This Iconic Director Made a Sweeping Epic, and Then Waited 30 Years and Made It All Over Again

Despite the film having come out nearly seven decades ago, The Ten Commandmentsremains a quintessential classic. Annual airings around the Passover and Easter holidays have kept the film relevant in the minds of each generation and serve as a glorious look back at Hollywood’s Golden Age. Filled to the brim with excess and talent, the picture truly is a wonderful personification of the career of director Cecil B. DeMille. Renowned in his day and revered still by modern directors, DeMille mastered both the silent and sound eras of film. DeMille’s expansive career touched just about every genre, from Sunset Boulevard to The Greatest Show on Earth and, of course, The Ten Commandments. However, the 1956 classic that audiences know and love wasn’t the esteemed filmmaker’s first take on the story of Moses. In fact, DeMille had already adapted the story for the screen before remaking it decades later with Charlton Heston.