First watched : March 1976
A sizeable gap in the vintage TV Times editions available for 1976 on the Radio Sounds Familiar website meant we went past this until a reference back to it in the wikipedia page for another series jogged my memory. I'm sure this will happen again.
Moses the Law-giver was a joint Anglo-Italian enterprise, an expensive mini-series screened around Easter-time 1976. It starred Burt Lancaster in the title role as the volatile Biblical patriarch and his own son William as his younger self. Brit stalwart Anthony Quayle played Aaron and after that there were no really big names - in the UK at least. The Italians didn't take any of the big parts and little-known Israelis played many of the speaking roles.
The story of Moses is one of the best Biblical narratives you could pick for this sort of treatment with 10 plagues, a burning bush, golden calf , manna from Heaven and of course the parting of the Red Sea to challenge the director and special effects crew. I recall the latter miracle being particularly impressive.
I also remember Laurent Terzieff as young Pharoah Meneptah and Yosef Shiloach as the treacheous Dathan being particularly good as the villains. Otherwise I recall it being slightly ponderous although I guess if you're going to dramatize 40 years of wandering in the desert that is going to be difficult to avoid.
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