AFI’s 10 TOP 10 – American Film Magazine

In 1916 British Intelligence supports the Arab rebellion against the Turkish-German alliance. Dryden, a civilian member of the Arab Bureau, selects Lt. T. E. Lawrence, an enigmatic twenty-nine-year-old scholar, to evaluate the Arab revolt. Enthusiastically undertaking this assignment, the officer contacts Prince Feisal, a rebel leader, and persuades Feisal to lend him a force of fifty men. With this skeleton band, accompanied by Sherif Ali ibn el Karish, Lawrence crosses the Nefud Desert. At the journey’s end, however, Lawrence learns that one of his men is missing. Undeterred by Arab assertions that the missing man’s death had been divinely decreed, Lawrence returns to the desert and rescues him, earning thereby Ali’s friendship and the respect of his subordinates. At a well Lawrence is confronted by the sheikh Auda Abu Tayi, whom he persuades to join the assault on Aqaba, a Turkish port at the desert’s edge. The Turks, surprised by the overland attack, are routed, and the victory revitalizes the Arab rebellion. Arab unity, however, is undermined by internecine warfare. When one of his troop slays one of Auda Abu Tayi’s henchmen, Lawrence in expiation executes the murderer, who proves to be the Arab he had saved in the desert. Unnerved, Lawrence returns to Cairo. Delighted by Lawrence’s military success, however, General Allenby provides him with arms and money for future victories. Lawrence launches a series of successful guerrilla raids, which, as reported by American journalist Jackson Bentley, establish his international reputation. While on a scouting mission with Ali, Lawrence is captured and tortured by the Turks. He returns to Cairo, where General Allenby persuades him to spearhead an attack on Damascus. After the battle, Lawrence leads his men in the massacre of the retreating Turks. Upon entering Damascus the British Army is met by victorious Arab forces. Lawrence relinquishes control of the city to an Arab Council, but soon factionalism threatens to destroy it. On May 19, 1935, Lawrence dies in a motorcycle crash in Dorset, England, and is commemorated in services at St. Paul’s.

During the reign of the emperor Tiberius, the Roman officer Messala arrives in Jerusalem as the new Tribune, head of the Roman garrison. Having spent much of his boyhood in Jerusalem while his father was provincial governor of Judea, Messala became close friends with Judah Ben-Hur, a Jewish prince from a rich and influential family. On the night of his return, Messala is visited by Judah, and the two men warmly reminisce about happy times of their boyhood. Messala tells Judah that the emperor wants the recent rebelliousness of Judea crushed and asks for his help. Judah is uneasy with the request but, as he is against violence, agrees to speak with other influential Jews. The next day, Messala visits Judah, his mother Miriam and sister Tirzah. Messala gives Tirzah a beautiful brooch, and Judah presents Messala with a horse he has raised, but the men argue over Messala’s insistence that Judah tell him the names of Jewish leaders who will not denounce rebellion. Judah refuses, severing their friendship. That night, Simonides, the faithful steward of the house of Hur, returns from Antioch with good news of the family’s increasing wealth. He asks for permission for his daughter Esther to marry a free man, and says that she wants to ask Judah personally for permission. Judah is attracted to Esther, whom he has not seen since childhood, and grants permission, saying her freedom will be his wedding gift, even though he knows that she is marrying only because her father wishes it. Later that night, when Judah and Esther are alone, they exchange a passionate kiss. Judah then takes Esther’s slave ring and promises to wear it until he meets the woman he will marry. The next day, Gratus, the new governor, arrives to a cold reception by the people of Jerusalem. As Judah and Tirzah watch his procession from the roof of their house, Tirzah leans against some tiles and accidentally loosens them, causing them to fall just as Gratus is passing. After he is thrown from his horse and knocked unconscious, Roman soldiers storm the house. As they enter the courtyard, Judah tells Tirzah and Miriam to say nothing, then tries to reason with the soldiers, pleading that it was an accident. When Messala suddenly appears at the courtyard entrance, Judah appeals to him, but Messala coldly watches as Judah, Tirzah and Miriam are taken away. After their arrest, Messala goes to the roof and sees the loose tiles, confirming that Judah had been telling the truth, but says nothing. Soon guards go to Judah’s cell to tell him that he is being sent to the seaport of Tyrus, which Judah knows means imprisonment as a galley slave. He overpowers the guards and escapes into the garrison, then steals a spear and breaks into Messala’s quarters. After Messala orders his guards to leave them, Judah demands to know what has happened to Miriam and Tirzah. Messala tells him that Gratus will recover but they will be punished for their crime. Judah does not understand why Messala would let this happen, especially after Messala admits that he knows the truth. Judah begs for mercy, but Messala rebuffs him, saying that the people now will fear him, and warning if Judah kills him, Tirzah and Miriam will be crucified before his eyes. Defeated, Judah has no choice but to let the guards take him away as he asks God to grant him vengeance. Days later, as Judah and other chained prisoners, weakened by thirst and exhaustion, enter the town of Nazareth, townspeople offer them water, but the Roman guard stops a woman who tries to give some to Judah. In despair, Judah falls to the ground and implores God to help him. At that moment, a carpenter, who has seen his plight, approaches, gives him water and bathes his face and hands. The guard then tries to stop the carpenter but strangely acquiesces when he looks into the man’s face. Judah also gazes in awe at the young Nazarene, not understanding why he has offered help. Three years later, Judah is rower 41 in a Roman galley. On the day that Roman Consul Quintus Arrius takes command of the vessel, Arrius goes below to survey the rowers. Sensing both strength and hatred in 41, Arrius deliberately taunts him by lashing him, and later observes his reaction when the men are submitted to a grueling test of endurance to increase their rowing speed. Later, Judah is ordered to Arrius’ quarters, where the consul offers him the chance to leave the galley and become a charioteer or gladiator. Judah declines, saying that he has not died because God does not want it so. Soon a fleet of Macedonian ships is sighted and the galley prepares for battle. Prior to the start of the fighting, Arrius orders a subordinate to chain and lock the rowers’ shackles to their posts, but leave 41’s unlocked. During the battle, when their galley is rammed, the rowers are trapped until Judah kills their guard, takes his keys and unlocks the others. He then goes on deck, where he throws a spear at an enemy soldier who has attacked Arrius and forced him into the water. Judah dives after Arrius and pulls him to safety on some floating debris that serves as a raft. When Arrius realizes that his ship is sinking, he tries to kill himself with his own knife, but Judah stops him. The next morning, the two men are alone in the sea, with no ships in sight. Arrius asks to know 41’s name and wonders why he saved his life. Moments later, they see a ship in the distance and realize that it is Roman. When they are brought onboard, Arrius shocks the captain by giving Judah water before he himself drinks. He then learns that, although five galleys were lost in the battle, the Romans were victorious. Arrius then takes Judah’s arm, and leads him off, past the rowers’ hole. Some time later, Arrius is hailed in a