The Ten Commandments' Epic Sea Parting: A Practical Effects Marvel

0:00It's April 4th. This is Entertainment and Celebrity News, today, powered by AI. Your front row to the latest buzz, I'm Cory, with the story. Cecil B. The Mills, 1956 epic, the 10 Commandments blew minds back then and still does today. That legendary parting of the Red CC took the crew of four six months to nail, shooting on the actual Red Sea banks and Paramount's backlog with no computers in sight, just pure practical effects. They built a massive tilted ramp, 32 feet high, and 80 feet long, right on the lot. From huge tanks, they unleashed 360,000 gallons of water, due valves, letting it crash down and sheets along wooden batons for, that choppy tide look. Then they flipped the film to make the waves rise and split apart. Charlton has then as Moses shot his parts against the blue screen, blending seamlessly with desert shots and matte paintings. They saved this sequence for last, since the flood wrecked the Egyptian chariots used

1:00elsewhere in the movie. Everything got layered together via optical printing, demanding perfect alignment or the scenes would show. It was the priceiest film ever made at the time, but it raked in $122,700,000 worth about 1.5 billion today and topped the box office day year, tuned in to ABC on Saturday April 4th, 2026 at 7 p.m. Eastern for the full spectacle, proves old school movie magic never fades.