The Ten Commandments (Paramount Pictures) (1966)

Before Viewing Your enjoyment of the film will be heightened by alittle preparation. Try one or more of the following: 1. Read the Book of Exodus in the Bible. 2. Dip into some work which will give you the background for the biblical story unfolded in the film. See, for example, Prince of Egypt, by Dorothy C. Wilson; Pillar of Fire, by Rev. J.-H. Ingraham; On Eagle’s Wings, by Rev. A.E. Southon; Legends of the Bible, by Louis Ginzburg. 3. Use a dictionary to find the meaning and pronunciation of each of the following words: obelisk, pharoah, Goshen, artifacts, pylons, colossi, Decalogue, helots, Exodus, chariot, bulrushes, midrash, Midianite, shofar. 4. Draw an outline map of Egypt today. Include the Sinai peninsula and surrounding countries, topographical features, and major cities. Underline those cities which existed at the time of the Exodus: (about 1200 B.C.). After Viewing Discussion Questions About Moses 1. What did Moses do when he leamed that he was not a Prince of Egypt but a Hebrew slave? How did this affect his two mothers, Yochabel, the Hebrew mother who gave him life, and Bithiah, the figyptian mother who gave him power and wealth? 2. How do the lives of Moses and Rameses become entangled during the city building? Why did Moses incur the deadly enmity of Rameses? 3. Moses evolved from prince to prophet. Ac count for the transformation. 4. The Hebrew philosopher Ahad Ha’am called Moses ‘‘a pillar of lighton the threshold of history.’’ 5. The poet Heine said that the central hero of the Exodus, Moses, made Sinai seem puny by his erandeur. Did you gain that impression from the film? Explain. 6. Tradition has it that Moses was a masterful leader as well as a lawgiver. How is this shown in the film? Scenes and Characters 7. Describe the methods used by the ancient Egyptians in building their cities. 8. Why did Rameses I condemn all new-born male Hebrew children to death? 9. Rameses, when he was a Prince of Egypt, has been described as ambition-driven. Give evidence to support this characterization. Name another historical figure who may be described as ambitiondriven. Describe his impact on history. 10. The slave overseer Dathan was a turncoat Israelite. How did he betray the Hebrews? What was his final punishment? 11. Nefretiri is regarded as one of history's most destructive women and a tragic figure in the film’s dramatic story. How is this made clear in the film? Name another woman who influenced the course of _ history? Describe her role. 12. Which of the plagues caused Rameses to let the Hebrews go? Why did he change his mind? What further penalty did he suffer for not letting the Hebrews go peacefully? 13. Describe the last meal of the Israelites in bondage before the Exodus. How is the Exodus celebrated by Jews in modern times? CIE=9) CUE=3) CE=3) CE=9) CE=9) C=9} E=9) C\CDC\C\CAC\GESD 14. When he retuned from the Red Sea Jicankon Rameses said to his wife, ‘‘His God is God.’’ What was the significance of this short statement? Film Making 15. Do you think that Charlton Heston was well cast as Moses? Why? Which .of the other major characters in the film acquitted themselves creditably? Justify your opinion. . 16. How was barbaric worship shown in the film? 17. ‘‘The Ten Commandments’’ is above all a timeless human document of man’s first struggle for freedom. Explain the statement. 18. Which of the scenes in the film impressed you most? Why? 19. The background music was composed and conducted by Elmer Bernstein. How did it establish the various moods in the film? Be specific by referring to such highlights as the Burning Bush, the writing of the Ten Commandments, ete. 20. The film had deepmeaning when it was first seen a decade ago. It has deep meaning today. And it is likely to have deep meaning in generations to come. Do you agree? Why? : 21. Name some of the other film spectaculars in recent years. What are the major problems connected with making such films? How were those problems dealt with in ‘‘The Ten Commandments’’? Things To Do 1. The famous archaeologist James Breasted explains why Moses’ name is not mentioned in Egyptian history. Report on this explanation. 2. The Bible between Verses 10 and 11 of Ex odus, Chapter 2, omits the 30 years that brought Moses to manhood. Describe Moses’ life during this period, Consult books by historians who have drawn on the writings of Josephus and Philo and the findings of modern archaeology. 3. The moral code brought down from Mount Sinai by Moses became the fountainhead of three great religions. Name them. List the Ten Commandments. The offenses condemned in Commandments five to nine are also condemned in many other ancient law codes. Which codes? 4. Many lines in the film were direct quotes from Exodus. Quote one or more of them by recalling scenes in the film and skimming the Book of Exodus. 5. Write a brief character sketch of each of the following figures in the film, indicating which ones are also mentioned in the Book of Exodus. Bithiah, daughter of the Pharoah who raised Moses as her owr son. Memnet, servant to the Pharaoh’s daughter Sephora, wife of Moses Dathan, the Israelite slave overseer Yochabel, the true mother of Moses Joshua, Moses’ lieutenant during the Exodus Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law Aaron, brother of Moses 6. ‘‘The Ten Commandments’’ has in it all the overtones of ‘‘slavery and liberty, of justice and injustice, of equality and the lack of equality.”’ Cite parts of the film that illustrate the clashing of concepts. 7. ‘‘A sacred story treated masterfully and reverently. The crossing of the Red Sea, the building of the Golden Calf, the depicting of the severity of the bondage of the Israelites, the appearing of Moses with the tablets on which were written with the finger of God the immortal Ten Commandments,