procession through the streets of Rome, accompanied by Judah, who rides in his chariot. When the emperor awards Arrius with the baton of victory, he inquires about Judah and agrees to meet with Arrius to discuss his situation. The next day, the emperor gives Judah to Arrius, to be his slave. Months later, Judah has ridden Arrius’ chariot to victory five times in the Roman arena, bringing him fame and admiration throughout Rome. At a celebration banquet, Arrius announces that he is adopting Judah as his heir, replacing the son who had died. When Arrius and Judah, who accepts his new name as Young Quintus Arrius, speak privately, Judah tells Arrius of his affection and gratitude, and accepts his signet ring, but reveals that he must return to Judea to find his mother and sister. On his way to Jerusalem, Judah stops at an oasis, where an old man, Balthasar of Alexandria, thinks that he may be the man whom he saw as a baby in a stable in Bethlehem. Balthasar soon realizes that Judah is not that man, but the two strike up a friendship. Balthasar introduces Judah to Sheik Ilderim, a wealthy Arab who cherishes his magnificent team of white chariot horses. Judah observes the team and admires them, but over dinner in Ilderim’s tent, refuses his suggestion that he drive the team for him in the arena. Judah is intrigued, though, when Ilderim expresses his hope to humiliate the arrogant Messala by a victory over his chariot and adds that, in the arena, there is no law. When Judah arrives at his family’s now-decaying home in Jerusalem, he is surprised to see Esther, who never married but returned to the house with Simonides after he, who was also imprisoned, was released. Simonides, who was crippled and blinded under torture, proudly tells Judah that his fortune is safely hidden. Later, Judah and Esther kiss and reveal their feelings for each other, but Esther worries that Judah is consumed with hate and tells him of a young Nazarene she has heard of who preaches of love. The next day, Messala receives the gift of an expensive knife from Quintus Arrius, the younger. Messala is shocked when the man is revealed to be Judah, who shows him the seal from Arrius’ signet ring. Judah then tells Messala if Miriam and Tirzah are restored to him, he will forget what has happened, and says that he will return the next day. Shaken by Judah’s appearance, Messala tells his underling Drusus to go to the prison and find out what has happened to the women. In the lowest level of the prison, Drusus discovers that the women, who had not been seen in years, are now lepers. Fearful of the disease, the guards order the women taken to the edge of the city and the contents of their cell burned. Late that night, Miriam and Tirzah, covering their deformities in rags, go to their home. Although they merely want to look at it, Esther hears them. The women refuse to let her approach, and when Esther reveals that Judah is not dead, but in Jerusalem, Miriam makes her promise to tell him that they have died in prison. When Esther later tells Judah what Miriam had asked, his bitterness and despair frighten her, and she implores him not to be consumed with hatred. Judah will not listen, though, and leaves, determined to find a means of revenge against Messala. [An intermission divides the story at this point.]
       Soon Ilderim goes to Messala’s home, offers a wager of a trunk filled with gold and silver and asks him and his companions for odds on an upcoming chariot race. When Messala hears that his opponent will be Judah, he accepts the wager at four to one, calling it the difference between a Roman and a Jew–or an Arab. On the day of the race, Pontius Pilate, an old friend of Arrius, who has become the new governor of Judea, oversees the race. Ilderim is optimistic, and happy that Judah has earned his horses’ affection, but worries when he sees that Messala’s chariot has spiked wheels and warns Judah. During the nine-lap race, Messala uses the blades on his wheels to destroy many chariots, and several of the other charioteers are killed or maimed. Messala tries to destroy Judah’s chariot, but instead crashes his own and is dragged by his team. Judah wins the race and is crowned victorious by Pilate, who calls him the crowd’s current god when the Judeans cheer loudly for him. After the race, Messala, who is in agony, will not allow the physician to amputate his mutilated legs until after Judah, whom he has summoned, arrives. Rather than seeking forgiveness, as Messala dies, he taunts Judah by revealing that Tirzah and Miriam are not dead but living in the valley of the lepers. In despair, Judah goes to the valley to find his mother and sister, ignoring the fear of contagion. As he searches, he is stunned to see Esther and Malluch, the mute who takes care of Simonides, bringing baskets of food down to the lepers’ caves. Judah angrily confronts Esther for her deception and demands to see Miriam and Tirzah, but she pleads that they would be shattered if he saw what has become of them. When Miriam and Tirzah weakly call for Esther, Judah hides as Esther gives them food, and weeps when he hears his mother ask if he is well and happy. Although still unconvinced by Esther’s pleas to remain hidden, Judah nonetheless leaves with her and Malluch. On their way back to the city, they see a crowd gathering on a mountain top. Balthasar, who is in the crowd, calls out to Judah, saying that the Nazarene who will speak is the one he sought, and that he is the son of God. Although Judah momentarily thinks of the Nazarene who had given him water, he scoffs at the remark and returns to the city alone. Judah is then summoned by Pilate, who greets him warmly as the son of his old friend, and delivers the message that he has been granted Roman citizenship. Though expressing his affection for Arrius, Judah rejects the citizenship and gives Arrius’ ring to Pilate to return, saying that Rome turned Messala into what he became. When Judah returns home, Esther tells him of the words of love and forgiveness she heard from the Nazarene, but Judah will not listen. The next day, Esther returns to the valley of the lepers, followed at a distance by Judah. When Miriam approaches she reveals that Tirzah is dying. As Esther tells Miriam of the Nazarene’s words and says that she wants to take them to him, Judah comes forward. Miriam tries to make Judah go away by showing him her deformed face, but Judah strokes her forehead and embraces her. He then carries Tirzah from the cave and, with Miriam and Esther, walks back to Jerusalem. The city is almost deserted when they arrive. People shun the lepers, but an old blind man tells them that people are gathered for the trial of the Nazarene. They then walk to the center of the city and observe Pilate washing his hands of the man, who is sentenced to death. Seeing the Nazarene’s tortured body, the women weep, but Judah suddenly recognizes him. Judah then follows his journey to the crucifixion site, and when the Nazarene stumbles under the weight of his cross, offers him water. As the women sadly return to the valley of the lepers, Judah continues to follow the Nazarene. When Judah sees Balthasar, he relates what happened in Nazareth and wonders what the man has done to deserve this, but Balthasar says that he came into the world for this purpose. As the Nazarene dies, the skies darken and a storm rages. Outside the city, Miriam, Tirzah and Esther have taken cover. Tirzah says that she is no longer afraid, and Miriam sadly says, “His life is over.” Suddenly, through lightning flashes, Esther sees that Miriam and Tirzah no longer bear the deformities of leprosy. That night, when Judah returns home, he embraces Esther and relates that, even near death, the Nazarene sought forgiveness for those who caused his suffering. Esther then shows him that Miriam and Esther have been cured and the four lovingly embrace.

