Moses the Lawgiver poster

1976·141 min·Released

Moses the Lawgiver

“Announcing the Most Magnificent Human Spectacle Ever Filmed!”

History

The epic story of Moses, who led the Israelites out of slavery, parted the Red Sea and received the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. This is the edited-down version for theatrical release.

6.1(9 votes)

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Videos

WNEW Moses 1980 TV promo

Cast & Crew

Burt Lancaster

Burt Lancaster

Moses

Anthony Quayle

Anthony Quayle

Aaron

Ingrid Thulin

Ingrid Thulin

Miriam

Irene Papas

Irene Papas

Zippora

Aharon Ipalé

Aharon Ipalé

Josua

Marina Berti

Marina Berti

Eliseba

Yosef Shiloach

Yosef Shiloach

Dathan

Shmuel Rodensky

Shmuel Rodensky

Jitro

Mariangela Melato

Mariangela Melato

Prinzessin Bithia

Laurent Terzieff

Laurent Terzieff

Pharao Mernefta

Bill Lancaster

Bill Lancaster

Der junge Moses

Jacques Herlin

Jacques Herlin

Magier

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CinemaSerf

Written on 8/7/2025

To be fair to this biopic of the man who led the Jews from Pharaonic rule in Egypt to the land of Milk and Honey, there has been some serious effort put into the writing. It is less archaic than much of the original biblical text, but it does still manage to convey something of the gravitas of that tome - especially when delivered by Burt Lancaster in the title role. Now true, at times he does over-egg it on the earnestness front, especially towards the end, but for the most part he holds this together remarkably well. He is helped along by the equally rousing oratory of Sir Anthony Quayle who takes on the role of high priest Aaron and by a solid effort from Ingrid Thulin as Miriam. Sadly, though, these three cannot really compensate for the sluggish pace of the whole thing, nor the really pretty lacklustre supporting cast. That’s probably best exemplified by Laurent Terzieff’s weak performance as the Pharoah, but Mariangela Melato doesn’t fare so very much better as Moses’s adopted mother Bithia. It doesn’t compare at all well with DeMille’s “Ten Commandments” (1956) on the lavishness front, but I think it might outdo it on the authenticity front when they travel through the desert eking out an existence from the scraps they can find amongst the brush. It also goes some way to illustrating that all was not always sweetness and light amongst the tribes; that temptation was never far from many a mind and that, as many people may have found from reading the book of Exodus, their lord God wasn’t always the easiest deity to keep sweet! This simply hadn’t the budget nor Gianfranco De Bosio the imagination or vision to create something compelling to watch. It does have it’s moments - thought the parting of the Red Sea maybe isn’t one of them - but it needed a more robust and characterful cast to support the leads and much more succinct and focussed direction.

Media

WNEW Moses 1980 TV promo

WNEW Moses 1980 TV promo