The Ten Commandments 4K UHD (1956)

[Alashington]

The blu is more colorful. Perhaps the 4K has more definition, but the colors are more subdued.

[regeyer]

Originally Posted by Alashington

The blu is more colorful. Perhaps the 4K has more definition, but the colors are more subdued.

I'm sorry, but the 4K UHD blows the Blu-Ray out of the water. As I stated previously, it looks amazing. I'm not sure what you're watching these discs on, but on my setup there is no question as to which is better.

[SmittysGelato]

The Steelbook was on sale at Amazon.ca over the holidays. Both my first order and the replacement arrived with super scratched up shrink wrap. Shrink wrap usually does a pretty good job of preventing scratches from penetrating to the surface of the cover, but in this case, both copies had some scratching on them. Not to mention I don't like how the leaf inside has a plastic clip to secure it in place. I can see that breaking easily. So I sent this one back for a refund. Too bad, it had pretty nice over art. I will just stick with the amoray release. Lately I have been preferring steelbooks because plastic cases tend to crack and have pieces break off of them, but luckily my amoray copy seems to be in pretty good shape.

[Hbx360]

Originally Posted by SmittysGelato

The Steelbook was on sale at Amazon.ca over the holidays. Both my first order and the replacement arrived with super scratched up shrink wrap. Shrink wrap usually does a pretty good job of preventing scratches from penetrating to the surface of the cover, but in this case, both copies had some scratching on them. Not to mention I don't like how the leaf inside has a plastic clip to secure it in place. I can see that breaking easily. So I sent this one back for a refund. Too bad, it had pretty nice over art. I will just stick with the amoray release. Lately I have been preferring steelbooks because plastic cases tend to crack and have pieces break off of them, but luckily my amoray copy seems to be in pretty good shape.

For you, was the digital code sheet under the j-card or inside the case. One advantage of this version versus the standard 4K is the inclusion of the 1923 version.

I'm liking the squared plastic case that Paramount has been using with their recent releases. I've also seen it with a few Disney and Kino Lorber releases. Have not had any cracks or chipped pieces with those cases yet. Not a huge steelbook fan as getting the discs out is more annoying. And at least in Canada, some of these Paramount steelbooks are not rare at all.

[SmittysGelato]

Originally Posted by Hbx360

For you, was the digital code sheet under the j-card or inside the case. One advantage of this version versus the standard 4K is the inclusion of the 1923 version.

I'm liking the squared plastic case that Paramount has been using with their recent releases. I've also seen it with a few Disney and Kino Lorber releases. Have not had any cracks or chipped pieces with those cases yet. Not a huge steelbook fan as getting the discs out is more annoying. And at least in Canada, some of these Paramount steelbooks are not rare at all.

Yeah, the digital code was under the J-card. That is the first time I have seen a steelbook do that.

[Hbx360]

Originally Posted by SmittysGelato

Yeah, the digital code was under the J-card. That is the first time I have seen a steelbook do that.

Thanks for confirming. That's an odd placement indeed.

[Torgon]

Just picked up the steelbook from Movies Unlimited for $22.09. Used the free shipping code for the month and it made it a solid deal. Still $40+ other sites I’ve looked at.

[heavyharmonies]

Originally Posted by Torgon

Just picked up the steelbook from Movies Unlimited for $22.09. Used the free shipping code for the month and it made it a solid deal. Still $40+ other sites I’ve looked at.

Is it a general code or user-specific? If the former, can you post it?

Thanks.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by heavyharmonies

Is it a general code or user-specific? If the former, can you post it?

Thanks.

General for the month of January: MUJAN25

I maintain a MU thread in the deals section if you ever want to see the latest codes, or any deals that people may post

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=353716

[McCrutchy]

I watched this last night, not realizing that ABC in the US aired it not then (or this weekend) but on the 12th. Then, I wake up on Easter Monday to find out that Pope Francis has died.

I think it looks great except for the overzealous DNR and / or whatever is causing the blurring / smearing in motion. I also wish Paramount had included the mono (in lossless) on the 4K UHD, though I forgot that there is a lossy mono track on the Blu-rays.

I'm re-watching right now with the audio commentary, which has a ton of information from Katherine Orrison. Thankfully, it's also been included on the 4K UHD disc, and comes with English, French and German subtitles.

