Films/DVD Asylum

Posted by Audiophilander (A) on December 13, 2001 at 09:40:20

In Reply to: Controversial.... posted by AudioHead on December 10, 2001 at 09:46:02:

... but overall the AFI list is dead-on. IMHO, neither of Cicil B. DeMille's "The Ten Commandments" (silent '23 or sound '56) is deserving of a slot on the top 10, but then again, I'm no fan of pompous religious films which Hollywoodize history or mythology through saccharin preachiness and spectacle. Perhaps the silent version of "The Ten Commandments" deserves recognition as a passionate undertaking at great expense (i.e., in 1920's dollars) and certainly DeMille's lost city should be preserved and restored (see link), but the hammy performance of Charltan Heston in the 1956 version combined with some of the stagey sets (i.e., painted backdrops) and dialogue hasn't aged well from my perspective. His best acting was achieved in the hands of Orson Welles in "Touch of Evil" made around the same time. Although believing Heston as a Mexican detective is somewhat a stretch, his understated acting was also stretched by the role and deserving of praise.

AuPh

• The "Lost City"