Film review and analysis

¶ … motion picture industry filmmakers have depicted Biblical stories and themes. In the 1920s, Cecil B. DeMille directed "The Ten Commandments" as a silent film. Several decades after "talkies" completely replaced the silent genre, DeMille remade "The Ten Commandments" in a classic film starring Charlton Heston. Both DeMille productions follow the Biblical story of the life of Moses, but the 1923 version of "The Ten Commandments" also includes a modern-day allegory. The 1998 animated Dreamworks production entitled "The Prince of Egypt" likewise portrays Moses and his journey and includes references to the Ten Commandments. Polish director Krzysztof Kie-lowski produced a ten-part series entitled "The Decalogue," referring also to the Ten Commandments of the Bible. However, the Kie-lowski films are less about Moses than they are about the content and theme of the Ten Commandments themselves. Similarly, the 1999 Hollywood production "The Confession" touches upon Biblical morality without addressing the story of Moses explicitly. Each of these five motion picture productions captures the essence of the Ten Commandments, even though not all directly refer to the life of Moses.

Biblical films like these five can be divided into a few categories depending on their tone, content and style. Some films, like both of Cecil B. DeMille's "Ten Commandments" movies and also "The Prince of Egypt" are dedicated to bringing the Biblical motifs and allegories to life on the big screen. Others, like the Krzysztof Kie-lowski "The Decalogue" series are rooted in the Biblical story of Moses but are not based around the plot of Moses' life nor even on the personality of Moses. Instead of involving Moses as a protagonist, films like "The Decalogue" and "The Confession" develop unrelated and contemporary plots and characters. Cecil B. DeMille's 1923 silent version of "The Ten Commandments" is the only film of the five in question that combines both approaches to the Bible. In the 1923 version of "The Ten Commandments," the story of Moses is juxtaposed with a modern story of two brothers making different choices in their lives. One brother endeavors to apply the Ten Commandments to his life, being honest and upstart. The other breaks several of the Ten Commandments for personal gain.

What each of the five movies does have in common is that they all include a strong moral component. The films each have a similar message: that the Ten Commandments are worth following, that they are a strong moral code that survives the test of time. The Ten Commandments are presented as an absolute moral code. Those who follow the code are righteous and those who do not meet with personal demise in some form. Moreover, the morality presented in the films about the Ten Commandments is absolute. Although Krzysztof Kie-lowski reveals some flexibility and moral relativism, ultimately "The Decalogue" shows a strict morality that corresponds with the core content of the Ten Commandments. The list of "Thou Shalt Nots" is portrayed as being definitive in all five movies.

Two of the films do not address the life of Moses except indirectly. In "The Decalogue," the filmmaker applies the themes of each of the Ten Commandments to a series of characters in the ten-part series. Each installment in the series focuses on one of the Ten Commandments as the main theme. David Hugh Jones' 1999 film "The Confession" is a much thinner exposition of the Ten Commandments. The story of the Fertig family addresses a few of the Commandments but not all ten and is not a systematic or thorough means of addressing moral or Biblical matters. Still, the religious themes do add moral depth and dimension to the movie.

Biblical films like Cecil B. DeMills' two "Ten Commandments" movies and also the Dreamworks production "The Prince of Egypt" convey the morality of the Ten Commandments also. However, films set in Biblical times may appeal less to a general audience than those that are set in the contemporary world. Religious, and especially Christian, viewers might glean more moral content from the Cecil B. DeMille movies or "The Prince of Egypt" because of familiarity and sympathy with Biblical themes and content. Viewers who have a more secular view of morality may find films like "The Decalogue" and "The Confession" to be more morally compelling because they can relate to the characters.