In September 1939, at the onset of World War II, German entrepreneur and Nazi party member Oskar Schindler goes to Krakow, Poland, where tens of thousands of Polish Jews have been forced to relocate under German occupation. Schindler wants to open a ceramics factory but lacks the necessary capital. He asks Jewish accountant Itzhak Stern to help him recruit Jewish investors, who would go unnamed, as Jews are no longer allowed to own businesses. Stern rejects the idea. However, in March 1941, when Krakow Jews are forced out of their homes and into a sixteen-block walled ghetto, Stern reconsiders. He recruits investors, who initially balk at Schindler’s offer to repay them in ceramic goods, but agree to invest when Schindler convinces them their money will be of no value in the ghetto. Itzhak Stern recruits Jewish workers for Schindler’s factory. Because it is located outside the ghetto, the workers must be deemed “essential” and receive blue cards to allow them to come and go. Stern helps some elderly and handicapped Jews get hired by forging paperwork to prove they are essential. Schindler reprimands him for this practice, but does not fire anyone. He establishes contracts with the German army, and the business gets off to a strong start. Schindler’s estranged wife, Emilie, arrives, and is not surprised when she finds her husband with another woman. Schindler brags to Emilie that he has finally achieved success, and is proud to be a war profiteer. They briefly reunite, but when Emilie offers to stay, if he promises to be faithful, Schindler sends her away. One day, he gets word that Stern has been sent to a concentration camp. He rushes to the train station, threatens the Nazi officers, and retrieves Stern, who apologizes, explaining he accidentally left home without his work card. The exasperated Schindler wonders what would have happened if he had not made it to the station in time. In the winter of 1942, Krakow Jews struggle to withstand the demoralizing conditions of the ghetto. Austrian Schutzstaffel (SS) officer Amon Goeth arrives in Krakow to oversee the building of the Plaszow forced labor camp, and establishes himself as a ruthless killer when he shoots a Jewish engineer for being too argumentative. In March 1943, Krakow Jews are again forced to relocate to Plaszow. Their “liquidation” from the ghetto results in mass bloodshed, as Nazi guards gun down anyone who attempts to hide or flee. Schindler observes the atrocity, and is struck by a young Jewish girl in a red coat, moving alone through the chaotic streets. In the ghetto’s infirmary, a Jewish doctor and nurse administer a fatal dose of medicine to patients just before SS officers burst in and shoot them in their hospital beds. At Plaszow, Goeth amuses himself by shooting slow-moving or resting workers with a sniper rifle. When Schindler’s workers fail to report to the factory, he goes to Plaszow to inquire about their whereabouts, and must ingratiate himself with Goeth to allow for their release. Word spreads that Schindler is a benevolent boss. Regina Perlman, a young Jewish woman living in Krakow under a false identity, begs Schindler to hire her parents. Schindler again reprimands Itzhak Stern for his charitable hiring practices. He defends Goeth as someone who is under tremendous pressure, who would not normally act like a tyrant. Stern relays a story about Goeth executing prisoners at random, and urges Schindler to fight against Goeth’s brutality. Schindler relents and hires Regina Perlman’s parents. The next time he visits Goeth, Schindler pulls aside his Jewish housemaid, Helen Hirsch, who recalls Goeth beating her on the first day of work, and predicts he will someday kill her. Upstairs, Schindler tells the drunken Goeth that true power is refraining from killing someone when you have every reason to do it. The next day, Goeth experiments with showing mercy toward the Jewish prisoners, but quickly gives up and kills his houseboy for failing to properly clean his bathtub. Later, Goeth paces in Helen’s quarters, struggling to restrain himself despite his strong attraction to her. Finally, instead of kissing her, he beats her. In the women’s barracks, a female prisoner shares a rumor that at some camps, Jewish prisoners are lured into gas chambers disguised as showers and killed en masse. Others cannot believe it, and laugh it off as impossible. With an incoming shipment of Hungarian Jews arriving at Plaszow, German doctors are called to determine which existing workers can stay, and who must be sent to concentration camps. Children are loaded into trucks and driven out of the camp, as their parents chase after them in desperation. Schindler goes to the train station, where departing Jews are packed into unventilated train compartments. He suggests hosing them down as a prank, but Goeth realizes Schindler is doing it out of pity, to keep them from overheating. Soon, Schindler is arrested for kissing a Jewish worker who presented him with a birthday cake. Goeth negotiates his release. In April 1944, a Nazi edict requires that buried Jewish bodies be exhumed and burned. Plaszow workers are tasked with digging up the dead bodies. Goeth tells Schindler that the “party is over,” and everyone will soon be sent to Auschwitz. Schindler concocts a plan to start a new factory in his hometown of Zwittau-Brinnlitz, Czechoslovakia. He uses all his money and belongings to bribe SS officials, including Goeth, to allow over 1,000 of his workers, named on a list, to be transferred to the new factory. He wants to add Helen Hirsch to the list, but Goeth plans to shoot her. Schindler entices him to wager Helen in a card game, and Goeth loses, allowing Schindler to rescue her. Although Schindler’s male workers arrive in Zwittau-Brinnlitz, the women are diverted to Auschwitz, due to an alleged clerical error. There, their hair is cut off and they are forced to shower in a large room that they fear is a gas chamber. Schindler goes to Auschwitz and uses diamonds to negotiate their release. SS officers try to steal his child employees, but Schindler insists he needs their small fingers to polish shell casings. Back in Zwittau-Brinnlitz, Schindler forbids SS guards from shooting any of his workers, or carrying guns on the factory floor. He reunites with his wife, Emilie, and promises to be faithful to her. When Stern warns Schindler that the company’s new artillery shells are failing tests, the satisfied Schindler vows never to produce working artillery. The workers are allowed to resume observing the Sabbath, despite the SS guards’ dismay. Just as Schindler and the factory run out of money, Germans surrender to Allied forces, bringing an end to World War II. Schindler makes an announcement to his workers and the SS guards that he is a war criminal and will flee that night. He urges the guards, who have received orders to kill all the Jews at the factory, to return home as men instead of murderers. The guards reluctantly leave. Schindler observes three minutes of silence for the Jewish victims of the war. One of the workers allows three of his gold teeth to be pulled, to fabricate a gold ring as a parting gift for Schindler. At midnight, they present him with the ring, engraved with a Hebrew saying that states, “Whoever saves one life saves the world entire.” Stern credits Schindler with saving 1,100 people. Schindler breaks down in tears, disappointed in himself for not saving more. He dons a concentration camp uniform, and flees with Emilie. The next day, a soldier arrives to tell the workers that they have been liberated, but discourages them from going back to Poland. He points them in the direction of the nearest town, where they walk to find food. In time, Goeth is arrested at a sanitarium and hanged for war crimes. Schindler’s marriage and subsequent business ventures fail. In 1958, he is named a “righteous person” by the council of Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, Israel. The descendants of the Jews he saved eventually outnumber all the Jews in Poland.

In 1861, Scarlett O’Hara, the headstrong sixteen-year-old daughter of wealthy Georgia plantation-owner Gerald O’Hara, is sick of hearing talk about going to war with the North. She much prefers to have beaux like Brent and Stuart Tarleton talk about the next day’s barbecue at Twelve Oaks, the neighboring Wilkes plantation. When the twins reveal the “secret” that Ashley Wilkes is planning to marry his cousin Melanie Hamilton from Atlanta, Scarlett refuses to believe it because she is in love with Ashley herself. Her father later confirms the news when he returns home to Tara, the O’Hara plantation, and advises Scarlett to forget about the serious-minded Ashley, because “like should marry like.” At the barbeque, Scarlett acts coquettish with all of the young men, hoping to make Ashley jealous, then, during an afternoon rest, sneaks into the library to see him. He says that he will marry Melanie because they are alike, but leads Scarlett to believe that he loves her instead of Melanie. When he leaves, Scarlett angrily throws a vase and is startled to discover Rhett Butler, a notorious rogue from Charleston, who has been lying unnoticed on a couch the entire time. She is angry at his seeming indifference to the seriousness of her feelings for Ashley and annoyed by his frank appreciation of her physical beauty. Later, when news arrives that war has broken out between the North and the South, Scarlett is stunned to see Ashley kiss Melanie goodbye as he leaves to enlist, and in a daze accepts the impulsive proposal of Melanie’s brother Charles.
