--- title: "The Ten Commandments: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-ten-commandments/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-ten-commandments" critics_score: 68 critics_reviews: 12 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Ten Commandments (1956): what the critics said Critics' score 68 from 12 reviews: 8 positive, 3 mixed, 1 negative. Most critics find The Ten Commandments the Hollywood epic working at full stretch, and eight of the twelve reviews recommend it. The praise lands almost entirely on the spectacle: the thousands of extras, the sets, the parting of the Red Sea, the exodus and the tenth plague are singled out again and again. DeMille’s confidence in his own showmanship is admired even by those who find the material coarse, and Charlton Heston’s Moses is thought properly heroic. The reservations are just as consistent. The dialogue is called inane, the acting shallow, and the near four-hour running time wearying; several reviews enjoy it as camp rather than scripture. Anne Baxter divides opinion, praised by Slant Magazine for carrying the film and faulted by Variety for histrionics. The spread is wide, running from two near-perfect notices to one outright dismissal, with The Guardian reading it chiefly as Cold War propaganda and marking it down for its politics. ## Los Angeles Times — Kevin Thomas Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 12 April 1998. DeMille’s final film is one of his most stirring and spectacular, a Victorian melodrama with the pictorial grandeur of the silent era. The reviewer highlights DeMille as a master storyteller and entertainer, praising Charlton Heston as a truly heroic Moses despite the film’s occasional prurient appeal. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-apr-12-tv-38406-story.html) ## The Hollywood Reporter — James Powers Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 7 December 2014. The film is the summit of screen achievement, a monumental production that is entertaining, uplifting and an unsurpassed achievement beyond ordinary critical standards. It masterfully combines technical advances with one of the greatest stories, delivering a profound spiritual message of liberty under God. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/ten-commandments-1956-movie-review-754677/) ## Empire — Tom Tunney Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. The critic praises DeMille's spectacle and self-confidence in delivering lavish sequences, but notes the crassness and inane dialogue; ultimately calls it a great film for its monumental scale and entertainment value despite flaws. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/ten-commandments-review/) ## Radio Times — Peter Freedman Rating 4/5. The critic views it as the Hollywood epic at its peak, savored for magnificent set pieces and vast extras rather than dialogue or characters; highlights Oscar nominations and special effects like the Red Sea parting. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-i8cxyx/the-ten-commandments/) ## Slant Magazine — Eric Henderson Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 30 March 2021. The 4K restoration makes the epic look better than ever, with standout camp from Anne Baxter carrying the film through its longueurs to the majestic Red Sea sequence. It remains a grand, kitschy Sunday-school pageant elevated by ornate spectacle and a stentorian cast. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/review-cecil-b-demilles-the-ten-commandments-on-paramount-4k-ultra-hd/) ## The New York Times Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 3 April 2011. The 1956 film remains DeMille’s best-known and most successful work, a barn-burning melodrama centered on two men in love with the same woman rather than purely religious themes. The reviewer singles out the epic choreography of thousands of extras and the imaginative depiction of the tenth plague as particularly dazzling. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/03/movies/homevideo/cecil-b-demilles-ten-commandments-on-blu-ray.html) ## Time Out — SG Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 10 September 2012. The script and acting are shallow and unmemorable except for a few performers, but the director's vulgarity and seriousness give it daft power; praises the exodus scene and one dialogue scene while dismissing most as arid nonsense. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-ten-commandments) ## The New Yorker — John McCarten Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 10 November 1956. DeMille delivers a high, wide, occasionally handsome spectacle full of coarse secular effects and hokum that fills in biblical gaps with dramatic license. The reviewer praises the marvelous visual set pieces like the parting of the Red Sea but notes the nearly four-hour length makes it wearying if one is particular about hokum. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1956/11/17/de-mille-at-the-old-stand) ## Variety — Variety Staff Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 31 December 1955. The super-spectacular is statistically intimidating with its massive budget and cast but remains conventional as art; spectacle fills the eyes while emotional tug is sometimes lacking. The reviewer singles out the Passover supper sequence for its beauty and notes the film is too long, with performances generally meeting requirements except for Anne Baxter’s histrionics. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1955/film/reviews/the-ten-commandments-2-1200417975/) ## The Guardian Rating C+ / C–. 18 December 2008. The critic views the film primarily as a striking artefact of 1950s Cold War propaganda, equating the Hebrews' struggle with American anti-communist ideals under DeMille's conservative vision. It singles out the epic scale, location shooting and special effects for their visual impact while noting historical inaccuracies and the heavy-handed political messaging. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/dec/18/ten-commandments-demille-mccarthy) ## Collider — Matt Goldberg Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 30 March 2021. The critic finds the 1956 epic a towering achievement that draws viewers in completely despite its length and period style, praising its unapologetic confidence and focus on human stakes over preachiness. [Read the review](https://collider.com/the-ten-commandments-4k-review/) ## Paste — Amy Glynn Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 23 June 2023. The critic calls the film the dictionary definition of epic with its massive sets, cast and production values, noting it feels dated and overblown yet remains a magnificent, eye-popping spectacle that is culturally essential. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/1950s/best-movies-1950s) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/the-ten-commandments.md