HOLLYWOOD, CALIF. – For sheer pageantry and spectacle, few motion pictures can claim to equal the splendor of renowned director Cecil B. DeMille’s (Ben Hur) 1956 epic THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. To commemorate the 55th anniversary of this beloved masterpiece, on March 29, 2011 Paramount Home Entertainment will release a fully restored version in high definition for the first time ever in an extravagant six-disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo gift set, as well as in a two-disc Blu-ray and two-disc DVD. DeMille’s last motion picture made Charlton Heston a superstar and remains a cinematic triumph and perennial fan-favorite. Filmed in Egypt and the Sinai with one of the biggest sets ever constructed for a motion picture, THE TEN COMMANDMENTS tells the story of the life of Moses (Heston). Once favored in the Pharaoh’s (Yul Brynner) household, Moses turned his back on a privileged life to lead his people to freedom. With a rare on-screen introduction by Cecil B. DeMille, this unforgettable movie experience is sure to be enjoyed and treasured by the entire family for years to come.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS Blu-ray/DVD Combo gift set comes packaged in a stunning limited edition box featuring an image of the Red Sea that parts when the box is opened to reveal two tablets, which encase all six discs in the set. The set also includes a commemorative photo and archive book, a new 75-minute, in-depth documentary about the film and its impact, original costume sketches, the 1923 silent film The Ten Commandments (also available for the first time on Blu-ray), international premiere photos, production notes from Cecil B. DeMille, correspondence from Charlton Heston, feature commentary and more.
The fully-restored version of THE TEN COMMANDMENTS will also be available in a two-disc Blu-ray and two-disc DVD, both of which include commentary, newsreel footage of the film’s New York premiere and trailers.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS Blu-ray/DVD Gift Set
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS Blu-ray is presented in 1080p high definition with English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English 2.0 Surround Dolby Digital, French 2.0 Mono Dolby Digital, Spanish 2.0 Mono Dolby Digital and Portuguese 2.0 Surround Dolby Digital with English, English SDH, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles. The DVD is presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 televisions with Dolby Digital English 5.1 Surround, English 2.0 Surround, French Mono, Spanish Mono and Portuguese 2.0 Surround with English, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles. Disc contents are as follows:
Blu-ray
Disc One:
· 1956 Feature Part 1
- Commentary by Katherine Orrison, author of Written in Stone: Making Cecil B. DeMille’s Epic The Ten Commandments
Disc Two:
· 1956 Feature Part 2
- Commentary by Katherine Orrison
- Newsreel: The Ten Commandments Premiere in New York
- Theatrical Trailers
Disc Three:
- 1923 Feature
- Commentary by Katherine Orrison
- Hand-tinted Footage of the Exodus and Parting of the Red Sea Sequence (from 1923 feature)
- Photo Gallery—1923
- The Ten Commandments: Making Miracles—75-minute documentary
- Photo Gallery—1956
DVD
Disc One:
· 1956 Feature Part 1
- Commentary by Katherine Orrison, author of Written in Stone: Making Cecil B. DeMille’s Epic The Ten Commandments
Disc Two:
· 1956 Feature Part 2
- Commentary by Katherine Orrison
- Newsreel: The Ten Commandments Premiere in New York
- Theatrical Trailers
Disc Three:
· The Ten Commandments: Making Miracles—75-minute documentary
- Photo Gallery—1956
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS Blu-ray & DVD
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS two-disc Blu-ray is presented in 1080p high definition with English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English 2.0 Surround Dolby Digital, French 2.0 Mono Dolby Digital, Spanish 2.0 Mono Dolby Digital and Portuguese 2.0 Surround Dolby Digital with English, English SDH, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles. The two-disc DVD is presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 televisions with Dolby Digital English 5.1 Surround, English 2.0 Surround, French Mono, Spanish Mono and Portuguese 2.0 Surround with English, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles. Both two-disc sets include the following (in HD on the Blu-ray):
Disc One:
- 1956 Feature Part 1
- Commentary by Katherine Orrison, author of Written in Stone: Making Cecil B. DeMille’s Epic The Ten Commandments
Disc Two:
· 1956 Feature Part 2
- Commentary by Katherine Orrison
- Newsreel: The Ten Commandments Premiere in New York
- Theatrical Trailers
Synopsis:
To escape the edict of Egypt’s Pharoah, Rameses I, condemning all first-born Hebrew males, the infant Moses is set adrift on the Nile in a reed basket. Saved by the pharaoh’s daughter Bithiah, he is adopted by her and brought up in the court of her brother, Pharaoh Seti. Moses gains Seti’s favor and the love of the throne princess Nefertiri, as well as the hatred of Seti’s son, Rameses. When his Hebrew heritage is revealed, Moses is cast out of Egypt, and makes his way across the desert where he marries, has a son and is commanded by God to return to Egypt to free the Hebrews from slavery. In Egypt Moses’s fiercest enemy proves to be not Rameses, but someone near to him who can ‘harden his heart’.