       Just after Ashley and Melanie marry, Scarlett and Charles marry as well, delighting Melanie, who tells Scarlett that now they will truly be sisters. Some time later, Scarlett receives word that Charles has died of the measles, and she is forced to don widow’s black clothing and refrain from going to the parties she loves. Her understanding mother Ellen decides to let her go to Atlanta to stay with Melanie and her Aunt Pittypat, hoping that Scarlett will feel less restless there. At an Atlanta fundraising bazaar, Scarlett is so bored watching other girls dance, that when Rhett bids for her in a dance auction, she enthusiastically leads the Virginia Reel with him, oblivious to the outrage of the shocked local matrons. Rhett, who has become a successful blockade runner, continues to see Scarlett over the next few months and brings her presents from his European trips. As the war rages, Melanie and Scarlett receive word that Ashley will be returning home on a Christmas leave. Atlanta is now suffering the privation of a long siege, but the women manage to give Ashley a small Christmas feast. Before he returns to the front, Ashley tells Scarlett that the South is losing the war and asks her to stay by the pregnant Melanie.
       Melanie goes into labor as Atlantans leave the city before Northern troops arrive. When Aunt Pitty leaves for Charleston, Scarlett desperately wants to go with her, but remembers her promise to Ashley, and remains with Melanie. Because Melanie’s labor is difficult and the doctor is too busy attending wounded soldiers to come to her aid, Scarlett must attend her alone. After the baby is born, Scarlett sends her maid Prissy for Rhett, who reluctantly arrives with a frightened horse and a wagon. Though he thinks that Scarlett is crazy when she insists upon returning to Tara, he risks his life to drive the women and the infant through the now-burning city. Outside Atlanta, as Rhett and Scarlett see the decimated Southern army in retreat, he feels ashamed and resolves to join them for their last stand. Scarlett is furious with him, even after he admits that he loves her and gives her a passionate kiss before leaving. When the women finally arrive at Tara, the plantation is a shambles and the house has been looted. Scarlett’s mother Ellen has just died of typhoid and her father’s mind is gone. Desperate for something to eat, Scarlett first tries drinking whiskey, then goes into the fields. After choking on a radish, she vows that if she lives through this she will never go hungry again. [An Intermission divides the story at this point.]
       Soon Scarlett bullies her sisters and the remaining house slaves into working in the fields. After she kills a Yankee scavenger and, with Melanie’s help, hides the body, the contents of his wallet provide them with some money for food. When the war ends, Ashley returns and Scarlett goes to him for advice when Pork, one of the former slaves who has remained with the family, tells her that $300 in taxes are owed on Tara. Ashley offers no solution to her problem, but admits once again that he loves her, even though he will never leave Melanie. More determined than ever to obtain the money after Jonas Wilkerson, a ruthless Yankee who was once Tara’s overseer, says that he is going to buy Tara when it is auctioned off for taxes, Scarlett decides to ask Rhett for the money. With no proper clothes to wear, Scarlett and her old governess, Mammy, use material from Tara’s velvet drapes for a new dress. In Atlanta, they discover that Rhett has been imprisoned by the Yankees, but has charmed his way into their good graces. Scarlett tries to pretend that everything is fine at Tara, but Rhett soon sees her roughened hands and realizes what her situation is. Because he is under arrest and his money is all in an English bank, Rhett cannot help Scarlett, so she leaves, infuriated. That same day, she runs into Frank Kennedy, her sister Suellen’s beau, and sees that he has become a successful merchant. Scarlett tricks Frank into marrying her by telling him that Suellen loves someone else, and is thus able to use his money to save Tara. Scarlett then moves to Atlanta to work at Frank’s shop and to make his fledgling lumber business a success. She also uses an unwitting Melanie to help make Ashley come to work at the lumber mill. One day, Scarlett is attacked by scavengers while driving her carriage near a shanty town, but is saved by Big Sam, a former Tara slave. Scarlett is not physically harmed, but that night Frank, Ashley and some of the other men band together to “clear out” the shanty. While Scarlett, Melanie and the other women wait at Melanie’s house, Rhett arrives to warn them that the Yankees are planning an ambush. Melanie tells him where the men have gone, and some time later, he prevents their arrest by pretending to the Yankees that they have all been drinking with him at the notorious Belle Watling’s bordello. Ashley is wounded, but Frank has died on the raid.
       A few weeks later, Scarlett, who is drinking heavily, is visited by Rhett, who proposes to her and offers to give her everything she wants. Though she says that she does not love him, she agrees to marry him, and on their expensive honeymoon, he vows to spoil her to stop her nightmares of the war. A year later, Scarlett gives birth to a daughter, whom Melanie nicknames “Bonnie Blue.” Though Rhett has never cared about Atlanta society, he now wants to ensure Bonnie’s future. He begins to acquire respectability, and within a few years his charitable contributions and sincere devotion to Bonnie impresses even the hardest of Atlanta’s matrons. Meanwhile, Scarlett still longs for Ashley and has told Rhett that she no longer wants him to share her bedroom. One day, Ashley’s sister India and some other women see Scarlett and Ashley in an embrace. Though nothing improper happened, Scarlett is afraid to attend Melanie’s birthday party for Ashley that night. A furious Rhett forces her to attend, though, then leaves. Melanie’s open affection to her makes Scarlett ashamed, and when she returns home she sneaks into the dining room to drink. There she finds Rhett drunk and a violent quarrel erupts. After Scarlett calls Rhett a drunken fool, he grabs her and carries her upstairs, angrily telling her that this night there will not be “three in a bed.” The next morning, Scarlett is happy, but when Rhett scoffs that his behavior was merely an indiscretion, her happiness turns to anger. Rhett then leaves for an extended trip to England and takes Bonnie with him.
       Some months later, because Bonnie is homesick, Rhett returns to Atlanta and discovers that Scarlett is pregnant. She is happy to see Rhett, but his smirk of indifference and accusation about Ashley enrages her so that she starts to strike him and falls down the stairs. She loses the baby, and although she calls to him during her delirium, Rhett does not know and thinks that she hates him. After she recovers, he suggests that the anger and hatred stop for Bonnie’s sake, and Scarlett agrees, but as they are talking, the headstrong Bonnie tries to make her pony take a jump and she falls and breaks her neck. Both are shattered by Bonnie’s death, especially Rhett, who refuses to let her be buried because Bonnie was afraid of the dark. Only Melanie, to whom Rhett has always felt a closeness, convinces him to let the child go. After her talk with Rhett, Melanie, who has become pregnant despite the danger to her health, collapses and suffers a miscarriage. On her deathbed, Melanie asks Scarlett to take care of Ashley, but when Scarlett sees how much the distraught Ashley loves Melanie, she finally realizes how wrong she has been for years and knows that it is Rhett she truly loves. She rushes back home and tries to prevent him from leaving her, but he will not stay because it is too late for them. Scarlett tearfully asks him what she will do and as he leaves he answers, “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.” Through her sobs, Scarlett begins to think of Tara, from which she has always gained strength, and determines that she will return there and will think of a way to get Rhett back. She resolves to think about it tomorrow for, “after all, tomorrow is another day.”

