It Took 6 Months to Film This One Scene in ‘The Ten Commandments’

Almost every epic movie has an incredibly big moment, and The Ten Commandments is no exception. Despite being made in the 1950s, there is still one scene that impresses fans: the parting of the Red Sea. What most viewers don’t realize is how much time and engineering went into that one sequence, because it couldn’t be created in a single pass.

By the time director Cecil B. DeMille reached the Red Sea scene, he knew it would be the film’s defining visual. It had to feel massive and convincing, and there were no computer effects at the time, which meant relying entirely on practical techniques and optical photography. The result was not one shot, but a carefully constructed composite built from multiple elements layered together.