Lancaster is superb as the bearer of the DIVINE TEN!
Reginald D. Garrard | Camilla, GA USA | 12/15/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Originally aired as a CBS miniseries, this Italian-British-American production features a subdued Burt Lancaster as a man struggling with the heavenly responsibility of liberator of the children of Israel. Backed by an international cast and a magnificent Ennio Morricone score, this is a rarity as a Biblical epic, one devoid of the big-budgeted special effects and over-the-top acting so characteristic of the genre. It tells one of the most important and essential stories of all time in a poignant and challenging way. A great film for fans of the actor and great storytelling, "Moses" transcends over all others."
Good, but the complete miniseries is what I'm waiting for.
rnorton828 | Riverbend, IL | 10/01/2004
(3 out of 5 stars)
"I remember watching this program during the mid-1970's, when it was broadcast under the title "Moses: The Lawgiver," produced by Vincenzo Labella, who would later produce Franco Zeffirelli's miniseries "Jesus of Nazareth." What we have on this DVD is a portion of that miniseries edited down from 6 hours to 141 minutes. Why? This would have made a great 2-DVD set with the complete, uncut miniseries, just as the "Jesus of Nazareth" DVD set was. What you do get to see here is a great performance by Burt Lancaster as Moses. Anthony Quale also shines as Moses' brother Aaron. This program follows Moses from his birth and upbringing in the Egyptian court to his exile in Midian where he meets his wife Zipporah (Irene Papas). Then after he is called by God at the burning bush, Moses returns to Egypt to demand the release of his people. We then witness the ten plagues, the Exodus (although the parting of the Red Sea doesn't quite look as "majestic" as the effect in "The Ten Commandments"), and the Ten Commandments and the Golden Calf. If this had been the complete miniseries, I would have been willing to give 5 stars. But with this edit, three will have to do."
I have both miniseries and edited
Betty L. Miller | Hendersonville, NC | 08/27/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Let me say first--U can get the complete miniseries of "MOSES THE LAWGIVER". I playing it in my dvd player as I'm writing this. I always wanted that and wondered how I could get that. They have it in Europe but not here in America. and the reason is, they have the miniseries in PAL format and the edited in america's format. so I went ahead and order the edited one. and before it came, I found out that if you have the right dvd player u can play Europe movies. Then I went ahead and ordered a dvd player that plays both PAL and NTSC formats. Then ordered the miniseries from Amazon in Europe. AND IT'S MUCH BETTER!!!!"
Just As Good As The Ten Commandments!
rnorton828 | 10/08/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The Ten Commandments starring Charlton Heston is an excellent movie but this lesser known movie about Moses starring Burt Lancaster is also good and he also was very good as Moses and I also liked the actor who played Moses's brother Aaron. The Ten Commandments is more glossy and has a huge cast of well known popular Hollywood actors and this movie called Moses is more low-key and simple, just more down to earth and I think a lot of people prefer the more glossy version but I think the down to earth subdued filming and acting of Moses is part of it's charm. I'm happy that this movie is now finally on DVD but it's only the edited version and I would like for the whole complete original mini series to be put on DVD in region 1 format but anyway I recommend that people Give this under rated, under appreciated movie about Moses a chance!"
Studio....please release the complete mini-series!
Anton Karidian | Toronto | 06/12/2009
(3 out of 5 stars)
"This is a beautiful telling of the Moses storey. The antithesis of the Cecile B DeMille's over-the-top (but enjoyable) version.
This is a very understated, and therefore entirely realistic version of how it could have happened.
The edited version is acceptable, but I recall that the full version really conveyed a sense of the epic journey, which this compressed version, simply does not.
Hopefully the studios will give it a good digital clean up and release the full version in the near future.
Furthermore, the musical score is one of Ennio Morricone's best....not to be missed!"