left them; He always was visible to the Israelites. The movie, however, depicts a God who remains silent during the entire wandering through the desert. This movie changed the essence and theme of the Biblical text and instead depicts God as a silent, cruel, disciplinary void.In addition, the depiction of Moses was just as wrong. Moses was known as a man of faith (why else would he be such a father-figure to Israel throughout the Old and New Testaments, even that Moses is known as a man of great faith). However, the movie depicts him as a pragmatic, angry, insecure loner who despises the calling that God placed on his life. OK, I'll allow some creative freedom for the filmmakers in the Exodus story... but this is beyond creativity -- it is heresy.