I hadn't seen the movie in years and sort of forgot how incredible it is. I know it's the old chestnut, but they really don't make them like this anymore.

P.S. I forgot that both Anne Baxter and Yvonne De Carlo were hot for Moses...I guess he really did have to make some tough decisions.

EDIT: I misread the Blu-ray cover. The Blu-rays have a lossy 2.0 surround track, not the original mono.

[apricissimus]

Originally Posted by McCrutchy

I watched this last night, not realizing that ABC in the US aired it not then (or this weekend) but on the 12th. Then, I wake up on Easter Monday to find out that Pope Francis has died.

I think it looks great except for the overzealous DNR and / or whatever is causing the blurring / smearing in motion. I also wish Paramount had included the mono (in lossless) on the 4K UHD, though I forgot that there is a lossy mono track on the Blu-rays.

I'm re-watching right now with the audio commentary, which has a ton of information from Katherine Orrison. Thankfully, it's also been included on the 4K UHD disc, and comes with English, French and German subtitles.

I hadn't seen the movie in years and sort of forgot how incredible it is. I know it's the old chestnut, but they really don't make them like this anymore.

P.S. I forgot that both Anne Baxter and Yvonne De Carlo were hot for Moses...I guess he really did have to make some tough decisions.

I'm still more impressed by a movie like this or Ben-Hur than I am by modern big budget CGI spectacles.

[BNex99]

Originally Posted by McCrutchy

I think it looks great except for the overzealous DNR and / or whatever is causing the blurring / smearing in motion. I also wish Paramount had included the mono (in lossless) on the 4K UHD, though I forgot that there is a lossy mono track on the Blu-rays.

If you mean the English 2.0 track on the Blu-ray, that's most likely a stereo downmix of the 5.1. At any rate, it's definitely not mono.

I don't know when the movie was first remixed for stereo, but I don't think the mono has been included on an official release since the very earliest VHS release, if even then.

[McCrutchy]

Originally Posted by BNex99

If you mean the English 2.0 track on the Blu-ray, that's most likely a stereo downmix of the 5.1. At any rate, it's definitely not mono.

I don't know when the movie was first remixed for stereo, but I don't think the mono has been included on an official release since the very earliest VHS release, if even then.

You're right, I misread one of the Blu-ray back covers. I'm not sure why they bothered to include a Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround remix on the Blu-rays, but perhaps the original mono audio was never remastered or not available. It looks like the only release that has the mono might be the 1981 CED release, while all the Laserdisc releases from 1982 onwards have at least stereo audio, so that may be a clue.

[mechamacbeth]

Originally Posted by McCrutchy

I watched this last night, not realizing that ABC in the US aired it not then (or this weekend) but on the 12th. Then, I wake up on Easter Monday to find out that Pope Francis has died.

Same. My wife and I watch it every Easter. She calls me from work today and asked if I'd heard of his passing. Now it's time to give Conclave a rewatch.

Originally Posted by apricissimus

I'm still more impressed by a movie like this or Ben-Hur than I am by modern big budget CGI spectacles.

Absolutely. Sure some of the special effects look dated, but the scale of the sets, the thousands of extras, and the incredible cast they assembled is astonishing to this day. You would think that with the tools they have now, we would see more films of this caliber in our time. But I look at a movie like The Marvels, Snow White, and Justice League and wonder where all the money went.
I remember when Titanic was released, and all the buzz about it costing $200 million, but you can see that on the screen. It's very rare to have that feeling nowadays.

[trespoochies]

Originally Posted by McCrutchy

I watched this last night, not realizing that ABC in the US aired it not then (or this weekend) but on the 12th. Then, I wake up on Easter Monday to find out that Pope Francis has died.

I think it looks great except for the overzealous DNR and / or whatever is causing the blurring / smearing in motion. I also wish Paramount had included the mono (in lossless) on the 4K UHD, though I forgot that there is a lossy mono track on the Blu-rays.

I'm re-watching right now with the audio commentary, which has a ton of information from Katherine Orrison. Thankfully, it's also been included on the 4K UHD disc, and comes with English, French and German subtitles.

I hadn't seen the movie in years and sort of forgot how incredible it is. I know it's the old chestnut, but they really don't make them like this anymore.

P.S. I forgot that both Anne Baxter and Yvonne De Carlo were hot for Moses...I guess he really did have to make some tough decisions.

