Claim: The Ten Commandments is a film.

The Ten Commandments is a 1956 American biblical epic film produced , directed , and narrated by Cecil B. DeMille , shot in VistaVision -LRB- color by Technicolor -RRB- , and released by Paramount Pictures . The film is based on Prince of Egypt by Dorothy Clarke Wilson , Pillar of Fire by J.H. Ingraham , On Eagle 's Wings by A.E. Southon , and the Book of Exodus . The Ten Commandments dramatizes the biblical story of the life of Moses , an adopted Egyptian prince who becomes the deliverer of his real brethren , the enslaved Hebrews , and therefore leads the Exodus to Mount Sinai , where he receives , from God , the Ten Commandments . The film stars Charlton Heston in the lead role , Yul Brynner as Rameses , Anne Baxter as Nefretiri , Edward G. Robinson as Dathan , Yvonne De Carlo as Sephora , Debra Paget as Lilia , and John Derek as Joshua ; and features Sir Cedric Hardwicke as Sethi , Nina Foch as Bithiah , Martha Scott as Yoshebel , Judith Anderson as Memnet , and Vincent Price as Baka , among others .   Filmed on location in Egypt , Mount Sinai and the Sinai Peninsula , the film was DeMille 's last and most successful work . It is a partial remake of his 1923 silent film of the same title , and features one of the largest sets ever created for a film . The film was released to cinemas in the USA on 5 October 1956 and , at the time of its release , was the most expensive film ever made .   In 1957 , the film was nominated for seven Academy Awards including Best Picture , winning the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects -LRB- John P. Fulton , A.S.C. -RRB- . Charlton Heston was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture -LRB- Drama -RRB- for his role as Moses . Yul Brynner won the National Board of Review Award for Best Actor for his role as Rameses and his other roles in Anastasia and The King and I . It is also one of the most financially successful films ever made , grossing approximately $ 122.7 million at the box office during its initial release ; it was the most successful film of 1956 and the second-highest-grossing film of the decade . According to Guinness World Records , in terms of theatrical exhibition it is the seventh most successful film of all-time when the box office gross is adjusted for inflation .   In 1999 , the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being `` culturally , historically , or aesthetically significant '' . In June 2008 , the American Film Institute revealed its `` Ten Top Ten '' -- the best ten films in ten American film genres -- after polling over 1,500 people from the creative community . The film was listed as the tenth best film in the epic genre . Network television has aired the film in prime time during the Passover/Easter season every year since 1973 . The last credited actor in the movie still alive is Joanna Merlin .