The Ten Commandments - Movie Review Example

A Film Proposal Overview of the Film The film in question mainly focuses on the Ten Commandments that are shown annually during Easter period. Amazingly, millions of people tune in to watch the film, which aims at describing what they believe in as far as religious inclinations are concerned. Notably, the film is a defining version of Moses especially during the rescue of the Israelites from Egypt (Dozeman, 23). The film on “The Ten Commandments” was directed and produced by Cecil B. DeMille in 1956. Cecil tried to dramatize the story of Moses in Exodus 1-20 of the Bible. During the time of producing the film, many famous Hollywood actors and actresses emerged. Notably, the film has various casts that include Charlton who acts as Moses, Yul representing Rameses, Baxter W. representing Nefretiri, Baxter acting as Dathan, Yvonne C. acting as Sephora, Debra P. representing Lilia in the film and John who acts as Joshua. Despite the exemplary work done by the producer, there is still a lot to be done especially in reference to obtaining funds. The following is a film proposal that aims at convincing producers on funding the movie. In addition, the proposal aims at providing a breakdown of characters and how the characters can be enhanced. In essence, the proposal aims at remaking the film The Ten Commandments. The proposal is divided into various sections that include the specific opinions and justifications for the proposal. A concluding remark provides an overview of all the main points in respect to the proposals. Proposals for Remaking the Film Remaking of the film The Ten Commandments is very essential especially with respect to increasing its popularity and returns obtained from the same. The proposals for remaking of the movie The Ten Commandments are developed under the following topics: Overall Plot The overall plot of the current movie is exceptional and has significantly attracted huge popularity. Most of the acting in the movie has been taken from the Bible. The film revolves around the story of Moses and delivery of the people of Israelites from Egypt. Despite the exemplary work done on the plot, there is much that can be done in order to enhance the popularity of the movie. Some of the proposals include: Inclusive Plot: There is need to provide an inclusive plot with a clear picture. An inclusive plot would mean that any individual can comfortably watch the movie. As it stands, only Christians can watch the movie comfortably. On the other hand, a clear picture means that the viewer is able to understand in-depth all the events that transpired during that time. Indeed, even though the film might have been developed to entertain audience, there is no doubt that it was also developed to teach and instill into a person the urge to read the Bible often, indeed, this is one of the best films that DeMille developed during his time (Batto 29). There are specific ways of enhancing the plot of the movie. The main way is to incorporate perspectives of the Quran within the movie. In addition, there is need for the movie to have adequate involvement of different characters. According to the commentary on the 2004 DVD release of the film, the movies script was enhanced by non-biblical sources, such as: Josephus, the Sepher-ha-Yashar, the Chronicle of Moses, and the Quran (Craig & Elaine, 67). The additions in the plot can be somewhat justified by the events that took place as taken from these sources. Batto (33) said that it is noticeable that many of the names used for characters in the film were not historically accurate but portrayed what was needed in the film. In the Bible, many of the names used weren’t specific, for example, the “two Hebrew men” or the “Pharaoh’s daughter” were commonly found in scripture. Rarely was a true name used unless it was someone of great significance (Dozeman, 32). There is need to change all these. Flashbacks and forwards: The use of flashbacks and forwards can be used in order to enhance the overall plot of the movie. There are scenarios and scenes that can be acted on the basis of flashbacks and forwards. Using flashbacks and forwards make the movie more interesting and captivating. For instance, the movie may include flashbacks on how Moses was born in addition to providing a forecast on the life that the Israelites expect to have once they live Egypt. In order to make the minds of the viewers back and forth with an aim of enhancing the popularity of the film, there is need to employ more flashbacks as well as forwards, which will achieve such objectives. In addition, there are instances throughout the film that depicts tension, which can better be illustrated through flashbacks as well as forwards. For instance, throughout the film, there are tense moments between Nefertiri and Moses while there also seems to be sexual tension between Rameses and Moses over the right to marry Nefertiri. However, the romance between these characters adds to the enjoyment of the film for viewers but remains totally unauthentic as it was never mentioned in the Bible said Batto (35). After returning to Egypt to free God’s people, the famous “Ten Plagues of Egypt” occurred. Dozeman, (36) asserted that however, the film only shows four of these plagues: burning hail, darkness, turning water to blood, and the death of first-born Egyptians but in a clear and updated way. Evidently, a flashback is required in reference to the scenario between Moses and Nefretiri. According to Batto (36), prior to the Passover in the film, Nefretiri meets Moses and tells him that she saved his sons life, for “Pharaoh gave the order that all first-born slave children would be killed”. Moses replies that “it is not my son who is in danger, the final plague will come from the word of Rameses and he has just brought death to his own son” (Batto 36). In Exodus, God himself chooses to execute the final act of power and kill the first-born of Egyptians; the Pharaoh had no known involvement (Exodus 12) said Craig and Elaine (71). Flashbacks and forwards will therefore be a good film strategy in a bid to enhance the overall popularity of the movie of film. Background and