During the last century of the Roman Republic, thousands are born enslaved to either the privileged class known as patricians or the wealthiest of the commoners, known as plebeians. One exceptionally strong slave in the rock mines of Libya, Spartacus, is regularly whipped for displaying his intelligence and pride. One day, Batiatus, who trains slaves to become gladiators, purchases Spartacus and several other slaves for his training camp in Capua. There, Batiatus announces that each man will be taught to fight to the death strategically, for the pleasure of patricians who enjoy the “sport.” Training proves as dehumanizing as the mines; each slave is branded, mercilessly instructed by head trainer Marcellus, and kept in cells. Spartacus tries to befriend Ethopian gladiator Draba, but soon learns that the men refuse to ally, knowing that they may be forced to kill each other. One night, Spartacus is presented the slave woman Varinia. Batiatus and Marcellus, knowing that Spartacus has never had a woman, watch from a grate above his cell as Varinia stoically undresses. Their laughter disgusts Spartacus, and after he refuses to mistreat the young woman, Batiatus takes her away as punishment for not acting as “a man.” Over the next weeks, Spartacus excels at gladiatorial skills and falls further in love with Varinia. Marcellus attempts to derail their attraction, but the couple manages to exchange furtive touches. One day, Marcus Licinius Crassus, a patrician in competition with the plebeian Gracchus for control of the Roman Senate, arrives at Capua along with his wife Lady Helena, sister-in-law Claudia and her fiancé, Marcus Glabrus. To celebrate the betrothal, Crassus insists that a gladiatorial match be arranged, ignoring Batiatus’ concern that forcing the slaves to fight to the death in their own camp could cause an uprising. Helena and Claudia choose four slaves, including Spartacus and Draba, to fight, and order them to be scantily clad. As the matches begin, the patricians banter happily, undisturbed by the desperation of the fighting men. Spartacus listens from the holding cell as a friend is killed, then enters into battle against Draba. Draba overcomes Spartacus, but, unwilling to kill his compatriot, instead attacks Crassus and is immediately killed by a guard. When Spartacus later hears that Crassus has bought Varinia, he can no longer control his rage, and attacks Marcellus. Emboldened, the other slaves follow suit and escape, forming an “army” that travels across the countryside, looting landowners and freeing slaves, who then join the swelling ranks. Word soon spreads to Rome of the slave rebellion, causing outrage in the senate. While Crassus is away, Gracchus cannily challenges Glabrus, now head of the Roman garrison, to lead some of the troops against the slaves, leaving Julius Caesar as temporary chief of the remaining garrison. When Crassus returns, he comprehends immediately that Gracchus plots to keep Glabrus out of Rome, leaving Crassus more vulnerable to attack. Meanwhile, Spartacus inspires his troops to form a united front that can sweep across the country and escape over the sea to their homelands. In one town, Spartacus is elated to find Varinia, who has escaped and now confesses her love. Back in Rome, while Crassus admires his new “body slave,” Antoninus, Gracchus schemes with Batiatus, who blames Crassus for Spartacus’ rebellion. Soon, Spartacus’ army settles at Mt. Vesuvius, where an escaped Antoninus impresses Spartacus, who longs for an education, with his songs. One day, Tigranes, a representative of Salician pirates, visits to offer the slaves support. Spartacus trades the army’s riches for 500 ships, to await the army on the east coast of Italy. Tigranes agrees to the trade, and when he wonders aloud why Spartacus believes he can defeat the mighty Roman garrison, the former slave replies that, unlike soldiers, his men are not afraid to die, since even death is preferable to a life in chains. Soon after, Glabrus arrives and, underestimating the intelligence of the slaves, fails to prepare his troops adequately. Spartacus is able to destroy the garrison and capture Glabrus, whom he sends back to the senate with the message that the army will not be stopped. Crassus is forced to banish Glabrus and retire in shame. Throughout the winter, Spartacus’ ever-growing group crosses the country, many dying along the way. In the spring, Spartacus is overjoyed to learn that Varinia is pregnant. Meanwhile, Gracchus convinces the senate to name Caesar as commander of the garrison and to send two legions to destroy Spartacus. When no one volunteers to lead the legions against Spartacus, Gracchus is forced to ask Crassus, who is delighted to head the campaign to “restore order” to Rome. Later, Gracchus reveals to Caesar that he has maneuvered the sale of the Salician ships to Spartacus, knowing that Spartacus’ triumph will spell defeat for Crassus. Although Spartacus celebrates upon reaching an encampment a mere twenty miles away from the Salician ships, Tigranes soon arrives, with the news that Pompey and Crassus have conspired to surround Spartacus’ army, necessitating the withdrawal of the ships. Spartacus realizes that Crassus is forcing him to attack Rome, which will allow the patrician to use all the troops at his disposal against them. Dismissing Tigranes’ offer to smuggle Spartacus and Antoninus, now his closest aide, to freedom, Spartacus instead stirs his troops to march against Rome. At the same time, the Romans elect Crassus as head consul and leader of the legions, and he vows to destroy Spartacus and restore order to the empire. The armies soon come within fighting distance of each other, and Crassus, single-minded in his fear of and hatred for Spartacus, pays Batiatus to identify the former slave on the battleground. Just before the battle, Spartacus tells Varinia that his only prayer is for his son to be born free and to learn about his father’s cause. Within hours, Crassus’ trained troops have overcome the slave army, and Crassus announces to the survivors that they will be spared crucifixion if they identify Spartacus. Spartacus stands to speak, but before he can sacrifice himself, Antoninus stands and declares, “I am Spartacus.” One by one, each slave follows suit, choosing death over betraying the man who brought him freedom. Enraged, Crassus orders them all to be crucified during a long march, lining the road to Rome with their bodies. He also finds Varinia, clutching Spartacus’ newborn son, and sends her to his estate. Along the march, Crassus recognizes Antoninus and then, upon spotting Spartacus, guesses he may be his enemy, and orders the two men be kept alive until they reach his estate. There, he banishes Gracchus to the country, intending to use him in the future for his popularity with the “rabble.” Soon after, Batiatus experiences what Gracchus terms “a bad case of dignity” and refuses to identify Spartacus, and instead plots with Gracchus to steal Varinia from the estate in order to irritate Crassus. Crassus dotes on Varinia, whose love he believes will prove his superiority over Spartacus but she vows never to stop loving Spartacus. Meanwhile, Spartacus mourns Varinia and his son, who he assumes have died. When Crassus confronts Spartacus, the slave spits in his face, spurring the dictator to order him to fight Antoninus to death, with the winner to be crucified. Spartacus and Antoninus fight valiantly, each trying to save the other from a more painful death, and Spartacus soon triumphs. After murmuring that he loved Spartacus like a father, Antoninus dies, and Spartacus proclaims that “he will come back, and he will be millions.” Crassus, fearful even in his victory, orders Spartacus crucified at the gates to Rome. Meanwhile, Batiatus brings Varinia and the boy to Gracchus, who presents them with falsified papers that will allow them freedom, then kills himself. As Varinia leaves Rome, she catches sight of Spartacus on the cross. In his last moments of life, Spartacus sees Varinia lift his son and hears her declare that the boy, now free, will never forget his father.

