THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (1923) Silent Movie Day 2023 celebration
Silent Movie Day is an international celebration of Silent Films.
It began in 2021 and this year marks the third anniversary. Each year the BYU Motion Picture Archive has joined in the celebration.
Silent Movie Day is set on the calendar as September 29th each year, and we try and do what makes sense to our calendar at BYU. So we are doing a few things to celebrate that beautiful early cinema that relied upon images to tell a story (helped by title cards here and there).
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (1923) 100th anniversary screening of Cecil B. DeMille’s first attempt at creating the greatest cinematic epic of its time. DeMille is credited with releasing the first feature film in Hollywood history THE SQUAW MAN (1913), and ever since he was continuing to present lavish productions based both in modern settings and from historical moments. With TEN COMMANDMENTS we get both of those worlds, where half the film is the telling of the tale of how ancient Israel was brought out of bondage by God’s own hand, and then it flips to demonstrate how the commandments are applicable today in lives of every person, “You cannot break the Ten Commandments – They will break you.”
Thursday September 28th at 7:30 pm in the Library Auditorium
(10 minute presentation, runtime 2hr 23 min)
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SILENT MOVIE REMIX – Join us for an exhibition of silent shorts and a feature put to music by BYU students. Silent movies may not have had synchronized sound, but they were practically always presented with some kind of musical accompaniment. BYU students have needle-dropped music from any era they choose to accompany the silent imagery to come up with new and innovative ways to underscore the onscreen drama. Come and watch a few shorts or stay for the whole program!
Friday September 29th from 2:00 – 4:00 pm in the Library Auditorium
We hope you will come and join us for a celebration of these amazing artworks from yesteryear!
*Parking lot restrictions are lifted at 7pm, we are trying a start time a little later so that more parking freedom is available.