backdrops: In order to enhance the plot of the movie to have an inclusive aspect, there is need to change the backgrounds and backdrops amongst other aspects or requirements within the movie or film. Most of the movie’s backgrounds produce fine pictures but this can be enhanced to produce finer textures. In addition, the backgrounds, backdrops, and other requirements need to have a reflection of the contemporary environment; this will enable the movie to have a contemporary view. Craig and Elaine (70) reiterated that due to time constraints and the inability to recreate some of the special effects required, it is understandable that some parts were excluded, however a sense of emptiness remains but humor and overview of the history regarding the Israelites is clearly shown. Characters Characters are an important or essential part within every film or movie. Selecting the right person to resemble the actual person being represented is one of the ways of strategies for achieving the desired quality and themes. Therefore, other than enhancing the overall plot of the movie, the characters can also be changed in a bid to remaking the movie. Various ways or procedures can be used in order to remake the movie through the characters. These ways or procedures include: Changing Casts: There are some casts within the movie that do not act according to the specific persons that they represent. The film shows strong performance of Heston C. as Moses as he makes The Ten Commandments pleasing to its audience. Heston is known for his masculinity in all his roles, this may help explain the differences between his version of Moses comparing it to the real Moses in the Bible indicating that the role was played with a lot of passion and enthusiasm. Batto (31) argues that in Exodus, Moses is the hero of the story. However there is little resemblance of the aspects of a hero during the classical period (Moses’ reign) to specific western countries especially during the 1950s (Craig & Elaine 64). Furthermore, Batto (33) states that Heston possesses all the traits of a Hero in the film; confidence, wisdom, courage, power, and strength. On the other hand, it is important to note that there is inadequate evidence depicting Moses as such as person. Moses in the Bible stammered to the extent that he had to use Aaron to assist him in passing God’s message across to Pharaoh (Exodus 4:10, New International Version). Therefore, there was a poor selection of a cast who would have tried to bring the qualities of Moses to reality in order to avoid distortion of information or messages that is already in the public domain (Dozeman, 30). In this respect, there is need to change the cast to someone who can provide an accurate resemblance to Moses in the Bible. Changing the Costumes and Locations: Evidently, the costumes used in the film depict a scene of the classical period. However, there is need to change the costumes in order to enhance the popularity as well as turnover of the sales in respect to the contemporary environment. The film will apply current creativity and contemporary style of living. Consequently, this would mean that casts for the king and king’s men and family needs to portray the kind of extravagant life that Pharaoh lived in the context of the contemporary environment. This would mean that there should be higher expenses to meet such kind of lifestyles. Besides, in order to given the actual picture of the plot, the play should be filmed within ancient towns and cities in the world. The reason is that the classical lifestyle is very different from the contemporary lifestyle. Moreover, the classical people lived in houses designed differently from the contemporary environment. It is important to change the locations of the film to encompass contemporary environment. Despite the fact that the film was acted in classical time, it is important to understand that the movie is not an all-inclusive movie. The only way of making the movie all-inclusive is to change its perception to the classical environment. Changing the costumes and the locations to fit a contemporary environment will definitely enhance the popularity of the film. Funds to meet the required Expenses On the basis of the aforementioned ways or proposals, it is important to note that there will be more funds required. The funds will be used for paying additional characters to replace the existing ones and meet other expenses such as the backgrounds, costumes, and other requirements. In this respect, developing the remade film may require approximately over US$ 80,000 for the purposes of paying the characters and meeting other expenses. However, there is need for the concerned parties to identify the trend in changes of prices in addition to taking into considerations the current inflation rates. Development of a film is an expensive project that requires adequate finance and time as the main resources. For one to produce a good film there is need to have adequate financial and time resources, which will enhance both casting and meeting the working capital of the said project. Conclusion The film on “The Ten Commandments” is interesting and most people tune in to see it every Easter since it has the events that occurred before, during, and after the Passover feast (Batto 37). After reading the passages and studying the film closely, one will find out that it is very interesting despite the many noticeable changes made earlier. Changes made in the original firm may result into an increase in the quality of production or providing a more relevant background for understanding the specific themes within the film. Nevertheless, with growing technological aspects it is important for every director and producer to ensure that the films and videos produced are compatible with many devices. Work cited. Dozeman, Thomas B. "The wilderness and salvation history in the Hagar story." Journal of Biblical Literature 117.1 (2008): 23-43. Bartholomew, Craig G., and Elaine Botha, eds. Out of Egypt: Biblical Theology and Biblical Interpretation.vol 5 Zondervan, 2004: 54-72. Batto, Bernard F. "The Reed Sea: Requiescat in Pace." Journal of Biblical Literature 102.1 (2003): 27-37. Read More