In 1996, a diving team led by Brock Lovett explores the sunken R.M.S. Titanic in search of treasure, specifically a large blue diamond known as the “Heart of the Ocean.” They discover a nude drawing made during the Titanic’s voyage, in which the subject, Rose DeWitt Bukater, wears the Heart of the Ocean around her neck. The woman, now Rose Dawson Calvert, is brought to the research vessel to talk with Lovett. She recalls the beginning of the Titanic’s voyage, in April 1912: in Southampton, England, seventeen-year-old Rose boards the ship with her mother, Ruth, and her fiancé, Cal Hockley. Rose despises Hockley but has resigned to marry him to restore her family’s finances and social status. Nevertheless, she contemplates suicide by throwing herself off the ship. Meanwhile, Jack Dawson, a poor young artist, has boarded the Titanic via a third-class ticket won in a poker game. Dawson happens upon Rose and dissuades her from killing herself. Hockley reacts jealously when he discovers the two together, but Rose insists that Jack saved her from an accidental fall over the side of the ship. Hockley invites the young man to join them at dinner in the first-class dining saloon. Rose continues to enjoy Jack’s company and sneaks away with him after the meal. Although she initially rejects his romantic advances, after spending more time with him, she agrees to pose for a nude sketch. In her room, she sits for him wearing only her Heart of the Ocean necklace—a gift from Cal. Afteward, they elude Cal’s bodyguard, Mr. Lovejoy, by sneaking into the cargo hold, where they have sex inside a motorcar. When they return to an upper deck, Rose and Jack witness the Titanic crash into an iceberg. A mounting hysteria ensues as officers of the ship confront the likelihood that the vessel will sink. In the meantime, Hockley finds the nude sketch of Rose. At his behest, Lovejoy plants the Heart of the Ocean necklace inside Jack’s pocket, and Jack is arrested for theft. As the ship begins to sink, passengers frantically board lifeboats. Rose separates from her mother and Hockley, and rushes to free Jack from the master-at-arms’s office. Soon after, Jack and Hockley urge Rose to take an available seat on a lifeboat, but she cannot bear to leave Jack. An angry Hockley seizes Mr. Lovejoy’s handgun and chases Rose and Jack into the first-class dining saloon, partially underwater. He shoots at them but misses. To save himself, he picks up a lost child and uses him to gain access to a lifeboat. Jack and Rose remain on the ship after all the lifeboats have been filled. Abandoned passengers fall or jump to their deaths as the ship’s stern rises. When the vessel breaks into two, Jack and Rose are plunged into the ocean. He helps her climb onto a floating piece of wood but refuses to join her lest it sink. As he succumbs to hypothermia, Jack soothes Rose with a vision of her promising future. Only Rose survives the ordeal. She is brought aboard the rescue ship, R.M.S. Carpathia, where she narrowly avoids Hockley. Arriving in New York City, Rose registers her name as Rose Dawson, and begins her new life. Back in the present, elderly Rose recalls that Hockley ultimately killed himself after the stock market crash of 1929. Impacted by her story, Lovett changes his mind and abandons his search for the Heart of the Ocean. Secretly, Rose still has the diamond in her possession, after Hockley unwittingly returned it to her while the Titanic was sinking. She goes alone to drop the diamond into the ocean, just above the wreck. Later, in a dream, she and Jack are reunited on the Titanic as it was before it sank, surrounded by other passengers who applaud when they kiss.

Paul Bäumer, a young German schoolboy, along with his friends, is inspired by his schoolmaster to “save the Fatherland” and joins the Kaiser’s forces. Their illusions are soon dispelled, however, by the cruel realities of battle, relieved only by a brief romantic interlude with some French farm girls and the humorous interjections of Katz and Tjaden. When Paul, the only survivor of the group, returns home, he finds the professor still haranguing his young scholars to join the conflict; and when Paul denounces this attitude, he is proclaimed a coward by the youths. Tiring of the false impression of war at home, he returns to the front to instruct his new comrades in warfare. As the sole survivor of this group also, Paul reaches over the top of a trench to catch a butterfly and is killed by an enemy sniper. … Quiet reigns on the front lines.

In Normandy, France, an elderly veteran visits a World War II memorial and cemetery with his family, and cries at a gravesite. Decades earlier, on June 6, 1944, U.S. soldiers participate in the invasion of Normandy. Under heavy German gunfire, droves of American troops fall to their deaths on Omaha Beach. U.S. Captain John H. Miller and some of his battalion survive the ordeal. Soon after, at U.S. War Department headquarters in Washington, D.C., General Marshall gets the news that three brothers in a family of four sons have died in combat; and that the remaining brother, James Ryan, is currently stationed in Normandy with the 101st Airborne Division. Marshall orders for Private Ryan to be brought home safe to his family. Capt. Miller receives the order and selects seven men to accompany him on the rescue mission. The team includes Sergeant Horvath; Private Reiben; Private Caparzo; Private Mellish; Private Jackson; T/4 Medic Wade; and Corporal Upham, an interpreter. They meet up with the 101st Division in Neuville, France, where they locate a Private James Ryan; however, he is not the Ryan with three brothers. In the meantime, Private Caparzo is shot and killed by a German sniper. Private Jackson retaliates by killing the sniper. Miller is told by a group of soldiers moving through the area that the correct Private Ryan is stationed at a bridge in the French town of Ramelle. On the way there, Miller and his men discover two dead bodies of U.S. paratroopers near a radar site, and locate a German machine gun position. Miller chooses to engage the Germans, putting his company at risk. The ensuing skirmish leaves Wade dead. They succeed, however, and take a remaining German soldier as their prisoner. Cpl. Upham speaks to the German and convinces Miller to let him go. Private Reiben disapproves and threatens to leave, but Miller regains his confidence with a personal confession. He reveals his work as a school teacher back home, and openly regrets how many lives he has taken. While he does not actually care about Private Ryan, he wants badly to complete the mission as he hopes it will earn all of them a return home. Miller and his men continue to Ramelle, where they find Private Ryan making preparations for an impending attack on the bridge he’s been defending. Although he is devastated by the news about his brothers, he is adamant to keep fighting alongside his men. Miller agrees to join forces with Ryan’s paratrooper unit, and helps orchestrate an ambush. The ensuing fight ends in many casualties, including Privates Jackson and Mellish, and Sergeant Horvath. Capt. Miller is shot by the same German soldier he freed in Neuville. Cpl. Upham, who had advocated for the man, kills the German in retaliation. As an American plane and more ground units show up, the Germans retreat. A dying Miller is surrounded by Privates Reiben and Ryan. With his last words, he tells Ryan, “Earn this.” Back in the present, the elderly man at the memorial is Private Ryan, and the grave he visits belongs to Capt. Miller. Ryan asks his wife if his life was worthy of Miller’s sacrifice, and she assures him that it was. As he leaves, Ryan gives a heartfelt salute to Miller’s tombstone.