EDIT: I misread the Blu-ray cover. The Blu-rays have a lossy 2.0 surround track, not the original mono.

Originally Posted by mechamacbeth

Same. My wife and I watch it every Easter. She calls me from work today and asked if I'd heard of his passing. Now it's time to give Conclave a rewatch.


Absolutely. Sure some of the special effects look dated, but the scale of the sets, the thousands of extras, and the incredible cast they assembled is astonishing to this day. You would think that with the tools they have now, we would see more films of this caliber in our time. But I look at a movie like The Marvels, Snow White, and Justice League and wonder where all the money went.
I remember when Titanic was released, and all the buzz about it costing $200 million, but you can see that on the screen. It's very rare to have that feeling nowadays.

I remember watching this on ABC as a kid, and excited that I was able to stay up so late watching it. What's funny is now that we have this great 4K disc of it, I still manage to make time to see it on ABC. It's a great reminder of my childhood.

Odd thing is that this year I missed the broadcast, so a 4k viewing took its spot for this year.

[jtu128]

Originally Posted by apricissimus

I'm still more impressed by a movie like this or Ben-Hur than I am by modern big budget CGI spectacles.

Well yeah, there is something special when it's real vs a computer creation. Unfortunately due to costs and general difficulty we'll never see it ever again. As they say, they don't make them like they used to.

[PhysicalMediaMaestro]

Here's the best line of the movie:

"His god is God."

[The Admiral]

Originally Posted by PhysicalMediaMaestro

Here's the best line of the movie:

"His god is God."

Also:

And Moses said to his Father
'Get on your bike, let's go have a burger"

[Shane Rollins]

First, for what I came here to say. Does anyone have caps of the 1923 movie? A/B caps of the 2006 DVD and the Blu-ray would be best for my convenience, but even if it's just Blu-ray caps I'd still love it.

Originally Posted by Alashington

The blu is more colorful. Perhaps the 4K has more definition, but the colors are more subdued.

Originally Posted by regeyer

I'm sorry, but the 4K UHD blows the Blu-Ray out of the water. As I stated previously, it looks amazing. I'm not sure what you're watching these discs on, but on my setup there is no question as to which is better.

The Blu-ray is more vibrant. However, the 4K is more accurate. The Blu-ray was made between 2008 and 2011, and it was definitely made with late 2000s movie-watching in mind. For the 4K, they went back to the same raw 6K scans, and did new 4K restoration, color timing, and 4K mastering. While I can't find out what color depth the original scan had, the fact that the Dolby Vision is good and not half-assed makes me think it was at least 16-bit.

The Blu-ray is still great, but the 4K still smokes it.

Originally Posted by Hbx360

One advantage of this version versus the standard 4K is the inclusion of the 1923 version.

This is the main reason I want the SB - or the box set, or the Digibook - is to have the 1923 film on something better than DVD.

On the bonus features, it has the color footage (I forget whether it's two-strip or tinted) of the Exodus and the parting of the Red Sea, and while I haven't A/B'd the color footage with the main feature (which looks like a 1:1 rip of an 80s master tape), the color footage looks truly dreadful. Does anyone know where that color footage came from?

Originally Posted by McCrutchy

I watched this last night, not realizing that ABC in the US aired it not then (or this weekend) but on the 12th. Then, I wake up on Easter Monday to find out that Pope Francis has died.

I can top that. The morning after I first saw the film, Charlton Heston died. The headline was literally "Charlton Heston, whom you just watched on The Ten Commandments last night, right here on 6ABC, has died." To this day, the two things I think of when I think of The Ten Commandments is eight-year-old me blown away by the movie at 11:44 at night (probably the latest I had ever stayed up at that point), and the same eight-year-old me making a pot of coffee the next morning when the news about Heston's death broke.

Originally Posted by McCrutchy

I think it looks great except for the overzealous DNR and / or whatever is causing the blurring / smearing in motion.

Some have said DNR, others have said encode issues, the latter as a result of dropping a visually demanding, four-hour film onto one disc. Whatever the issue, it's nowhere near deal-breaking for me, but I do hope that when Paramount redoes this at some point in the future, they put it on two discs, because it will take a good transfer and make it even better.

Originally Posted by McCrutchy

I also wish Paramount had included the mono (in lossless) on the 4K UHD, though I forgot that there is a lossy mono track on the Blu-rays.

