Moses the Lawgiver (1976)

★ 5.9 2h 21m IMDb

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.

Moses the Lawgiver

Where to Watch

Netflix Netflix
Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video
Disney Plus Disney Plus
Max Max
HBO Max HBO Max
Hulu Hulu
Paramount Plus Paramount Plus
Apple TV Plus Apple TV Plus
Peacock Peacock
Showtime Showtime
Starz Starz
Paramount+ with Showtime Paramount+ with Showtime

Rent / Buy

Rent

Apple TV Apple TV
Google Play Movies Google Play Movies
Amazon Video Amazon Video
YouTube YouTube
Vudu Vudu
Fandango at Home Fandango at Home

Buy

Apple TV Apple TV
Google Play Movies Google Play Movies
Amazon Video Amazon Video
YouTube YouTube
Vudu Vudu
Fandango at Home Fandango at Home

Cast

Burt Lancaster
Burt Lancaster as Moses Died 1994 · New York City, New York, USA Burton Stephen "Burt" Lancaster (November 2, 1913 – October 20, 1994) was an American film actor noted for his athletic physique and distinctive smile (which he called "The Grin"). Later he took roles...
Anthony Quayle
Anthony Quayle as Aaron Died 1989 · Ainsdale, Southport, Lancashire, England, UK Sir John Anthony Quayle CBE (7 September 1913 – 20 October 1989) was an English actor and director. Description above from the Wikipedia article Anthony Quayle, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of...
Ingrid Thulin
Ingrid Thulin as Miriam Died 2004 · Sollefteå, Västernorrlands län, Sweden Ingrid Lilian Thulin (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈɪŋːrɪd tɵˈliːn]; 27 January 1926 – 7 January 2004) was a Swedish film actress. Thulin was born in Sollefteå, Ångermanland, northern Sweden, the daughter...
Irene Papas
Irene Papas as Zippora Died 2022 · Chiliomodi, Corinth, Greece Irene Papas (Greek: Ειρήνη Παππά, born Eirini Lelekou (Greek: Ειρήνη Λελέκου), 3 September 1929 – 14 September 2022) was a Greek actress and singer who starred in over 70 films in a career spanning mo...
Aharon Ipalé
Aharon Ipalé as Josua Died 2016 · Morocco Aharon Ipalé (December 27, 1941 – June 27, 2016) was an Israeli-American actor..
Marina Berti
Marina Berti as Eliseba Died 2002 · London, England, UK Elena Maureen Bertolini, known as Marina Berti, (29 September 1924 – 29 October 2002) was an English-born Italian film actress. Her first screen appearance was in the Anna Magnani film, La Fuggitiva...

Audience Reviews

CinemaSerf 5/10 Aug 07, 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.

Similar Movies