In 1915 Portland, Oregon, aspiring journalist Louise Bryant Trullinger attends a meeting at the Liberal Club and is intrigued when the guest of honor, noted progressive writer John “Jack” Reed, states that the current war in Europe is only about “profits.” While Jack is in town to promote his magazine, The Masses, Louise convinces the handsome journalist to grant her an interview. Attracted to the earnest young woman, Jack forgets the time as he discusses his anti-war position all night. When they encounter each other later at a dinner party, Jack is surprised to learn that the seemingly independent Louise is married to a dentist. Once they are alone again, Louise propositions Jack, and the two sleep together. He invites her to return with him to New York City, describing the trip as an opportunity to have freedom and to be around other writers. Although concerned about being perceived as a “mistress” or “girl friend,” Louise abandons her husband and arrives at Jack’s apartment in Greenwich Village. There, she meets his circle of friends, artists, and fellow radicals, including Emma Goldman, Max Eastman, and the playwright Eugene O’Neill. However, Louise struggles to find her place among the intellectual conversations. She is disheartened as Jack frequently leaves to report on workers’ rights around the country, and is annoyed by his friends who come and go from the apartment as they please. While Jack accuses Louise of not writing “serious” articles, he faces criticism from an editor for reporting “red” communist propaganda. In an effort to pursue their interests with less distraction, the couple escapes the city for a seaside cottage in Provincetown, Massachusetts. There, they hang out with bohemian friends and stage experimental plays written by O’Neill. When Jack leaves to report on the Democratic National Convention, Louise has an affair with the attentive playwright. The night Jack returns, he sees Louise and O’Neill kissing, but says nothing. Instead, he asks Louise, by now divorced from Trullinger, to marry him. In 1916, the newlyweds move to a house in Croton-on-Hudson, New York. While Jack is away, the heartbroken O’Neill stops by to give Louise a love poem, but she dismisses the chance to resume their affair and hides the poem inside the book, Leaves of Grass. As Jack continues to campaign against U.S. involvement in the war, he experiences kidney problems and is advised to rest. At home one night, he finds O’Neill’s love poem and suggests to Louise that he has also been unfaithful. In the middle of their heated quarrel, she packs a suitcase and walks out. Determined to free herself from Jack’s shadow, she accepts an assignment from Bell Syndicate in 1917 and writes about the war from Paris, France, while Jack undergoes surgery to remove his damaged kidney. In her correspondence, Louise describes her job in France as “exhilarating.” However, Jack later learns from editor Pete Van Wherry that Louise was fired for not submitting substantial stories. He travels to France and invites her to join him in Petrograd, Russia, to report on a potential workers’ revolution by the Bolsheviks. Louise agrees as long as she can have her own byline and be known as “Miss Bryant.” Arriving at the Russian front by train, he and Louise observe weary soldiers abandoning the fight to join the Bolsheviks. Acquaintance Alex Gomberg arranges for the couple to stay at a vacant apartment in Petrograd and acts as translator while guiding them to rallies in the streets, where they also witness long lines for food. Jack and Louise obtain interviews with the country’s influential political figures, such as Vladimir Ilyich Lenin and Alexander Kerensky. Although the two cover the imminent insurrection together and edit each other’s articles, Louise is still reluctant to resume their relationship as husband and wife, and insists Jack sleep on the couch. At a factory one night, a large gathering of workers debate whether to strike, and one of the men persuades Jack to address the crowd. When he declares through an interpreter that American workers will follow their example, the Russians cheer and sing their revolutionary anthem, “The Internationale.” Inspired by the moment, Louise cries as Jack finds her in the crowd. The lovers reconcile and march with the Bolsheviks in their moment of triumph. In 1918, the Reeds return to Croton-on-Hudson and are determined to stay together as they write and campaign for the American worker. Louise lectures about the Russian Revolution, amid an atmosphere of mistrust about the movement in America, while Jack writes his eyewitness account, Ten Days That Shook the World, which becomes a huge success. However, they are both under surveillance by the U.S. government as communist sympathizers. When the left wing of the American Socialist Party is expelled from the organization’s convention in 1919, two rival communist factions emerge, one led by Louis Fraina and a smaller one led by Jack, called the Communist Labor Party of America (CLP). To obtain recognition from the Communist International (Comitern), the CLP elects to send Jack to Moscow, Russia, as their delegate. The development upsets Louise. Unlike her idealistic husband, she is skeptical about the possibility of a workers’ revolution in America and reminds Jack he can accomplish more as a writer than a politician. He promises to return by Christmas, but Louise refuses to join him. After Jack leaves, government agents notify Louise of a warrant for his arrest on sedition charges. Meanwhile, Jack must illegally enter Bolshevik “red” Russia, which is surrounded by counter-revolutionary forces, known as the White Army. In Moscow, he fails to obtain the endorsement of the Comitern executive committee, which believes the two communist factions in America should merge. Instead of helping Jack return to the U.S., committee head, Grigory Zinoviev, asks him to work for Russia’s Propaganda Bureau, calling him an important “engineer” in the international revolution. Jack, however, is anxious to see Louise and tries to escape the country on his own. While traveling on a railroad handcar, he is apprehended by White Army soldiers and imprisoned in Finland. When Louise learns of her husband’s predicament, she appeals to the U.S. State Department, but they are indifferent. Beside the fact that Jack left without a proper passport and visa, America is an ally of the White Army against the Bolsheviks. Through the help of Eugene O’Neill, Louise travels as a stowaway on a freighter to Norway, followed by an arduous trek through the snow toward Finland. Jack’s health deteriorates in jail as he develops scurvy, and Finnish authorities destroy telegrams from Louise notifying him she is on her way. After the Bolsheviks negotiate a prisoner exchange, Jack is released and taken back to Petrograd. Unaware of Louise’s travels, he sends numerous telegrams to her in New York and is confused by her lack of response. Emma Goldman, who is also an exile in Petrograd, comments that Louise was never a revolutionary and advises Jack to give her the chance to lead another life. When Louise finally arrives at the remote Finnish prison, she is speechless to learn her husband has been released. Meanwhile, Jack resumes his work with the revolution, and participates in a Comitern Congress, as a member of the American delegation. Emma declares that the Bolshevik movement that originally inspired them is dying and being replaced by Soviet bureaucracy, but Jack still has faith in the workers’ cause. He agrees to join Zinoviev at a Congress for the people of the Middle East, in Baku, Azerbaijan, risking a journey through hostile territory. Meanwhile, in Petrograd, Emma is shocked when she encounters Louise, who has managed to cross into Russia, and apologizes for being wrong about her commitment. During the Congress, Jack appears unwell in the chaotic atmosphere of Baku, and counter-revolutionaries ambush the Comitern train on the way back to Petrograd. Unaware if Jack has survived, Louise waits at the station when the train arrives and scans the departing passengers for her husband. After observing a dead body on a stretcher, she looks up and sees a weary Jack. As they embrace, he pleads with her not to leave him. In failing health, Jack is hospitalized in Russia and Louise rarely leaves his bedside. When she returns to his room after refilling a water bottle, she cannot hold back tears upon realizing he has died.