EDIT: I misread the Blu-ray cover. The Blu-rays have a lossy 2.0 surround track, not the original mono.

Originally Posted by BNex99

If you mean the English 2.0 track on the Blu-ray, that's most likely a stereo downmix of the 5.1. At any rate, it's definitely not mono.

I don't know when the movie was first remixed for stereo, but I don't think the mono has been included on an official release since the very earliest VHS release, if even then.

Originally Posted by McCrutchy

You're right, I misread one of the Blu-ray back covers. I'm not sure why they bothered to include a Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround remix on the Blu-rays, but perhaps the original mono audio was never remastered or not available. It looks like the only release that has the mono might be the 1981 CED release, while all the Laserdisc releases from 1982 onwards have at least stereo audio, so that may be a clue.

1956: Released in six-track stereo (70mm), three-track discrete LCR stereo (some 35mm prints), Perspecta stereo (some 35mm prints), and mono (some 35mm prints and all 16mm prints).

60s rereleases: info unknown

1973-?: The Ten Commandments plays on TV in mono. I have no clue whether this is the OG mono track or a fold-down.

1978: The Ten Commandments mastered for DiscoVision laserdisc, but there's controversy as to whether it was actually released. Again, no one knows whether the mono track was the actual mono track or a fold-down. This transfer was later used on all 1979-early 1990 home video releases, with the mono track used up to an unknown point in the 80s.

1979: First confirmed home video releases of The Ten Commandments on home video: a two-tape Big Box set on Beta and VHS for sales, and a two-tape set on Beta and VHS for rental from Fotomat. One copy of the former is known to exist.

1982: Stereo laserdisc arrives. There's many possibilities for the sound:

1. Six-track mix downmixed to 2.0 stereo.
2. Three-track mix somehow mixed to 2.0 stereo.
3. Perspecta mix somehow mixed to 2.0 stereo.
4. 1956 mono track upmixed to stereo.
5. A mono downmix of one of the three stereo tracks was up mixed to 2.0 stereo.

198?: Stereo Beta and VHS tapes arrive. I'm 99% sure it's the same stereo track as the laserdisc, but there's at least one case (Casablanca) where day-and-date tapes and discs had different tracks. Also, because some Beta and VHS releases had different sound specs, I wouldn't rule out the VHS and Beta having different release dates, since at least one other Paramount release (Looking For Mr. Goodbar) had a normal beta and a HiFi VHS in print at the same time, and at least one film from another studio (Star Wars) had a normal stereo VHS and a normal mono Beta in print at the same time.

1989: Released in Dolby Stereo 70mm Six Track (the same pre-DD 5.1 setup that Apocalypse Now had) on 70mm prints, and 4/2/4 Dolby Stereo on 35mm prints. When this mix was created, they based it on either the LCR mix or the Perspecta mix, both from 1956. The left and right tracks were isolated to the left and right channels, the center track was matrixed between the left and right tracks, and the back surround track was left blank. (Of note, and there's caps out there of this, the 70mm prints were "Super VistaVision", and presented The Ten Commandments at 2.20:1. People were furious. Along with the review of the Gone With The Wind Blu-ray, which includes the reviewer's memory of that film's 70mm rerelease, they make a good case for why aspect ratio butchery should be avoided at all costs.)

1990: Rereleased on Beta and VHS with the 1989 restoration. (For some reason I remember a 1989 laserdisc, but I can't find it anywhere online.) The Dolby Surround track is the 4/2/4 Dolby Stereo track from the 1989 run, which itself is a recreation of one of two three-track mixes the film had. I noticed a lot of hard switching when I played my tape the last time, and I remember the right side was so active and the left so inactive that I genuinely questioned whether the tape or my setup was somehow defective.

This is the 2.0 stereo surround track on all 1989-onward tapes, all stereo tracks on laserdiscs, all stereo tracks on the DVDs, and the stereo track on the Blu-ray.

1998: 5.1 track drops on the laserdisc. I don't have this disc, so I can't comment on the track or its fate.

1999: The Ten Commandments drops on DVD with a 5.1 and 2.0 tracks. Since we've established the 2.0 track has been the same since 1990, I'll now move to the 5.1 track. I know of at least one other release (Gone With The Wind, 1998) where the 5.1 track on the laserdisc was different from the 5.1 track on the DVD. As such, I can't confirm that the 5.1 track on the 1999 DVD of The Ten Commandments is the same as the one on the laserdisc.

2004: New discs, with arguably a new master, are released. Again, a 5.1 track and a 2.0 track are included.

2006: Both 2004 discs are packed in with a new disc of the 1923 film in a massive Digipack.

2011: Blu-ray drops. In the six-disc box set, the same three discs from 2004/2006 are included on DVD. The Blu-ray contains a DTS-HDMA 5.1 track and the same Dolby Digital 2.0 track as before. Many claim this 5.1 track is a six-track mix in a 5.1 container, but they don't make clear whether it was the "five in front, one in back" mix from the 50s and 60s, or the 5.1 mix created for the 1989 reissue. Also, with the 1998, 1999, and 2004 releases, that makes it even more confusing. It's a good track, so I can't honestly complain, but it would be nice to know where it came from. And well over 90% of it is in the front anyway, with minimal spillover for some music, some effects, and some dialogue.

April 2021: 4K drops, with only the 2011 DTS-HDMA 5.1 track. The included Blu-rays are the same discs from 2011, with both the lossless 5.1 and the lossy 2.0. This became Paramount's MO, as they continued releasing 4Ks like this for a while, most notably Blue Hawaii, which had a lossless Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and a lossy DD 2.0 on the Blu-ray. (They also change lossless codecs like a girl changes clothes.)

November 2021: The same 4K from April, the same Blu-rays of the 1956 film from 2011/2021, and the same Blu-ray of the 1923 film from 2011, all get packed in a SteelBook.

At least in the US, I can find no confirmed releases with the 1956 mono track intact. Not any old tapes, not any laserdiscs, not the videodisc, and most definitely not any of the 1990-onward releases with a 2.0 track.

Originally Posted by trespoochies

I remember watching this on ABC as a kid, and excited that I was able to stay up so late watching it. What's funny is now that we have this great 4K disc of it, I still manage to make time to see it on ABC. It's a great reminder of my childhood.

Odd thing is that this year I missed the broadcast, so a 4k viewing took its spot for this year.

One, I do the same thing.

Two, I missed the broadcast too, so from 1 AM (when Saturday Night Live ended) to 5:30 AM (when a local show came on), I watched the 4K. Blacked out the screen during the musical bits, and even got a very late dinner (or a very early lunch, I forget what my sleep was like that day) during the intermission.

Originally Posted by apricissimus

I'm still more impressed by a movie like this or Ben-Hur than I am by modern big budget CGI spectacles.

Originally Posted by jtu128

Well yeah, there is something special when it's real vs a computer creation. Unfortunately due to costs and general difficulty we'll never see it ever again. As they say, they don't make them like they used to.

Even when you knew old movies weren't real, you knew they weren't just some fake, assembly line BS like we have today. Even as a kid I could see the matte lines, the poor rear-screen work, and the seams (for lack of a better word) when I watched this on my 26-inch Trinitron from ten feet away at eight years old. It still absolutely blew my mind.

Now as I look at my TV, I'm being bombarded with commercials for the new Fantastic Four movie, and alternately turning to my VCRs which have Pulp Fiction and Greed, and my Blu-ray player which has Ben-Hur 25. There's just a certain magic about older movies, where you know they weren't just filming a person, a green screen, and a tennis ball on a stick.

Originally Posted by PhysicalMediaMaestro

Here's the best line of the movie:

"His god is God."

I'm so happy someone finally got this quote right.

I never got involved in the several "god" versus "God" debates on this site, but this is the quote I'd have pointed to. "god" is definitely accurate when someone is not acknowledging or explicitly denying the divinity of certain deities, including but not limited to the Christian God. Rameses does exactly this for three and a half hours of the movie, up until he watches the Red Sea swallow his whole army. When he finally returns home to Nefretiri, who's always hated Rameses and revels in his misery, he's forced to admit to her, "His god...is...God." He's not realized the error of his ways, nor has he truly acknowledged God's authority and superiority over him. He's a narcissist. All he acknowledges in this moment is they got him, and that no matter what orders or edicts he sends out, there's at least one other person who will always have more power and more control than him, and it crushes him to know and admit that he's not the king of the world that he fancied himself as.

[Otter0911]

You forgot the CED Release of The Ten Commandments. Released at the same time as the DiscoVision