The Ten Commandments (Yet Again)

The first in a series of twelve films called the Epic Stories of the Bible (presented by Promenade Pictures) is coming out in theaters this week (in the U.S.) : The Ten Commandments. Unavoidably, it will draw comparisons to Dreamworks’ Prince of Egypt (1998) which in my opinion was already a great animation film (vastly underrated ; I saw it five times in theaters– a personal record!– and was moved to tears each time during the burning bush scene. I think it echoed my own vocational struggle at the time as a seminarian).

The new film’s trailer (found here) shows glimpses of material copied almost directly from Dreamworks’ version, from the burning bush itself to a child’s wonder during the crossing of the sea). Hopefully, this one will stick even closer to the biblical story. We see Moses meeting Ramses with his brother Aaron this time around (see Exodus 5:1) and not with his wife Tziporrah! Also, the story extends beyond the crossing of the sea to the actual reception of the ten commandments.

And the cast? Ben Kingsley as the narrator, Christian Slater as Moses, Alfred Molina as Ramses and Elliott Gould as God.

Here’s a short “making of” clip found on GodTube: