Sources used in this document:

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.

Therefore, Biblical films can best be divided into two main categories: those that are set in Biblical times and those that are not. The ones set in Biblical times might address some of the Old Testament allegories such as the birth and life of Moses including the exodus of the Jews from Egypt after their enslavement. Cecil B. DeMille brought Moses' story to life in two films: both entitled "The Ten Commandments." The Dreamworks team drew upon the same story of baby Moses and Moses the leader of the Jews but produced an animated film lighter in tone and moral content than the DeMille versions. Each of these three movies uses Moses as an actual character and allows the viewer to find ways of applying the tale of Moses to his or her own life. In other words, the two "Ten Commandments" movies and "The Prince of Egypt" are about more than just the Ten Commandments themselves but are actually about one of the main figures in the Bible. The second type of Biblical film is not set in Biblical times. Movies like "The Decalogue" and "The Confession" are not about Moses but they are about the Ten Commandments. These films are explicitly centered on the moral component of the Bible and how that morality applies to life in the modern world.