During the rule of Rameses I in Ancient Egypt, the pharaoh is informed that the Hebrew slaves believe that a recently seen star portends the arrival of a deliverer who will free them. Wanting to subvert the deliverer, yet unwilling to kill all the Hebrew slaves, Rameses I theorizes that the deliverer must be newly born and so orders the death of every male, Hebrew infant. Jewish slave Yochabel, along with her young daughter Miriam, prepares an ark of bulrushes and places her infant son in it. Pushing the ark into the Nile, Yochabel instructs Miriam to follow it, and the girl watches as it is found by Bithiah, the pharaoh’s daughter. The recently widowed Bithiah believes that the baby was sent by her deceased husband and, naming him Moses, dismisses the concern of her servant Memnet, who warns her that the child’s swaddling cloth was made by Levite Hebrews. Declaring that her son will be a prince of Egypt, Bithiah makes Memnet vow never to reveal his origins, although the servant secretly keeps the cloth. Thirty years later, Bithiah’s brother Sethi is pharaoh, and Moses is much loved by the Egyptians, even more than Sethi’s own son, Rameses II. Rameses is deeply jealous of Moses, who has returned from Ethiopia after conquering it in Sethi’s name. Sethi chides Rameses for not completing the treasure city for his upcoming jubilee, and Rameses blames his failure on the stubbornness of the Hebrew slaves. At Rameses’ urging, Sethi sends Moses to oversee the new city’s construction, much to the chagrin of Nefretiri, the princess who must marry Sethi’s heir. Nefretiri is in love with Moses, who shares her passion, even though Sethi has not announced whether Moses or Rameses will succeed him. In Goshen, where the new city is being built, Moses supervises Baka, the cold-hearted master builder. Also driving the slaves is Dathan, a ruthless Hebrew who has become an overseer. Dathan and Baka both desire Lilia, a Hebrew slave who is in love with the stone cutter Joshua. One day, Yochabel, now an old woman, is almost crushed by the enormous stones being used to build the city. Joshua is condemned to death for attempting to save her, and Lilia then races through the crowd to find Moses and plead for his mercy. Upon examining the scene, Moses frees Yochabel and Joshua, then decrees that not only should the exhausted, starving slaves have a day of rest, they should be fed from the temple granaries. Soon the city is almost completed, and although Rameses and the greedy priests attempt to prejudice Sethi against Moses, Sethi is pleased by Moses’ progress. Sethi announces his intention to name Moses his successor, but Memnet, determined not to let a Hebrew sit on Egypt’s throne, reveals the truth of his birth to Nefretiri. Desperate to protect her beloved, Nefretiri kills Memnet, then tries to cover her actions. She confesses all to Moses, however, when he finds the swaddling cloth. Astonished by the news, Moses seeks out Yochabel, whom Nefretiri reveals is his mother. Moses finds Yochabel just as Bithiah is pleading with her to leave Egypt before Moses learns the truth, but when Yochabel cannot deny that he is her son, Moses accepts his heritage. After being welcomed by Miriam and his brother Aaron, Moses begins working in the mud pits making bricks alongside the slaves he once commanded. Although Yochabel is convinced that Moses is the deliverer, he remains doubtful about the god of the Hebrews. Later, Nefretiri pleads with Moses to return to the palace before Sethi learns of his situation. Nefretiri’s argument that he can better help his people after he is pharaoh seems to sway Moses, but he states that first he must see Baka, who has taken Lilia to be his house slave. Moses arrives as Baka is about to whip Joshua, who had come to rescue Lilia. Infuriated by Baka’s callousness, Moses kills him, then reveals his heritage to Joshua. The amazed stone cutter declares that Moses is the deliverer, and his words are overheard by Dathan, who informs Rameses. On the day of Sethi’s jubilee, Rameses announces that he has captured the Hebrew deliverer, and the courtiers are stunned when Moses, bound in chains, is led in. Shaken, Sethi asks Moses if he would lead the slaves in revolt against him, and Moses confesses that he would free them if he could. The heartbroken Sethi then announces that Rameses will succeed him and marry Nefretiri, and leaves Moses’ fate for Rameses to determine. Rameses then escorts Moses to the edge of the vast desert and, giving him the pole to which he was bound as a staff, tells him to go forth into his kingdom. Despite his lack of water and food, Moses crosses the desert to reach Midian, where he collapses at a well tended by the daughters of Bedouin shepherd Jethro. As time passes, Moses is accepted by the Bedouins and marries Jethro’s oldest daughter, Sephora, although he confesses that he is still tormented by the thought of Nefretiri. Several years later, Moses and Sephora have a son, Gershom, and happily tend their flocks, while in Egypt, Rameses, made pharaoh after Sethi’s death, has a son with Nefretiri. One day, Moses sees a burning bush on Mt. Sinai, the holy mountain of God. Climbing up the mountain, upon which no mortal man has set foot before, Moses finds the burning bush and hears the voice of God, who orders him to return to Egypt and lead the Israelites to Sinai, where they will receive God’s laws. Although he still doubts his ability to serve God, Moses is touched by the “light of the eternal mind,” and Joshua, who escaped from Egypt, swears to accompany him, as does Sephora. [An Intermission divides the story at this point.]
       Upon reaching Egypt, Moses confronts Rameses, demanding that his people be freed. Rameses laughs at Moses’ proclamation that he brings the word of God, although Nefretiri is thrilled to see that Moses is alive. When Moses turns his staff into a serpent that swallows up the serpents produced by the Egyptian priests, Rameses dismisses his actions as a magician’s tricks, then continues to ignore Moses’ pleas to free his people, even though God sets loose nine plagues upon Egypt. Finally, after Moses turns the Nile into blood for seven days, Rameses’ advisors urge him to acquiesce, but the pharaoh insists that there must be a natural explanation for the phenomenon. When Rameses again denies Moses, Moses asserts that one final, terrible plague will be brought upon the Egyptians by Rameses’ own words. Scornful, Rameses declares that the next day, his soldiers will kill all the firstborn Hebrew children. Rameses’ words are turned back upon him, however, when the Hebrews protect their children by painting their doors with lambs’ blood, and a spreading pestilence kills every other firstborn child, including Rameses’ own son. Grief-stricken, Rameses grants the slaves their freedom, but after the exodus has begun, the vengeful Nefretiri taunts Rameses until he orders his charioteers to chase the freed slaves. Soon the Egyptian forces find the Hebrews by the Red Sea, and Dathan foments a call for Moses’ death for leading them to certain doom. To demonstrate the power of the Lord, Moses uses his staff to part the Red Sea and clear a path for the Hebrews, while God’s pillar of fire holds back the chariots. When the fire dissipates, Rameses orders his soldiers to cross the Red Sea, but before they can reach the Hebrews, Moses restores the sea and the Egyptians are drowned. Defeated, Rameses returns to the palace and there declares to Nefretiri that the god of Moses cannot be defied. Soon after, Moses leads his people to the base of Mt. Sinai and ascends the mountain to receive God’s laws. As forty days pass, the people grow anxious, with Dathan proclaiming that because Moses must be dead, the people should return to Egypt, where at least they can find food. Dathan assures the people that if they follow an Egyptian idol, they will be safe from the pharaoh’s wrath, and Aaron is ordered to craft a large, golden calf. Meanwhile, on the mountain, Moses witnesses God’s finger carve His ten commandments on two stone tablets. When Moses comes down from the mountain to share the laws, he is horrified to see the people worshipping the calf. Dathan attempts to defy Moses, but Moses throws the tablets on the ground, causing an immense earthquake that swallows the nonbelievers. Although they are forced by God’s anger to wander the wilderness for forty years, Moses and his people remain strong in their faith, until one day, they come to the River Jordan, across which lays their promised land. Moses informs his family that God has told him that he shall not pass the river, however, and gives his staff and robe to Joshua, thereby anointing him the new leader. With the restored tablets in the ark of the covenant, Moses urges his people to proclaim liberty throughout the land, then waves farewell as he ascends Mt. Nebo.